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{
    "id": 930564,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/930564/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 281,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Funyula, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr.) Wilberforce Oundo",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13331,
        "legal_name": "Wilberforce Ojiambo Oundo",
        "slug": "wilberforce-ojiambo-oundo-2"
    },
    "content": "It is such a shame that after over 50 years since Independence, we are still seeking external support to provide food for our people. We still have to be presented with pictures of families and households starving and emaciated facing death yet we have a full ministry that should prepare adequately in advance to avoid such embarrassing exposition of our foolishness and unpreparedness. It is, indeed, sad that in the past few months, Kenyans have died of hunger and a senior official in the Government had the audacity or temerity to stand on the podium and deny that people had died. This kind of hypocrisy makes the work of many institutions difficult to operate and achieve their mandate. We should be courageous enough to call a spade a spade and not try to play cheap politics with the livelihoods of our people. As I stand here, there are many stories in the world of countries that are literally deserts, but have managed to provide food for their people. They have even produced for export through mitigating the natural deserts. The source of River Nile is Lake Victoria. I feel sad that we border Lake Victoria and cannot utilise its waters and those of River Nile for large-scale irrigation just because our colonial masters signed on our behalf some abiding agreements that do not allow us to exploit the resources of River Nile and Lake Victoria. Charity begins at home. You would rather fight wars after you have sorted out your place. We must gain courage and ask the relevant ministries to escalate the same to the President and the Deputy President, so that we can review the agreements that probably have curtailed or handicapped us from undertaking large-scale irrigation projects along Lake Victoria and River Nile. Egypt has solved her food problem yet the country is literally a desert. We have Israel the role model, which is literally a desert and has never had a food crisis. We have countries in the Arab world like North Africa who have never imported food or cried like babies looking for food. What is wrong with our country? I do not know what the NDMA is doing. What happened in Turkana or has been reported elsewhere is an indictment of a failed authority. As much as I support the amendments which have been brought here, probably, it is important that we start interrogating their mandate and what has been their achievement. Have they simply gone there to earn salaries and allowances yet they shamelessly insist, pledge or go around saying they are board members or work at the NDMA? It is important for us as Kenyans, when we are given opportunity to preside over our affairs, we do it diligently with patriotism knowing that we are serving ourselves and our people. I want to conclude by raising a serious issue which has been raised in this House severally akin to when we were discussing the Equalisation Fund. For bureaucrats to sit in their offices and assume that “X”, “Y” and “Z” are disaster or drought-prone areas, is extremely out of character. Unless you travel to places you do not understand the basic problems, some issues are obvious. Just because parts of Busia receive adequate rainfall as a result of proximity to Mt. Elgon does not mean the entire Busia County is safe from food disaster. As I speak, rains have failed. Unfortunately, they have also failed in Eastern Uganda. So, my people of Funyula Constituency are going to be food-insufficient. We might have to look for alternative sources of food. Many times, when rains fall on our side, we are assured that our sisters and brothers, who the colonial masters drew imaginary lines and separated us, will provide adequate food. But due to climate change, rains have also failed on the other side. So, it is obvious that in the next few months, we will have a problem of food supply in my constituency. So, it beats all logic for the mandarins to sit in their posh offices and fail 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."
}