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{
    "id": 836944,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/836944/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 271,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mumias East, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Benjamin Washiali",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 151,
        "legal_name": "Benjamin Jomo Washiali",
        "slug": "benjamin-washiali"
    },
    "content": "Earlier in the year, I came from Washington DC and while there, I had an opportunity to visit my good brother Amb. Njeru Githae, former Minister for Finance. We were together here in the 10th Parliament. I can confirm that the condition in which the Kenyan Embassy in Washington is even us as Members of Parliament would not wish our houses to be like that. The office has been in that kind of state for many years. I remember in 2008, I also visited the embassy. It was in the same situation. Nothing has been added. As Members of Parliament, we need to ask ourselves hard questions. As a Member mentioned, it is us who have the responsibility of budgeting as we did the other day when we managed to get Kshs30 million even though later it was changed. I am sure we have the powers to get some money for these embassies so that they represent the kind of image that this country has outside there. Kenya has a budget of Kshs3 trillion. The annual budgets of some of the embassies that are better looking are still in billions. Therefore, we wonder why we have not emphasised on foreign policy that would portray the image of this country in a good way outside there. As I support this Report, I just want to urge Members to take note of this Report and that as we do any Supplementary Budget in the near future; we need to get some money for these foreign embassies. We can do them from one continent to the other. If we decided today that we are doing Europe, then we do just that. All we need is to do face-lifting and improve on the facilities. Among other functions, the embassies help us supervise bilateral agreements that this 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."
}