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{
    "id": 859379,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/859379/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 282,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Suba South, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. John Mbadi",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 110,
        "legal_name": "John Mbadi Ng'ong'o",
        "slug": "john-mbadi"
    },
    "content": "I am not saying that Kenyans should shoulder more burden, I am saying if you are criticising or critiquing what Parliament is doing, employ some level of objectivity. There is this thing about diplomatic passport. My background does not allow me to understand many things. Actually, I am yet to understand the major benefits of this diplomatic passport. I am being educated. I was listening to Hon. Duale. I do not own one. I am being told if you have it, you will be policed by National Intelligence Service (NIS). I do not want to be policed, I want to be free. The question is: At what extra cost if you give it to the Members of Parliament? When we walk with other Members of Parliament, they are cleared faster than us when they have these diplomatic passports. The question is: Does it come with an extra cost? If it does not, why criticise it? What is the harm? Is it just because anything that Members of Parliament talk about becomes a crime? When you talk about the food in the restaurant, you are told you want continental food. By the way, I thought we were all buying this food that we eat. If I walk to Intercontinental Hotel and I am served some lousy food that I do not like, I will complain right there. If I walk to Kenyatta Market for Nyama Choma and it is not properly done, I will not just pay, I will complain. If I am served food that I do not think is good here in Parliament and I am paying for it anyway, and I complain, it becomes a crime. Why do you give me bad food that I am buying and you expect me not complain? Those criticising Parliament should target areas where they think Parliament is going out of the way. It would make sense. But critiquing and criticising every aspect of our lives is being unfair. You will hear talks that Members of Parliament are buying fuel guzzlers, et cetera . Most of these Members of Parliament have four-wheel drive cars. The question is: Is it a luxury for a Member of Parliament? For us it is a requirement. I would tell you that if I had good roads in my constituency, I would want to buy a Mercedes Benz. I would not want to buy these four-wheel drives that I have, I would want to buy a Mercedes Benz or I would even go in a Vitz. These small cars are very comfortable. It is like you are seated on the floor and you move comfortably. But with the kind of roads that we have… that is why most of these MPs would not buy Range Rover vehicles because that is a luxury car. It would break on our roads. So, we go for these vehicles not because we want, but because of the roads. Someone will ask why we are not pushing hard for the roads. How hard can we push? If you want the roads to be done, then it is not done because of lack of resources. I know I will be told that we are increasing our salaries and that is why there are no resources. How much can you accumulate from these salaries of Members of Parliament even if we were to work for free? Even if you accumulate it for 10 years, would you even do 10 kilometres of tarmac road with the salaries of Members of Parliament? As a country we are using excuses for mediocre performance sometimes by our system or the Government. It is mediocre because we get our priorities wrong in terms of managing our economy. I think going forward; this House has been challenged enough. It is high time we collectively started holding the Executive to serious account for the resources that we vote to these Ministries. We cannot continue voting for money to the Ministries and that money is wasted."
}