, on behalf of

, asked the Minister for Energy:- (a) whether he could update the House on the progress of the Ministry’s internal investigations into the Triton oil scandal as well as the measures he has taken to ensure that such an incident does not recur; (b) what action he has taken against employees who may have been complicit in the matter; and, (c) how much the Kenya Pipeline Corporation and/or the Government have lost in the scam.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, last Thursday, we provided the answer to Question No.305. I was requested to table a report by PriceWaterHouseCoopers (PWC), which I did. A request was made by the Questioner to defer the Question for the Members to interrogate the report further.

The investigations that led to the preparation of the report on the Triton saga by the PWC were commissioned by Kenya Pipeline Corporation (KPC), arising from several suits that were instituted and are still pending before courts of law and arbitration. As such, I seek your indulgence that the discussion of the report will be against the principles of sub judice pending the court proceedings. The KPC will be greatly prejudiced in the pending court proceedings if we discuss the report. I, therefore, wish to request that under Standing Order No.80, the discussion of the report be considered sub judice with regard to what is happening.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am not sure whether I got the Assistant Minister’s comment. Is he asking for the Question to be deferred? If it is on the basis of the matter being in court, I would oppose that because there has been no basis to show that, indeed, if the matter is in court, answering the Question here would be sub judice . The rules are very clear. The mere existence of a law suit is no bar to the proceedings of the House.

Mr. Assistant Minister, will you, please, endeavour, in your response, to lay a basis for your claim that the matter is sub judice? Among other things, you need to avail to the House copies of all pleadings and very briefly refer to the area that makes you believe that this matter is sub judice .

Mr. Speaker, Sir, as I have stated, the report was prepared as a result of claims by various oil companies in the Triton saga. Basically, the report talks about the cases of each of those companies. Several companies have gone to court. We have discussed with them to take the matter out of court and come for arbitration. We are holding discussions with them. Last time, I listed the various stages that we have gone through. I have no pleadings, but I seek your indulgence because even in the preamble to the report, it is stated that the report has been prepared for the client for use in negotiating a settlement with the various financers, or for use in defending the KPC in the on-going legal proceedings currently before the court or in the anticipated arbitration and as such, it is subject to legal privilege. A few of our former staff have also been taken to court by KACA and the matter is before the court. I will cite one particular case No.18 of 2009, which is now before the court. Whereas I do not have the pleadings here, our position will be highly prejudiced if we discuss this report openly. There are only three copies of the report available to us. KACA is also having a similar thing going on. So, there are issues of arbitration because the companies are waiting to see how we will proceed. We want to defend our position as much as possible.

Mr. Assistant Minister, you have asserted that there are several cases pending in court. Will you, please, indicate to the House how many cases and, in each case, state the names of the parties?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the claim by Total Oil was---

Order, Mr. Assistant Minister! You have said that several cases are pending in court. Please, just respond to the directions I have given you. How many cases? In each case, give the names of the parties?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, there are 12 cases for the oil companies. The companies involved are Total Kenya Ltd., Kenya Shell Ltd., Kenya Commercial Bank, Engen (K) Ltd., Petrol Oil (K) Ltd., Glencore Energy UK, Enoc Singapore, Maureen Ltd., Gapco (K) Ltd., Eco Bank Kenya Ltd., Fortis Bank and Shevelin Products.

You have not given the case numbers!

Mr. Speaker, Sir, there are no case numbers for several companies. With regard to Total Kenya, the claim has been referred to arbitration by both parties. It is an arbitration case. For Kenya Shell, the matter has been referred to Mr. Norman Mwalulu for arbitration and hearings are set for 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th August, 2009. The Kenya Commercial Bank has also negotiated settlement with Triton for payment. We have, therefore, been requested to strike out the suit filed by KPC on 16th April, 2009. KCB has raised an objection to the application. Hearings are set for 30th

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. You direction to the Assistant Minister was very clear. You wanted him to state the court file numbers. He does not have any court file numbers and the names of the parties. What he has only referred to is negotiation between the parties and plaints which have been taken for arbitration. Standing Order No.80 is very clear about what constitutes civil proceedings. Arbitration proceedings are not part of civil proceedings and in the absence of court file numbers and specific names of parties, I urge you to rule that these are not privileged communications.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. If you do recall, this particular Ministry and more so the particular Assistant Minister, whenever Questions come to the House, he says that the matter is in court. You do recall the issue of Kenol/Kobil where he said the matter was in court and you did ask him to bring the court ruling but he has never done so. He is doing the same thing today. I ask the Chair to rule that he goes back and brings the actual court rulings and court file numbers so that we can know how to proceed.

Mr. Assistant Minister, do you have any response to that?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, with all due respect to what my colleagues have said, I do not have court file numbers. I think this House and this Ministry will be best served if these things are discussed publicly. It is not fair for hon. Members--- In any case, the report talks about possibilities here and there. I do not think that it is fair for us to insist to discuss the report. But if that is the wish of the hon. Members, I have nothing to hide. What I know is that this report was requested for because of the saga. That saga is not yet over. Many parties are demanding money from Kenya Pipeline Corporation (KPC). We have said that those payments are due. We have decided that we must go through some rigorous process of law and do the arbitration in court to save ourselves. So, it would not be in our interest as a Government to discuss that in public because this report is not even available to the parties. So, putting it on the table and discussing it publicly will not serve any purpose.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Would I be in order to suggest that this honourable House looks carefully at Standing Order No.80 and appreciates that in certain instances, in fact, arbitration is superior to court litigation partly because of international treaties and partly because of multilateral investment agreements. This country is a member of the International Centre for Settlement of Disputes based in Washington DC. This country has also passed an arbitration law. While I appreciate the challenge that my colleague has, looking carefully at Standing Order No.80, I would seek your guidance to rule, if you deem fit, that civil proceedings as used in Standing Order No.80 covers and in fact includes arbitral process if that arbitral process is seeking to resolve the dispute. It would be known to all of us that this country is looking for methods of resolving disputes in a fast way. Our Judiciary has been faced by challenges as to how quickly they resolve disputes. This House should be the last to suggest to the country that arbitration, particularly, when driven by parties who may not be citizens of this country is in itself not a civil proceeding. I seek your guidance because Standing Order No.80 (3) (c) states:-

“Civil proceedings shall be deemed to be active when arrangements for hearing, such as setting down a case for trial have been made, until the proceedings are ended by judgment or discontinuance.”

Then Standing Order No.80(2) states:-

“A matter shall be considered to be sub judice when it refers to active criminal or civil proceedings and the discussion of such matter is likely to prejudice its fair determination.” Mr. Speaker, Sir, I seek your guidance on behalf of my colleague that there is no mention of court case number or the civil case number in these Standing Orders. I just want clarity so that investors who have disputes in Kenyan arbitration tribunal know that they are also protected by this House under its Standing Orders.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. At the peril of getting this Minister confuse the issue, we have yet to be given the names, the case numbers, the parties and the status of those cases to determine whether a foundation has been laid. We cannot even go to the extent of determining whether the matter is sub judice before the Assistant Minister lays on the Table of the House the particulars of the case. Secondly, the Assistant Minister referred not to arbitration but to negotiations. These are negotiations between parties in a huge conspiracy to defeat justice. This House cannot be prevented from taking measures to protect the assets of this Republic. This is the second time that Triton is involved in a huge scale conspiracy and corrupt dealings amounting to over Kshs10 billion. Could we be given the particulars of the case so that we can determine whether there is a basis, before we even go to the extent of determining whether the issues are subjudice?

Fair enough! That should do it.

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

Unless it is going to illuminate a different aspect altogether, Ms. Karua, I think I have had you enough. Proceed, let me hear your point of order.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. The rule of sub judice should not be used to promote opaqueness in this House or this country. There is no way mentioning of the court case number and the package can be prejudicial to the determination of the case. Last week when this Question came up, I had specifically asked the Minister to come prepared to give us the cases, if any, that have been filed against either Mr. Devani or other core-directors of Triton. I would like to say that the previous rulings in this House by yourself and your predecessors and in the House of Commons, which is similar to this Parliament, this House cannot be stopped from discussing a matter even when it is before the court. It is how deep that discussion goes where Parliament tries to balance so as not to prejudice. So, I will leave the matter to you but let it be clear that the Executive cannot hide behind this rule to promote opaqueness and probably underhand deals instead of legal proceedings.

Fair enough! Mr. Assistant Minister, before I give my directions, at this stage I would like you to confirm and clarify a few matters. First, can you be categorical as to whether or not there are any cases filed in court? Are there cases in the High Court? In your response earlier this afternoon, you said that there are several cases. If you made a mistake then I want you to be categorical now and say that there are no civil cases in the High Court, Magistrates’ Court or Court of Appeal for that matter. Secondly, if these matters are before arbitration, then arbitration claims will normally have numbers. It would be called arbitration cause number one of 2008 or whatever number. If so, Mr. Assistant Minister, I would want you to confirm to the House if you are able, this afternoon, to lay on the Table the claim in the arbitration cause and the response or answer that has been made by the opposite party? Can you proceed now?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, first of all, there are three personnel of the KPC who are now in court and it is case No.18 of 2009 in the Anti-Corruption Court. Secondly, Total Kenya has filed a civil suit No.19 of 2009; Kenya Shell, civil case No.68 of 2009---

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Could he say who has filed against whom? Who are the parties?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I thought that was obvious. Total Kenya Ltd versus KPC, case No.19 of 2009; Kenya Shell Limited versus KPC, civil suit No.68 of 2009; Kenya Commercial Bank versus KPC, HCC No.115 of 2009; Engen (Kenya) Limited versus KPC, HCC196 of 2009; Petro Oil Kenya Limited, civil suit No.16 of 2009 in Mombasa and Glencore Energy(Kenya) Limited, civil suit No.244 of 2009. It is as a result of these civil suits that the KPC requested to find a way where we can arbitrate the process. So what I am talking about---

Order, Mr. Assistant Minister! We want to be able to conclude this matter quickly. Can you give the arbitration cause number?

I do not have that, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Indicating the claimant, who is the respondent.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, for the case of civil suit No.19 of 2009, the claim has been referred to arbitration by both parties but I do not have the number. So where there were civil suits going on, we wanted to take it out of court so that we can do it through arbitration. So, I do not have the numbers here but it is the intention of the parties to solve the matter through arbitration.

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

Order, Mr. Olago! Mr. Assistant Minister, so as to fall within the provisions of Standing Order No.80, you have to, among other things, do what I have asked you to clarify, which you have not done satisfactorily. You have referred to the Anti-Corruption Court case. Do you have the case number? But you have not dealt with that, unfortunately, and I cannot keep on repeating this. It will appear to me that you were not prepared to deal with this matter. You are certainly not prepared! What I would want you to do is that by tomorrow afternoon. In fact, I would have wanted to make the ruling of the Chair on this matter tomorrow at 2.30 p.m., if these documents had been availed to the House. So, with respect to the Anti-Corruption case, the Chair directs that you avail a copy of the charge sheet and indicate the case number. If it is before the Anti-Corruption Court, then it must have a number and a charge sheet. So we will want you to table a copy of the charge sheet with the case number.

The other civil cases that you have referred to, I direct that you table tomorrow afternoon at 2.30 p.m., in each case a copy of the plaint and a copy of the defence together with copies of any orders that may have been made up to where we are. Will you be able to do that tomorrow at 2.30 p.m.?

Most obliged, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Fair enough!

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

What is it?

I have a question, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

No, there will be no questions on this. I have given directions. I want the Assistant Minister to table all these documents tomorrow and come prepared. If the Chair is able to make a finding immediately, then one way or the other, you will have to proceed.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I said that I am most obliged knowing that I am going to deal with the Anti-Corruption Commission and other people. Would it be fair if I requested for more time because as you know between now and tomorrow getting the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission and the civil suits takes time? I would like to ask for next week.

Ms. Karua, do you want to react to this? The Assistant Minister wants more time.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, Tuesday, next week will be fine so that he can come really ready.

Accepted, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Would it not be in order if the Assistant Minister is advised that where claims are referred by consent of the parties to arbitration, then the court file number be indicated so that we know that this number was referred by consent of the parties to arbitration?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, he mentioned that we must indicate when the matters were referred to arbitration by consent, we must have the referral number. Yes, I will do that!

Fair enough! Table all that information on Tuesday at 2.30 p.m. and come ready because it is possible that the Chair may be able to make a finding immediately. In which case if the Chair decides that the matter is not sub judice, after all,

Most obliged, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. The report that the Assistant Minister is holding is not the subject of any proceedings that he has mentioned, arbitration proceedings that are pending or the criminal cases that are pending, could he table that report now?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I tabled the report last week.

Mr. Imanyara was referring to the report and that is already tabled. So we wait for further developments on Tuesday next week. Let us move to the next Order!

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to seek a Ministerial Statement from the Prime Minister regarding the invasion of Igembe South by adults from Isiolo and the Borana community. In the Statement, I would like---

Order, Mr. Linturi! Your request will have to abide Prime Minister’s Time. So, we take the Prime Minister’s Time first and then we will deal with any requests for Ministerial Statements later.

I am obliged, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

So, we will want to take the Prime Minister. As you will see from the Order Paper, the first part of Prime Minister’s Time will be utilized by the Prime Minister issuing a Statement on conservation of the Mau Forest Complex.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, an hon. Member had asked a Question about the Mau Forest Complex and I decided that I use the time today to brief hon. Members about this particular subject because it is a matter of national importance.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I stand here to declare that the restoration and conservation of our forests in general and Mau Forest Complex, in particular, is the most critical challenge that confronts the nation today. We must and can address this challenge urgently and decisively. I appeal to each and every hon. Members of this august House to rise to this challenge and, together, find a lasting solution.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Mau catastrophe is a national issue that, long after we have gone, will continue to affect all Kenyans, if not addressed now. All of us, citizens of the nation, wish to bequeath to our children and grandchildren a Kenya that is at peace with nature. President Kibaki and I have pledged that the Government will implement required remedies within the spirit of nationalism, patriotism and love for our country.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, Kenya has five water towers; namely, Mt. Kenya, Aberdares, Cherangany Hills, Mt. Elgon and the Mau Forest Complex. I stated recently that much of the country has no water, no food and limited power. Nearly two-thirds of our population live in absolute poverty and about one-quarter face hunger and even starvation. I state

We will take five clarifications beginning with the originator of this request, hon. C. Kilonzo.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, Sir. The issue of Mau Forest has taken too long to deal with. This House is disappointed. We expect the Government to act. We should not wait for a task force report on Mau for Parliament to approve and the Government to act!

We do not even need to see it! All we need is to save the Mau Forest!

Mr. Speaker, Sir, if I need to remind the Government; this Government has been known to criticize the former Head of State. We had Kyulu Hills in the Tsavo National Park where we had so many squatters settling there. We had people in the Aberdares. There was no task force report done to evict those people!

Mr. Speaker, Sir, this Government, during the day, talks about compensating and at night, it talks about eviction. The Government does not know how to deal with the Mau Forest issue. All this House wants to know is: Is this Government committed? We are not only talking about the Mau Forest. We want the Government to deal with all the cases where forests are involved? We have the Aberdares. There are some people still living in some parts of that forest. We have the Mt. Kenya Forest where some people are still farming inside!

Mr. Speaker, Sir, my question is very simple: When will the Government act? We do not want any task force report brought to this House! We want to hear that the Government has acted!

Mr. Speaker, Sir, in the first place, a task force report was not required.

Since you are the originator of this request, I will allow you to do two requests for clarification. You have done one. I will allow you one more.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the first one is: When will the Government act? Secondly, does the Government have a policy on mountains and hills? For example, we have Mbooni Hills – people should not settle on some parts of these hills. In Machakos we have Kiima Kimwi Hill. Also, the boundaries of the Aberdares need to be extended. When will the Government act on these matters?

That is being repetitive now!

Mr. Speaker, Sir, in 1996, the Government degazetted parts of the Mau Forest. I believe that was the Eastern Mau and the Southern Mau. At that time, powerful individuals formed companies purely for purposes of being given a share of the forest. I would like the Prime Minister to do the country a favour, because of the chest thumping we are seeing, by laying on the Table today the names of the original allotees who provided the route through which the small man eventually found his way into the forest.

When we hear an exchange of words between the Prime Minister and some of the Ministers and Assistant Ministers of Government, we cannot blame mwananchi if he thinks that the leadership of the country is weak.

Order, Dr. Khalwale! What clarification do you want, arising from the Statement by the Prime Minister?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the clarification I want as a result of what I have said is as follows: Since this House is assuring the Prime Minister today that he does not have to fear for his future political life--- If his political life is going to be hurt, it will not be because of Mau Complex, but rather because of something else. Could the Prime Minister tell us what he will do against the Ministers and Assistant Ministers who keep on defying the Government plans?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we understand that the Prime Minister is between a rock and hard place. Let him clarify whether the problem is emanating from the small person or the big fish. Who is senior? Is it the Government or the people we are talking about?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would like to thank the Prime Minister for providing the kind of leadership that this country so desperately needs to deal with this situation. He has said that he and the President are committed to realizing this policy. I noted that he left out the Cabinet. Could the Prime Minister give assurance to this House that the entire Cabinet, that is the 42 Ministers, is united in enforcing this policy of ensuring that squatters and other illegal grabbers in Mau Forest are removed and provide a specific period in which the policy paper will come to this House for approval? We shall approve it unanimously.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would like the Prime Minister to tell us which Government issued the 18,600 title deeds. Are they genuine title deeds or are they fake?

I come from Rift Valley and would like the Prime Minister to tell us where Mau Forest is. I do not seem to know where Mau Forest is.

Mr. Musyimi! I am giving you a chance by virtue of the fact that you are the Chairman of the relevant Departmental Committee.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, a year ago I came to see you, because I intended to have a Motion discussed here with regard to the gazetted forests, the five water towers, and Mau Forest in particular. That was not possible. A year later, almost to the day, we

Mr. Speaker, Sir, Mr. Musyimi mentioned a lot of the things that I wanted to raise. However, could the Prime Minister clarify, now that a request has been made for all the water towers to be looked into so that this country can be safe, whether there are immediate measures that can be taken to sort out some of these issues? This is because areas like Uaso Nyiro and the Lorian Swamp have completely dried up, yet they are riparian land. A lot of people downstream have been affected adversely. Could the Prime Minister institute immediate measures to sort out the very basic things that can be dealt with without a task force?

Rt. hon Prime Minister, because of the large public interest component in this matter, I will exercise the Chair’s discretion to vary our earlier direction and take three more. So, you will bear with the Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity. I would like to assure the House that the people living within that region are committed equally to the conservation of that ecosystem. We are committed to the preservation of Mau Forest, the restoration of it, and the reclaiming of any lost environmental area of importance, including the biodiversity. Beyond the platitudes about environmental changes, we are simply asking for an agreeable way forward, that will not cause social and political turmoil. Beyond the issues in Mau Forest, we are asking the Office of the Prime Minister to tell us the exact methodology they intend to use in the reclamation of the forest land, and in reversing the settlement that has gone beyond what was agreed on. We are asking the Prime Minister to tell us when the marking of the boundaries will start; we want to know this before he sends in the police and other instruments of terror. There is a clear demarcation on where the Mau Forest starts. As of now, it starts in Nakuru. We do not know whether we will start in Njoro, at Egerton University or somewhere. There is need for demarcation. We are also asking for a clear indication of commitment by the Kenya Government. Last year, we asked them to set aside funds to show us that they are committed to the conservation of the Mau Forest. This year, we have not seen any voted money that has been set aside to implement this particular commitment.

Fair enough, Mr. Ruto.

Lastly, Mr. Speaker, Sir---

Order, Mr. Ruto! Your colleagues were allowed a maximum of four clarifications.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, with your indulgence, there is one on human rights. We are asking the Prime Minister to tell us whether this Government continues to subscribe to international human rights accords, including those on habitats. Does it intend to go and burn people’s houses? We do not want to see impunity. If the methodology is impunity, then I think nobody else will be restrained from acting similarly.

Very well. Could you now relax? Mr. ole Lankas!

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity. As it has already been said, this is an issue that is very important to this country. Therefore, we need to look at it very critically. My question is that there are very many people in this forest. I want to be very specific that in the Maasai-Mau Forest, there are people who have claims. What I mean by “claims” is that there are those people with title deeds, be they legal or illegal. These are the people I believe the Prime Minister is talking about in respect of a Paper that is yet to go to the Cabinet for approval. There is another group of people in the forest. We have land speculators, who, because of even this debate that is going on now, have flooded the forest. We have charcoal burners who are in the forest in equally large numbers. We have loggers, who are in equally large numbers in the forest. In fact, these are the majority of the people who are in that forest. I am being specific. I am saying that I am talking about the Maasai-Mau Forest. Can these groups of people wait for Cabinet approval, or should they have left like yesterday? That is what I demand.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity. I would like to thank the Prime Minister for the very serious Ministerial Statement he has issued on what everybody knows is a matter of life of death in this country. The Prime Minister has talked a lot on, mainly, the Mau Forest. In other areas, we are told that the forest cover in this country, which used to be at least 10 per cent, is now about 1.7 per cent. This is not due to the destruction of the Mau Forest only. There are other areas that the Prime Minister has mentioned: The Aberdares Forest, Mount Kenya Forest, Cherengany Forest and Mount Elgon Forest. I will be grateful if the Prime Minister could also elaborate a bit on the measures he is going to take, particularly in Mount Elgon and Cherengany, so that we also do not jump from one area of the Mau Forest into another; we should actually look at the forest cover in the country comprehensively, because, as he said, this is a matter of life and death in this country.

Rt. Hon. Prime Minister, you may now give your responses.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, hon. Charles Kilonzo wanted to know when the Government will act. In answering this Question, I will answer a number of other questions that have been raised by other hon. Members. The Government is acting now. That is why we have the report. We did not want to just repeat what happened in 2005, when the Government woke up one day and sent security personnel to evict people. We wanted to be more systematic and more humane. That is why we began by appointing a task force to go and carry out extensive investigations and give us a report. As soon as this report is approved by the Cabinet, which is going to be very soon, it will be brought to this House. I hope that it will be approved by the Cabinet in its next sitting, so that we can bring it to this House as soon as possible. I am going to say more on that later on. Mr. Speaker, Sir, Dr. Khalwale wanted to know about the allotees – the big “fish” who acquired large chunks of land in Mau, some of whom went on to sell it to others,

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. The statement by the Prime Minister is not going down very well when he says that MPs are using this platform for chest-thumping and political mileage. It is important for him to respect Members of Parliament of Rift Valley Province because we were elected to discuss issues that are affecting our people. If there is anything that is burning, we have an obligation to air it.

Order, Mr. Kutuny! You have stood on a point of order. The content of a point of order must be categorical in this sense, that we have Standing Orders which govern debate in the House and essentially, the transaction of our business. What is it that---

Is it in order for the Prime Minister---

Order, Mr. Kutuny! You will have to take your seat as the Chair gives you direction. What is it that the Prime Minister has said or done that is out of order? Could you be categorical, specific and precise?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, what I wanted to ask is that is it in order for the Prime Minister to say that Members of Parliament from Rift Valley Province are seeking cheap politics by introducing politics in the Mau Forest issue?

Order, Mr. Kutuny! I am afraid, that does not amount to a point of order. I could take you further and ask you to cite which Standing Order the Prime Minister has breached as the Standing Orders say. If you are unable to cite one and treat it in the context of what you have said, then you will be out of order and you will have to live with the consequences. Are you prepared to do that?

No, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Then leave it there.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. The Prime Minister is imputing improper motives on hon. Members of Parliament who are airing their views on the question of Mau Forest. Is he in order to say that we are only engaging in cheap politicking? I think that is what Mr. Kutuny is trying to say. We do not want the Prime Minister to impute improper motives on our part. We are elected to represent our constituents and we are going to do just that.

Order, Mr. Ruto! Your point is made; that the Prime Minister is imputing improper motives on the part of those Members of Parliament who made certain statements. Can you allow the Prime Minister to respond?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, some hon. Members need to take a good lesson on Standing Orders. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I said clearly here that I had a meeting with Members of Parliament from the Rift Valley. We discussed and agreed. Rift Valley consists of several communities. There were Members of Parliament from the Kalenjin community and the Maasai community in that meeting. What we agreed is what I stated again at a function when we were opening the hydro-electric power plant at Sondu-Miriu. I stated clearly what I told these hon. Members. I said that and a day later, they were at a function at which Mr. Isaac Ruto, to be specific, said: “The Prime Minister is trying ---”

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

He is responding to a point of order!

Order, Mr. Ruto! You will have to respect this House! You will have to carry yourself with integrity and decorum!

Please, do not dare the Chair with that persistence! Mr. Prime Minister, please proceed!

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I was not at the meeting but the proceedings were televised live. Mr. Ruto said: “ Tulimuweka pale, tutamtoa ”. If that is not inciting a population, I do not know what incitement means. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to inform hon. Members that I will not be intimidated! I will not be blackmailed because what I am doing, I know, I am doing it in the best interest of this nation. I said that I am prepared to pay the political price.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Is it in order for the Prime Minister to say that he has held meetings with only two communities from the Rift Valley when we know that there are many more communities like the Kisiis, Kikuyus and Merus? Is it in order for the Prime Minister to leave out the other communities that are settled in the Rift Valley?

Rt. hon. Prime Minister that is a genuine concern. Where are the other communities?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, this meeting was held at the request of Members of Parliament from those particular communities. They requested for this meeting. They asked that before the Report of the Task Force is taken to the Cabinet,

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I stand under Standing Order No.46 which provides that a Member would be grossly out of conduct and so will a Minister, if without the leave of the Speaker he or she fails to ask or answer a Question. In view of that Standing Order and in view of the fact that the issue of the Task Force is not yet before this House and it makes it difficult for us to anticipate debate, could the Prime Minister go ahead and table the names of the influential personalities, the grabbers and companies involved? He should do so because the Standing Orders dictate so.

Rt. hon. Prime Minister, are you able to table that list? That was one of the clarifications that was sought.

Toboa! Toboa!

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I reluctantly table this list!

Fair enough! That brings us to the end of that Statement! Next Question!

RATE OF COMPLIANCE WITH FINANCE MINISTER’S DIRECTIVE ON OFFICIAL CARS

asked the Prime Minister, if following the directive by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance that Ministers and top Government officials use one official car with an engine capacity of not more than 1800cc, he could:- (a) state the rate of compliance with the directive and confirm how much savings are expected from the initiative. (b) table the list of the Ministers, top government and parastatal officials who have complied and those who have not and state whether escort cars will also be affected and; (c) state when H.E the President, H.E. the Vice President and the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister will start complying and lead by example.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, this directive was issued by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance during the Budget Speech last time. This matter is being enforced by the Ministry of Finance. I have therefore, directed the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance to answer this Question tomorrow.

Hon. Members, Questions 012 as well as 013 will be deferred to Wednesday, next week. This is for the following reasons: the Prime Minister, from his office, redirected these Questions to different Ministries including one to the Deputy Prime Minister. I am deferring these Questions to Wednesday, next week so that a

to ask the Prime Minister:- (a)to list down all the on-going Government contracts as of June 2009 which are donor supported and are over Kshs1 billion in value. (b) give the status of the performance of these contracts and indicate if the donor has threatened to recall the funds for non-utilization or under-utilization by the Government. (c)state the measures to be taken by Government to ensure that such funds are utilized in time to avoid demands for refund.

Hon. Members, before we proceed to the next Order, I have two communications to make. I will allow Members at the Bar to walk in.

Hon. Members, you will recall that yesterday I issued a communication inviting Members of the House to a briefing session by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance on measures contained in the 2009/2010 Budget, intended to spur economic growth under Economic Stimulus Package Programme that was scheduled for Thursday the 30th July, 2009. Please, note that the briefing session has been rescheduled to Tuesday 4th August, 2009 at 10.00 a.m at the same venue, namely; the Old Chamber. This change has been necessitated by the need to consult further on the subject. In the meantime, the Deputy

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Arising out of your ruling, and given the circumstances under which those undertakings were given and, also, the fact that we have recently formed an Implementation Committee that is directed to ensure that there is compliance with the undertakings given by Government Ministers in this House, may I seek your directions that this matter be sent to the Committee on Implementation to come with recommendations on how to deal with issues regarding undertakings that are given in this House on behalf of the President, so that we do not act in vain. We know that all Ministers hold office at the pleasure of the President! They could be taking us for a ride here by giving undertakings which they have no intention of honouring and, therefore, making the House sit in vain. May I seek your direction that this matter be directed to the Implementation Committee to examine the circumstances and come up with recommendations on how to deal with the undertakings that come out of the Office of the President.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I am just seeking your guidance in view of your ruling and the previous ruling by the Chair, compelling the Minister for Finance in 2007, to form the Privatization Commission. There is no law that allowed the Chair to do that. Those two rulings appear to be contradictory. The earlier ruling seems to set out the separation of powers where Parliament has a duty to ensure public interest is safeguarded without regard to what the Executive is doing, but safeguarding public interest. Could you give your guidance after looking at the earlier

Hon. Members, with respect to the point of order raised by hon. Imanyara, the Chair need not actually give that directive. That is because the Committee is vested with that power. It is part of the mandate of the Committee on Implementation to ensure that resolutions of this House are implemented by the Executive or any other responsible organ. So, the Committee on Implementation stands guided accordingly. The only thing I could, perhaps, do from the Chair is set a time line within which they may complete their inquiry. I wonder if the Chair of the Committee on Implementation is present in the House. The Chair is not here, but if they could carry out their investigations which, indeed, they are mandated to do under the Standing Orders, could we have that report filed within two months from today?

With respect to the point of order raised by hon. Karua, it is only logical for the Chair to have time to look at the HANSARD, acquaint itself with the issues raised and give directions, which I will do in ten days from today.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Last week, we requested the Minister for Co-operative Development and Marketing to table before this House---

Order, Dr. Khalwale! I think that is done! Is it on the pyramid schemes?

Yes, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

I will have a ruling tomorrow. It is just that we ran out of time and it was not going to be possible to deliver that today.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Two days before the House went on recess, I sought a Ministerial Statement from the Minister for Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs on the issue of refund of donor funds---

Order, Mr. Olago! We moved away from Statements. So, you are overtaken by time. You can raise that, possibly, tomorrow.

Hon. Members, we will now have to take the next Order. Hon. Linturi, I think you will have to raise your matter tomorrow. We are desperately out of time.

Next Order!

Hon. Members, note that because of the amount of time we spent on Prime Minister’s Time, which we had to in the public interest, sitting time will be extended until 10.12 p.m. That is the law.

Proceed!

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that the Speaker do now leave the Chair. I wish to record my gratitude for the opportunity accorded to me to move Vote R43 and D43 for my Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology. I wish to record my appreciation to the Parliamentary Committee on Education, Research and Technology for the important role it has played in supporting my Ministry on matters of education, research and technology. My Ministry has worked effectively with the Committee.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, may I start by briefly outlining the mandate, mission, objectives and the policy interventions we have put in place for higher education, science, innovation and technology. The mandate and mission of the Ministry is to promote, facilitate and co-ordinate development through provision of quality personnel and integration of science, technology and innovation into the national development system. The objectives of integration of science, technology and innovation includes preparation and equipping the youth with relevant skills and expertise in order to effectively and efficiently serve the needs of the individual and national development. In addition, our objective is to co-ordinate science research for development. In order to achieve its mandate, mission and objectives, the Ministry has put in place policy intervention for the sector whose implementation strategy takes into account the overall economy policy framework for Kenya. In the process, we advocate for effective participation of all key stakeholders in science, innovation, technology and training programmes. Our aim is to reduce duplication of efforts by optimum mobilisation and utilisation of our resources to achieve technology, innovation, research training goals and objectives.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, my Ministry has strenuously implemented its science, innovation and technology policy strategic plans. Since the creation of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology since 2008, it has witnessed modest increased Government funding. With increased funding the Ministry has achieved the following: It has carried out rehabilitation works in our technical institutions. It has also provided modern equipment to these schools, effected bursary for students in our technical institutions, and provided vehicles for transport in all 19 technical training institutes. The Ministry is now funding research innovation for development and has created about 50 authorities.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, my Ministry has upgraded 12 institutions to constituent university colleges and another three to universities campuses. This would increase access to university education for our graduates from both technical institutions and secondary schools. In addition, and in order to further promote technical training, my Ministry has identified 11 technical institutions to be equipped as centres of excellence in various fields. These institutions will be equipped with modern equipment for quality training. To replace some of the upgraded technical institutions, my Ministry has planned to build 13 new technical schools. These new institutions will be funded both by the Government of Kenya and the African Development Bank for the next five years. In our efforts to maintain high standards of education, we have established the Directorate of Quality Assurance and Standards. This will ensure quality technical education is maintained.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, thank you for giving me this opportunity to second this important Motion on the Vote of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology. The first issue of concern is the

Mr. Speaker, Sir, thank you for giving me this opportunity to support this Vote of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology. As a Committee, we had an opportunity to share and be taken through the budget by the Ministry led by the Minister. I want to confirm to the House that we as a Committee, do agree with what they came up with. In agreeing with the budget of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, first of all, we looked at the mandate of this very important Ministry. It is the only Ministry in our country that is expected and is empowered to promote the development of quality personnel, not only for the other sectors in Kenya but even outside this country. Within their mandate, we noted that the Ministry is charged with the responsibility of technology and innovation, technical education, national polytechnics, Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), university education and the continuing education.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, looking at the budget given to this very important Ministry that as a Kenyan country we always are proud of the products from Kenya whenever they are performing their duties within and outside this country; we noted that the Ministry requested a total of Kshs28,116,200,000 for Recurrent Expenditure and Kshs10,022,200,000 for Development Expenditure. However, they were allocated Kshs21 billion for Recurrent Expenditure and Kshs4 billion for Development Expenditure, giving a very serious shortfall of Kshs12.491 billion. This is a Ministry that is charged with ensuring that we are able to do research in order for this country to adapt the best policies for this country. That allocation the Ministry got was merely 2.96 per cent of the national annual Budget. It is the feeling of my Committee that this Ministry deserves more than what was given to them if we really want to change, especially in terms of producing the best personnel for our nation. Within the proposed new projects in the Ministry, I am glad to note, as the Chairman of the Committee, that the concerns of Kenyans, especially on the taking over of the tertiary institutions by the universities, was addressed in this Budget. Within the Budget, the Minister has provided for the construction of eight technical training institutes and within the Committee meeting, we requested that, that may not be enough especially given the fact that some provinces are too large to accommodate only one Government Technical Institute (GTI). I am glad to note from the Minister’s sentiments that this number has risen to 12. We would like, as a Committee, to applaud this kind of move.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, as a Committee, we also considered where these GTIs are going to be constructed. I would like to thank the Minister for the initiative and for the personnel that went out to identify the sites that are going to benefit within this first year. We recommend, as a Committee, that the consideration of the sites in future should be addressed to ensure that the task force that is sent out to identify is fully inclusive of mainly the major stakeholders so that proper and correct places are identified. We also note that this year, we enacted the Biosafety Act and I am glad to note that there is a provision of Kshs50 million to kick-start the operations of this authority. As a Committee, we applaud this kind of move.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the Vote for the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology.

I think that the direction the Minister is taking is the right one, and I want to encourage her, especially with regard to the expansion of tertiary institutions and universities. I am saying this because I have an interest in my constituency. My constituents have been requesting this Government to do something for a long time now. They have also done their own part. We in Amagoro Constituency have donated about 150 acres to the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology. We did that two years ago. We have been expecting them to move in and start owning the piece of land, which is in Alupe. It would be a very good centre because Alupe is already established. We have buildings, including laboratories there, which we have given to the Ministry free of charge. The University that we wanted to partner with, Moi University, has already moved in and done renovations, but there is a lot of inertia from the headquarters to come and take up this opportunity. We have already talked to Moi University and partners from the private sector and elsewhere. We have been restrained because the constituent college has not been gazetted yet, so that all the stakeholders can move in to ensure that the institution begins to function. Unfortunately, and I think the Minister knows this, this Government might not have enough money to start anything. However, as a community, we have already moved in. We are prepared to attract other investors from elsewhere, be it the private sector and so on, so that they can come and put up institutions and provide our people with training. That will not be a local institution because it will serve almost the whole country. It is my plea that now that the Minister has indicated that she is going to be very aggressive in the expansion of university education, she is going to consider Alupe Constituent College of Moi University as one of the campuses and then support it as soon as is practicable. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with regard to the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), we MPs, are constantly challenged by students from our constituencies. They are not given sufficient funds by HELB. It is necessary that we Members of Parliament have a session with officials from the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, and see where the problem is and how best we can address it as a

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. Is the hon. Member in order to say that there are some fears, yet I tabled the document before this House and he should have accessed it?

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I know that my time is up.

Thank you Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to support Vote 43, Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology. I also want to thank the Minister in charge of that Ministry because the Minister and her technical team have ensured an equitable distribution of resources in that Ministry across board in this country. In supporting this Motion, I have a number of issues to raise. The first one is the expansion of university education in this country. Research and education are key to this country’s development. The Ministry of Livestock Development, where I am the Assistant Minister, and in the Ministry of Agriculture, we will need professionals to undertake research and higher education. If we do not fund the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, then we will be talking about passing this over to key production Ministries. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, even as we expand university education, the moral question that we need to ask ourselves is whether it is being done equitably. Are all

Time up, Mr. Duale! Dr. Kones!

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to support this Ministry’s budget. First of all, I want to laud the Minister for the initiative she has so far made in the Ministry since she took it over. Our higher education sector requires a lot of attention in terms of financial support. I hope that this year, and in the years to come, we are not going to experience the kind of strikes we have experienced in the past, where lecturers in our State universities call strikes because of poor pay. We read in the Press the other day that their terms of service are being reviewed. I want to urge the Minister to reward professionalism in this country. We have a lot of trained people in the universities, but

Time up, Dr. Kones!

With those remarks, I beg to support.

Mrs. Noor, you have five minutes!

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this very important Vote. As you know, education is the foundation stone for all development. Education is the most important thing in building the capacity of our human resource sector. It is a tool

Your time is up!

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I support the Vote.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to start by saying that I support this Motion on the Vote of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology. I wish to congratulate the Minister for the good work that she has done since she came to that office. The two Ministers of education have done a very commendable job. They are very dynamic. I am sure we are about to go a long way in terms of developing our education.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would also like to thank the universities for having been quite innovative. During the time I went to school, once you missed the university entry point by one point or so, you became doomed because there was no way you could access university education. These days, you can go through the parallel university programme or study in the private universities in Kenya. I am very sure that even some Members of this Parliament have been beneficiaries of this programme. I am sure it will go a long way in terms of supporting education in this country.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to say that we are doing very well in terms of university education. I would like to request the Minister to put a bit of emphasis on the issue of tertiary institutions which she talked about. The attitude of students and parents is such that when you start schooling, you aim to go to Form I, Form IV and university. In the thinking of students and parents, there is no provision for these other colleges.

We know very well that some of the very good performers in this country and also in other countries in the world are people who have gone through institutes of technology. You get hands-on knowledge in these institutes which you can be able to apply very effectively.

I would like to request the Minister through the Government funds that she will get, although it is not enough and also through the funds from our partners who are collaborating with us, that we put a lot of stress in these institutions, improve them and also try to spread them all over the country. This will ensure that each region can have access to these institutions. Students who are not able to go to university can go to these institutions and also end up at very high levels. That will help our country in terms of development.

Education is supposed to address the needs of that particular country. Whatever we do in class should be translated to supporting the society in terms of future development.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would also like to contribute on the issue of research. We have very competent academicians and scholars in this country. However, research is hampered by lack of funding. It is high time that we allocated funds for research, so that whatever we get from research can be implemented and, therefore, help our country in terms of development.

The Government is one of the highest spenders in terms of purchases, consultancies and training. It is high time we thought of giving some of these tasks to the universities to do this kind of work as a corporate body. Part of the money paid can go to the individuals conducting that research. Part of that money can also go to the university

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to support this Motion.

I would like to congratulate the Minister and the officers of the Ministry of Higher Education for a job well done. There is one area which I think requires all of us to think deeply and create some connection. That is the area of production and education. Very many times, as has been alluded to by Mr. Dalmas Otieno here, we need to give education but for what? I think time has come when industries should be encouraged to support universities to research in the areas of their production. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for example, a factory that produces a particular product which could be a beauty product, should be encouraged to fund research through the university so that the product is more qualitative and end up with greater benefits as an industry. The same can be said with agriculture and other fields of production. I think the Ministry of Finance, in particular, should think of giving tax breaks to industries and producers who engage in funding research. I am sure this, in the long run, will translate into a connection between the producers and the education institutions. Many a times, research in our universities ends up on shelves purely because the researchers did not have any intention to get their findings to be used for any purpose. Therefore, it is my humble suggestion that the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology engages the Ministry of Finance so that the Ministry of Finance starts to give tax breaks to industries that engage universities in research. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I do not intend to add anything more than this. To me, many of the things that have been said are agreeable. Indeed, we would like to move towards ensuring that we expand all our areas of education and quality education for that matter. With those few remarks, I beg to support.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise to support this Motion. The issue of higher education is not just an issue of learning but also an issue of life. It is through higher education that livelihoods are created.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this important Vote on the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology. First and foremost, I want to congratulate the Minister and the Ministry for coming up with very good programmes. I am a member of the Education, Research and Technology Committee. We were very much impressed by the programmes that she has come up with, although they were not given the money that they requested for. I think that the programmes that they came up with are very encouraging. If they are well implemented, they will go a long way in improving science and technology in this country. Having said that, I would like to congratulate the Ministry on a number of decisions they have taken, which I think are very important, with regard to technical institutions. Technical institutions are actually the foundation of development in any country. If you go to the US and also in Europe, you will find that the tertiary institutions are the drivers of the economy. I am very much impressed that the Ministry has taken this very seriously and in this financial year, they have proposed to construct eight technical training institutions. This, to me, is a real milestone. They have gone ahead and proposed to come up with an authority called TIVET which will control or mainstream technical education in this country at the tertiary level. This is something which I would want in future, probably in the next Budget, to be allocated more money. This is where we are going. If we are going to industrialize, it is the technical institutions that will make us industrialize. Producing academic graduates from the universities is good but they cannot be the hands-on people. Therefore, I would like to see the Ministry mainstream and focus mainly on technical institutions. I also want to congratulate the Ministry, for the first time, for proposing to come up with the research foundation in this country. This is extremely important because previously, research work has been lacking in this country. We have so many institutions such as the National Council of Science and Technology (NCST) which has been there for very many years. However, it has not been given the funding that is required to make it play a major role in research work. Therefore, the establishment of a research foundation will coordinate all the research in science and technology and innovation in this country. This will give us a real good foundation to play the role of creating knowledge. We are in the 21st century. This is a century of knowledge economy. Research, science and technology are the drivers of knowledge economy. Therefore, the establishment of a research, science and technology foundation is extremely important. So, I will look forward to this foundation being set up, so that we can see our researchers access money to carry out research work.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker Sir. I also stand to support this Vote. I want to take the shortest time possible and I want to start by asking the Minister for Higher Education, Science and Technology to serve Kenyans by considering their needs. There is a concern with regard to space in our universities. It is my kind request to the Minister to make sure that there is expansion of our universities. The amount of money that poor Kenyans are spending by sending students to South Africa, Europe and to the United States of America is a matter of great concern. If you go to the United States of America Embassy, you will see how our Kenyan students suffer there, queuing to be issued with visas to go and study in America. This also happens in the British High Commission. Therefore, it is paramount that we build enough universities in this country. The planners in this country must plan and base their plans on issues that concern Kenyans. We spent Kshs700 million recently to buy the Prime Minister’s office. We will also spend another Kshs500 million to renovate the same building when in actual fact, we are going to deploy someone there someone who should have worked and operated with what we have. That money should have been used to build more universities.

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. We are discussing Vote 43 of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology. Is the Member in order to bring issues regarding another Ministry and in particular, the Kshs750 million that is meant for the purchase of the BP Shell House for office of the Prime Minister?

Order, hon. Duale! What Vote are you talking about?

I am talking about Vote 43.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am talking about money that is being spent by the Government. I am not talking about the Ministry’s expenditure. This is money that could have been used to build an additional university to cater for our children. I am happy that the Permanent Secretary in this Ministry was the former Vice- Chancellor of one of our national universities, Nairobi University, and he understands very well, the problems that lecturers are facing. He was one of them, he headed the department. It is high time that the Minister, through her Ministry considered upgrading the pay of our lecturers. The problems we have been going through when lecturers go on strike as they try to demand for better pay, that time would have been used to offer quality education to our children. I want to give a very good example. The microphone I am using now is not made in Kenya. This small item is imported, and we are not about to manufacture ours any time soon. This microphone was either manufactured in China or Hong Kong. It is time that the Minister put firm emphasis in the research department so that it is funded to the maximum. This will help us to reach a stage where we can produce our own items. Electric cables are all imported. Even the machines that produce plastic water bottles are imported. So, what are we doing? It is up to the Ministry to make sure the research department is funded, so that we can compete with the rest of the world. It is a shame to see that even the machines that produce the buttons of our shirts are imported. Even machines that manufacture small items like nuts or wheels are all imported. Kenya has got the capacity to fund its own research and we can achieve the best.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to support the Vote.

Thank you very much, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to support this Vote. The Minister needs all the support that this House can possibly give in terms of allocating more resources.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I just want to speak about higher education, particularly the universities that continue to come up in this country. While we encourage the growth of universities, it should be uniform in this country to an extent that the Minister herself must be satisfied that every part of this country has got an opportunity to host a university. At the moment, there is too much concentration of universities in areas where those facilities already exist. I have no problem with those universities being situated where there is desire by local leadership to establish them. But the whole of North Eastern Province and northern Kenya, particularly in Turkana and other parts of Rift Valley do not have a single university where the Minister can actually go and officiate a graduation ceremony. I think it is a shame that we continue to build those institutions in a manner that can create hostility in this country. We want to provide facilities for students in the northern part of Kenya. We want a university established in Turkana. In the north-east, we already have facilities and, therefore, want a university established there, so that the people around that area can feel that their students and those from other parts of the country can enroll there. In order to establish national integration, I want the Minister to look at the spread of those universities. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, secondly, I want to address the question of education attachĂŠs. I would like to ask the Minister to be firm on this matter, because

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I have been keenly assessing the mood of the House and I am convinced that much of what is supposed to be discussed has been covered. May I, therefore, request the Chair to call the Mover to reply.

Hon. Dhadho, that is legitimate, but you should also be counting the time that we are using. It is about time for the Mover to reply. So, it is unnecessary. Proceed, hon. Affey!

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I was just saying that the Minister must be firm on how those scholarships are distributed, so that Kenyans from all parts of the country can have a possibility to acquire them and achieve their ambitions. The way it is now, if a scholarship comes through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the traffic is so long. Before it reaches the Ministry for Higher Education, Science and Technology, they might end up with very few slots which might not be sufficient. So, I think the Minister can even go to an extent of having to establish direct links with embassies here, so that they understand the number that is given to the country. If you leave it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I think it will not reach the desired target that the Minister and this country wishes to realize. On the issue of bursaries and the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), there is need to continue to encourage HELB to provide support to parallel degree programmes. That way, many Kenyans can get an opportunity to pursue education. With those few remarks, I beg to support.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, from the outset, let me say that I support this Vote. It is also gratifying to note that both the Minister and the

Order, hon. Members! I think it is time for the Mover to reply. But before she does so, I just want to bring to your attention an issue as a result of the request to terminate the discussion. Actually, our Standing Orders do not allow us to do so. Standing Order No.155(9) says:-

“On any day upon which the Chairperson is under this order directed to put forth with any question, the consideration of the business of supply shall not be anticipated by a Motion for the adjournment of the House, and no dilatory Motion shall be moved in relation to that business, and the business shall not be interrupted under any Standing Order”. So, hon. Members, be advised!

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, thank you for giving me the opportunity to respond.

I would like to thank the House for enormous support it has given to us. I want to assure you that we have taken note of what you say and we will take your remarks into consideration. I am sure the House would understand if I thank the Departmental Committee on Education, Research and Technology because I know how much time and effort they have taken to understand what we want to do and suggest to us what we could do, that we had not thought of. We will, of course, continue to engage you, as a Committee, us we move forward.

Responding more specifically to some of the issues that were raised, I want to confirm to the House that we intend to table the Bills that were referred to as soon as possible. We will bring those Bills to this House because they will assist us in the Ministry and the country to move forward.

In response to the education attaches issue which has been raised here twice and spoken to at length, I want to be fair and point out to the House that if there is any remiss there, it does not rest within the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology. We have tried to do our work. In the last financial year, we had funds and posted education attaches. But for those of you who know how this operates, a Ministry posts and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs takes action according to what the relevant Ministry requests. In our case, for some unexplained reason, we faced enormous stone walling from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I heard hon. Affey say the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology should be stronger. We went everywhere and there is enough communication on that effort. We will be posting more because it is, indeed, very difficult for us, as a Ministry, to manage the affairs of the students outside this country without using the officers whom we can ourselves detail and who are accountable to that Ministry. I do not say this out of ignorance because as some of you would know, I was a diplomat myself and served in areas where I had education attaches. I could not duplicate their work. They had to do it under the Ambassador and report to their relevant Ministries. Furthermore, as an administrator, I had run that Ministry for ten years. We allowed the relevant Ministries to post their attaches with funding given to them by the relevant Ministry of Finance. It is, therefore, strange to me that this is even an issue.

(Prof. Ongeri) seconded.

THAT The Speaker Do Now Leave the Chair

Vote 31 – Ministry of Education

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move:-

THAT a sum not exceeding Kshs66,514,162,700 be issued from the Consolidated Fund to complete the sum necessary to meet the Expenditure during the year ending 30th June, 2010 in respect of :-

Vote 31 – Ministry of Education

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is my pleasure to move Vote 31 both Recurrent and Development. Before I present details of these estimates, I wish to reaffirm my Ministry’s commitment to the full implementation of the current policy framework governing our education sector whose goal is to provide equal opportunities to education

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am pleased to second the Vote on the Ministry of Education. I would like to congratulate the Minister, the Assistant Ministers, the Permanent Secretary and his entire team for a job well done. We have seen our education sector grow from strength to strength, and in particular, from the time the Free Primary Education (FPE) programme was introduced. It is a success story. This was followed by supported secondary education. Kenya is envied by many countries in this region. I can authoritatively say that we are among the very few countries that offer free primary education and partially paid for secondary education.

Time up, Madam Minister!

With those remarks, I beg to second.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the Vote of this very important Ministry.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to also support this very important Vote. The Minister and Permanent Secretary no doubt are very qualified Kenyans. Every Budget time, we have developed a song. As parliamentarians from northern Kenya when the Budget is read, we realize the serious shortfall and lack of attention the Ministry gives to the northern and Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs).When you speak to them, you get a sense of passion, but that sense of passion is never reflected in the Budget. Therefore, I would like to plead that this is given sufficient attention. I will begin by access. Twenty per cent of the entire northern Kenya in terms of land size can be equated to 75 per cent of the land size of this country. Educational opportunities are only accessed by 20 per cent while in the rest of the country, nearly 95 per cent get access. Therefore, there is need for the Minister and his staff to rethink their strategy and try to change the mindset. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we want to thank the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance for giving this Ministry money even though it is not sufficient.

Your time is up! Dr. Laboso!

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I will begin like everybody else by thanking this Ministry most sincerely for their continued commitment

Dr. Laboso, your time is up! Hon. Members let us observe time, it is only a maximum of five minutes.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I stand to support. First, I want to congratulate the Minister and his staff for well-done preparations. However, there are a few points, like my colleagues have said, we need to pay attention to.

Let me start with the Development Expenditure. If we are going to give quality education, we should support the Minister to ask for adequate funds that would bring on board the Early Childhood Education Programme to primary schools as well. We need to address that. Internationally, that is a recognized factor and we do not need to belabour that. The Minister should request and allocate adequate finances for that programme.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the other issue that is worrying, although we congratulate the Government through the Ministry of Education for the free primary education, is the delay in getting those finances to our schools. Last year we toured the whole country. This year both primary and secondary schools have not received what they should have received to manage their affairs. We urge the able Minister to do everything possible to get those funds to schools on time in order for our schools to be able to implement the curriculum and other programmes necessary for quality education.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also want to commend the Minister and his staff for the funds they are providing for infrastructure to our primary and secondary schools. That is good enough but not adequate. Therefore, a little more will be required to bring our school infrastructure to the standards where they will be able to offer quality education. Regarding the issue of posting P1 teachers, although we have a shortage of teachers, we have enough trained teachers but they are just at home. While I do appreciate that the marginalized areas need to be considered, why would the Minister require that teachers from other areas who are idle human resource for this country be posted to the areas where there is shortage of teachers until they meet certain conditions? There could be a condition that you work there for two years and go to another area. Some schools have not had teachers in advantaged areas but there are teachers who are trained but not employed. I leave that issue to the Minister to consider but this is a human resource that is being wasted and yet we are one country. I want to support one of my colleagues who said that the requirement for P1 teachers should be brought down. If you require a D+ (Plus), consider that so that some areas do not permanently remain behind in the shortage of teachers.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, regarding the issue of mobile schools, we have seen mobile schools operate in other countries. Why not in Northern Kenya and some parts of the Rift Valley? Time has come for every child to get basic education financed by the same Ministry and to access the same resources like other areas.

The other area that is very important is the School Feeding Programme. We are only talking about the semi-arid areas but a large area in this country which had not been affected before is now being affected by drought and famine. I request the Minister to consider all those areas that have been receiving foodstuff from the Central Government to be considered for the School Feeding Programme so that they can continue learning like other areas. We would also want to, in commending the Ministry, to request more consideration to be given to inspectors of schools or Quality Assurance officers. The Minister would want to create enough room for these officers to be operational. They are there, they have no facilities, there is no transport for the inspectors or so-called Quality

Your time is up!

With those few remarks, I beg to support.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I rise to support this particular budget proposal and in doing so allow me to congratulate Prof. Ongeri who was my Fourth Year lecturer at the School of Medicine. With all due respect to Ministers in this country--- I had been thinking about Prof. Ongeri and Prof. Saitoti. When Prof. Saitoti was at this Ministry, the Ministry was doing extremely well. Again, Prof. Ongeri has gone there and the Ministry is doing very well. It leaves me wondering: Why are we shy? Why can we not resolve that people who find their way into Ministries must have good qualifications for the sake of this country? Is it purely by chance that the two professors are doing well in this bloated Cabinet? Why can the other people also not do well? I congratulate my two professors!

I also want to congratulate the Shadow Minister for Education, Mr. Koech, for the good response he has given. But I would like to encourage most Chairs of Committees that it will serve this country very little if Chairs come here and start supporting the Ministerial proposals in a lot of flowery language. We should look at ourselves as a Shadow Cabinet whereby Chairs give an alternative view of how the Government could have done better. I believe this will go a long way in making the Ministers to realize that there are loopholes which they should seal.

There are few points that are important in the country, practical ones, which I would like to mention. First, let me comment on the issue of the bursary. I would like to congratulate the Government; the bursary seems to be working fairly well but there is room for us to increase the amount of money that we allocate for bursaries. If the Minister for Education could just go back to Kisii and look at what is happening in the secondary schools bursary situation, you will find that because of the new rules, we are able to give the money to children in boarding schools but the poorest of the children of Kenya are not in boarding schools. They are in day schools. We should relax the rule and regulation governing the bursary allocation so that we start giving some little amount of money; even if it is Kshs2,000 to Kshs3,000 to day-schools because that is where the majority of the poor children are.

The issue of centres of excellence could not have come at a better time but I want to request the Minister, in the next financial year, to be brave so that we have a centre of excellence in each constituency for boys and a centre of excellence in each constituency for girls. The money that is going to be used for construction of these centres of excellence--- We would like the Minister to seriously consider channeling this money through Constituencies Development Fund Committee (CDFC). The experience that you are going to find, if you do a proper audit, of the school infrastructure funds, you find that whereas the CDF has been able to build two very nice classrooms using, probably, Kshs900,000, when you go and see what the infrastructure funds have done, they have done far less work, qualitatively compared to what the hon. Member and his committee was able to supervise.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me an opportunity to speak. First of all, I want to join my colleagues in thanking the Ministers involved in education for the wonderful work that they have done. I also want to extend my gratitude to the Permanent Secretaries in the relevant Ministries – Prof. Karega and Prof. Kiamba - for the wonderful job they are doing. I am sure that without you and your officers, the Ministries could not be doing the good work that they have done. The credit goes to you and we are very grateful in this country for having the kind of officers that are serving in the Ministry of Education.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to say here and now that any country worth its salt must invest in its youth. We must invest in the education of our children. There is no price too high for the education of our children. Countries like Japan have excelled because they have heavily supported the education of their youth. So, we must, as a country, be prepared to sacrifice, to increase and support the Ministry of Education because those are our children! They may not be your children or my children – maybe, we can afford the education of our children - but they are our children and they are our nation’s future. So, we must support the education of our children!

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, having said that, I want to say that for us to have the kind of education that we need in this country, we must start from the very early stage. The Ministry of Education must ensure that we have proper facilities for our education from Early Childhood Development (ECD)! I want to say here that this House must support whatever budget the Ministry of Education gives. I am given to understand that you are short of about Kshs8 billion for you to realize whatever you wanted to do. We must, as a House and as a nation, support the education of our children by giving them enough funds to enable our children to do well.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to thank, once again, the Ministry of Education because, recently, their officials visited my area to see why that area is performing so poorly. I want to say that, that was a worthy exercise that should be extended to other parts of the country. Learn first-hand what is happening in those areas. Learn first-hand why our children are doing so badly. There are many reasons that cause our children to do badly. One of the reasons is because most of our schools do not have

Your time is up!

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to support.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, thank you for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this Vote. I join others in congratulating the Minister for Education, the PS and the staff of the Ministry, especially for giving a very good ear to the suggestions and proposals that people make, for responding to the letters that Members of Parliament (MPs) write to him, and for attending to them promptly. I have a few comments to make, at the risk of repeating some. The Education Act provides for District Education Boards (DEBs). It does not recognise the constituencies. Here, we are talking more of constituencies than districts and DEBs. I would suggest that we look at districts rather than constituencies, because some of us who have two districts are at a dilemma as to which district to give the Kshs2 million. I have two DEBs. It is like the issue of boys and girls. Do I build a boys’ school? Do I build a girls’ school? Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker,Sir, when I went home after the Budget, I met my two sons and my two daughters fighting over which one will be built. Is it a boys’ school or a girls’ school? I was unable to give them an answer. I told them that the DEB would decide, and not me. We should look at the parity, and not the affirmative action that is being advocated. I am at a loss in this House because we always talk about the girl child. In Imenti North District, South Imenti District and Meru Central District, girls have more opportunities than the boys. So, it is time we talked about parity and provision for all sexes, instead of emphasizing one sex at the expense of the other. Our boys feel as

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for that opportunity. The Ministries have done very well. However, there are a few issues that I would like to point out. One is the issue of the feeding programme that has just been mentioned. In my constituency, you only need to cross the road to Laikipia where children are getting the school feeding programme. There is no feeding programme in my constituency and yet, it has the same climatic condition as the area across the road. From a very early point, the child is able to see that we have two or three categories of people who are being brought up in this country. On the issue of hardship allowance, the situation is the same. Across the road, we have teachers earning hardship allowance while there is no hardship allowance in my constituency. The conditions in both areas are the same, but no reason has been advanced for that. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have this notion of national schools that are there in many parts of this country. These national schools are useful because they help the nation. It is important to note that while the quota system that is in place has had

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, let me take this opportunity to thank the Ministry of Education for the budget which they presented. Let me congratulate the Minister and his team. The Ministry has a very committed team. I am a frequent visitor to the Ministry of Education and I am very happy with the way the Permanent Secretary, Prof. Karega Mutahi, is managing the Ministry. The Ministry is channeling a lot of resources to our schools. However, these funds reach the schools but are not properly managed by our head teachers. The funds require very close supervision. Very close and thorough inspection of these institutions is also

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker Sir. I would like to join my colleagues in supporting this very important Motion. It has been said and it is true that this is one Ministry which is being run professionally. I want to say, for records sake, that the Minister had an opportunity of visiting my district and that in itself encouraged us, in the constituency and the district at large. I just want to talk about a few issues. Some of them we cannot avoid repeating. As we approve this proposed budget, I want to say that these funds should reach the rural areas. This is not the first time we are discussing the budget for this Ministry. However, some areas do not benefit. We have been talking about marginalized areas in this country although we have never been told which these marginalized areas are. Some of us feel that there are certain areas which are marginalized. As we discuss these proposals, we want them to translate to those areas which have not felt the impact of the change we are talking about. Although the money we are talking about is not enough, it should be felt in the grassroots level in the rural areas.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the issue of distribution of teachers is a problem. You will find that the concentration of teachers is mostly in urban centres, leaving some rural schools without teachers. This is a discrepancy that has been mentioned time and again. It has come severally on the Floor of this House; that there are

Thank you very much, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for granting me the opportunity to support this Motion.

As hon. Saitoti put it, of course, you cannot discuss matters of basic education to the exclusion of higher education. I want to support sentiments expressed by many Members of Parliament that both Ministries are run in the most professional way. I am aware that in the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, we have come up with several reforms. There are reforms in the science, technology and innovation and many other policies that are coming up. In the Ministry of Education, I think the Minister has a sterling job in various areas. I am very happy with the extension of the feeding programme in nomadic schools. I am also happy to hear that children will be given food in the month of August when they are supposed to be on holidays. I think this will assist children in pastoral areas where my friend, hon. Chachu, comes from to continue with their education. The Ministry is working very hard. I want to congratulate both the Permanent Secretary for

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me join my colleagues in congratulating this Ministry for a job well-done. This is a Ministry with a vision and it is a Ministry that responds to queries on time. This is the driving force of this country. If this Ministry does not work, then this country can come to a standstill. I know that there have been a lot of compliments but this Ministry must continuously review and reflect on what they are doing so that they remain relevant.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, without wasting time, I want to emphasize on the issue of quality assurance. At the district level, many times, the District Education Officer (DEO) tries to bog down the quality assurance yet it is a key department. I want the Ministry to look at the level of independence to be given to the Quality Assurance Department so that they can go to the field and do the work that they are supposed to do without being hindered by the administrators in the name of the DEOs.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the budget of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology and the Ministry of Education. As Kenyans, we should be so proud that these two Ministries are headed by

Mr. Chachu, your time is up!

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to support.

Order, hon. Members! It is now time for the Mover to reply. Yes, Mr. Minister!

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir---

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I think the Chair had made a ruling that this debate continues up to 10.12 p.m. So, I think it is too early for the Minister to respond. We need to be given more time to contribute to this Motion!

The Chair made a ruling stating- --

Stating that the debate will continue up to 10.12 p.m. So, we still have plenty of time!

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we are here to serve the country and this House is supposed to adjourn at 10.12 p.m. We want to contribute to this very important Motion.

Order! Order, hon. Members! The Chair appreciates your interest and your enthusiasm to work for the nation. But the Chair also has a desk manned by the Clerks, where time is being monitored. Yes, we have four hours; each one hour for each Vote in terms of Committee. Those are two hours and that is the next Session we are heading to. Then, we have the other two hours for the contributions. We have already done that for the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology and we have concluded for the Ministry of Education. Everybody who spoke here, we counted the time they spoke and, so, the Chair is properly advised that it is time for the Government Minister to reply.

Order, Minister! The Chair is on his feet and you should remain where you are!

Now, hon. Members, you can be sure that the Chair cannot deny you the opportunity to speak. Let the Minister reply and then we will go to the Committee stage.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, first of all, I want to thank all the hon. Members for their support to the Ministry of Education’s budget---

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. This country is under an emergency---

How?

A drought emergency! Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we wanted to send a message to the Government that the Ministry of Education is a very important Ministry, and we wanted the children of pastoralists to be given consideration---

Order! Order, Maj-Gen. Nkaisserry!

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir---

Order! Order, Minister! I am on my feet again.

Maj-Gen. Nkaisserry, you are another Minister. I think it is in your interest to support the Government side by virtue of collective responsibility. More importantly, be satisfied that other hon. Members have expressed similar sentiments and I am sure that the Government has been listening very attentively. So, I am sure that just because you have not said it, it does not mean that others have not said it and that the Government will act accordingly. But, Mr. Minister, you should appreciate when an hon. Member who belongs to the Government is so compelled to rise on a point of order when he runs the risk of being ruled out. That issue must be serious enough. So, you may consider.

Proceed!

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. We feel humbled by the overwhelming support that we have received from hon. Members in response to the budget proposal that I laid before this House. I want to thank the Chairman of the Education, Research and Technology Committee for the very insightful comments that you have made. We know because we have discussed that together and, together, we shall be able to move so that we can resolve matters that surround education itself.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on the question of curriculum delivery, I want to assure hon. Members that we are addressing the matter across the country and, in fact, it is one area which is already engaging our minds. Therefore, even the launching of the digital content on Monday, next week, is part of the overall picture in ensuring that teachers are equipped with the tools to be able to handle how to deliver the curriculum.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it may also interest hon. Members to know that we have set up what we call “The Field Services”, and we are freeing the quality assurance officers and mandating them to spend most of their time in actually seeing how much of the curriculum is being delivered in our schools. I hope that will be able to help them. I am happy to report that all stakeholders agreed on the need to improve the quality of curriculum delivery. With regard to the Economic Stimulus Package, I would

Mr. Temporary Deputy Chairman, Sir, I beg to move:- THAT, a sum not exceeding Kshs12,729,766,250 be issued from the Consolidated Fund to complete the sum necessary to meet expenditure during the year ending 30th June, 2010 in respect of:-

Vote 43 – Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology

Mr. Temporary Deputy Chairman, Sir, I beg to move:- THAT, a sum not exceeding Kshs66,514,162,700 be issued from the Consolidated Fund to complete the sum necessary to meet the expenditure during the year ending 30th June, 2010 in respect of:-

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am directed to report that the Committee of Supply has considered the Resolution that a sum not exceeding Kshs12,729,766,250 be issued from the Consolidated Fund to complete the sum necessary to meet the expenditure during the year ending 30th June, 2010 in respect of Vote 43 – Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, and has approved the same without amendment.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that the House doth agree with the Committee in the said Resolution.

(Prof. Ongeri) seconded.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I do support the Vote. But I want to ask the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology to look at every constituency and the polytechnics that are there. Where there are no polytechnics, I think we should come up with them so that we can spread the services.

Thank you.

Vote 31 – Ministry of Education

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am directed to report that the Committee of Supply has considered the Resolution that a sum not exceeding Kshs66,514,162,700 be issued from the Consolidated Fund to complete the sum necessary to meet expenditure during the year ending 30th June, 2010, in respect of Vote 31 – Ministry of Education, and has approved the same without amendment.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that the House doth agree with the Committee in the said Resolution.

(Mr. Kamama) seconded.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to agree with the House in the resolution. This is an important Vote. I would like to tell the Minister and his team that the country and MPs are very thankful for the infrastructure funds. However, there is a problem brewing in the country over infrastructure funds. On the ground, this money is transferred directly to the accounts of the schools. From the DEO’s office to Works Officers office, this transaction has elicited massive corruption. We must find a formula. This country is in the process of internalising the issue of CDF. We are trying to improve it. This fund is half of it. I can give you one example---

Order, Mr. Midiwo. Do not open debate.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am not opening debate. I am only saying where you send Kshs740,000--- As an MP I have gone to several schools and they say they have only received Kshs700. That is what the teachers tell me. I can tell you that now that these funds are coming to the country, what is brewing is something that this Ministry must deal with and deal with urgently.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, mine is to sincerely thank the hon. Members for the contributions. I would also like to thank the two Ministers for listening very keenly to the many suggestions as expressed by the hon. Members. I want to concur with the entire House that we approve their Votes without any amendments. I would like to encourage the Ministers to fully implement what they have committed themselves to do in this House.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I agree with the report of the Committee. But the issue of Standard Eight dropout rate is a very critical matter. It is a big problem in this country. We should forget about that examination, so that we do not have that drop out. We must move in the direction of 12 years of continuous education.

Thank you.

Hon. Members, that concludes the business on the Order Paper. Therefore, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow, Thursday, 30th July, 2009 at 2.30 p.m.

The House rose at 8.35 p.m.