HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 90848,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/90848/?format=api",
"text_counter": 141,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Eng. Gumbo",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 24,
"legal_name": "Nicholas Gumbo",
"slug": "nicholas-gumbo"
},
"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to support this Motion. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, allow me to start supporting this Motion by narrating a story we were told when we were young, of some mythical town in a rural area somewhere. We were told that one day a stranger appeared in that town and asked the people of the town to go into their town hall, whereupon he showed them a video of how their town would look like if they chose development. They were shown very wide highways, high-speed fibre connections, electricity in every house, but alternatively, they were told that they could choose to live in their town as it was. There was a caveat that if they chose to live in Town A with the improvements, then they would have to forego food, but if they chose to live in the town as it was, then they would be assured of food forever. Your guess is as good as mine; they voted to live in their town as it was without improvements with the guarantee that there would be food forever. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in a way, the situation in Kenya today reflects that mythical town. If you look at the tenets of Vision 2030, sometimes you wonder if we may not be approaching things upside down. This is because Kenya actually is attempting to be a middle-income economy before it secures the food needs of her people. In a way, it is a fallacy. All the developed countries of the world; whether it is Germany, Japan or even the middle income economies like Mexico, do not routinely hold out begging bowls to supplement the food needs of their people. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in my view, therefore, as the first step towards becoming a middle income economy, we must of necessity involve securing the food needs of our people. For me, the mandate of this Ministry ought to be collapsed into a single statement; “to ensure every Kenyan is guaranteed a full dinner plate wherever they are daily, and that all Kenyans wherever they are in Kenya sleep on a full belly.” To me, that is what ought to be the mandate of this Ministry. Of course, the Ministry, through the new Minister, is trying, but a lot more needs to be done. We know how Kenya was when agriculture was thriving. The rural-urban migration and crime was low. Generally, even the remittances from towns to people in the rural areas were lower. There are so many families in Kenya today who can only survive through remittances from their relatives in town. I think the Minister ought to look seriously at how to reverse this trend. It is not going to be an easy thing to do. It is a tall order for sure, but I know she has the goodwill. I have generally appreciated what she has done in the short time she has been at the Ministry. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, having said that, I think supplementary inter-sectoral interventions also need to be done. We know for a fact that where we have improved transport, the cost of food goes down. It is definitely cheaper to transport food from Mombasa by rail than by road. We should not also shy away from it. We have vulnerable members in our society who need protection. We passed a Bill here to protect the vulnerable members from essential goods only – we are not asking for control of everything – and, therefore, my request and appeal to the President using the Floor of this House would be for him to sign that Bill. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, finally, it is true, of course, that we need fertilizer and chemicals to supplement our agricultural output. But sometimes it is good to think outside the box. Allow me to use the Floor of this House to invite the Minister to Rarieda Constituency to see for herself a demonstration plot which does not use fertilizer or chemicals, but farmers are harvesting 40 bags of maize per acre. I think these are the alternatives we need for our country. Madam Minister, I am asking you to take me seriously so that you see this and we can replicate it in different parts of the country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those remarks, I beg to support."
}