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"id": 895102,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. (Prof.) Ongeri",
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"speaker": {
"id": 124,
"legal_name": "Samson Kegeo Ongeri",
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"content": "scheme in Tana River and other areas where we have seen money for major dams squandered away? I sometimes wonder when people make noise. On one hand, you are asking the President to reign in on corrupt people, while in the next move you create obstacles for the President to make a move that will restore the confidence of Kenyans in the fight against corruption. I expected the President to be more forceful on the issue of corruption. However, I take refuge, cover and hope that under the banner, he will deal with the people once they appear before court, that this will be the way forward. We cannot use corruption as a political weapon. People who are known to be corrupt want to use politics to deviate the war against corruption. That is unacceptable. Those of us in this House will continue fighting until the dragon called corruption is nailed. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, they have given subsidies to coffee farmers and my County is a coffee growing area. I look forward to the advance payment that will be given to the farmers though the interest rate of three per cent on the already delivered cherry raises questions. Why must they pay for commodities that they have already delivered and are waiting for payment? That is where the farmers suffer loss and if reviewed, it can be an added advantage. The other area is the electricity connection. I note with tremendous pleasure that there has been an increase in connectivity from two million households to about seven million households. However, connection of light without its use in industries does not add value. It is good to have light because it also helps in security but we need to educate our people to use electricity to power small micro enterprises. I was the first Minister for Technical Training and Applied Technology in 1988. That was the time when nobody wanted to be associated with jua kali activities. We brought a sessional paper in 1988 which sanitised the jua kali sector. When the Bretton Woods institutions withheld the flow of resources to this country between 1992 to1994, we suffered a great deal. However, when we started the jua kali exhibitions, the enterprises grew by leaps and bounds. We had to move some of the traders from Moi Avenue, Biashara Street and River Road to Industrial Area; the manufacturing sector. I am glad that the jua kali and the micro enterprises are contributing 28 per cent of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). That is a high contribution and I look forward to the scheme that has been brought forward; the Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) Credit Guarantee Scheme which will be rolled out in a few weeks‟ time. That will be a formidable Scheme but the credit lines must be defined, they have to be attractive and be able to raise the standards of those micro enterprises to a level that is commensurate with the common standard of living. I note that our GDP is expected to grow beyond six per cent but this is not inclusive because there is a growth in the GDP level of the country but there is also growth of people with poor homes. Poverty levels are increasing. Where is this GDP coming from? That GDP must be coming from people who have money to invest in various manufacturing sectors. I would like to see inclusivity like the one adopted by the Building Bridges Initiative. We should look atthe amount of money that we need to invest on the poor farmer for them to come in line with the rest of the other growing areas. 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."
}