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{
    "id": 797586,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/797586/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 263,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Mutunga",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13495,
        "legal_name": "John Kanyuithia Mutunga",
        "slug": "john-kanyuithia-mutunga"
    },
    "content": "factors: One, because it came before the end of the first year in Parliament, following the last general elections. If it came later than now, it would not have had the same impact it has right now. The Speech came after the historic handshake, and hon. Members have already had their own private handshakes. The communities in Kenya have already shaken hands. People have already taken time to discuss and look at the implications of the handshake. It, therefore, came at the right time. The handshake has permeated the countryside and people are happy. This one has effects of the rains, when people ponder over what to do and what can give them hope. This is a time when people need to be encouraged and assured that their problems will be looked into. The President’s Speech has given a ray of hope to Kenyans. It was a good time for the President to say sorry because it was already in the air that people had already forgiven each other. It was a time we needed a trigger to shake hands. We have always been looking for an opportunity to say sorry. I would like to join my colleagues who have said sorry. To anyone I have wronged, I would like to say sorry so that we move on as nation. When you look at the context of the Speech of the President yesterday, he recognises history by the mere fact that history informs the future. He looked at the performance of the last Parliament. The 11th Parliament was a difficult one. It is the one which saw the initial implementation of the Constitution of Kenya. This is the Parliament that recognised the need to have two levels of government without any form of discrimination. It is the Parliament that saw need to have laws that will help Kenyans resolve their problems and also settle down at the county level as 48 governments with one major Government at the national level and 47 devolved units. The Speech recognised the walking through the murky times of coming up with new legislations. It also recognised the progress made in constitutional implementation, the support for devolution in terms of the percentages that were set up and also by passing the limits. It looked at the process of resourcing. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, the President’s Speech looked at the unity of the State called Kenya as one indivisible State which cannot be broken into pieces. The Speech dwelt on the fact that we need to listen to each other; talk to each other and be able to mend fences. We need to promote reconciliation and not competition; that we need to be a lot more complementary than compete. The Speech was very rich in bringing Kenyans together in looking at how we move as a country. If it had left out the issue of the economy, it would not have been complete. Therefore, it brought out very serious focus on the economy like the success of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) which shows that we can as a country do major projects and be able to run the economy as it were. The fact that we have done so many kilometres of the SGR without shaking the economy shows that the Kenyan economy is strong. All we need is to organise ourselves and put our priorities right. It talks about electrification. It is evident that the country is properly electrified. We have power reaching many people and, there is a law that has been done. Before my time ends, I want to allude on just one particular factor: the international relations. Basically, the President clearly highlighted on the need to support Somalia as a country and our neighbours so that we can move together; the opportunities for Kenya coming from the African Free Trade Area and our recognition by the United Nations (UN) Service Centre. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I support this Motion. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}