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{
    "id": 678860,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/678860/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 294,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 447,
        "legal_name": "John Krop Lonyangapuo",
        "slug": "john-lonyangapuo"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, let me join my colleagues in congratulating Sen. Martha Wangari. I thought she had a third name but I can only see two here. If she does not have a third one, I will call her Esther. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, indeed, if we continue putting all our efforts the way Sen. Wangari has done here and the previous Bills she has brought, we will really be on the right track and be able to secure and make devolution which is the pride of every Kenyan work. These are the type of leaders that we will propose in future. For example, if Nakuru County needs a Senator, Martha Wangari should be elected as the first woman Senator. If she chooses to be an MP for Gilgil or the neighbourhood, it will still be okay. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I would like you to recall the phrase that was pronounced in 1963 by our forefathers when Mzee Jomo Kenyatta stood and said that there are three enemies that must be eliminated immediately the Whiteman leaves. These were ignorance, disease and poverty. If you analyse it keenly, you will realise that our successive Governments have endeavoured to fight ignorance by introducing very many schools. We have not failed in that area and we are doing quite well. Another one that we are struggling and trying but not really managing is the issue of eliminating poverty where people suffer shortage of food. We would have eliminated it if we continued with the policies of 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s where agriculture was the prime choice in the Republic and everybody thought of it. Today, it is lost and no wonder we just depend on people from outside. We import food from other countries but do not know what minerals are used in the production. Maybe that is why we have very many strange diseases nowadays such as cancer and very many others that historically we used not to have in huge numbers. Lastly, one enemy of Kenyans and Africans that we were supposed to fight was disease. We have been defeated regarding that. Whether you are rich, in the middle income bracket or the poor who are the majority of Kenyans, disease has terrorized people seriously. That is why Sen. Wangari talked about some amendment in this prime Act in order to find a way of how people can benefit and also fight this enemy that has been becoming stronger each year. Even the rich also cry. You have heard of many cases of many Kenyans going to India. India was just as poor or, if not, worse off than us in 1972. Now, we are going there in order to get support. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, this amendment is key in the sense that it now focuses on the establishment of a board. I would join my brother Sen. M. Kajwang to say that 13 is a huge number and we need to reduce it to a number that makes sense, that is, five or seven. My county does not need to sit there or somebody from a region does not need to sit there if we put rules that we can have such kind of positions that we require especially these associations; we do not need them. There is nothing for them to protect. Even workers, they do not need their representative there because you go to be represented if you think there is a malpractice in that board for you to protect your interest. We need only one and the other one for the National Treasury for the guarantee of Funds. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I would urge Sen. Wangari to go further. Where are Kenyans found? They are found in the counties. They are found in 47 such units. Is there The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate"
}