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{
"id": 878112,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/878112/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Wetangula",
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"speaker": {
"id": 210,
"legal_name": "Moses Masika Wetangula",
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"content": "annum. If you go to the Abuja Declaration that required that governments in Africa must spend a minimum of 15 per cent of their national budgets and the Maputo Declaration that requires 10 per cent on agriculture, even if you give the counties what we are giving them of the Kshs310 billion, if you take out 15 percent to put on health, there is no county that will put more than Kshs1 billion or Kshs2 billion on the average on health; and yet we are leaving Kshs93 billion in the Ministry of Health, which now is creating a new happy valley in Kenya, where people just enjoy the money in the way they want. That is why I salute Sen. (Eng.) Mahamud, the Senator for Mandera County. This Committee took a firm position that the Kshs6.2 billion inexplicable figures on the Medical Equipment Services Scheme, (MESS) must exit the budget. How do you explain the erratic manner in which this figure has been rising from Kshs3 billion, last year, Kshs9.6 billion and now, it is coming down to Kshs6.2 billion? The explanation for the drop is because of the position that this House took. We believe, and rightly so, that this figure should only find it is way to the budget after thorough investigations to find out how these contracts were negotiated, how they were executed, how they have been funded and the beneficiaries of this. You saw the scandals of supplying hand gloves, hand towels, trays, plastic needles and disposable items as leased. How do you lease something disposable? It is against even common sense. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we will urge this House that when the actual Budget statement gets here, that figure should not be in the budget. Let us precipitate a crisis that will bring people to their senses to answer questions because every time, we have even invited the Ministry they have come here and engaged in very condescending attitude towards the Senate, making it appear as if the Senate does not know what it is doing or saying when public resources are being squandered. Equally important, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, is the issue of agriculture. Agriculture is again close to 95 to 96 percent devolved. We have just finished the debate on maize. Like Sen. Halake said; the Report on maize can pass for the report on any other agriculture sector; whether it is sugar, rice, coffee or tea. The programmes are in a serious problem and yet the national Government is declaring to all and sundry, that they are committed to food security. That is all that they can do. Declaration! There is no overt act to demonstrate that there is a commitment to food security. How do you talk about food security when you are financing a farmer in Mexico and frustrating a famer in Nandi, Uasin Gishu or Makueni? Food security is not about a supermarket economy. It is about enabling Kenyans to have that grain in their home that even in the absence of earning – and there are families in this country that do not earn Kshs1,000 in a year. They are many in the areas that we represent. However, if they have got food in their homes, which they have grown and stored, they have security. A Maasai family would drain milk from their cows and make ugali from the maize that they are keeping, eat and sleep. That is food security. However, now when you cannot enable the farmer even grow the food, what food security are we talking about? I just hope that the President in these very good ideas knows that there are people sitting in public offices that are busy engaging a reverse gear on virtually everything that he wants to do. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}