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{
"id": 812594,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/812594/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "July 11, 2018 SENATE DEBATES 27 Sen. Mwaura",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I meant that the school produced my future wife; my wife went through that school. I only have one wife, and she is the current and also the future. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this whole issue about the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is quite telling. We have seen comments in the media and articles have also been written about it. I remember using the SGR recently and I could tell that even for me, as a Senator, to get into the Very Important Person (VIP) section, the person who had to give permission was a Chinese. There is nothing wrong with that but, I found it a bit patronizing that in my own country, even such simple services were being manned by foreigners. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this country has had bilateral and multilateral partners over the years since we got Independence. For the longest time, we looked to the west, and our projects were funded by countries of that orientation. However, during President Kibaki’s administration, we decided to look east, which was very interesting. This is because I remember the then French Ambassador, Etienne de Poncins, saying that it was difficult for him to access State House. Thereafter, State House responded by saying: - “We see each and every person according to the changing times of the world”. However, these are not the changing times of the world. We are now seeing some new form of colonialism, where our own people are being treated as second class citizens. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, whatever has been reported here by my able Chair, Sen. Sakaja, is a clear manifestation of the effects of the Chinese loans that this country is taking, as if they are free on the market. There is no free lunch! It appears that one of the things that we have to contend with is that, these Chinese people now want to start defecating on us. I am saying so because part of the report that we have is that, at some point, it is alleged that they relieved themselves in one of the coaches of the SGR because there are no toilets in the drivers’ cabin. How can that be? The fact that our own people cannot even share transport to and from work if only one Chinese person is sitting in a van, yet this is a loan that is going to be financed by taxpayers’ money. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, when you look at Sino-Kenyan relations, one of the things that we must confess is that there is an uneven relationship. We have a portfolio with the World Bank (WB), where they are giving us concessional loans at three per cent. However, the Chinese short-term loans are even at 35 per cent, payable within five years. Is this the way to go?"
}