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{
    "id": 937329,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/937329/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 227,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kitui Central, WDM-K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Makali Mulu",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1955,
        "legal_name": "Benson Makali Mulu",
        "slug": "benson-makali-mulu"
    },
    "content": "In terms of qualification, because I have looked at the names, you realise that the people proposed to be commissioners are qualified in terms of experience and academics. What I like most is that there is a mix in terms of the elderly and the young ones. The elderly will provide the experience and the young ones will provide the energy required to move the Commission. The other encouraging thing is the fact that our colleagues who have been in this House in the past have managed to get into this list. We have three of them. I believe with their experience as politicians, they will do justice to what is expected of the Commission. Even though we are talking about regional balancing, an attempt has been made, but I think there are still gaps. Since this is a Commission which is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that there is national cohesion and integration, their job is well cut for them. Why am I saying that? There are scenarios in this country which will make this Commission awake throughout. These issues will make them not sleep. I want to make a list of the issues that I think will make the Commission not sleep. The first issue is that of equal opportunities. As a country, we are expected to make sure that Kenyans have access to equal opportunities and when opportunities arise, every Kenyan is given an opportunity to participate in the opportunities. Currently, if you analyse the way opportunities are being shared in this country, it is obvious that there is room for improvement. These are the issues Hon. Otiende was raising. By design, you end up having some regions being overrepresented in some of the commissions. When this Commission is appointed by the President, it must sit and look at the issue of whether Kenyans are provided with equal opportunities. The other critical issue is that of resource distribution and the way our resources have been shared. The Commission will have to look at whether we are realising equitable sharing of resources. Mark my words, I am not talking about equality, but about equitable sharing of resources. This is an area which should take a lot of the commissioners’ time, so that as Kenyans, we have a sense of belonging to this country. In a situation where there is skewed allocation of national resources, Kenyans cannot sit and just assume things are okay. So, for us to realise national cohesion and integration, the area of resource distribution must be looked at. The other important issue which the Commission must address effectively is that of leadership in this country or the Speaker and leaders in this House. I think this Commission will have a lot of work to do starting with this House which is led by the Speaker, Hon. Muturi. I think this House is one of the sources of problems in this country. We have Hon. Members here who do not believe what the Bible says. The Bible says that the tongue is a very small part of the body, but it can destroy. We have Hon. Members here who think after they have spoken. I am sorry to say that. I think time has come for this Commission to make sure that those people who think after they have spoken do not take advantage of that, but are put in the right place. For this country to realise national cohesion and integration, Members of Parliament must behave honourably. The other point, which should be considered by this Commission is that of ethnic mobilisation. This Commission, once appointed, will have to come up with very clear strategies on how to make sure that Kenyans are not mobilised on ethnic grounds, so that leaders do not take advantage and start mobilising their communities in terms of ethnic perspective. We want 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."
}