{"id":825348,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/825348/?format=json","text_counter":55,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Kisii CWR, ODM","speaker_title":"Hon. (Ms.) Janet Ong’era","speaker":{"id":13117,"legal_name":"Janet Ongera","slug":"janet-ongera"},"content":" Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity. First of all, let me thank the Member for bringing this Petition. Teachers are a very important segment of our society. Like Hon. Ochanda, I am also wondering how we can tell that a place is a hardship area. I have places in Kisii County that are, in my opinion, hardship areas and yet the teachers are never considered for payment of hardship allowance. Therefore, I appeal to the committee to further come up with criteria of what should be considered hardship areas. Gone are the days, as the Leader of the Majority Party thinks, that a hardship area is a place that is dry and does not have sufficient rainfall. Hardship areas can also be places like where I come from. We need to come up with new criteria that define hardship areas. I thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker."}