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{
    "id": 770849,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/770849/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 85,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Bunyasi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2511,
        "legal_name": "John Sakwa Bunyasi",
        "slug": "john-sakwa-bunyasi"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I rise to support the Motion. The East African Community is a critically important regional organisation. It is an institution that is intended to help drive the economies of the member countries in this region. It has suffered setbacks from time to time over the last 40 to 50 years. It is, again, beginning to struggle. We can see the political orientation of the Heads of State of the member countries. They do not always seem to pull in the same direction. That should be a cause for worry for future generations in the region. A powerful East Africa will not only provide a strong common market for the member countries but also an expanded regional market that will count in the global economy and make a difference in terms of how fast we can raise the incomes of our member countries. My frustration on this debate is that we have been preoccupied with who goes in. We should be thinking of not just about the face of Kenya and that kind of balance. We should also be thinking of who can best contribute to the national and regional interest in terms of how to drive the economy of East Africa as rapidly as possible. Among the countries in the region, Kenya plays a central role. It has always played a central role. We need to move to a situation where the regional agenda closely matches our national interest. Kenya’s economy is private sector-driven, minus issues of bad governance based on broken considerations. However, we are an economy that has the best opportunity to drive this region. The Members we are going to elect to the EALA must be people who can help us to bring convergence between the interest of Kenya and the interest of the region because Kenya is in the driver’s seat. If we slacken, the development that is expected for the region will not occur. The perpetual and recurrent delay by Kenya to nominate members to the Assembly is highly regrettable. We must move to a point where nominations to the Assembly from Kenya are first on line. This has happened in several parliaments before. This is completely unfortunate. This happens largely because of our internal politics. I note that this time round, like during the last Parliament, there is interest in the nominations to the Assembly. There was a significant infighting to try and get first in line. I urge that the administration of the process of selecting candidates must be proved. If you read the Report, there are a number of candidates who got messages a day before, or on the same day. That kind of thing can subvert justice. It is critically important that a clear notification of the requirements is published in the newspapers. I heard during the discussions, there were complaints that the documents that were being asked for had not been specified in the application form. Sometimes it appears like a matter of withholding information that is required by candidates. That reduces the quality of the process and, therefore, disadvantages some candidates. It is critically important that we get clarity with regard to the requirements, processes and documentation that are required by our candidates who seek to go to EALA. Given that background, particularly the fact that the principal objective of the Community is to drive the The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}