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{
    "id": 939109,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/939109/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 176,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Yatta, Independent",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Charles Kilonzo",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 46,
        "legal_name": "Charles Mutavi Kilonzo",
        "slug": "charles-kilonzo"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker. As a Member of the Committee, I can state that we did a thorough study on the Defence Agreement between Kenya and South Africa. Defence agreements are very important to any country. They, among other things, enable transfer of knowledge, capacity building and sharing of information. This is not the first agreement this country has entered into. To mention but a few, we have an agreement with the East African Defence Protocol, the Western Indian Ocean Maritime Agreement and agreements with Denmark, the United Kingdom, among others. All these agreements are two-way. They are for the benefit of the signatory countries. The Committee confirmed that the Attorney- General had reviewed the agreement and gave his approval. So, in terms of issues of legality, it does not contradict any of our laws. On the benefits, South Africa is a regional economic and military power. Kenya is an economic power on the East African side. We also invest heavily in our defence forces. One of the objectives of this Agreement is to counter-piracy and other maritime safety activities. We know that on the war against drugs and piracy, nations must cooperate. On the war against terror, countries must put their resources together. So, one of the main objectives of this Agreement is to fight those wars. Again, if we are to say this is a middle income economy, we must also industrialise. One of the objectives of this Agreement is to encourage and facilitate industrial cooperation between respective industries in the two countries in the fields of defence and related research development and procurement of defence equipment. We are looking at a situation where in some years to come, not far from now, this country must be able to manufacture its own basic equipment like armoured vehicles and ships. Another benefit of this Agreement is exchange of military information and development of security training. So, without repeating what other Members have said, I urge this House to support the ratification of this Agreement because it is for the benefit of this great nation. I support."
}