{"count":1608389,"next":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=405","previous":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=403","results":[{"id":4031,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/4031/?format=json","text_counter":310,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Mr. Imanyara","speaker_title":"The Temporary Deputy Speaker","speaker":{"id":22,"legal_name":"Gitobu Imanyara","slug":"gitobu-imanyara"},"content":" Hon. Kivuti, you have been allowed two minutes of the Minister’s time."},{"id":4032,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/4032/?format=json","text_counter":311,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Mr. Kivuti","speaker_title":"","speaker":{"id":55,"legal_name":"Lenny Maxwell Kivuti","slug":"lenny-kivuti"},"content":"Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I stand to support the Motion. I also thank Dr. Otichillo for bringing this matter up. When we talk of geo-spatial information, we are literally talking about land information. Land information system in Kenya is what would solve a myriad of problems in this country. We have 24 laws relating to land in this country and they are not all coherent. In those laws, land is controlled in different ways. It is only through the establishment of a proper Geographic Information System (GIS) that we can harness all the tenets of the five dimensions of geo-spatial management in this country. We can actually do big business in geo-spatial information. How? If you look at the tax regime in Kenya, a big percentage like 30 per cent is collected by local authorities compared to what is collected from all the other businesses that are actually geo-spatial. All the taxes are geo-spatial related and the local authorities only collect about 30 per cent. We can use the GIS to collect taxes for the central Government and the local authorities. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Ministry of Lands could be a controller. This is because when setting up this system, if we do not include the public private partnership (PPP), the system may not work. Why? To control a GIS requires a lot of integrity, and that is what has been lacking in the lands offices. When you bring in the private sector, you will have the players who bring in the data, which is now locked up in wherever place. We will then let the Government be the regulator. I wish we could have this system in place, at least, in the next six months. If we do it the PPP way, the Government will not need to spend any money to establish the system. The infrastructure for this system is already in place in the Ministry of Information and Communications. We have already confirmed that with the Minister. With those many remarks, I support."},{"id":4033,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/4033/?format=json","text_counter":312,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Dr. Shaban","speaker_title":"The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Development","speaker":{"id":139,"legal_name":"Naomi Namsi Shaban","slug":"naomi-shaban"},"content":" Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. First of all, I want to congratulate Dr. Otichilo for bringing this Motion. I do believe the time has come for us to embrace geo- information. That is the only way forward for us. The Government has already embraced this concept. In almost all our primary and secondary schools, our children are studying Information Technology (IT). We have equipped our schools with computers. I believe we are moving in the right direction by promoting e-learning in our schools and other learning institutions. I do agree with all my colleagues who have spoken before me on the issue of information technology. We need to embrace this technology because it is useful in many areas, be they in health, land administration and management, gender development, security and safety systems. I just want to touch on a few issues before I conclude my contribution. The prevalence of diseases in our country would have been dealt with better if we embraced this technology. We could map areas where these diseases are prevalent and help our people to take the necessary precaution. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, my colleagues have spoken passionately about land administration. Some of us who do not come from where the issue of squatters is a big problem may not understand this. Land issue is very emotive and we need to address it seriously if we have to move ahead in development. Currently, we have professional squatters because of lack of land administration system in this country. These are people who move from area to another. Everywhere they go, they are resettled. Because of lack of information, they keep on running from one place to the other looking for land to settle. If Government wants to resettle people, with the help of this system, it is easy to get their names. We can only deal with this problem if we have information system on land management. The other day we saw the Permanent Secretary looking for files which had moulds in the Ministry of Lands. Most of the officers were not amused because they were the ones who actually hid those files. It is important for us to embrace this technology to deal with such issues. I would like to address myself to tourism industry in this country. The branding of our country is so important. We cannot talk of how successful our tourism industry is if we do not talk about branding our country. There are countries with less attraction sites or animals but they are doing better than us. Why? It is because they know how to market their country. This can only be done if we aggressively market our country. We have to avail information about our country so that we attract more tourists. This country is rich in natural resources. However, this information is not available to many people because of lack of information system in this country. Most of our people and even tourists do not know what is available in Kenya. If we embraced this technology, we would go far in marketing our country as a tourist destination. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, our air transport is not one of the best in the world. The other day, we were stranded in Marsabit for about three hours. We were on our way to North Horr Constituency. The pilot told us he could not land in Mikona. In fact, he took three hours finding information on that airstrip. The public officer who accompanied us assured him that, that airstrip had been rehabilitated and that we could land there, but he could not believe him. If we had this technology in place, we would not have taken that long. I did not blame him, he was trying to find information which he did not have. Finally, he had to overfly the place to see and confirm for himself that he could land. So, we landed in Mikona in North Horr Constituency. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have a Kenya National Bureau of Statistics in our country. At the moment, they have already started working on this information system. I do agree that we need to computerize all Government departments so that we share information. I will want to ask Dr. Otichilo to bear with us. We might not need that secretariat he was talking about because it is already in place. The Government will table a policy paper on the Floor of the House so that we embrace this technology. We do not need to duplicate our departments. The departments are there; they just need to be strengthened. I beg to support."},{"id":4034,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/4034/?format=json","text_counter":313,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Dr. Otichilo","speaker_title":"","speaker":{"id":131,"legal_name":"Wilber Ottichilo Khasilwa","slug":"wilber-ottichilo"},"content":"Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. First, I want to take this opportunity to thank the Government, particularly the Minister for supporting this Motion. Madam Minister, I am very happy for what you have said and for the commitment you have said that already the process is in place to put this infrastructure in place. I, therefore, hope that you will move with speed and have this data infrastructure in place. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, this country has never moved forward because we have not taken data and information as the most important ingredients in planning and decision making. We have allocated so much money to various programmes, building schools, roads and health facilities. However, we have forgotten the most important ingredient to planning is data and information. Most of the programmes we have been involved in are donor-funded or locally funded. They have not succeeded because of poor planning. How can we plan without proper information? That is why you will find that most of our projects, even at the constituency level, are not based on information. They are based on personal interests. We want this country to get into the culture of using information as a planning tool in the new constitutional order. As we move towards the county governments you realize as of now the counties have no information. As we chose the governors and the administrators of the counties, we will not be able to come up with a solid programme of development unless we set up a data infrastructure that will describe the potentials of various counties. We need to ask ourselves: What can these counties do? What is available or what is lacking? We need to start to build these data infrastructures, so that as we get into the county governments, we will be able to use information for rational decision-making. We, as a country, must move away from decision-making based on personal interests or personal whims. We should now go to a planning process where we will use data as barometer. Data is the tool that will show us where we should be going. The establishment of a GIS will solve this problem. This is a technology that has been developed very well in the world. In Kenya, we already have so many young people who are already trained in this system. So, we are not saying that this is a technology that we will build afresh. It is technology that is with us. Therefore, what we, as a Government need is to come up with is a policy. We must say that data is as good as building schools and health facilities for our people. Information as all of us know is power and without information you can do very little. Therefore, we need to build an infrastructure of information so that it can be accessible to everybody. As per Article 35 of our Constitution, everybody is now allowed access to information. We shall not be able to access information if the current information is not accessible. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, if you try to get information on anything, most of the information in various Ministries and departments is in files. You can never get access to it. We must remove this information from the files and put it on a computer- based system. We must put it on a web port so that anybody can have access to information everywhere in the world. If we do this, it is going to improve the marketability of this country. Most investors want to invest in this country but they cannot invest because most of the time they do not have information on this country. They have to come to Kenya to look for this information. With this system, investors will have access to information wherever they are in the world and they will know what opportunities this country is offering in terms of investment. They will come here knowing exactly what it is they can invest in and who they can contact. This is a very important system and many countries that are now developing very fast, be it in the Far East, this is a system they have installed and they are considering information as a major national asset. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, my friend and brother Dr. Khalwale here talked about corruption. Let me tell you, we shall not eliminate corruption in this county unless we have information and data available on everything that we are doing in this country. If the information is readily available and everybody can access it, corruption is going to be very difficult to practise. Setting up this information will create a transparent system where everybody can access information and monitor what is going on. Whatever is going on, be it at the constituency level or wherever, people will be able to access it. Now, we can get this information even on mobile phone system. A GIS system can work on a mobile phone system. So people will be able to access information wherever they are. Therefore, they can make decisions wherever they are. Members of Parliament, decision makers whether in Europe or wherever, will be able to conduct the activities and businesses of their Ministries because they will have access to information to make decisions very fast. Finally, this system, if installed is going to improve knowledge creation in this country and knowledge management. Knowledge is now a major commodity of the 21st Century. With the GIS system created and with all this information available, research and development is going to thrive as a business. Our youth are going to get into creation of information as a business. They will use information to create employment. Therefore, information will turn from being a commodity that can only be used for decision making to a commodity that can create employment. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am very happy that most of the Members who have contributed on this Motion have supported it. I am particularly very impressed and happy with the Minister for supporting this Motion and for committing that they are going to bring a Motion on the Floor of this House so that we can discuss it and this process can commence. I am also happy that she has already indicated that the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics has already embarked on this process. It is vetting the team so that they can work on this. With those many remarks, I want to thank everybody who has contributed on this Motion."},{"id":4035,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/4035/?format=json","text_counter":314,"type":"scene","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"(Question put and agreed to)"},{"id":4036,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/4036/?format=json","text_counter":315,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Mr. Imanyara","speaker_title":"The Temporary Deputy Speaker","speaker":{"id":22,"legal_name":"Gitobu Imanyara","slug":"gitobu-imanyara"},"content":" Next Order! Yes, Dr. Khalwale, please, proceed! Who will be responding for the Ministry of Agriculture? Mr. Kareke Mbiuki you are here!"},{"id":4037,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/4037/?format=json","text_counter":316,"type":"heading","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"WAIVING OF TEA FACTORIES’ LOANS"},{"id":4038,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/4038/?format=json","text_counter":317,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Dr. Khalwale","speaker_title":"","speaker":{"id":170,"legal_name":"Bonny Khalwale","slug":"bonny-khalwale"},"content":"Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg for your indulgence that before I move this Motion, this is the first Motion I am moving since the just ended by-election in Kitutu Masaba. Allow me to use this opportunity to congratulate Mr. Walter Nyambati and more importantly to congratulate the voters. This is especially the voters of Odiado Ward in Funyula who overwhelmingly voted for New FORD(K), the voters of Matayo’s who overwhelmingly voted for New FORD(K) and the voters of Matulo Ward in Webuye who overwhelmingly voted for New FORD(K). We thank them. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the following Motion:- THAT, aware that tea farming is the leading foreign exchange earner in Kenya and that Kenya’s tea is the most popular the world over for its consistent high quality---"},{"id":4039,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/4039/?format=json","text_counter":318,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Mr. Imanyara","speaker_title":"The Temporary Deputy Speaker","speaker":{"id":22,"legal_name":"Gitobu Imanyara","slug":"gitobu-imanyara"},"content":" Just a moment please, I want to follow what you are reading. Please, start afresh!"},{"id":4040,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/4040/?format=json","text_counter":319,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Dr. Khalwale","speaker_title":"","speaker":{"id":170,"legal_name":"Bonny Khalwale","slug":"bonny-khalwale"},"content":"Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the following Motion:- THAT, aware that tea farming is the leading foreign exchange earner in Kenya and that Kenya’s tea is the most popular the world over for its consistent high quality and considering that most tea factories owe colossal amounts of money in terms of loans to various financial institutions in the country, concerned that these loans impact more heavily on the small scale tea farmers who contribute highly towards tea export, concerned further that, if these loans are not either waived or written off tea production may be compromised both in quality and quantity thereby impacting negatively on our GDP, this House urges the Government to take over all the outstanding loans owed to the respective financial institutions by the tea factories so as to spur economic growth, sustain the tea quality and quantity and further make the small scale tea farming more profitable."}]}