HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 960414,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/960414/?format=api",
"text_counter": 225,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. M. Kajwang’",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 13162,
"legal_name": "Moses Otieno Kajwang'",
"slug": "moses-otieno-kajwang"
},
"content": "that created the Internet that we enjoy today. Why can we not, instead of keeping our disciplined forces in a constant state of waiting for war and aggressors, engage them in other nation building activities? Madam Temporary Speaker, I am talking about engineering feats. There are things that we have seen even in the counties. We recently went to Kwale County, where we found that they have been trying to build a stadium for the last four years. It is not rocket science to build a stadium, to plant grass and to have some benches, where fans can sit and cheer their teams. Year in, year out, budgets are being committed but are not utilized; they are instead being diverted. Consequently, four years down the line, they are still talking about a vision. If we took the NYS and deployed them there for six months, I am pretty sure that they will complete that job. We have even seen private contractors quoting astronomical figures to do civil works at the ports. However, when we bring in members of the NYS or the disciplined forces, they quote a far more reasonable amount, which then provides value for money for public resources. Madam Temporary Speaker, our neighbors in Tanzania have now resorted to using the expertise in their disciplined forces to get some of the public projects going on. They have realized that if you leave it to some contractors, you will have all sorts of cowboys whose job, responsibility and desire is to inflate prices, and those projects will never see the light of day. Let us engage our disciplined forces so that by the time they retire or opt to leave, they have some hands-on and real life skills. They should reach a level of integration where they will not find it difficult to live with other people. We have all the professionals in the disciplined forces, such as doctors, engineers and lawyers. Let us engage them in some important aspects of nation building. That way, they will integrate better and be accepted. More importantly, Madam Temporary Speaker, is the psychological effect of warfare and activities that those men and women do, on behalf of this country. Many of us will shudder at the sight of blood. Many men do not go to the theatres where their wives deliver, because of issues of blood. Indeed, there are men who shut down business four or five times a month because of issues of blood within the domestic setup. However, these are people who live with blood, and whose business and day-to-day endeavours is about bloodshed. They do that not as an end, but as a means to ensuring that our borders are protected and we are kept safe. That has psychological implications. Today we woke up to the news that a member of the police force killed a little boy in one of the slums here in Nairobi in an unprovoked situation. That story also has details of other members of the disciplined and security forces, some of whom have had to take their lives out of frustration. Some have even taken the lives of others as a result of poor psychological grounding. It is, therefore, important that even as we talk about mental health in accordance with the Bill that was brought here by Sen. Kasanga, we need to ensure that we have dedicated units to cater for members of our disciplined and security forces, because any other lesser person might not be able to survive what they go through. I want to finalize by hailing the professionalism with which our disciplined forces have conducted themselves since Independence. If you read the story of Africa, the military and disciplined forces have been involved and have been a factor in the politics The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}