On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I beg the Chair's direction to lay on the Table of the House a petition signed by 88 hon. Members of Parliament requesting the House Business Committee (HBC) to give priority to certain matters.

It is not meant to be a petition to the Chair. It is meant to be a petition from members of public which you could give on their behalf. However, be that as it may, if you really wish to do what you are doing, there are better ways to do it. I advise that you give such a communication to the office of the Speaker with the signatures you are purpoting to have received. Surely, you cannot seek to submit your petition in the manner you are requesting the Chair to do. So, I advise that let us get this petition submitted in the office rather than on the Floor of the House.

Much obliged, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. However, perhaps, some direction is needed because I went through the Standing Orders and I found out that this kind of petition does not seem to fit in any of the instances captured therein. I stand guided and I will go through the office of the Clerk. It is only that I did not see this kind of situation in the Standing Orders and so I thought that if I raised this matter on the Floor of the House, perhaps, it would be taken seriously the way it should be.

I want to assure you that if you follow the steps I have described to you, we will give it due attention.

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir.

On that matter, no! I have already given a ruling on it and hon. Eng. Muriuki has already obliged to do what I have said.

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. It concerns---

Order, Mr. Bifwoli! Order! Will you, please, sit down? Next Order! 1556

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to ask the the Minister for Energy the following Question by Private Notice. (a) Is the Minister aware that there has been power failure in Matuu Town and its environs virtually every night over the last eight months?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply. (a) Yes, I am aware that there has been intermittent power failures in Matuu Town and its environs over the last one month or so. (b) Yes, I admit that farmers and butchers may have lost produce occasioned by these load sheddings. (c) The circuit breaker which controls Kitui/Mwingi 33KV overhead line that supplies power to Matuu Town faulted on 25th April, 2006, at Kindaruma. This necessitated temporary transfer of the Kitui line to Kamburu whose capacity is 7.4MVA, and also supplies Kanyekine and Kyeni feeder lines. The transformer at Kamburu could not comfortably accommodate this additional load at the same time, especially during the evening peak power demand period. As a result, the three feeder lines were being load-shed alternately in the evenings. It is this load shedding which caused power interruptions that affected Matuu Town on a regular basis. (d) The faulty circuit breaker on the Kitui/Mwingi 33KV line has since been replaced and power supply to Matuu Town and its environs is now stable. The problem that occasioned interruptions has been sorted out since 9th June, 2006. Given this situation, this Question, therefore, may have been overtaken by events.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, indeed, the Assistant Minister has done some work with regard to that problem and I appreciate it. However, could he consider compensating farmers and butchers in the area who have lost a lot of money as a result of the intermittent power failures?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we are not aware of any claim that has been made. However, if anyone comes up with one, then we shall deal with it accordingly.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is good that the Assistant Minister has acted on this case. However, could he consider the cry of the populace about this issue of the increment of power charges under the guise of the increased Roads Maintenance Fuel Levy which was announced in the Budget Speech. We know that the charges that they want to increase should be done after a study has been carried out by the Electricity Regulatory Board (ERB). Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir---

Mr. Midiwo, this is Question Time and not debating time. Now, you are introducing a very new phenomenon in this matter. Could you, please, ask your question now?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, could the Assistant Minister, on behalf of Kenyans, June 22, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1557 stop the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) from increasing power charges as from 1st July, 2006?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, there are prevailing circumstances and conditions that have led to the increase of power charges. Therefore, it is only good that the hon. Member asks a comprehensive Quesion and we shall tell him why we are doing so.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, power failure is not being experienced in Yatta Constituency alone, but all over the country. Could the Assistant Minister consider alerting the public whenever there is such a problem so that we may be able to plan? In my consituency, we have power failure every Sunday. Could he, please, assist the public on this matter?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have been doing so and we are going to improve on that.

Last question, Mr. C. Kilonzo!

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have no further question.

Thank you. Next Question by the Member of Parliament for Mosop Constituency! UNRECEIPTED COLLECTION OF FEES BY OLMAROROI SCHOOL HEAD TEACHER

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to ask the Minister for Education the following Question by Private Notice. (a) Is the Minister aware that the head teacher of Olmaroroi Secondary School in Kaptich Location, Kipkaren Division of Mosop Constituency, collects fees from parents but does not issue receipts for the same? (b) Is he further aware that the school does not operate any bank account for school fees collections? (c) How much money in form of school fees has he collected since being posted to the school and how were these funds used?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply. (a) I do not have any evidence to show that the head teacher of Olmaroroi Secondary School in Mosop Constituency collects fees from parents, but does not issue receipts. However, preliminary investigations from our Ministry since we got this query show that students who pay fees are being issued with receipts. (b) There is information from the District Education Office (DEO) that the school operates a bank account. There is a bank account number with the National Bank of Kenya, Kapsabet Branch. (c) We have the amounts that have been collected, and the receipt numbers accordingly. This money has been used for personal emoluments, salary for board of governors (BOG) employees, local transport and travel, activity fees, sport expenses, school equipment and lunch programmes for students and so on. Nevertheless, given the concerns of the hon. Member, we have instituted investigations, and if we know anything more than we do, we shall act accordingly.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I attended a church service adjacent to the school on 11th June, 2006. Many members of the community turned up for the service. The chief and two assistant chiefs of the area were also present. Many parents who have children in the school said that although they pay fees, they are never issued with receipts. That is as far as I can give evidence. But, suffice to say, why does the school not have a board of governors (BOG)? If it is 1558 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 22, 2006 there, could the Assistant Minister tell us who the members are?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, first of all, the hon. Member says that he was with the parents and they complained that they pay fees, but they are not issued with receipts. I think it is also our responsibility to educate our parents not to pay fees if they are not issued with a receipt for the payment. If they do not do so, they are also to blame. They should not just come and complain. We have many Kenyans, including parents, who complain after meetings about fees increment by the principals of schools. People must complain right away. So, it is also our responsibility to educate them. On the issue of the BOG, this is not part of the Question that I was asked. I will check on it and ensure that there is a BOG later on.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Assistant Minister says that the school operates a bank account. It is possible that the account could have been opened as soon as the Question was raised. When was it opened?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Question asks: "Is the Minister aware that the school does not operate a bank account?" The school gave me a bank account number. However, I did not ask when the account was opened.

Dr. Mwiria, that is a legitimate question. It is possible that after that school realized that the question had been raised, it could have opened an account and given you the number. So, I think it is fair enough for you to later check and confirm that this account had been existing prior to the Question.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the reason I am almost certain is that, first of all, we sent money to the school. Secondly, the receipts of the money given. There is money that was collected in 2004. Certainly, the school had an account. But I will check the date. No big deal!

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is not a big deal for the Assistant Minister because he does not know how much people suffer. Two audits that I know of have been done. One was done in Moi Sirikwa High School where they discovered that the head teacher there had misappropriated Kshs900,000. I took up the matter with the District Education Board (DEB) because I am a member. The same thing happened at Lelmokwo High School. The audit was done and it turned out that over Kshs500,000 was missing. The teachers who were responsible have just been interdicted. Why were those teachers who misappropriated funds not taken to court and charged?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I hope the hon. Member did not understand me when I said: "No big deal." I was implying that it is not a problem for me to check for those details. I will do so. About the teachers who had misappropriated the money and were interdicted and then taken back to work again, I need to have more details. I would like to assure the hon. Member that once we get more details, which he can provide, including the minutes of the DEB itemising these cases, we will be quite happy to act.

We now move to ordinary Questions. Question by the Member of Parliament for Ndhiwa Constituency!

asked the Minister for Finance:- (a) whether he is aware that many construction firms are winding up as a result of non-payment of pending bills; and, (b) whether the Minister could table a list of the firms owed money todate and how much has been paid following Kenya Gazette Notice No.297.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply. (a) I am not aware that many construction firms are winding up as a result of non-payment of pending bills. I am, however, aware of the fact that there are a number of outstanding claims that have been lodged, payable by the Government. (b) Through Kenya Gazette Notice No.297 of 14th January, 2005, His Excellency the President established the Pending Bills Closing Committee to scrutinize and verify the existing stock of pending claims against the Government. The committee is currently examining and evaluating these claims. It is upon completion of this exercise that the list of firms owed money by the Government will be established. Since the committee has not analyzed its work, the Government has not made any payment of any pending claims.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am not satisfied with the answer given by the Assistant Minister. He is aware that a number of companies are under receivership as a result of non-payment for the work they did. It is common knowledge that the companies which are "politically-correct" and "well-connected" at the Treasury are being paid. The Assistant Minister has not even answered part "b" of my Question. I wanted him to table a list of firms owed money by the Government.

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir.

Order, Mr. Ojode! If you have any issue with the hon. Member, address the Chair! What is it, Mr. Mwancha?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, you heard Mr. Ojode say that certain companies that are "politically-correct" in the current Government are being paid. Could he substantiate that claim?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is common knowledge that there are companies which are being paid. These companies are "politically-correct." Even Mr. Mwancha knows that!

Order! Mr. Ojode, you have this habit of making statements and whenever you are challenged, you go round in circles. The Assistant Minister says that since the Government issued Kenya Gazette Notice 297, there have been no payments. You say some companies have been paid. Mr. Mwancha has asked you to substantiate your allegation. Do you have a list of the so-called "politically-correct" companies that have been paid, contrary to what the Assistant Minister is saying?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, even the Chair is aware---

Order! The Chair is not aware!

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, there are companies which were supposed to have been blacklisted. One of them is Kirinyaga Construction Company. This company is still doing civil work up to now and it has been paid. Would I be in order to ask the Assistant Minister to answer part "b" of my Question? He should table the names of those who claim that they have pending bills within the Government. 1560 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 22, 2006

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I was very clear to Mr. Ojode that since that Pending Bills Committee was established, nobody, whether politically-correct or incorrect, has been paid. You have asked Mr. Ojode to substantiate the allegation that somebody within that Committee who had a pending bill was paid. For the decency and good order of this House, Mr. Ojode should substantiate the allegation.

Mr. Ojode, the issue is that the Assistant Minister has said that no firm has been paid now and you are saying that some firms have been paid. Do you have that information? If you do, could you tell us the companies that have been paid? Do not tell us the companies that have been blacklisted and have been awarded tenders. Those are two different issues. We are talking about companies that have been paid. Do you have their names?

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. Let the Assistant Minister answer part "b" of my Question and then I will tell him the companies which have already been paid. Could he lay on the Table a list of the firms that are owed money today? Let the Assistant Minister lay on the Table that list and then I will substantiate.

If you do not comply with my directive, I will discontinue your Question!

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. With due respect to the Chair, I am not satisfied with the answer given to part "b" of my Question. I asked the Minister to lay on the Table a list of those companies that are owed money. Let the Assistant Minister lay on the Table that list and then I will point to him that this company has been paid and this company has not been paid and why.

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. When the Assistant Minister was contributing to the Budget Speech yesterday, he stated in this House, that he would answer this Question. He said that Mr. Ojode will regret why he ever asked this Question. Could the Assistant Minister tell us why he said that? Was he anticipating something else? What intentions did he have?

Mr. Assistant Minister, did you utter those words?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, when this issue arose yesterday, I said that this Question by Mr. Ojode will appear on today's Order Paper. There are no pending bills. So, I was not anticipating anything.

Mr. Assistant Minister, part "b" of the Question says: "Could the Minister table a list of the firms owed money---" There are two issues here. Have you laid the list on the Table?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, according to the Pending Bills Committee, there is no contractor who is owed money by the Government. Therefore, there is no list to lay on the Table.

The Assistant Minister has said that there are no firms that are owed money by the Government to date. What is the Pending Bills Committee working on?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, 70 per cent of the contractors who had lodged claims owe the Government money.

I think the Assistant Minister and the Questioner have got issues to settle. First, the Assistant Minister has not laid the list as requested. Secondly, the Questioner has said that there are some contractors who have been paid, and yet he cannot name them. I want the list to be laid on the Table as per the Question!

June 22, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1561

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, part "b" of the Question says: " Could the Minister table a list of the firms owed money to date and how much has been paid following Kenya Gazette Notice No.297." There is no firm that is owed money by the Government to date. There is also no company that has been paid to date. Therefore, there is no list to lay on the Table.

Thank you very much, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. The Questioner has said that there are some contractors who had invoiced the Government but it has refused to pay them. Could the Assistant Minister lay on the Table a list showing the amounts those contractors requested the Government to pay them but it has refused because they owe it money? The Assistant Minister should lay on the Table the list of those companies that owe the Government money. He should also lay on the Table the list that shows the companies that the Government owes money.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, Mr. Weya is saying that we lay the list of the claims on the Table. Part "b" of this Questions says: "Could the Minister table a list of firms owed money to date and how much has been paid following Kenya Gazette Notice No.297." I am saying that there is no company which is owed money or has been paid by the Government. So, there is nothing to lay on the Table.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, could we know today from the Ministry of Roads and Public Works and the Ministry of Finance why our roads are in a pathetic state? Is it because the Treasury does not pay the contractors?

I think this Question is unduly taking a lot of time! I will defer it to Wednesday morning so that I can have time to look at it.

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. Why have you deferred the Question? I thought the Assistant Minister has answered it.

Mr. Mukiri, is that your business? That is a very frivolous point of order! Next Question!

asked the Attorney-General:- (a) how were the lawyers that defended the Government on the suit on the Referendum last year identified; (b) how much were they paid for the service; and, (c) which other public bodies do the lawyers act for.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, before I reply, it has been brought to my attention that there are cases on this issue pending in court. I have noticed that the Question is dated 29th March, 2006. Although there are about six cases pending in court, some of them were filed on 14th March, 2006; that is prior to the Question being filed in the National Assembly. I have got copies of the pleadings arising from the same Question that is being asked. I am ready to answer the Question, but in view of Standing Order No.74, I have to bring that to the attention of the Chair so that I am covered in case you direct that I answer the Question. I do not 1562 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 22, 2006 want to be seen to be breaching the Standing Orders of this House.

But, Mr. Attorney-General, by answering this Question, will it be prejudicial to the case pending in court?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, there may be some aspects I may be unable to answer. If you give me the discretion not to answer some supplementary questions because of the pending cases in court, I will answer the Question.

Answer the Question and then we will see!

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply. (a) The Attorney-General instructed the Solicitor-General to identify the lawyers. (b) The lawyers were paid a total of Kshs72 million. (c) The lawyers may be working for other public bodies but this is a matter between the public bodies and the individual lawyers. It does not involve the Attorney-General.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. You can see that the Attorney- General is cheeky and is unwilling to divulge a lot of information---

Order, Mr. Ochilo-Ayacko! What have you said? Did I hear you say that the Attorney-General is cheeky? Could you withdraw that remark and apologise to the House?

Much obliged, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I withdraw the remark and apologise to the House. There is more than meets the eye in this answer. One of the letters dated 15th that was written by the Solicitor-General on behalf of the Attorney-General reads: "The Solicitor-General has been directed by the Attorney-General and hon. Kiraitu Murungi to appoint the firm of Kamau Kuria and Kiraitu Murungi Advocates to act on the matter." The date of that appointment is 15th August, 2005. However, there is an earlier letter by Dr. Kuria, asking to be paid Kshs12 million before being appointed. That letter is dated 12th August, 2005. How did Dr. Kuria ask for payment of Kshs12 million before even knowing that he had been appointed? How did the firm of Kamau Kuria and Kiraitu Murungi Advocates relate to the former Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, first of all, I am not aware of the letter of Kshs12 million that the hon. Member has referred to. However, I directed the Solicitor-General to identify the lawyers in accordance with the normal procedures. I am aware that the Solicitor-General carried out consultations with other parties to assuage namely, the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs that was party to the case, the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission and the Electoral Commission of Kenya. It is as a result of those consultations that the Solicitor-General appointed Dr. Kuria. The only letter I have in the file spells out the amount they were be to paid. This is not the letter the hon. Member has referred to. They met and discussed the matter. The justification for the amount to be paid is set out in that letter.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, there are so many lawyers in this country. Could the Attorney-General tell us how he identified the firm of Kamau Kuria? Is he a partner in that firm? This is a clear case of single sourcing and they were going for politically-correct lawyers.

Could the Attorney-General tell us how he settled on the firm of Kamau Kuria?

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir.

You are out of order, Mr. Ochilo-Ayacko! Let the Question be answered and then you can rise on a point of order!

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, a question has been asked as to whether I am a partner with the firm of Dr. Kuria so as to appoint him. The answer is "No". In identifying the June 22, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1563 lawyers, one has to take into account their experience. In a sensitive case such as this, one has to take into account lawyers who are committed to the cause.

Mr. Ochilo-Ayacko, what is your point of order?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, you heard the Attorney-General deny the existence of letters and legitimate correspondence. I have them here. Would I be in order to table them and then give the Attorney-General time to go through them, because this is a very serious issue?

Go ahead and lay them on the Table!

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Attorney-General has told us that Kshs72 million was paid. Is he satisfied that according to the Advocates Remuneration Order, this was a fair amount to pay for the work that was done?

How many lawyers were paid?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we are talking about six lawyers who were paid a total of Kshs72 million. This amount did not just go to one Gibson Kamau Kuria. It was paid to six lawyers equally, although Mr. Kuria is a Senior Counsel. As to whether I am satisfied with that payment, the Solicitor-General was guided by the Advocates Remuneration Order. These cases were prior to the referendum and they wanted to stop the referendum which was an exercise that had cost this country Kshs10 billion. I instructed the Solicitor-General to act in my absence because I went underground for three weeks and produced what is now popularly known as the "Wako Draft". Therefore, the Solicitor-General, as an Accounting Officer, authorised this. The Solicitor-General was properly guided by the Advocates Remuneration Order Regulation 3 which states:- "Where any business requires and receives exceptional dispatch at the request of the client, special fees can be paid." Regulation 5(1) states as follows:- "In business of exceptional importance or of unusual complexity, an advocate shall be entitled to receive and shall be allowed to receive a special fee." If we take into account the subject matter of this suit which can be computed to be Kshs10 billion which the Government had spent on this process and then take into account the percentage that is normally allowed here, they would be claiming Kshs150 million.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in response to my first Question the Attorney-General denied the existence of letters. Mr. Kamau Kuria was appointed on 15th August. There is a letter written by Mr. Kuria giving his fee note on 12th August and citing Waweru Gatonye as the channel through which the fee note will be done. Those letters are there. In view of the fact that the Attorney-General has not seen them or responded to them, would I be in order to ask for deferment of this Question so that we can get the correct answer?

Maybe the Attorney-General could respond to that.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I can read out the names of the advocates but the most important thing here is the fact that Mr. Kamau Kuria was the first to be appointed because he is a Senior Counsel. The are very few Senior Counsel even in this House. As a Senior Counsel, he is supposed to identify the advocates who will work with him. It is a process that takes time before you come to appoint six advocates.

1564 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 22, 2006

Order! Just because you do not want to hear what the Attorney- General is saying does not mean that you should keep on raising points of order. You must allow the Attorney-General to reply then you can ask your questions.

Mr. Wako, have you finished?

Defer the Question!

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, there should be no question of deferring the Question because as far as I am concerned, I have answered the Question. I have responded to the reason why they were paid Kshs72 million and why Mr. Kamau Kuria was the first one to be appointed; he is a Senior Counsel and he was supposed to identify lawyers he could work with in that case.

Order! There are provisions in our Standing Orders for you to follow up a Question that you feel has not been satisfactorily answered. That is the provision you will follow. Next Question!

asked the Minister for Energy:- (a) how many electricity projects have been implemented in Western Province since 2002 to date; (b) how many such projects are due for implementation in the province by the end of June, 2007; (c) whether he could table the list of these projects; and, (d) what the criteria of implementing electricity projects in the province is.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply. (a) The number of projects implemented to completion in Western Province since 2002 to date are 47. (b) The number of projects at various stages of implementation and which are envisaged for completion in June, 2007 are 110. (c) The list of all the projects is here attached and I wish to table it.

(d) Implementation of projects under the Rural Electrification Programme is currently based on their priority ranking by the respective District Development Committees (DDCs) and the availability of funds. In this regard, a circular letter was sent to all District Commissioners in May, 2004, asking them to submit to the Ministry five top most projects per district for funding consideration over the next two to three years. Given this situation, subsidised electricity supply is extended to trading centres and public institutions such as schools, health centres, community water pumps and polytechnics, excluding domestic households. This is because the Government cannot afford to subsidise all the customers due to the serious financial resource constraints and heavy demand for rural electrification considering that, currently, it costs the Government an June 22, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1565 average of Kshs200,000 to connect one customer.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to state that this answer is very unsatisfactory because there is a lot of untruth in it. If you look at Mateka, the Assistant Minister says that the work is in progress. I am a teacher and I have consulted my dictionary but I am unable to understand this term "work in progress".

Order! Dr. Oburu, Mr. Oparanya and Mr. Weya, you are breaching House rules by standing. If you wish to go out, just do so quietly. You are not supposed to be standing in the House when we are proceeding with matters. Please, consult in lower tones.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I was saying that either the Assistant Minister has been misled or those who wrote his reply do not understand English. We can only talk of "work in progress" if the contractor has been identified. If nothing is happening on the ground, I do not know how he can say that the work is in progress. He also said that the work is finished but in Nasianda Market the transformer has not been installed. I think that is the only place where work is in progress but it has not been completed. In Bungoma, 24 projects have been completed, Bumula has only one and there are none in Kanduyi.

What is your question?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am coming to it! Let me arrive!

You are coming to it, but you are taking too long!

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me arrive before I put my basket down for you to see. This is a sad day for Bumula and Kanduyi. They have completed only 25 projects in Bungoma. One has been recommended in Bumula and two in Kanduyi. When will the Assistant install a transformer at Nasianda Market to complete the project?

Mr. Kiunjuri, I am sure you have heard the hon. Member. He has a real problem. Could you please help?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am also a teacher by profession and this teacher is completely wrong. When you talk of "work in progress", it can be at various stages. The designers have completed their work. We are already acquiring wayleaves and that is why he cannot see the work in progress because it is not the actual construction. To his advantage, let him know that the work is in progress because it has already started. Secondly, the Question that I was supposed to answer here was with regard to projects in Western Province. However, the hon. Member has admitted that they have got projects on-going. You might be having 12 projects costing only Kshs1 million each. The projects that are on-going in his constituency are worth Kshs21.5 million. That is Mateka Market and Secondary School, Kshs10 million, Bumula Divisional Headquarters, Secondary School and health centre, Kshs11.5 million.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the implementation of electrification projects countrywide is very slow. Part of the reason is that the survey and design process takes very long. What is the Assistant Minister doing to speed up the implementation of these electrification projects and reduce the bottlenecks which are slowing down the implementation?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to say that we are doing very well. In 2002, before the NARC administration came to power, there were less than 25,000 people being connected per year. In 2003, we managed to connect 42,921 customers. From 2003 to 2004 we connected 48,924 customers. Last year we connected 70,000 customers. We are targeting to connect 120,000 customers this year. This shows a lot of improvement. We have trained designers 1566 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 22, 2006 who were not there before. We have over 60 of them working and this has really improved our performance.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, what the Assistant Minister is saying is not right. If you look at the list he has given us, there is one project called Maliki/Mucharage/Kabuyefwe/ Suam which has cost Kshs41 million. These projects can only be done in a constituency where there is a Minister or an Assistant Minister. That is why there is no project in Kanduyi because Mr. Wamunyinyi is a Backbencher. There are no projects being implemented in Bumula because I am a Backbencher. When Mr. Murungi was the Minister for Energy he recommended that some projects be done in Bumula but now Mr. Obwocha has reversed this decision. Before this Government comes to Bumula and Kanduyi---

Let me finish! You are being unfair. You are only doing things in your home area!

Order! You are not supposed to talk to someone like that! You must address the Chair!

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am reacting to the response I got. Projects have been completed in Sirisia, Webuye and Kimilili because those areas have Ministers, but there is nothing in Kanduyi and Bumula. What do you want us to say? Will the Government ever come to Bumula and Kanduyi to look for votes? When will you put Bumula and Kanduyi in the programme?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it seems the Member is frustrated; I do not know whether he is frustrated by the Government or they have their own internal battles back home. However, the sentiments he has raised are not true. Otherwise, he should substantiate each and every claim.

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I have an interest in the Question---

Order! You rose on a point order!

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Assistant Minister asked the Member to substantiate. I have an analysis here---I want to substantiate.

Order, Mr. Oparanya! The House operates with rules. You stood on a point of order and you were to tell us what is out of order. So, you are out of order! Proceed, Mr. Kiunjuri!

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have rested my case.

Hon. Members, we will now move on to the next Order. As you may see from the Order Paper, there is a matter that must be dealt with not later than 3.30 p.m.- Vote on Account - and before that, we have a Procedural Motion. I, therefore, direct that all the remaining Ordinary Questions be deferred until Tuesday next week.

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir! My Question was deferred yesterday. I thought that when a Question is deferred, it should be answered the following day. I June 22, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1567 think this is unfair. Justice has not been done.

Order, Mr. Odoyo! I have already made a ruling on that.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move:- THAT, this House orders that the business appearing in today's Order Paper be exempted from the provisions of Standing Order No.137(1) which gives precedence to the Debate on the Financial Statement. 1568 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 22, 2006

(Mr. Katuku) seconded.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move:- THAT, in accordance with Section 101 of the Constitution of Kenya, the withdrawal of Kshs171,931,694,565 representing one half of the total net Estimates of the Recurrent and Development Expenditure made up in the manner set out in the Vote on Account Schedules laid on the Table of the House, be authorised for the purposes of meeting expenditure necessary to carry on the services of the Government of Kenya during the year ending on the 30th June, 2007, until such time as the Appropriation Act of the year comes into operation.

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I wanted to draw your attention to the fact that the Motion is incomplete. We do not have the schedules of the amounts.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the list was tabled, but I can table it again.

June 22, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1569

All the same, Members should have copies. They were tabled yesterday and they are available. The only problem is that Members have not probably accessed them.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we thought that when we tabled them yesterday, they would be circulated. I must apologise to the Members who do not have copies. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this Motion deals with the operations of the Government from the 1st of July, and this has been the procedure of this House. In previous years, whenever the Budget is presented mid-June, towards the 26th of June, we ask the House to approve at least, 50 per cent of the estimated expenditure of Government. This is to allow the Government to operate effectively from the 1st of July, 2006. It is important that we operationalise the Government by passing this Motion. Everybody here expects that Government services should continue beyond the 1st of July. As you are all aware, the House has to continue debating the Budget Speech well over the period for which the Government would like to use these funds. Therefore, I consider this quite procedural to ask the House to approve, at least, 50 per cent of the entire Estimates to allow the Government to deliver services from the 1st of July, this year. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move.

(Mr. Awori) seconded.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. The Government wants us to approve Kshs171 billion to enable it to render services to Kenyans. Yesterday, I laid some documents on the Table to show that the same Government, which wants us to approve billions of shillings to be spent, is allowing billions of shillings to be siphoned out of this country. The Government is denying Kenyans billions of shillings which have been collected from them through Value Added Tax (VAT) by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA). This Government has not told us up to now why they have failed to take any action to deal with that bank and supermarket from November, 2004, when that report was made to the Minister for Finance. Secondly, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we also want the Government and in particular, the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC), which was chairing the committee that was responsible for these investigations into tax evasion and money laundering, to tell us why it has not been able to take action from November, 2004, yet we are paying the Director of the KACC Kshs2.5 million per month. We are going to approve Kshs631 million for the KACC. The KACC chaired a committee that investigated and found out that billions of shillings are being stolen from this country by Nakumatt Supermarket through Charterhouse Bank, and it has not taken any action. We need a response from the Minister for Finance. First and foremost, he needs to tell us what he is doing to stop this action by these two institutions before he can ask this House to allow him to spend Kshs171 billion of the money that is earned by Kenyans through their sweat. You earn your money through sweat, you pay it out through the VAT, then somebody pockets that VAT and siphons it out of this country! Then the Minister says: "The Government should kindly be allowed to spend Kshs171 billion". Why should we allow the Government to spend that money when they are allowing a lot of money to be lost? I am actually recommending that the Departmental Committee on Finance, Planning and Trade should investigate this matter. It is clear that the Government does not have the spine, will and commitment to investigate this matter.

1572 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 22, 2006 Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, last year, the Minister introduced a new financial statistical code in the Printed Estimates which made it very difficult for us to understand what was being presented in the Financial Estimates because large sums of money were being appropriated to what we call capital transfers. The requirements of the financial regulations are very clear; that Parliament is required to scrutinize itemized expenditure. "Itemized" means you must go and break down that expenditure so that we, as hon. Members, understand the nature of that expenditure and where it is going to be applied. Last year, we went through a lot of trouble to try and get the District Allocation Budget details so that we could understand the Printed Estimates. The same thing seems to have been repeated this year. That makes it very difficult for us to believe this Government when it says that it is committed to transparency. Why are they afraid of stating clearly what money they are allocating to Government Ministries? Why is it so difficult for the Minister for Finance to put things clearly? Why all this opacity around the Printed Estimates? Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I will give you examples to illustrate my point. In the Vote for the Ministry of Finance, if you go through the Printed Estimates, there is an allocation of Kshs20.5 billion in the Development Vote. That amount is referred to as "Repayments on domestic debts taken over by the Government". None of us here in Parliament understands which debts the Government is taking over that are valued at Kshs20.5 billion. Which financial institutions are involved? At the same time, in the same Vote, there is Kshs340 million in domestic loans to financial institutions. Nobody knows which institutions the Government is giving loans to the tune of Kshs340 million. There is also Kshs260 million capital transfer to public financial institutions. We also do not know what that is. There are so many such items in the Printed Estimates. I can go on and on and on, yet we do not know where that money is going. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this Government has given a pledge in every Budget Speech, including the last one, that they will not allocate money to State corporations because they have been guzzling a lot of money. In this year's Budget, we are being told that Kshs20.5 billion will be used as repayment on a domestic debt, while Kshs340 million will be used as domestic loans to financial institutions. These are all State corporations! Money is being given out in billions to State corporations. At the same time, we are being told that no money is being given to them. So, it becomes very difficult for us to understand this issue. The Government should come out clearly and make it easier for Kenyans and this House in particular to exercise its mandate, which is to scrutinize and approve expenditure. We cannot do that unless these expenditures are itemized. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me deal with the issue of inequality. Social economic indicators that have been produced by the Ministry of Planning and National Development in the last three to four years have clearly shown that there are wide regional inequalities in the allocation of resources, for example, maternal and child health, infant mortality rates, maternal deaths, enrolment rates in schools, roads, the ratio of doctors to patients, and so forth. When you look at all those statistics, there are wide disparities. The reason we are having all that inequality is because of uneven allocation of resources. In this year's Budget, this inequality has been made even worse because resources have been allocated on a basis that we cannot understand. I will give you an example of the Ministry of Roads and Public Works. The region with the worst roads in this country is North Eastern Kenya, including the whole of upper Eastern Province. This Ministry has allocated less than Kshs300 million in this year's Budget to that region. Central Province has been allocated Kshs4 billion, while Rift Valley Province has also been allocated Kshs4 billion. When is this country going to develop? When shall we have equality in this country in terms of the level of development if we have these kinds of disparities in the allocation of resources? Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, time and again, we read in the newspapers about corruption or the Artur kind of situation involving the Office of the President. The main obstacle to reforms in this June 22, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1573 country seems to be in that office. It is time that office was streamlined in terms of its operations. Much of the money being spent now, Kshs12.8 billion, goes to the Office of the President. If you are talking about security, that is the office in charge. I am happy that the Minister for Finance has clearly appointed separate Accounting Officers for the other Ministries, for example, the Ministry of Special Programmes, the Directorate of Personnel Management (DPM) and the Ministry of Immigration and Registration of Persons because, previously, the Permanent Secretary in charge of internal security was controlling Kshs40 billion for the entire Office of the President. He even used to purchase food for famine relief. It was easy to misappropriate money in the Office of the President. Everybody in the Civil Service fears that Ministry. If you place a call to any Government office and mention that you are calling from the Office of the President, the officer at the other end will develop cold feet. So, it was easy for the Office of the President to be allocated money so that it could be misappropriated. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, that is, indeed, going on even as we speak. The Permanent Secretary (PS) who is now running that Ministry was sacked about five years ago when the "Dream Team" was in office. He was sacked for embezzlement of public funds. Today, the same person is running that Ministry; looking after Kshs12.8 billion of public funds. Where are we headed? So, we need to do something to improve, in particular, the allocation of money to the Police Department. I am worried about it. The money for the Police Department still falls under the same PS. If we want to improve the security situation in this country, we should create an office for an Accounting Officer for the Vote of the Police Department, in the same way we have appointed Accounting Officers for other departments in the Office of the President, so that monies voted here can be applied for the purposes they are intended. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, lastly, I would like to deal with the issue of the Exchequer. We have been told that the disbursement of a lot of the money that we vote here delays. One thing that has been promised by this Government, in the last three Budget Speeches, is to improve on the integrated financial information. That system, which is computerised and which is funded by donors, has been on every Budget Speech from 2003. We want to know what happened to that system, so that we can get reports on public expenditure on time. The Constitution requires that this House receives quarterly expenditure reports. If you ask hon. Members of this House when they last received quarterly expenditure reports from this Government, they will tell you that they received such reports in 2004. This is because of the kind of system that the Treasury has. I think they need to improve on that one. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in the last three Budget Speeches, we were also promised that there will be improved public expenditure tracking. There is need to improve the level of accountability in the Ministry of Finance so that, as Parliament, we can effectively do our oversight responsibility. I want to conclude by saying that, clearly, we want the Government continue with its operations. We do not want it to stop working. However, the Ministry of Finance, and the Government generally, need to do more in terms of accountability to this nation. With those few remarks, I beg to support.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to support the Motion on the Vote on Account. In supporting the Motion, I would like to join my colleagues who have spoken in saying that we need to spend taxpayers' money with due diligence to ensure that money voted here goes to the projects it is intended. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in order to achieve this broad objective, we all need to work together because part of the money voted here is expended through the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF), district bursary committees, among other committees in which most 1574 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 22, 2006 hon. Members participate in decision making. It is, therefore, upon all Kenyans to ensure that public funds are properly spent. We should take responsibility and ensure accountability. As leaders, we should always point out any cases of misuse of public funds, so that we can give Kenyans good service. As Government, we are committed to ensuring that public funds are spent wisely on the intended projects. In order to enable the Government continue with operations, we should all support this Motion. For instance, we need some money to enable us drill boreholes and construct dams in Mr. Billow's constituency. We need the money this particular time, so that we can complete the works before the onset of the rainy season. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is also important to point out that in areas where competitive tendering is required, the procedures must be followed properly. I am surprised that, in some areas, you find people fighting the Government and winning public tenders at the same time. A time will come when the Government may decide not to award tenders to people who fight the Government. If you are awarded a tender to undertake some works, you should do that work properly. You should not go about criticising the Government as you do business with the same Government. We should take the Government as our own, and not as Government of so-and-so. Some contractors do shoddy jobs so as to discredit the Government. In future, such contractors may not be awarded tenders, because some of them are out to sabotage the Government. That is why I am saying that we may be forced to blacklist such contractors. Therefore, contractors who are awarded Government tenders should do a good job so that we can all benefit. With those few remarks, I beg to support.

Thank you very much, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this Motion. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, if I were the only person to decide on this Budget, I would have said "no". This is because, following the Marsabit air tragedy, hon. Members of this House spoke very passionately about development in the North Eastern Province, upper Eastern Province and other marginalised areas. I am totally disappointed to note that nothing tangible has been factored in the current Budget. Only Kshs1.5 billion has been allocated for water projects in the 22 districts in the ASAL areas. The question is this: Is it only water that we need in those areas? Definitely, the answer is "no". We need good roads, schools, improvement of animal husbandry and much more. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it defeats all logic that every now and then, we bring Motions to this House urging the Government to consider development in that part of the country which has been left behind since the colonial time and by all the successive governments after Independence. Every time we start a new Session, the Government gives an indication that something tangible will be done in ASAL areas. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, most of the children from ASAL areas do not perform well in school simply because, while people have gone into the computer age, our children have never set their eyes on computers because we do not have electricity, yet we have plenty of sunshine which can generate electricity through solar energy. I do not know whether we are supposed to cry so that the Government can listen to our problems. If need be, we will mobilise 5,000 people to walk naked all the way from the North Eastern Province to Nairobi. If Kenyans, our brothers and sisters, want us to cry in order for them to understand our plight, we will come to Nairobi crying because we are not being listened to. For how long are we supposed to tolerate the injustice being perpetrated against us by regime after regime? Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in his Budget Speech, the Minister for Finance said that he has set aside some money for the revival of youth polytechnics. When I was a District Commissioner (DC) in 1975, people in many parts of this country started youth polytechnics. I even remember starting June 22, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1575 one such institution in Ol Kalou District, with assistance from the Aga Khan Foundation, which gave Kshs30,000. If this money is going to be given to the existing polytechnics, one wonders whether we are going to wait for ages before we can start any new polytechnic. This money should have been given to North Eastern Province, so that those districts without youth polytechnics can put up such institutions. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, currently, the poverty index is based on an economic survey that was conducted in 1999. Everybody in this House knows that, last year, we had the most devastating drought in this country. Particularly, people in Wajir, Mandera, Ijara and other districts lost 75 per cent of their livelihood. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we hear that Kshs900 million will be given out to people who are landless to buy land. What about the people of northern Kenya? What measures is the Government putting in place to ensure that they re-stock their livestock and restore their livelihood? I would like to thank the Ministry of Roads and Public Works because, under the Rural Works Programme, we have received some assistance. However, we expect other Departments to follow suit. Let me talk about our neighbours in Somalia. I would like to congratulate the Minister for Foreign Affairs for the action he has taken against warlords, whose job is to kill people and come to Kenya to rest. I normally do not visit hotels. However, last Saturday, I visited the Intercontinental Hotel and was shocked to find a group of ex-Somali politicians marauding in the place. We want the Minister and the Commissioner of Police to flush them out. Some of the ex- politicians have homes in this country. This Government has spent a lot of money in trying to bring about peace and reconciliation in Somalia. The Government's efforts would be in vain if we do not flush out the ex-Somali politicians who are in our country. With those few remarks, I oppose.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I will be very brief. I stand to support the Motion. I would like my brothers and sisters in this House to appreciate that the policy of the Government is to develop every corner of Kenya. I think that is the policy and it is what we are trying to do. I would like to appeal to hon. Members, based on what I have learnt in the past few years I have been a Minister in the current Government, that we are waiting to hear from leaders and from DDCs, the recommendations they have in terms of projects. I find it very strange that the areas which require more attention are the ones which are not active in bringing forward their recommendations. Areas which are comparatively ahead of the others are the ones which put pressure on the Government, in every Ministry, asking for more services to be offered to them. I would like to request all of you not to represent your people by only sitting in this House. Start representing your people from the ground. You should know what is being done. Some hon. Members, when I was in charge of the Ministry of Energy, used to come to me and tell me about the shortage of power experienced in their schools and hospitals. When I hear some hon. Members saying that nothing is happening on the ground, I really wonder. If you go to northern Kenya, you will find that there is expansion going on. The old generators that could not supply power are being replaced. That shows that some work is being done. Solar, wind and electric power supply development is going on. In fact, there is a study already completed with regard to wind power supply from Marsabit plateau going all the way towards the Indian Ocean. That is already complete. I know of hon. Members who have visited my office to discuss about the roads in North Eastern Province. I know that the roads there are bad. Early this month, the Central Agricultural Board went to tour North Eastern Province. The Board members could not go beyond Garissa Town, after being advised that they would get stuck somewhere where the roads are very bad. I asked my officers to tell me what was wrong with the road and why people from Garissa could not 1576 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 22, 2006 go to Wajir or Mandera by Road. We need that kind of information, to put into motion some action that can help our people. When we talk about roads being ignored, it is not true. We are working towards a road being constructed with international support from Garissa all the way to Mandera. We are working on that and it will involve a lot of money. Someone has said that the Government promised to pay more attention to the Marsabit road after the accident that occurred in March. Indeed, more attention is being given to the roads there. For instance, the Press is always reporting about Isiolo-Moyale Road. We are now in the tendering stage for the 131 kilometres of the road. At the same time, we are chasing the African Development Bank to move fast in its financing. We have problems with our development partners and unless you push them, your proposals can get stuck for one to two years before you get a response. Therefore, we need to work together. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in terms of development for every area in this country, we cannot sit down and imagine that every Ministry has a telescope to see the needs of each corner of this country. In my own community, we always say that you start milking the cow which has made noise because it wants to be milked. Therefore, if one keeps quiet while other people are putting pressure on us, they should not come to stand around this Table to complain. You should come to my office and tell me what you want. Let me fail to do it, then you can come and attack me here. You should not come grumbling here. If any of you has visited me in my office and asked me to carry out a project which I have not, let them stand and say it. If the Deputy Speaker asks me why I have failed to carry out the project, I will know what to tell him. However, let us work together. We should not look at the Government like it is not working. The Government is serving Kenya, including the area you represent. With those few remarks, I support.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, thank you for giving me a chance to contribute to this Motion. It is very good to hear from Mr. Nyachae. It is very heartening and reassuring about this Government, that at least you can get a Minister who can come here and say what he has said. Unfortunately, what Mr. Nyachae referred to as District Development Committees (DDCs) are archaic things which do not even have a legal framework in this country. Some of the people who chair those committees have no business being there because the manner in which they were appointed in those positions leaves a lot to be desired. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to support this Motion because we want this Government to go on operating. The effect of refusing to support this Motion is like telling them to wind up and go home. I do not think we are ready to tell them to go home tomorrow because it is necessary that they should continue operating. There is very little one can say about this Procedural Motion because when we shall be discussing the Financial Statement from the Minister for Finance, we will put him to task on various issues.

Maybe it is a slip of the tongue. It is not a Procedural Motion. We just finished the Procedural Motion. We are on another one.

I am sorry, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. It is a ritual which we go through every year. When we shall be discussing the Minister's Financial Statement, we shall have a lot to say about it regarding the various things he said in that Statement. Also, when we shall be discussing each individual Ministry's Vote, there is a lot that we shall say. What I observed is that, as we approve the 50 per cent that the Minister has come here to request, there are major spenders on this list. They include the Office of the President, Ministry of Finance, Department of Defence (DOD), Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education. We even now have to approve 50 per cent for the Ministry of Youth Affairs. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the biggest culprits by the end of the day, in terms of wastage, are the same Ministries. In fact, when it comes to wastage, the Office of the President is the biggest June 22, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1577 culprit and yet they are supposed to lead by example. I do not know why, when the Controller and Auditor-General comes up with his report, you find that the biggest criminals appear to be those Ministries. We are yet to see the value of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) which is supposed to curb such wastage. It started its operations quite a number of years ago and, to date, they cannot stand here proudly and tell us what they have done. Who have they ever brought to book regarding the wastage that we see every year? Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to let the Minister for Finance know that the question of the Ministry of Education which has got the biggest share of our national income had a line on constituency bursaries. During the Financial Statement, the Minister said that he is abolishing it and transferring it to the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF). That is misplaced and I think he should think about it again because the Ministry of Education has the framework and structures which can properly manage bursaries but not CDF. We are completely refusing to know the background and the reason why we established CDF. We are now bringing in other issues which are completely irrelevant. The Ministry of Education should be left alone to do what it knows best. One of those things is how to manage bursaries. The Minister cannot remove such an important exercise from the parent Ministry to CDF and yet he is not even indicating how much money he is removing from that Ministry and giving it to the CDF. That is an anomaly which the Minister must address very seriously because we are making a very serious mistake. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, with regard to the Ministry of Youth Affairs, I am not sure whether we want to repeat the mistakes which have been made by the previous regimes. We must have a proper legal framework through which those monies will be disbursed. We are not going to repeat the idea of giving women groups money which they cannot account for and there is nowhere we can take them to task. It is important that there must be a proper legal framework so that the monies are distributed equitably among constituencies. I am not suggesting in any way that, that money should come to the CDF, but I am saying that it must go out to each and every corner of this country through a properly set up legal framework. If we do not do that, we are going to end up in the same mess like the previous regime; which handed out monies to women groups. People pocketed the money and did not account for it. I hope that the Minister for Youth Affairs will be looking at that issue very fairly. We do not want it to be a discretion of one individual in the name of a Minister. We want the money to trickle down to every corner of this country, in order to help the youth. As I said, we will debate every Ministry's Vote when the time comes. With those few remarks, I beg to support.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I will support the Motion because practical considerations force me to do so. For the Government to run, it needs money. So, it is basically a ritual. Since we cannot change anything at this point in time, I just wish to comment that the need and the urgency for the Budget Office is compelling. The reason for that is that we would not be going through these lamentations and the Government being on the defence while we try to punch holes in the Budget. It would have been a consultative process right from the word go. That is what we in the Finance Committee saw when we went to the United States of America (USA). Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in the USA, the Budget is prepared six months in advance. From the time the Budget is prepared by the Executive to the time it is brought to Parliament, there are about six months of consultations between the Legislature and the Executive. That is sufficient time for the two arms of Government to consult, so that what is brought here is a negotiated document that has everybody's input. So, we would just be bringing it here to pass it as a formality. Our procedures here are such that the Executive prepares the Budget almost single-handedly, then 1578 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 22, 2006 they bring it here and in one afternoon, we have to pass it with very little input from a very important arm of Government; the legislature.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the question as to whether it has to be 50 per cent or any other percentage is a forgone conclusion because the Constitution has defined it for us. I think part of the constitutional review process was to look at that percentage. We should look very carefully whether it should really be 50 per cent or another percentage. But that is a different exercise. I was very encouraged to hear Mr. Nyachae's contribution. But, as another hon. Members said, I wish every Government Ministry was run in that fashion. We could have confidence to know that you can walk into a Minister's office and say: "Look! Certain projects in my constituency have been ignored! Can you, please, take note and see whether you can revive them?" Unfortunately, that is not the case. Mr. Nyachae, yours is a model Ministry. But it is not a typical model of how the Government runs. The problem we have here is that many of these budgets are skewed. They are skewed for different reasons, most of which are not objective. Most of them are for political considerations. You find that deserving areas which need to be taken into account are the same ones that are suffering. As Mr. M.Y. Haji said, when we had the aircraft disaster in Marsabit, we were all unanimous in saying that North Eastern Province need to be looked into. That is because it has been ignored. That was before the Budget figures were put together. Surely, something should have been done as an indication of goodwill to show that the Government is serious about Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs). Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, what the Government must try to do is to have an equitable distribution of our meagre resources. The unfortunate thing is that our needs are much more than our resources. Therefore, we must have a criteria that portrays some element of fairness. That is why many hon. Members speak here with a lot of passion. There is no fairness! If one province gets Kshs4 billion and another one gets Kshs300 million, it is very difficult to justify in one's mind whether fair play was really taken into account. The Ministry of Water and Irrigation, which is under Mr. Katuku, is one Ministry that we usually scrutinise very carefully. Water problems are relevant to every part of Kenya. We must be fair. Every part of Kenya requires water. However, some parts of the country require more water than others. Therefore, they need to be allocated more money. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, last year, and even this year, we applauded the Minister for Finance when he said: "This time, we have put up a Budget without factoring in donor support!" That is factually incorrect! That is not so! I do not want to use an un-parliamentary word, but let me say that, it is "incorrect". In both last year's Budget and this year's Budget, donor funding has been factored in. I think it is good for the Government to come out clean and tell the truth. There is a huge element called grants, which amount to Kshs28 billion. It is in this Budget. All that money is from donor support. We need to know about those grants so that, when we start bashing some of those donors, we will know whether to punch them with gloves or bare knuckles. The implications are far reaching. For example, last year, we did not get all the donor funds that had been factored in the Budget, although there were claims to the contrary. It created a budget problem. We had to borrow more than we had originally planned domestically. Mr. Minister, you have said that you are only going to borrow Kshs29.5 billion from the domestic market. Then, there is something there you are calling roll-overs. The two things mean exactly the same. One is a renewal. So, the total amount of domestic borrowing is not Kshs29.5 June 22, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1579 billion. The figure is almost Kshs80 billion. When you roll-over, you are actually renewing a loan. So, you are borrowing. It is only that you are doing it again. I think we should be clear, so that members of public are aware.

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I have a lot of respect for Mr. Okemo. He served this country as a Minister for Finance. However, there is a very clear distinction between roll-overs and fresh domestic borrowing. Is he in order to mislead the House?

Mr. Peter Kenneth, obviously, you are a new Assistant Minister! I will take time to help you when we finish here!

Order, Mr. Okemo! Address the Chair! Do not exchange words!

I am sorry, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. If you look at the analysis, the Budget deficit this year is Kshs146 billion. Now, there is an itemised list of how that deficit is going to be financed. I would like Mr. Kenneth to come after this and I will show him what I am talking about. There is an item that shows that roll-overs amount to Kshs51.6 billion. But what you are calling new borrowing is Kshs29.5 billion. It is a question of semantics! Both are domestic borrowing. That is all I am saying. So, domestically, we are borrowing Kshs51.6 billion. It is then renewed. Then Kshs29.5 billion is new borrowing. If you add the two, you will get a total borrowing of about Kshs80 billion. That is the point I am making. We are not disagreeing. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Minister, in his Budget Speech, said that the rate of inflation today is 13 per cent. There are certain measures that outline the borrowing that I have talked about. Nobody has mentioned what effects that borrowing will have on the rate of inflation. Even the gains that we may make from expansionary spending by the Government may be completely "eaten" up by the inflation that will arise out of the proposed domestic borrowing. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to say that transparency in the procurement of goods and services by the Government must be enhanced. We are going to approve Kshs172 billion for the Government to spend. Are procurement regulations being followed to the letter by both the Government and parastatals? They are not being followed strictly. The Government needs to look at that very carefully. We do not need to wait until the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) receives the Report from the Controller and Auditor-General. That is because we will be dealing with an after-event. I would like to appeal to the Government to ensure that accountability is taken care of. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I rise to make a very humble contribution to this very well presented Budget. I want to start by commending the Minister for Finance and his team---

Order, Mr. Mbau! Look at the Motion. What does it say? We are not discussing the Minister's Financial Statement! We are discussing the Vote on Account.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise to support this Motion. Whereas my colleagues have chosen to isolate some aspects of this country's economy that may not be included in the Budget, I find a lot of relevance in the proposals that are contained in the Budget. My attention is drawn to the fact that for a long time many Budget proposals have not given due relevance and gravity to the proportion of this country's population that comprises more than 70 per cent of our people, who are the young people. 1580 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 22, 2006 The Minister has now seen the importance of establishing a fund and putting more money in the Ministry of Youth Affairs, so that our young people can be more taken care of. A lot of money has been allocated to the National Youth Service (NYS). However, very few people are currently being trained as policemen. The Minister should also ensure that our young men and women are trained in large numbers to become police officers. Only a week ago, the Administration Police Department was conducting a recruitment exercise and very many young people trooped to the fields to be recruited. Out of 1,000 young people who turned up for the recruitment, only 12 were recruited. We keep on saying that we want to create employment for our young people. We should put more money into the Police Force, so that the force can recruit more officers. We are always told that we do not have enough security personnel. We are told that we have 35,000 security officers compared to a population of more than 33 million people. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with the introduction of the CDF, hon. Members are very busy putting up police posts and stations. When we construct these police posts and stations, we are told that there are no officers to be posted to them. We should put more money into the training of more police officers, so that the police posts and stations that we are constructing can have officers to man them. I want to talk about the higher education in Kenya. The other day, we learnt that the Joint Admissions Board has only admitted about 10,000 students out of the 70,000 students who should have joined our public universities. The Ministry should consider doubling the number of the admissions regardless of the universities' bed capacity. We should have 10,000 students as residents and another 10,000 students as non-residents, so that we do not have to say that we are controlling our intake because of low bed capacity. I believe that there are very many students who are able and willing to join our universities, if only there are enough lecturers to teach them. I would like to urge the Minister to consider that. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to talk about the issue of revamping our collapsed institutions. I note with appreciate that the Government has put in an enormous amount of money towards the revamping of the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC). I also know that last year, the Government put in some money towards the revamping of the Kenya Co-operative Creameries (KCC). When these institutions had been lying idle, a lot of public money had been tied without being of any value to the public. The Government should consider reviving all the youth polytechnics in this country, so that they can become centres of industrialisation. All said and done, if these wonderful proposals are not implemented, our country will remain a place of wonderful ideas that never see the light of the day. I would urge the Government to fully implement what has been proposed in this Budget. With those few remarks, I beg to support the Motion.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to also play my part in this ritual. As you know, the Budget is before us because our rules are that before 26th of June we must give the Government half of the money that is required for the financial year. Looking through the Estimates, I am unable to understand where the priorities of the Government are. For example, a whooping Kshs5.98 billion has been allocated to the National Security Intelligence Service (NSIS) for the entire financial year, which is more than the money that has been allocated to the National Assembly, which is Kshs4.4 billion, and yet if you go out there, the National Assembly is where there is extravagance. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the NSIS is supposed to be telling us when brothers come from countries that have been variously described as Armenia, Czech and others, and when they come in, where they live and visit from time to time after 6.00 p.m. As we have heard, they June 22, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1581 have a habit of visiting various places including raiding television stations. Kshs5.98 billion! What is there for NSIS to show? Should we be having this issue about hooded goons; people alleged to be travelling even in jets and yet NSIS is nowhere to tell us who they are? The Ministry of Water and Irrigation headed by my good friend, John Mutua Katuku, does not get anywhere near what NSIS is getting. It is for that reason that I am wondering where our priorities are. This leads me to this feeling: When the colonial Government arrived in Kenya and built the railway line, it hived off a radius of 100 kilometres or thereabouts which they considered "useful Kenya", and the rest appears to have been defined as "useless Kenya". I think successful governments appeared to have followed suit. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we all know that the largest part of this country is without water and yet we have enough water resources in the country. Why is it so? We have a Ministry of Planning and National Development. Is it that it cannot plan to give hon. Katuku enough money to provide Kenyans with water? Like the rest of the world, we keep singing "water is life". How can we say water is life and we are not providing it to the majority of Kenyans? Why is it that there is very little money allocated to the ASAL areas? Even as we vote for this Motion, we know that last year, of the Kshs1.5 billion that had been set aside for water in the ASAL areas, only Kshs800 million was spent. The rest, as we all know, was withdrawn during the Supplementary Estimates; Kshs531 million was removed, and another Kshs300 million was also mysteriously transferred to other places. It begs the question: Since we give the Government half of the allocation that they require, are we going to see movement in the direction which is going to promote growth in the country? Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, when you look at the allocations for the Kenya Anti- Corruption Commission (KACC), Judiciary and the State Law Office against the background of how many high profile corruption related cases are pending in our courts, you wonder what this money does. Is it that our judges and magistrates are on a go-slow? If you look at the report that was tabled earlier this year by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on the infamous Anglo Leasing, they were given 60 days to take action but they have not done it. By this House adopting that report which gave the investigative arm 60 days within which to bring the report of action taken, we wanted KACC to take action. What are we seeing? Nothing! We are just allocating money to it for nothing. There is no action. We are not seeing any report. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, if you look at the Value Added Tax (VAT) Department in the Ministry of Finance, I am happy that it has proposed to increase the amount of monthly VAT refunds to Kshs900 million. Again, here we are in a very interesting position in that priority will be given to those that are Electronic Tax Registers (ETR) compliant and yet there is a dispute pending in the High Court about the same issue of the ETRs. It seems like the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, you have just heard here a Minister saying that we should go to their offices and beg. I think that is a very interesting way of developing because I expect the Government to have planned and factored development in all areas to the extent that we do not have to go kneeling before anybody pleading for assistance.

Order, Mr. Muturi! I have never heard of pleading, kneeling and begging. Can you use friendly language?

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I just heard that we were required to---

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, his time is up!

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, he has not quite learned the rules of this House since crossing over to the other side. That is on a light note. 1582 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 22, 2006

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I was trying to say that since we have a Ministry of Planning and National Development and we have really appreciated that our Ministers have a lot on their hands, we would require that whatever has been brought about through this Ministry is implemented without necessarily requiring us Members of Parliament visiting Ministers in their offices. They are extremely busy and if we go there and start explaining what we want, then they will really be overburdened. I am just pleading that they appreciate us. We want to give them time to work.

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. Is the hon. Member in order to say that hon. Members sitting on the Opposition side are not supposed to complement the efforts in implementing the programmes of this country by consulting or working with the hon. Members on the Government side?

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, that is far from it. I have not even said anything like that or even remotely suggested anything that hon. Nyachae seems to have heard me say. Therefore, I am in order to say that we want Ministers to work. We do not want to go and bother them with pleas about requests for a few kilometres of tarmac roads, prisons, hospitals and such like things. With those few remarks, I beg to support.

(Mr. Wetangula); Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, thank you for giving me an opportunity to support this Motion. As my colleague before me has said, this is something routine. The Government has to work and it needs money to work. When you listen to our colleagues across the Floor, it reminds me of the famous Swahili saying: "Nyani kamchekelea mwenzake"

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Printed Estimates that were laid on the Table show allocations of money to various Ministries. What Parliament expects is that this money will be put to good use. I agree that we need to strengthen our procurement process. We need a lot more accountable processes. We also need the implementation of projects to be speedy, of good quality and to meet the expectations of Kenyans. We appreciate that the envelope constantly placed before this House is smaller than the expectations of everybody. So, we end up having everyone crying that the money given is not enough. Indeed, it is not enough. We should all get down and pray very hard that this country gets to discover commercial quantities of oil and natural gas that will help improve our economy at a faster rate. I say this because I felt very proud two months ago when I learnt that contrary to all the things we hear about our sister State of Nigeria, they have utilised the oil boom to pay off their entire external debt. This is something very commendable. I believe that if all of us spoke with one voice, prayed and worked hard, God will kindly look at us and we will get oil so that we embark on our development. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, recently I heard a very strange statement. I hope the Chief Justice was misquoted. He was quoted as saying that the Judiciary must control their own envelop and utilise the fines they collect for running the Judiciary. If that was true, it is a very strange statement. If it ever comes to be requested I want the Minister for Finance to reject it. If this happens, we will get into a situation where the Chief Justice will be calling his magistrates and saying: "We have not raised enough fines to run the Judiciary, fine wananchi ." You can imagine what kind of justice system we can get into. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we are talking June 22, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1583 of economic growth of 5.8 per cent. You have heard the cynics across the Floor making fun and poking holes into it. We must also understand, and this is elementary, that GDP growth for one year cannot automatically translate into poverty eradication. We need a sustained growth of 5.8 per cent or even more, for three to five years to have a real meaningful percolation down to the ordinary person. We remember the case of India shinning at the top because of GDP growth and the ordinary people remaining inaccessible to that growth. We hope that the management of the economy, and I believe this Government is committed to it, will be prudent and sustained so that its effects percolate down to the ordinary person. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been allocated a fairly decent envelop for this year. We, as a Ministry, have embarked on serious rationalisation of our missions to see that we only post to missions a cadre of officers that is strictly important and necessary for pursuing, among other critical things, our economic diplomacy. Within that envelop, we want to be able to open new missions. We also want to be able to make our missions more efficient. We want our representation at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), in major trading capitals and important stations like Brussels to be more responsive to the needs of Kenyans. Equally, we have taken into account the concerns constantly raised in this House about the plight Kenyans go through when they apply for visas, especially to popular destinations like the US and UK. We are talking to these missions. When the bad gets to the worst, in diplomacy we have the doctrine of reciprocity, that we can call into play. We hope we do not get there. We hope we will give best services to all Kenyans, including my colleagues across the Floor. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to mention something about our roads. The Ministry of Roads and Public Works remains one of the most critical Ministries in this Government and, indeed, in any government in a developing country. I want to urge the Minister to speed up and expand the new doctrine of concessioning roads that is coming into Kenya, so that we are able to have quality roads. Those who drive on them will not mind paying some toll and the economy will benefit from this. Whether we are talking of having a road to Moyale or Mandera districts, the forgotten parts of this country, we always wonder whether it is infrastructure that leads to development or it is development that leads to infrastructure. I want to urge the Minister to revise the Sessional Paper on roads that was brought in this House two years ago and emphasise on the concessioning of roads. We want the issue of the road from Mombasa to Malaba looking the way it is, to be history in this country. I noticed there are sections being worked on. I believe that many motorists that we talk to, will be ready to pay a toll as long as they are driving on a good road. Our bad roads are just being used to sustain the motor industries in Asia and Europe because we have to continue repairing our cars, fixing shock absorbers, suspension and so on. Roads are very critical. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to point out to the Ministry of Agriculture that if we really want to hasten our economic growth, we need to pay attention to quality agriculture. We need to move away from growth of crops that are not valuable in terms of money generation. We want to see in areas of high density production, more extension officers in the horticultural industry. We want to see cold rooms being built in areas for preservation of produce. We want to see feeder roads constructed and properly maintained, so that we are able to generate income for our people. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, finally, the Ministry of Water and Irrigation is very critical. We heard the emotions and sentiments of Mr. M.Y. Haji. We need to pay attention to the whole country and provide water to everybody. I know that Mr. Katuku is doing a good job. In fact, I want to congratulate him for going out of his way to visit my constituents recently and promising a fairly reasonable project to be done. On behalf of my people, I want to really thank him very much. I disagree with my colleague across the Floor, Mr. Muturi, that we should not be visiting 1584 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 22, 2006 Ministers to encourage them to do projects in our areas. We must do that because as long as we do not have a budget office in Parliament to look after our needs, we have to network and get things done. I also want to appeal to my colleagues, let us play less politics and more economics to make this country a better place to live in. We spend too much time and energy on unhelpful politics at the expense of development. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to support.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to contribute. The Government is asking this House to authorise the withdrawal of Kshs172 billion in order to render services to Kenyans. If you ask the citizens whether they would wish this Government to continue ruling them for the next two years or even from today onwards, they will always say no. Why? Kenyans have every reason to disown this Government. Kenyans voted for NARC in anticipation that it would fulfil its election pledges. Today, if you ask Kenyans which party is in power, they will not tell you. Are we going to keep on confusing Kenyans each day? If we approved this money, is the Government not going to use it to confuse Kenyans further? We have the Government of National Unity (GNU). What has it achieved? They have just been talking about the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF). The CDF was mooted by parliamentarians and not the Government. It is not good for the President and the Cabinet to say that this is a Government project. This is an initiative from hon. Members because the central Government had failed to deliver services. They are asking this House to approve the withdrawal of Kshs172 billion to provide services to Kenyans. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Minister for Roads and Public Works has just requested us to go to their offices to beg for funds for small projects in our constituencies. The Government has a system of doing things. If you visit Teso District, you will find that it starts from my village, Adukiludu, Dewoi, all the way to the district, the province and then to the headquarters here. We have departmental heads of Government for all Ministries.

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Deputy Sir. I have listened very carefully to the delibrations on the about the Motion since we started, but it has got to the point where speakers are basically repeating what other hon. Members have already said. I appreciate the fact that the Ministers have been here to listen to comments about their respective Ministries.

Order, Mr. Ojaamong!

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, would I be in order to request that the Mover be now called upon to reply?

There is no quorum, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir.

Order, Mr. Ojaamong! I thought you have been here for a few years and you know how we conduct business. You do not just stand there and shout that there is no quorum. Mr. Mwancha, I will not accept that proposal. I think there are quite a number of people who want to contribute to this Motion. All I would say is that, please, do not repeat yourselves. Do not use materials that have been used by somebody else on the same Motion.

Order, Mr. Ojaamong! When you are contributing, you should take into account our Standing Order No.87. It is very clear. Please, stick to relevance of the Motion. June 22, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1585

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is money that is being voted for the Ministry of Roads and Public Works. Last year, we did the same and no services were rendered to my constituents in terms of provisions, maintenance or expansion of roads. In last year's Budget, Kshs7.5 million was earmarked for a road in Teso; from Busia to Malaba. What did we get in return? A road of about 40 kilometres was allocated Kshs300,000. That money cannot do any meaningful work. It cannot even be enough to seal potholes. There were no services rendered to my people last year. I do not expect this Government to render them this year. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on the issue of health care, I want to appreciate that we received Kshs4.5 million from the Vice-President and Minister for Home Affairs to improve our health facilities. However, it was out of the pressure of the referendum and not that the Government wanted to give services to the people of Teso. We used the money to put up a 32-bed ward. If you go to hospital, there is a modern health centre that was built during the KANU regime. It has wards and laboratories but it has only one nurse. It is not possible for the nurse to serve our people to satisfaction. How many hours do we expect her to work? However, this is an annual ritual. We are approving money to various Ministries. I hope that the Government will stop politicking and start offering services to our people. My colleague, Mr. Wetangula, said that we should do with little politics. I think it is the duty of the Government of the day to govern us. We have given them the mandate even though they are uniquely constituted. They should use that mandate to deliver services to our people. They should not blame us. They should leave politics for the Opposition because we have enough time. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we are going to give the Government the mandate to spend Kshs172 billion - I will also vote for them. They should choose to go and cause more confusion in the populace or render services. There are so many stalled projects outside. For the sake of my people, I might at one time or another visit Ministries to request for projects here and there. However, I know that we meet in our District Development Committees (DDC) and we have submitted our district plan to the Government. Even if you went to the Ministry of Planning and National Development, they have it. It is, therefore, pointless for us hon. Members to go bothering Ministers in their offices. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Government is now entering into injury time. They either have to score or walk out of the field. It is injury time! They will be stuck very soon. They will abandon their offices to campaign against us because we have a lot of time. We can tone down the politics because even our luminaries are now outside. They have not even come to lead us in the battle. However, the Government should deliver services to Kenyans and we can reconsider whether to vote them back or not. With those few remarks, I beg to support.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I also stand to support this Motion and say one or two things. First, the other day when I was contributing on the Budget Speech, I congratulated the Minister for Finance for having not factored in donor money in the Budget. However, on second thought and when I saw what is happening in my Ministry, I would like to say the following:- Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, although many people have complained about the shortage of staff in the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance has not been very fair to us. They have not given us finances to employ staff. I say this with a heavy heart because I am in the Government. However, if you look at the jobs that we have advertised, you will see that we have reached out to donors, the USAID and Clinton Foundation. Those are the ones who are assisting us to employ health workers. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we cannot expect to reverse the trend in terms of health care in this country unless we employ enough health workers. We must employ more nurses 1586 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 22, 2006 and post them countrywide. We must also pay them well and give them incentives to work in the most remote areas of this country. We will engage the Ministry of Finance more, so that it allocates more funds to the Ministry of Health. As much as we are happy that the Budget has given the Ministry of Health more money this time, it is not enough. We will use this money and ask the Ministry of Finance to give us more money to enable us employ more health workers. The other issue we have to deal with in the Ministry of Health is the fact that a lot money from the CDF kitty in many constituencies is used to enhance health services. We are not complaining. We are happy and congratulate Members of Parliament who use some of their money from the CDF Fund to construct health facilities. But the more health facilities they put up, the more the pressure on us to recruit more health workers and provide drugs. Let me say a few things on construction of new health facilities for the benefit of the hon. Members.

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. Have you noticed that some hon. Members are standing between you and the hon. Member on the Floor, which is not allowed by the Standing Orders?

Order, hon. Members! This is governed by simple rules of the House. If you go through the Standing Orders, you will know what is not right. It is out of order for you to stand between the hon. Member on the Floor and the Chair. So, those hon. Members who want to get some water should know where to get it from. Dr. Kibunguchy, proceed.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for the benefit of the hon. Members who keep on asking about new health facilities, I would like to say this: We still use the District Development Committee (DDC). I urge all hon. Members, who have new health facilities, to give information about them, through the DDCs, to our Medical Officers of Health, the Provincial Medical Officers and the Director of Medical Services. I can assure you that if that is done, we will register all new health facilities. We will then send to them health workers and equipment. The other thing that I would like to say concerns the Ministry of Health is the issue of grants. We have asked the Ministry of Finance to give us permission to give grants directly to hospitals and health facilities in the way money is sent to primary schools in this country. We feel that if money is sent directly to health facilities, it will do much more than what is happening now. This is because when we send money to the Medical Officers of Health in the districts it is subjected to the tendering process. We send, say, Kshs180,000 to dispensaries and Kshs140,000 to health centres in the country, but a lot of that money does not do much, because of the tendering process. We know how the tendering process and the Ministry of Roads and Public Works regulations work. The other issue I would like to talk about is the problem that the country has just gone through. I am glad that we have put some money aside to deal with drought and hunger that have ravaged this country. It is painful to see that 43 years after Independence we go, with bawl in hand, to ask for assistance from outside this country. We must stand tall and say enough is enough. We should be able to deal with problems in arid and semi arid areas. We should deal with droughts that keep on recurring in the country. We must have a plan to deal with the problems of drought, starvation and hunger in this country. I have been on record on many occasions saying that the Ministry of Agriculture has June 22, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1587 abdicated its role by allowing middlemen to buy maize. Middlemen buy maize when it is not dry enough. As a result of this it develops aflotoxin. It is then sold to our brothers and sisters in ASAL areas, who fall ill after eating such maize. I have said that there are certain strategic sectors in this country that should not be left in the hands of middlemen. Finally, I would like to say the following: As we give money to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, I would like to urge that Ministry to quickly operationalise the Forest Act. We passed this law in this House, but after we gave it to the Ministry nothing has been done about it. I say this because there are certain parts of the Act that directly impact on my people of Lugari. For a very long time we have practised the shamba system in Lugari, and this went a long way in alleviating poverty and unemployment. Sometime back the Government said that we were not to practise the shamba system at all. People were then thrown out of forests. It is a long time since we passed the Forest Act. The Act empowers communities to partner with the Government and the Forest Department to plant more trees. I do not know why this Act has not been operationalised up to this time. I hope that the Minister for Environment and Natural Resources is not going to ask me to visit his office before he operationalises this Act. He should operationalise it, so that communities can partner with the Forest Department to plant trees. The Department should not spend money on endless seminars lamenting about the diminishing forest cover in this country. There is a very cheap way of planting trees in this country. This is by involving the communities in planting them. With those few remarks, I beg to support.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I rise to make a few points regarding the amount of money we are going to approve today. I support this Motion, because it is a must in the sense that without its approval the Government will not run from next month. I would like to request the Minister for Water and Irrigation to ensure that he provides the money not provided in the Budget for water programmes in Keiyo District. There is complete omission with regard to the building of dams and boreholes which could assist in minor irrigation in the ASAL areas. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with regard to health, there are health centres which have been neglected because the money allocated to them is not put to use and, therefore, it is returned to the Treasury. The health centres I am talking about include those in Kochalwa, Musakeikwak and Silgoi in Keiyo North. There is need to ensure that part of this money is re- allocated in order to compensate for the money which was returned to Treasury. Clearly, it was not the fault of the utilisers of that money at home, rather it is the fault of the Ministry of Health itself. As far as roads are concerned, we would like the roads which were built in the ASAL areas and which have been destroyed as a result of heavy rains and have remained in that bad state for the last three years to be reconstructed. The Minister should ensure that he makes it first priority to utilise the money being allocated to at least construct bridges so that there is easy transport and communication between Kipsaos, Kochalwa and Kimwaren towns. There is also an unfair reorganisation that was done in the Ministry of Roads and Public Works. The money belonging to districts, for example, Keiyo District has been given to other districts. I think that factor requires reconsideration and it should be rectified so that when it comes to allocation and utilisation, this money we are voting today be also used in our respective districts for the purpose of repairing tarmac roads. There are sole projects such as the Simotwo Health Project which has remained an eyesore for a very long time. I would like the Minister for Roads and Public Works which has been working on the project on behalf of the Ministry of Health to ensure that Simotwo Health Centre and Kaptarakwa Health Centre projects are completed. We will be highlighting many more unfinished projects. However, for today's purpose, I would like to appeal to the Ministers 1588 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 22, 2006 concerned to ensure that they do the needful to correct the anomaly. I am particularly interested in the road between Eldoret and Kimwaren. That road is used by trucks which carry export products. It, therefore, generates good money for this country as far as export earnings are concerned. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those remarks, I beg to support.

On a point of Order, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. This debate has been going on for some time now and as you may have noticed, there has been a lot of repetition of issues from speaker to speaker. Is it in order for me to request the Chair to call upon the Mover of the Motion to respond?

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I, first, want to thank the hon. Members for the manner in which we have been able to exchange our views when debating this Motion which is a request to the House to allow the Government to spend 50 per cent of the Estimates. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, from the very outset, Kshs126 billion is going to be used on Recurrent Expenditure and Kshs45 billion is going to be used on Development Expenditure. A few things have been said by hon. Members and I felt that in replying, I needed to go through what has been said. The hon. Muturi, in his contribution, said that the Ministry of Water had been allocated less money than the National Security Intelligence Service (NSIS). I wish to state here that, that is not correct. If you look at the combined Vote of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation it is Kshs7.4 billion and we have Appropriation-in-Aid of Kshs4.2 billion making the Ministry of Water and Irrigation have a budget of Kshs11.6 billion. In remarks that were made by the Shadow Minister for Finance, he complained a lot about the existing infrastructure in North Eastern. This was followed by comments made by the Member for Ijara, hon. Y.M. Haji about neglect in the ASAL areas. I would have wanted to make my remarks in the presence of hon. Y. M. Haji because he was a Minister in the previous Government. He was a long-standing Provincial Commissioner (PC) too and he knows for sure that among the areas where ASAL districts have been given money is not only in the water sector. The Minister for Roads and Public Works said that there is a road being constructed from Isiolo and that has been factored in this Budget. There is money which has been factored in this Budget to construct a road in North Eastern Province. It is not only with regard to water that ASAL areas have been looked into. We have forgotten that the Free Primary Education Programme in the ASAL areas also covers boarding facilities in those areas. During the drought, we were able to provide money for hay for livestock support. We have also now been able to operationalise the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) which is supposed to benefit livestock keepers most of who come from the ASAL areas. There is the issue of integrated systems. I must say that, that is on schedule. It is in our programme and, in years to come, an integrated information system will be in place. I appreciated what the Members said about the decentralisation that has taken place. For example, the Ministry in charge of special programmes has its own Vote and so does that one of Immigration and Registration of Persons. This will continue to enhance accountability when each line Ministry is able to account for itself. One other thing that has arisen in the Budget and was completely misunderstood is the donor factor. The Minister said that he had not factored any donor support in the Budget. That is the true position. What we have is Appropriations-in-Aid for existing projects in the country. If you June 22, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1589 look at the Narok-Mai Mahiu Road, we have provided our own portion. The rest of the money is coming from AFD. If you look at the Dundori Road, we have only factored the amount of money GoK is supposed to give. The rest is Appropriations-in-Aid. This includes the road hon. Nyachae spoke about from Isiolo via Merille to Moyale. I am saying this because in terms of budgetary support we did not factor any donor support. That is for a fact. A lot has been spoken about luxury in the Ministries. It has been said that the Ministries are the highest spenders. With the new transport policy, such luxury will be something of the past. When the hon. Ojaamong spoke, he spoke about injury time. He was referring to this Government side of the House. I wondered whether he was in the same House because if there is injury time, it is for everybody including hon. Ojaamong or hon. Moi seated opposite me. He forgot to look at what NARC has done so far. Earlier today, the list of all rural electrification projects in western Kenya was laid on the Table of the House and hon. Ojaamong did not stand up to speak. That means that he was satisfied with the work of this Government. Hon. Okemo raised an issue on the Floor of this House. I want to state clearly that he once oversaw the Treasury for a couple of years. If there is anything I ever learnt from him, then it is how to roll over domestic borrowing. He is the one who borrowed the most during his time as Minister for Finance. However, as a matter of fact, the actual internal domestic borrowing remains at Kshs29 billion. It is good for us to be factual about this matter. The Minister was clear in his Speech that should we even realign ourselves with donors and money came in, domestic borrowing would automatically come down. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, finally, a few remarks made on the Floor of the House were not factual and correct. It is good that when we say something on the Floor of the House, we are actually factual. Mr. Billow, the Shadow Minister for Finance, alluded to the fact that the Permanent Secretary, Office of the President, had been sacked at one time or another. That is incorrect. I want to appeal to the Chair that rather than us spoil names of public servants on the Floor of the House where they have no defence, where an hon. Member is proved wrong, he must come back to the Floor of the House and apologise to the House for misleading it. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I want to thank all hon. Members for supporting the Motion. I beg to Move.

Mr. Kenneth, I think you have made your request a little bit belatedly with regard to Mr. Billow's allegations. You were here when he was making those allegations. You should have gotten the attention of the Chair and it would have acted accordingly. Now, we have come to the end of the debate on this Motion. I will now put the Question.

Order! The Chair will not continue pleading with hon. Members to observe the Standing Orders of the House. When the Question is being put for you to make a decision, you must be silent, because you are making law! I will now put the Question.

1590 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 22, 2006

Hon. Members, that concludes the business on the Order Paper. The House is, therefore, adjourned until Tuesday, 27th June, 2006, at 2.30 p.m. The House rose at 5.25 p.m.