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{
    "id": 896514,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/896514/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 94,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kiminini, FORD-K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr.) Chris Wamalwa",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1889,
        "legal_name": "Chrisantus Wamalwa Wakhungu",
        "slug": "chrisantus-wamalwa-wakhungu"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I rise to support the Address by His Excellency the President. When His Excellency the President was in this House, I was away in South America but I followed it through YouTube . I was very impressed particularly on three important things that he addressed. This is in line with Article 132 of the Constitution. I want to talk briefly about the international obligations. Kenya does not exist in isolation. We know very well that there are many treaties that Kenya has been a signatory to. We know that in line with Article 2 (6) of the Constitution, the ratification of treaties makes them part and parcel of our laws. In the last Parliament, I served in the Departmental Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations. There are so many treaties. I want to salute the current Departmental Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations. I know it has moved with speed to expedite matters of ratification. One of the goals of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is about global partnership. We do not exist in isolation. We must try to partner with other institutions and countries. I salute His Excellency the President because from his comments, he said that our relationship with other countries is strong. Apart from the international obligations, another issue was about the security status. When I went through the Address, the President indicated that the security in this country is strong. We know very well that the cardinal responsibility of the Government is to provide security to Kenyans and their property. Just recently, two Cuban doctors were kidnapped somewhere in Mandera. It is very unfortunate. Much as His Excellency the President talked about the issue of security in this country being strong, those people who came to provide healthcare are yet to be found. How I wish measures were put in place to ensure that those Cuban doctors who were kidnapped can be found with immediate effect. On obligation three, the President is supposed to come to this House to give measures towards the realisation of Article 10 of the Constitution, which talks about the principle of governance and the core values of this country. This is the part that issues of corruption fall. We know very well that 30 per cent of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) goes down through issues of corruption. Corruption cannot be won through blame games. Corruption is a collaborative effort that all the arms of Government must work together. I also want to note that he also talked about the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI). We must work mutually in this country, as one team. How I wish this was cascaded down to the counties, including the local level so that we can move ahead as one nation. When it comes to corruption, we have institutions that are mandated by the Constitution to fight it. We are talking about the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the courts. One important thing that the President mentioned is that we are not going to fight corruption in the wrong way. We must do so as per the rule of law. That is very important. The principle of innocent until proven guilty is highlighted clearly in the Constitution. That is very critical. Those institutions are helping in the fight against corruption. For instance, the DCI must do investigations so that when it comes to The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}