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{
    "id": 66957,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/66957/?format=api",
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    "content": "I am quoting the Chief Executive of this country to show how serious the MDGs are. Now, that could only be lip service and a statement, if something is not done to concretize this and ensure that it is actually seen properly on the ground. It is up to the Government to ensure that the issues of MDGs are properly prioritized, so that the core sectors that address the MDGs are properly financed. In Kenya our main undoing is doing things the wrong way. That is why the issue of mismanagement and impunity comes in. Luckily, right now, we have a new Constitution that addresses the issue of integrity. We hope that if that is properly addressed, we will be properly on course with these issues. Just to remind ourselves on how polarity can work or bring wonders, we all know that by the time Kenya was attaining her Independence in 1963, we were on the same footing with a country called South Korea. Today, South Korea is a magnet and in a realm of the developed world. It is now referred to as a tiger. Kenya, which was on the same economic status with South Korea at that time, cannot even compare herself with this small country. Whereas South Korea is referred to as a tiger, I think we are still a cat, for that matter. Through our own efforts, we have mismanaged our resources. Mismanagement will always bring the spiral effect because it begets poverty. We cannot eradicate poverty if we continue mismanaging our own resources. Therefore, I appeal to my colleagues in this House to support this Motion, so that the Government can file this Report. If I can draw an analogy of what other countries of the world are doing today, and more so other African countries, they are not only getting reports from their Parliaments, but some of them have active committees of Parliament to address the issue of MDGs. I will single out Nigeria. Nigeria has a Committee of Parliament that reports directly to the President and takes on the Government to ensure that it stays on course on the achievement of the MDGs. Other countries in Africa like Uganda, Zambia and Malawi have their own Committees within their Parliaments to address the issues of the MDGs. As a Kenyan Parliament, it is not enough for us to have this Report, periodically, being tabled in Parliament. We need a Committee of Parliament to properly follow up these issues and monitor and ensure that the Government is on course. Implementation of the MDGs requires a serious Government. It is not business as usual. It is a matter of life and death. It is not a question of making reports to New York. It is a matter of where we are supposed to localize the MDGs, so that the reality on the ground and the impact is felt. The impact will be felt by the way people’s lives will be changed. To quote the then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan under whose stewardship the MDGs came into being, he said: “Although the Millennium Declaration was signed in New York, the measurement on the impact on how they have succeeded will not be in New York. It will be at the village level when lives of people will be seen to have changed. That is how it will be seen and gauged that the MDGs have been achieved. “ To conclude on my issue, we need to appreciate the visionary wisdom of our world leaders who signed the MDGs. They were not selfish. They are the developed world and have their own part to play, where they committed 0.7 per cent of their gross net incomes to assist developed countries to achieve the MDGs. We should also check on them to ensure that they fulfill their commitment. We are reminding the"
}