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{
    "id": 989454,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/989454/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 184,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Suba South, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. John Mbadi",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 110,
        "legal_name": "John Mbadi Ng'ong'o",
        "slug": "john-mbadi"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I also thank the Chair of the Departmental Committee on Health for that statement. This morning, I raised the issue of accountability which is very important. That is a very significant responsibility of this House. I am happy that the Committee is trying to address this. My concern is: currently, there is no problem in this country and the whole world that is bigger than this issue of COVID. It is my request that we can make it a tradition going forward... It is unfortunate that we will adjourn soon. We can get even 30 minutes every week and have the Chair address single areas in particular so that these Members can interrogate the issues well. I am sure you listened to the Chair. She talked about the capacity to test 37,000 Kenyans per day. This is the same thing we have been hearing from the Cabinet Secretary. When you see the figures that he reads every day of testing about 600 people, there is a total disconnect between what we are being told that we are capable of doing and what is actually happening. Most of us are not professionals in health matters but we would like to know what it is that we can test at 37,000 but manage to test only 500 people. On the issue of accountability, it is not the mistake of Kenyans to speculate about the Ksh40 billion. It is the communication from the Ministry. If the Ministry comes out and speaks something that the Government has spent Ksh 40 billion, if Kenyans tomorrow start tweeting and putting figures in social media, they are not to blame. Much as we have praised the Ministry for doing an excellent job in trying to help in the fight against this virus… Hon. Members, we must agree that the Ministry of Health has tried under the circumstances. However, they now need to step it up and start communicating properly other matters that are of concern to the people. Hon. Speaker, I want to confine myself to the Statement so that I do not digress to Hon. Duale’s Motion which is coming shortly thereafter, and just ask that if possible we allocate time to the Chair of Health every sitting day. We would ask the Chair to focus on a particular area of concern to Members and address it. If today we talked about testing and the fight, the following sitting we can talk about the expenditure, and another time we can address the preparedness of the counties. Hon. Speaker, I think God loves us. I would tell you, if this COVID-19 left Nairobi and Mombasa properly and landed on some of our counties such as mine, I am not sure whether my people would survive. So, this is something that we should not take lightly because it may just be a matter of time. I thank you, Hon. Speaker."
}