Rt. Hon.(Eng) Raila Amolo Odinga

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 551 to 560 of 1732.

• 15 Jun 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this is a very serious issue and the House needs to listen patiently! It is in the interest of this country that there is transparency and accountability in management of public affairs. view
• 15 Jun 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I was saying that I listened to the challenges that students face, at that highly consultative meeting at Precious Blood School, and the solutions they proposed. I also shared with them my conviction that education opens the door for a bright future for them and for our nation. That view is shared by all of us in this House and this country. I was moved by the patience, enthusiasm, excitement and hope that these young Kenyans showed. Many of our schools do not have toilets with decent sanitary conditions. There is lack essential books, libraries, and ... view
• 15 Jun 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for some time, since 2009, our development partners have raised concerns about suspected fraud at KESSEP. It now turns out that close to Kshs4.2 billion may have been lost in just four years in the education sector project. A very large number of officials was involved in several irregular activities such as making payments without supporting documents, irregular banking practices, improper withdrawals under imprests and facilitation payments. Moreover, in many cases, single individuals irregularly received millions of shillings, some up to Kshs10 million as inputs. It is even more painful because, according to the audit report, ... view
• 15 Jun 2011 in National Assembly: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Ministry of Finance to detect the fraud. There was apparently a systematic and, even a co-ordinated effort to steal the Free Primary Education (FPE) money and the future of our children! The frustrations run deep, far and wide. The United Kingdom (UK) Secretary in charge of Development Assistance wrote to me twice stressing that the UK would like to increase financial assistance to Kenya, but was unable to put its monies through Kenya’s public financial systems largely because of this education project case. The World Bank, together with DFID and CIDA suspended the ... view
• 15 Jun 2011 in National Assembly: Finally, I want to appeal to hon. Members to come to terms with the fact that the key to ending systemic corruption in this country is in the laws we are beginning to implement. Our Constitution today demands the highest standards of leadership and integrity of officers. This is what we must uphold. The steps we are taking to reform our Judiciary, and which I hope will be reflected in all other key public institutions appear, to me, to hold the future for our country with regard to corruption. This House, together with the Government, has the responsibility to the ... view
• 15 Jun 2011 in National Assembly: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. view
• 15 Jun 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Member of Parliament for Ikolomani – and I have not had an opportunity to congratulate him on his re-election - talked about the staff who had been prosecuted last year. He wanted to know what had transpired since last year and now, and what will be done to other officers whom he has named, and who were directly responsible for disbursement. I have said that people must take responsibility at every level. None will be spared. All those people will be made to answer for crimes, if any, that they may have committed in this ... view
• 15 Jun 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the hon. Member for Makadara is in one of those moods that he, sometimes, gets involved in. However, I think it is just a jest. Hon. Mbadi wanted to know why the Government has taken long to act. The wheels of justice, sometimes, grind slowly but, eventually, get there. The Report, yes, was ready last year in November, but it was only released the day before yesterday. I would like the hon. Member to know that we had discussions with our development partners, particularly with the Vice-President of the World Bank, the day before yesterday, and ... view
• 15 Jun 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, I know it for a fact because I know how many Members of Parliament sometimes approach me when Members of their communities are being subjected to disciplinary action for having committed what would be a crime and say, “Please, spare this young man. This fellow is very good. He comes from a very poor family---.” Hon. Members say all sorts of things. Let us rise above petty politics. It makes the work of the Government very difficult. All of us come from different communities. There is no Kenyan who does not have a tribe. We all belong ... view
• 15 Jun 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the hon. Member could never be further from the truth. While in Kitui on that day, I was launching a water project. The people who were there had suffered from shortage of water for a long time. You could have seen the tears coming from the eyes of the women who were there when they saw water. Then I told them: “I congratulated the Minister for making water available to you people of Kitui.” That was not ethnicity. In any case, I do not come from the same tribe as the Minister for Water and Irrigation. ... view