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"content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the following Motion:- THAT, this House adopts the Report of the Kenya Parliamentary Delegation to Russia/Africa Horizons of Co-operation Conference which took place between 15th and 16th June in Moscow, laid on the Table of the House on Wednesday, June 30, 2010. The International Parliamentary Conference, which is the Russia/Africa Horizons Co-operation Conference, was held in Moscow between June 15th and June 16th, 2010. The conference was organized by the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of Russia and brought together 29 African Parliaments. The main objective of the conference was to strengthen the role of the African /Russia parliamentary diplomacy in addressing various topical issues in the modern world in the spheres of emerging politics, economics, environment, humanities as well as other issues of mutual interest regarding the inter- parliamentary co-operation between Russia and Africa. Mr. Speaker, Sir, in todayâs world, just like Kenya, every country is trying to adjust its diplomacy from political diplomacy to economic diplomacy. Since the disintegration of the old Soviet State, Russia has also been struggling. As we know, Russia is a permanent member of the United Nations. Russia has also a veto power. Russia is also one of the members of the industrialized nations. Just as we are doing today, they are moving from political diplomacy to environmental, parliamentary, tourism, economic, environmental and security diplomacy. Russia has tried to rediscover diplomatic relations with the African Continent. One of the things they are trying to provide is democratic development of the African Continent to avoid creating a scenario of dependence syndrome from the African Continent. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to take this opportunity to thank your office for giving us the opportunity. I was the leader of the delegation consisting of hon. Ngata Kariuki. Ms. Maison Leshomo, Mr. Simon Ogari Nyakundi - and I want to congratulate him for being appointed as an Assistant Minister. We had a Clerk Assistant, Mr. Peter Ochieng Adika. The dynamics of todayâs world have completely changed. One of the things we were told in Russia was: âDo not ask for favours, ask for technological transfers.â One of the things we learnt is that the fertilizers we use here in Kenya come from Russia, but through a third country. The flowers that are used in Russia come from Kenya, but through a third country. One of the things we were considering is that since Kenya is the source of one of the most expensive products in Russia, then why can we not establish a direct route between Kenya and Russia, instead of relying on our traditional partners like Netherlands? We found that to be very acceptable. Our Kenyan tea is very popular in Russia. It is used for blending other teas. Our tea is taken to Russia through a third country. Why can we not establish a direct link between Kenya and Russia and we have a mechanism? On the issue of tourism, there are many Russians â in fact, millions - who visit Egypt. Egypt is not far from here. The facilities and tourism attraction sites that we have here cannot be compared to what is in other countries in the continent. What we are saying is that we need to change. We have one of the oldest missions in Russia. The psyche is political representation. On the face of it, as far as the politics are concerned, there is a shift. We need to have an economic diplomacy. We need to re-energize and invigorate our diplomatic policy, so that we can have a policy that is geared towards the achievement of Vision 2030. We cannot achieve Vision 2030 unless we are a vibrant economy and a strong economic base. We need to have a sustainable annual growth. For us to achieve this, we must be pragmatic in what we do. If the activities in our Russian mission are the same as they were in 1967, when we had the cold war, Berlin Wall and conflicting ideologies in the name of communism and capitalism, then we are not being very fair to Kenya. One other thing that we learnt is that last year, we were given 30 scholarships. However, due to laxity by some individuals and key Ministries, we failed to utilize those 30 chances. Either the applications were late or the documents that were sent from here reached Russia very late. Therefore, the Russian Ministry did not have ample time to prepare the necessary admission documents. They asked us: âAre there no Kenyan students who are willing to come and study medicine in Russia or join technical institutions here?â Obviously, you know we have thousands of students who are eligible and who are lacking the opportunity to go and further their education in those key institutions. Another thing we learnt at the plenary and during the round-table discussions was the issue of self-reliance. In Russia, they do not give aid. Under normal circumstances, they do not give aid. However, they give technological transfers. They will offer you avenues to do business and transfer technology. That way, you can plough back what you have learnt to the society. The theme of the meeting was that there was a bit of lacuna from the time of the break-up of the old Soviet Union up to now. The Russia of today is totally different in every aspect; geographically, economically and socially. It is totally different from what used to be the old Soviet Union. To a large extent, Russia is also rediscovering itself as far as its relation with Africa is concerned. Russia has one of the old missions here in Kenya. It is a key nation in the African Continent and it is greatly appreciated. If you look at trade between Africa and Russia it is about two per cent of the total international trade by Russia. Mr. Speaker, Sir, because of what is happening in Russia and the enormous resources that Russia has, we feel that if Kenya takes a pragmatic approach in sending institutions like the Kenya Investment Authority (KIA), the Export Promotion Authority (EPA) and the Kenya Airways we feel there is something we can learn from Russia. We know in Russia gold and diamonds are all over. Russia has a lot of natural resources including petroleum. Therefore, the theme as they said is Russia should be âReturn to Africa and build bridgesâ. We are also saying that Kenya should also build bridges and go to Russia and learn the same. The other day when we were in Ireland we went to a shop and we were told that we were going to be given Kenyan tea. But when we sat down, we realized that the taste was totally different from the Kenyan tea. We asked the person and he told us, âLook, here in Ireland we get Kenyan tea and we use it to blend tea from Sri Lanka and other parts of the worldâ. That in itself is very unfortunate. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we do appreciate that the new constitutional dispensation which we promulgated on 27th August will require a very strong economic base because of the change of institutions. We will have institutions at every level. For us to check the phenomena of rural to urban migration, if we do not work hard as a country, then I think some of the key issues and expectations demanded by the new constitutional dispensation might just be a mirage as far as Kenyans are concerned. The bilateral trade between Kenya and Russia between the years 2004 to 2008 was just a paltry US$49.2 million. If these avenues will have been optimized, Kenya would have done better. Therefore, the trade balance for the last five years is almost insignificant. Mr. Speaker, Sir, Russians are very eager. They have a lot of resources and have heard about Kenya. One of the things they have memorized is the 2007 unfortunate Post Election Violence (PEV). When we talked about tourism they asked us, âYou people, have you sorted out thisâ. That is why today I fully concur with the ruling that the Chair has made that we need to move. As the Chair rightly said, the interpretation of law can remain argumentative and only semantics. We have chosen to have a new Constitution and it requires a lot of soberness. It requires a lot of seriousness. The kind of leadership provided by the Chair today is one of the steps that are likely to enable us achieve that thing. Mr. Speaker, Sir, one of the other things we said when we were hosted by the Dumas--- They are also struggling. Just recently, Russia was a closed society. Now, they would want to establish relationships with other emerging democracies like Kenya. One of the things that we promised and we will be consulting your office very soon is the establishment of the Duma Kenya Parliamentary Friendship Group. It was a request and they had put it in writing. I do not know whether that has come but it is one of the things we feel if done would enhance the relationship between Kenya and Russia. We managed to interact with parliamentarians from over 39 African countries and we learnt Kenya is a transport hub, diplomatic hub and security hub. Kenya enjoys an immense infrastructural system which is almost second to none in the whole region. One of the things they told us was that five years ago they allowed Kenya Airways to have direct flights to Moscow. Since then, they have been waiting for our Minister for Transport and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and key officials from the Kenyan Government to go there because that is prime. That has not been achieved. If Egypt Air has direct flights daily, if Turkish Air has almost 15 to 20 flights per day to Moscow, then why not Kenya? These are some of the issues we need to ask ourselves. Mr. Speaker, Sir, if, for example, Botswana which we helped to establish the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) in 1968, today directly exports thousands of tonnes of beef to Russia, why not Kenya? Is it because we are lacking opportunities? Is it because we do not have the technical knowhow? Is it because we do not have the will? In 1968 the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was at par with the one of South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore and today the GDP of South Korea is 30 times the one of Kenya. The GDP of Malaysia is almost ten times of Kenya. These are some of the challenges we have to face as a group. One of the things we said we were going to do was to request the Ministry of Trade in conjunction with the Russian Embassy to organize for a trade exhibition so that Russians get to know the kind of products that we have, whether primary or secondary. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we also said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs needs to contact and encourage our missions to psyche themselves to this reality. It is a reality. This is something we have chosen. The concept of economic diplomacy is something that is here to stay if we have to survive as a country and achieve some of the missions stated in Vision 2030. Kenyan mission in Moscow should also be given the requisite authority by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to do some of these things. For example, it is not a must for the Kenya Tourist Board (KTB) to have an office in Moscow. It is not a must for Kenya Investment Authority (KIA) to have an office in Russia. These activities can be coordinated by an all-round staff in our mission. This is why we are saying policy-wise, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said we have moved our policy from political diplomacy to economic diplomacy. However, at heart has that aspect been inculcated in the minds of our mission staff? This is one of the issues that we need to address. Mr. Speaker, Sir, on the issue of the Ministry of Education, one of the sad things that we have learnt is that quite a number of Kenyans who have gone to Russia are suffering simply because of administrative events. There are hundreds of Kenyan students in Russia. Recently, there was an administrative or jurisdictional conflict between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education on the issue of administrative attachĂŠ. Certainly one thing we have learnt is that at the time we went there we had an active ambassador who has now been recalled, who really appreciated the needs of the Kenyan students in Russia. That itself was not part of the policy. These students get visas in Russia which are not compatible with the educational stay there. This is something that requires the intervention of both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education. The ambassador simply said he was waiting for an education attachĂŠ. Policy-wise we know the post is now contentious. This issue needs to be sorted out by the Ministries concerned so that the Kenyans all over know what to expect. You take the example of India; there are over 10,000 students from this country but the aspect of education attaches is still contentious. It has not been sorted out. The Ministry of Education posted an individual but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs refused to sanction the posting of that individual. This has been the case for the last two and a half years. This is something that needs to be sorted out if we are to assist those students. Mr. Speaker, Sir, one of the things we are suggesting is that since the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has been pragmatic in even assisting students who study parallel programmes, why do you not extend the same help to students studying professional courses outside the country; in particular students studying medicine and engineering? These are the fields that we require. Why do we not extend the same so that in addition to the courses or assistance, they can also get that support? We are suggesting that because of air transport. We are urging the Departmental Committee on Public Works and Housing to urgently convene a meeting between the Ministry of Public Works, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Trade and Kenya Airways to urge them to fill this vacuum. If we make commitments as a country and they are not honoured and every now and then you are being nagged that blame goes to all of us. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the essence of having a mission in any foreign country before 1991, that was before the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), or before the collapse of the Berlin Wall, was purely ideological. I can gladly say that in 2009 we participated in the official drafting of our foreign policy, which is right now in the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The entire diplomatic staff, and ourselves as Parliamentarians, need to familiarise ourselves with what that document says, so that we can all proudly, as a team or as a country or even as one of the arms of the Government, pursue the economic gains that we can easily achieve as a country. Mr. Speaker, Sir, diplomacy is a very difficult thing. The basic definition of âdiplomacyâ, including parliamentary diplomacy--- If you look at the Executive, diplomacy was the day-to-day activities of the Executive. Parliament, in all democracies, was considered as unnecessary irritant. Therefore, to that extent, parliamentarians were not considered as part of parliamentary diplomacy. However, the changing trends in diplomacy today require that parliamentarians become one of the agents of diplomacy of any country, which wants to achieve meaningful diplomacy. To that extent, as Members of the Kenya National Assembly, we will not be exempted. We must play a role, whether the Executive wants it or not, and ensure that anywhere we go we promote and protect the image of this country. Whether we are told to do so or not, that is necessary. Mr. Speaker, Sir, to the best of my knowledge, over the last two-and-half years, the number of functions you participated in and the number of friendship groups that your Office has helped to establish is part of the dynamism the Kenyan Parliament is expected to engage in. When we have a parliamentary friendship group, for instance, between Kenya and France, interaction at that level exists. When we have a parliamentary friendship group between Kenya and Russia, between Kenya and China, and between Kenya and Turkey, there is a context. There is an aspect of appreciation, and such a development will assist Kenya and the other countries. I want to thank you because of allowing that aspect of our parliamentary democracy. Mr. Speaker, Sir, finally, as part of our engagement with the developing countries, this Parliament is unique in every aspect. It is during our tenure collectively, with you as our head, that we, first of all, operationalised one of the most pragmatic Standing Orders. Unfortunately, because of the new constitutional dispensation, we will have to review those Standing Orders, so that we can have sections of the same being in line with the new constitutional dispensation. Right now, there are issues of freedom of the Press. There are other issues which even Parliamentarians are still not familiar with. Other than issues that are purely at the discretion of the chairpersons of the Committees, all other Committee deliberations are open, just like those of the House. That is not the case all over the world. Even where we went, the issue of Press freedom is something we can explore. Of course, it was not there before the Tenth Parliament. So, it is something we can proudly say it is a Kenyan product and, therefore, other developing democracies must learn from Kenya. Mr. Speaker, Sir, with those remarks, I want to express my gratitude to your Office, and to the Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly, for giving given us that opportunity. It was also a learning experience to us Members of Parliament, and we were also your agents. At this juncture, I call upon hon. Gunda to second the Motion."
}