Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 842949,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/842949/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 191,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "If you go to Romania, there was another mad man called Ceausescu, he built huge monuments including even infrastructure, but they were not well thought out. We are trying to build monuments to please our people when we do not know how they will be run and whether they will be sustainable. I believe that what probably may go on in the National Assembly that we are allowing the Government to borrow more. I am repeating from my own stand point as a Senator, that to give the Government the authority to tax when it has misbehaved and has not been prudent, I think that is the wrong thing to do in the name of the people. Let people should know that being patriotic is not by supporting a particular leader or party; being patriotic is supporting the country. That is what patriotism means. That is why it is not in the Constitution, that when you have to make a choice between the people or any particular government, you support the people. I hope that in the coming years, successive governments will succeed. If the Jubilee Government does well, it will be a good spell for Kenyans. There is no reason why they should fail. If another Government does justice to the people of the country, it will be good for Kenya. However, right now, the dreams have turned into nightmares. Big projects have turned to be burdens hanging over the heads of taxpayers. We must rethink what we are doing with our resources instead of just sitting back and saying “it has been decided.” Public participation is there to get rid of this thing. Public participation was undertaken by the National Assembly and they said they do not want more taxation. That is used by those in power and it is good in politics for you and me. Finally, with all these problems, still county governments must also do their best because many of them are not doing their best. Resources they get are not being used effectively. If we go by the reports of the Auditor-General and what we get through our committees, then we are not doing our best as far as the counties are concerned. Responsibility of prudence at the county level is also wanting. I hope that in the fullness of time – I do not know when that will be – people will begin to take devolution as a cherished gem. There are those who struggled so much to enable us get this Constitution as a way out of oppression, exploitation and economic backwardness. This is something that we promised ourselves as a nation; to fight for justice in accordance with the law and the Constitution. The Constitution should be read not selectively but in entirety to show what promise we gave to Kenyans and to ourselves as a people and as a nation. With those remarks, I beg to support."
}