GET /api/v0.1/hansard/entries/938361/?format=api
HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 938361,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/938361/?format=api",
"text_counter": 259,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mandera West, EFP",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Yussuf Adan",
"speaker": {
"id": 13420,
"legal_name": "Adan Haji Yussuf",
"slug": "adan-haji-yussuf-2"
},
"content": " Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, thank you for giving me this opportunity. I also rise to support this Bill. I think it is very timely. I sincerely thank the Mover. The kind of life that some of our former Members of Parliament lead out there is very pathetic. Everybody knows that to become a Member of Parliament is not an easy job. You sacrifice and spend all your savings and ultimately, when you come here you spend all your income again trying to support other people. When you leave parliament, you go into abject poverty. It is very unfortunate indeed. I know a lot of them. Apparently, I come from a family that has produced a few former Members of Parliament. They are a big burden to us, particularly in terms of their medical bills and upkeep, because they almost have nothing. Therefore, I particularly pity the young parliamentarians in this House because after you are out of Parliament, you are not employable. Once you are a parliamentarian in Kenya, you rarely get any other opportunity for employment even if you are young or have all the education that is required. Just because you have been a parliamentarian, you are condemned to unemployment. For those young parliamentarians who are now with us, the future is not that bright, hence it is very important to make sure that once you become an Honourable Member, you should continue to be honourable until the D-Day. Otherwise, it is very unfortunate if you become honourable for a short while - maybe for two or three terms - and then you end up losing all your dignity and honourability. That is also one reason why some parliamentarians would not like to retire. You are here for two or three terms, but you want to continue to be a parliamentarian just because you know the future ahead of you is very dull or dark. Therefore, it forces current parliamentarians to continue sticking to that seat for as long as it takes. That means the younger generation cannot replace you that easily. Some of them die very fast after serving in Parliament because of stress and lack of support and being unable to support themselves. They die very fast."
}