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{
    "id": 844056,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/844056/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 351,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Seneta",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 611,
        "legal_name": "Mary Yiane Senata",
        "slug": "mary-yiane-senata"
    },
    "content": "For democracy and good governance, we need to strengthen democracy in the EAC member states and have free and transparent elections in all member states. These are things on which we need to learn some lessons as to how we are doing. We need to discuss which member states have strong electoral systems which we can admire and copy as a region. Still on good governance, there are a number of countries talking about corruption every day, starting from our own country. Corruption has really cost us as a country. The moral fabric of our people and institutions has disappeared. We have cost ourselves by borrowing from other countries. Corruption has cost us our economy. Therefore, good governance is an issue that these forums of parliaments should be exchanging ideas on; regarding how Member States are going about it. One of our colleagues just talked about Rwanda. There are some countries that practice democracy and good governance. We need to learn from them to ease integration. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we still need to do a lot with regard to issues of gender, children and vulnerable persons within the East African Community (EAC). Our member States need to take the discussion about women in elective seats in our countries very seriously. We also need to put infrastructure and electoral systems in place to encourage more women to be in leadership positions. There is need for a serious discussion on issues of gender violence within the region. In our country today, for example, university female students are being killed. Even in our local villages, there is a lot of gender violence. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we are living in a region that is endowed with natural resources. We can grow our economy through the natural resources that we have. We need to protect our beautiful water catchment areas. Therefore, this FP-ICGLR must encourage member states to use their natural resources for the benefit of their people. We have natural resources that we are sharing as member States, for example, rivers and lakes. We need to protect them well. We need to benchmark from other countries to learn how they protect their natural resources. This forum needs to formulate policies that will boost trade among member states. We do not have to go to China. We can trade some of the products amongst ourselves rather than crying for a market that is tied with stringent conditions."
}