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{
    "id": 648174,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/648174/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 359,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Kaluma",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1565,
        "legal_name": "George Peter Opondo Kaluma",
        "slug": "george-peter-opondo-kaluma"
    },
    "content": "Members seated here can see how Hon. Ngilu was fighting to be here! Can we have that decorum? Can we go out there to serve without where we came from? In as much as we can use law to socially engineer the society to think in one direction, could we encourage members of the society to change their thinking? Can we make our people to begin thinking and realising that a woman can lead invariably better than a man? I am looking forward where my daughter Caroline Andele can sit in this House, not through nomination, but as a person elected based on content of character, passion and ability to lead. We should encourage such a situation. The other challenge is on this issue of finances. I know women are not very happy that the Bill which preceded this has been passed. I would have supported it because some women need funding for us to up the numbers, more so, at the 290 constituencies’ level. But, we must have criteria in terms of which women we are funding. We cannot just stair up everybody. Lastly, some people have said this is going to make Parliament very big. Permit me to make this point. I sat with you one day in the House of Commons in London. That is a Parliament of over 650 Members but the sitting capacity is barely 200. Let me tell the people of Kenya outside there that moving this number to ensure that both gender are equitability represented in leadership particularly at the level of this House, is as important as the monetary cost. The work of a Member of Parliament is not about sitting in the plenary here. We have representation, oversight of budget, budgeting, oversight of all State organs and all State officers including the Senators who are State officers. We should be overseeing them over those matters of devolution. Lastly, it has been said this is going to cost the taxpayers so much. As I sit, let me tell this country that in a budget nearing Kshs2 trillion, this Parliament consumes barely Kshs30 billion. Democracy anywhere in the world is never cheap. Let us invest. We do not know the gender that is going to come here. I want to urge the women outside there. In terms of voting percentage, women are more than men. Why do you put us in a situation where we have to think of how women can be here? Can we encourage women outside there, if there is solidity of character in the female contenders, to vote for fellow women so that this thing can reverse; we can have men being nominated. I thank you."
}