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{
    "id": 92919,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/92919/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 282,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Shakeel",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 140,
        "legal_name": "Ahmed Shakeel Shabbir Ahmed",
        "slug": "shakeel-shabbir"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the Motion. The first thing that I would like to say is that I am still lost why we have two Ministries of Health. There is one for preventive care and public health. That is something that needs to be sorted out. Under Vision 2030, healthcare is the main pillar. I am very pleased that the Minister has been able to ably put forward a Budget which has been fully met. That shows you how much good work and thought has been put into the Budget. There are many things that I feel the Minister of Public Health and Sanitation has been burdened with. They have been burdened by years of neglect. They have also been burdened with the fact that health centres and clinics all over the country that are under the responsibility of the local authorities have all gone to the dogs. I think the Ministry has a very large and difficult task to have them reinstated. I urge the Minister to put forward an amendment to the Bill so that health centres can revert back to the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation. They have the ability and the people on the ground. In any case, most of the health services and health centres that are working in this country are actually under the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation. It has actually taken very serious interest in them. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to suggest that HIV/Aids, though a major pandemic is no longer the emergency that it was ten years ago. As such, the budget for it which is under the Office of the President should be consolidated and brought under the Ministry of Public Health. That is where the systems are and the money can be properly accounted for. We do not want to hear people having those suspicious workshops all over the country and losing millions of shillings whereas the Ministry needs every single cent. This Ministry must work very well and closely with the Ministry of Water and Irrigation. Water, sanitation and public health go hand in hand. I was a mayor and a chairman of a certain hospital for over ten years. Actually, most of my life, I have been involved in hospitals. To date, I have not seen good collaborative work between the Ministry of Water and Irrigation and the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation. This is something that we need to work on very well. The Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation now needs to be more forceful. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to speak about the state of affairs in Kisumu and I know that Nairobi and Mombasa are the same. We have rubbish piled up in the centre of the cities. There are diseases and lack of sanitation and the Public Health Office is doing nothing. I think the Minister needs now to get away from the watchdog to the bulldog. I would be very pleased to support her as she closes down the local authorities. The Ministry has that power. If the local authority is not observing the public health requirements, then you can close it down. I can see a former Provincial Medical Officer (PMO) sitting here and he is now an Assistant Minister. This has been a problem. Finally, the issue of Kshs1 billion for building - I presume that is to do with the ESP. I want to be very clear on the issue of ambulances. The Minister should be very careful."
}