Hon. Speaker, Sir, pursuant to Standing Order No.44(1), on behalf of the House Business Committee (HBC), I rise to give the following Statement regarding the business coming before the House next week. The HBC envisages that on Tuesday, 23rd April, 2013, the House will continue with the debate on the Motion on the Address of His Excellency the President. This will be the third day for debate on that order. On that day, the HBC will also table the list of Members proposed to serve in the Committee on Appointments. In this regard, the House will also consider the Motion to approve the appointment of Members into the Committee on Appointments.

On Wednesday, 24th April, 2013, in the morning, the House will debate a Procedural Motion to exempt the business for that day from the provision of Standing Order No.43. This will be a day allocated for the business slot sponsored by the majority or the minority party or business sponsored by a committee. This will enable the House to continue with the debate on the Presidential Address as the fourth and the last day allocated for such business under Standing Order No. 24(6). In the afternoon of Wednesday, the House will consider a Motion submitted by the chairperson of the Committee on Selection to approve the names of Members appointed to various other Committees of the House including the Joint Committee of Parliament pursuant to Standing Order No.173. The HBC will be meeting again on Tuesday next week in the morning and later after the rise of the House to consider the business of the House for the rest of the week and the week after. I want to take this opportunity to encourage Members, especially the Members who are serving for the first time to start proposing business for consideration by the House. This may include seeking statements from the chairpersons of the various committees that will be formed next week on matters under the respective committees once the committees are formed in the course of the week and after the approval of the House. This will enable the House to interrogate the replies to such statements by the chairpersons of the committees. There is also the opportunity for Members to introduce Motions, especially on Wednesday mornings being a day reserved for business sponsored by the majority

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

That is in accordance with Standing Order No.44. Those of you that may have looked at that Standing Order will know that this is a matter that will govern our conduct of business in this House.

Before we go to the next Order, let me just make some clarification. For avoidance of doubt and not to inconvenience Members, it is only fair that as we learn our ropes, we constantly remind ourselves of the rules. In accordance with Standing Order No.82(1), a Member who has spoken to a Motion may not speak to it again. Therefore, for those Members who spoke to this Motion yesterday, today and the day after, you will only be allowed to listen.

(Hon. (Ms.) Kedogo): Hon. Speaker, Sir, I had just started and introduced myself as hon. Dorcas Kedogo, Women Representative for Vihiga County. I was contributing on the President’s Speech with regard to laptops. Some measures have to be put in place, especially in terms of training the teachers. This year, the teachers will have to be trained so that by next year, they will be ready to handle the laptops.

First, instead of the laptops, I thought that we need to make the free primary and secondary education, indeed, free. At the moment, the money that is given to schools is not enough. You will find that pupils are given three to six books which may not last the whole year. I would advise that the free education be made free indeed. There is also a shortage of teachers in our secondary and primary schools. The Government should first deal with the issue of the shortage of teachers. It should also employ enough Early Childhood Development (ECD) teachers. These people go to colleges and nobody thinks about them.

My second point is on health. Our health facilities should be improved. In case of emergencies in our dispensaries, we have no equipment to perform cesarean section operations or any other emergency cases. This means that the mothers are taken to other hospitals and are charged for transport, which they cannot afford.

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, Sir. I am glad today that I have caught the Speaker’s eye. People who are dressed in very bright colours are the ones who are being noticed and so I decided to dress in pink and I am glad it has paid off today.

Let me take this opportunity to thank the people of Chuka/Igambang’ombe for according me this opportunity to serve in the Eleventh House. On the same breath, I would like to congratulate you, Hon. Speaker for the well deserved win.

On the Presidential Address, I would like to say that it was a Speech that I can say was for a digital President. I note with appreciation the fact that the President realised that we have digital orphans in this country. These are people who are born and become grown-ups without interacting with any digital system. I am glad that the President put in place a measure to make sure that we transform our digital orphans to digital migrants and eventually to digital citizens when they eventually get jobs. This will give them equal opportunities with kids who have been born in rich families and normally acquire laptops from an early age. I think that serves as a very serious contribution towards bridging the gap between the poor and the rich.

I know hon. Members of Parliament who may not be having a lot of knowledge in computers are worried about the cost. Some said yesterday that the cost of a laptop is Kshs30,000. I want to say, that being my area of concern from operation and research, I know that a laptop with basic utilities or a small laptop for the primary school kids – which is not a project to be handled for the first time – it is there in Rwanda and South Africa--- When that laptop is locally assembled, the cost cannot exceed US$180. If it is assembled locally, it is an opportunity to give work to the youth who may be equipped with the knowledge but did not have an opportunity to practise it. I would like to say that this is a good opportunity. As for the teachers, if the kids can learn how to use it, then the teachers can even more easily do it.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I also note with appreciation that the Speech made by the President touched on infrastructure. The former President has done a wonderful job. There are some parts of this country where tarmac is a foreign thing. There are places where kids are taken a distance of over 40 kilometres to go and see what tarmac is. In particular, I cite my constituency whose headquarters are in Chuka Town. This town was founded in 1913; the same time with Meru Town and Embu Town. To-date, apart from the highway that passes through Chuka Town going to Meru, we do not have even ten metres of tarmac road. Actually, that is the tool that every hon. Member who comes to Parliament has been using to bargain for votes. I promise my people that next time, we do not want to use that as a begging tool. I hope that the Government of President Uhuru will this time be fair and give to those who do not have instead of adding to people who already have more than they can utilize.

On the issue of medical care, it is important to note that the Speech has very good agenda for availing health care not only to women but also to children. Again, I would like to say that in

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Your time is up!

Hon. Speaker, Sir, first, I would like to congratulate you on your election. I would like to treat this as my maiden speech. I also want to thank the voters of Kisumu East Constituency for having the confidence to return me to this House and to be their servant.

I would like to refer to the Speech of His Excellency the President. It was a very ambitious Speech because it has very many ambitious goals. There is nothing wrong with being ambitious and we are very grateful that they had the vision which must be implemented. I would like to quote President Kagame of Rwanda who says: “Vision without implementation is hallucination.” So, we are here and we will support him. We will also be behind the President. We will look out to see how he performs.

The issue of laptops has been very emotive, but I want to tell you that this is not new. I have been to Rwanda for over five years and I have seen the Rwanda Laptop per child Programme. If that country is ordering over 2.5 million computers and I have seen them in primary schools being operational--- As a matter of fact, I was trying to implement that in Kisumu but unfortunately, the Ministry of Education at that time did not have the vision that we had. They wanted to dump on us some very funny computer models which we did not want. I have seen this.

In Europe every single primary school student has a laptop. As my dear friend, the hon. Member for Chuka/Igambang’ombe has said, it costs US$180. They need to see that the One Laptop per child Programme has e-box in it. It has everything. You do all you need and you do not require exercise or text books. It is all inclusive. I have done a lot of work on this and I think we can share some of the thoughts. We can go and see what is happening in Rwanda.

Further more, the nine areas that have been spoken about are good. We just want to see how we can all participate within the next four years to even get 30 per cent of that. If we can get 30 per cent, we will be lauding the Government. As an Opposition Member, I must confirm that we will support you, if you are right and we will criticize you, when you are wrong. The criticism will be constructive and not negative. As such, I feel that it is important that as much as we will be questioning that, we must not go back and say that we failed here and so we must fail in the next one. Sessional Paper No.10 of 1965 was a very ambitious plan but that does not mean that we cannot go back, learn from the mistakes it has and come back here.

I would like to caution the Government that the Lamu Port and South Sudan Ethiopia Transport Corridor (LAPSSET) Programme is a white elephant in the making. We do not have to go far to see that other countries have tried this. I know that Iran and Pakistan tried such a programme which cost billions of dollars but they failed. They failed because they had not approached and involved the local population. I must speak about the LAPSSET. I feel that unless the local population of Coast and especially Lamu is involved, we will not go far. Finally, we have sugar projects and factories in Nyanza and I want to laud the Government.

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

(Hon. (Ms.) Fathia): Thank you, Hon. Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity. My names are Fathia Mahbub from Mandera County. I am a Women Representative. I want to also congratulate you on your election.

I would also like to touch on the President’s Address. It was really ambitious and quite marvelous. Our President really touched many Kenyans, especially in relation to infrastructure. I come from Mandera County where there is no tarmac road. The tarmac road that we see is the one from here to Garissa Town. From there, it is just too dusty and rough. I would like our President, hon. Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, to at least prioritise Mandera County as one of the counties which need to be worked on.

Secondly, he touched the hearts of many Kenyans, especially the women and the youth. These are the people who really voted for every one of us. They are the people who are most vulnerable. I really appreciate the fund which will be established and will be similar to the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF); it will really assist them.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, thirdly, the laptop project is a very good idea as our President mentioned. For me, the first time I saw a laptop was when I was employed in Nairobi. So, you can imagine there is a lot of disconnect in Kenya. So, when the President will start the laptop project, at least the whole of Kenya will be at the same level and the rural and urban areas will be at par. I really thank our President and believe that whatever he said, he will do for us.

Thank you.

The hon. Member with a bald head, receding hair line and white beard. The one behind there.

We will have to continue like this until we know one another well.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, Sir. First, before I touch on the President’s Address, I would want to thank the people of Kangundo for electing me to this honourable House. I would also want to thank all my supporters who did marvelous work to make sure I got where I am today.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, let me touch on various issues in the President’s Address. Although the Address of the President was acceptable, there are areas which I would want to talk about. Our country will not move from where it is if the President and all the leaders will not work tirelessly to curb corruption and impunity. Previous governments have talked about curbing corruption and impunity but, unfortunately, that has not been done. There is no economy in the world which can grow if its leaders do not think about the two aspects I have talked about. Kenya is among the countries in the world where corruption is the order of the day. It has even graduated into a culture. I would have liked the President to have talked about curbing corruption from his office and then going down to the last person who serves this country. It is very unfortunate that we talk about doing some things and do them in different ways. Let me talk about something else the President talked about. We have talked about agriculture. When you look at areas like Machakos County where the only cash crop we have is coffee, you will be disappointed to hear that last year the price of coffee was the worst in the country. There is no other cash crop which can earn us foreign currency in this country apart from coffee. So, I would urge the President that instead of engaging in hypocrisy, he should come out strongly and make sure that coffee farmers get what they are supposed to get. I would

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I wish to congratulate you on your election as the Speaker of this august House. I would also like to thank the people of Tetu for electing me to represent them in their issues in this august House. I wish to congratulate His Excellency the President for this most intelligent, courageous and ambitious policy statement in his inaugural address to this House.

“Ambition”, more than any other word, has been used to describe the policy statement that His Excellency delivered to this House. In the public discourse, I have heard several people say that possibly that this policy paper is far too ambitious. I beg to disagree. I also beg to redirect the thinking of this House and of the public at large because ambition is what drives human thinking, development and capacity. Without ambition, we would be nowhere. Ambition is what caused our ancestors on this continent to build the most magnificent monuments known to man, some of which are the Eighth Wonder of the world, the pyramids at Giza. Furthermore, our ancestors also constructed the most monumental monuments that exist on the planet today, the great Harrow Market which is at the Springs that millions of people from around the world have been coming to see for thousands and thousands of years after its conceptualization and creation. Ambition is what we need more and not less in this country.

A problem cannot be solved by the same kind of thinking that created it. This is why in recognition of that statement, the nation at large voted overwhelmingly for the Jubilee Coalition. The leaders of the Jubilee Coalition represent a promise of a new approach; a fresh dynamic thinking to the problems of the past and the problems of today. We believe that this House, in support of our leadership, will deliver that promise to the people of this great Republic.

The people of Tetu stand shoulder to shoulder with the leadership of the Jubilee Coalition and the other leadership represented in this august House. We are ready to push and create the legislative framework for the expansion of infrastructure and other related services that will accommodate the three million plus tourists who are envisaged to arrive in this country by 2017, in His Excellency’s inaugural address.

We, the people of Tetu, are ready to push together with other hon. Members in this House for the expansion of the capacity of electricity generating potential in this country. It will not be possible to industrialize this country in one generation at the levels of electricity or power production that we have in this country. We need, in line with Vision 2030, to allow for the

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Your time is up!

Hon. Speaker, Sir, first, may I take this opportunity to congratulate you for having been elected the Speaker of this House; I also congratulate the people of Sirisia Constituency for having elected me. To comment on the President’s Speech, it touched on so many parts of this country and the hearts of so many people. On the issue of computers, this country is developed in some parts while other parts are not developed. In Sirisia where I come from, my people have never seen any tarmac, even on one foot. It is not only in Sirisia but even in some of my neighbouring constituencies like Mt. Elgon, Bumula and Teso North. Those are my neighbouring constituencies. We have not been developed for so long; in my constituency I have about 86 primary schools but only 21 of them have electricity. The President should start developing the country from western Kenya. Most of the areas in western Kenya are under-developed. You can compare western Kenya with Turkana or parts of Garissa. Those are areas I have worked in when I was in the military; I saw that they are under-developed. Hon. Speaker, Sir, to comment further on the Presidential Speech, I know and believe that the President and his Deputy are going to work and deliver to Kenyans because they are still young and energetic. An example is what his Deputy demonstrated when he was working in the Ministry of Agriculture. Actually, hon. Ruto delivered. In case the President forgets, I am sure his Deputy will be reminding him all the time by telling him:- “Hey, you promised something to these people from this side of Kenya, but you have not done it.” Let us believe and trust that the Government is going to deliver as per its pledges.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, to comment further, the President touched on unity. He said that he is going to unite this country and he will bring all of us to work together as one family. I believe everybody in this House is going to support this Motion. I believe the President will deliver on his promises as outlined in his Address.

This is a very good moment for this country. We are going to work together and forget about party differences. That is because the campaigns are over and we must come together. Even the President requires us to work together as a family, a team and country. Most of us are tired because of politics. For the next five years that we are going to be in this House, I urge hon. Members to put politics aside.

The lady at the corner!

(Hon. (Ms). Kering): Hon. Speaker, Sir, my name is Zipporah Kering, Nandi County Woman Member of Parliament.

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Hon. Richard Onyonka! Hon. Members, you will allow me use my rich knowledge of the geography of this country so that every part of the country is heard. That is what I am doing.

Thank you hon. Speaker, Sir. After those wonderful words from our colleague, I am not capable of--- First of all, I would like to congratulate you, hon. Speaker, for having been voted the Speaker of the Eleventh Parliament. Secondly, I would like to congratulate all my colleagues from the Tenth Parliament who were fortunate enough to come back to this House like me. I would also like to thank the people of Kitutu Chache South who, very fortunately, thought it was necessary and important for me to be re-elected as a two-term Member of Parliament.

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Your time is up, hon. Onyancha. Yes, Member for Githunguri.

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, allow me to also take this opportunity to congratulate you for being elected to the Office of the Speaker. I also want to extend my appreciation to the people of Githunguri, who have given me the opportunity to serve them for the second time. Concerning the Presidential Address to this House, I would also like to join my colleagues in lauding the President for his very able exposition of Government policy and strategy. There is no doubt that the President’s Address was quite ambitious. However, it is also good to understand that this arises from the myriad of challenges that the country is facing, which calls for exceptional measures. The President was quite alive to the realities of the global economic challenges being experienced worldwide. Challenges like those being experienced in Europe affect us directly since those countries serve as the market for our cash crops such as tea, coffee, horticultural produce, among others. If we are to cope with some of those challenges, we must think about integrating ourselves within the region to enhance our regional trading opportunities, which the President spoke about. Mr. Speaker, Sir, on education, the President was alive to the fact that our young people are a very vital resource for this country. Therefore, we are going to use our resources to ensure that we produce well educated and skilled manpower base that will serve this country and our neighbouring countries. So, the issue of giving laptop computers to school children is a matter of strategic significance for this country. I am sure that the Government will ensure that all the concerns being raised are addressed, so that the project becomes a success. There was another promise that the Jubilee Coalition gave during its presidential campaign – that is introduction of a free milk programme for school children. However, there was no mention of this promise in the President’s Address. Part of the strategy of supporting education in this country should be supporting a school feeding programme. Previously, we have seen Government efforts to support students in schools, especially in ASAL areas, through a school feeding programme. A school feeding programme facilitates highly in terms of student retention in school. Therefore, the Government must not back-track on its promise to provide milk to school children. Instead, it should extend this policy to include secondary schools. We have seen that there is already a feeding programme covering all the students in day secondary schools in my constituency. The point is that the pangs of hunger do not know the boundary between primary and secondary school children. Therefore, the programme should be extended to cover secondary schools. The range of support should be widened to cover food items such as maize, beans, rice and even eggs. If this kind of support is provided, we will not only be assuring school children of a conducive learning environment but we will also be supporting farmers, who will produce for local supply and, therefore, create more opportunities for commercial agriculture, employment and wealth creation for the whole country. Farmers in my constituency have always used their arable land to grow traditional export crops such as tea and coffee. They are now asking what the Government can do to enable them benefit more from these crops.

Your time is up, hon. Baiya. Yes, Member for Laisamis.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I would like to join my colleagues in congratulating you for securing the top seat in the National Assembly as our Speaker. I would also like to thank the people of Merille, Logologo, Mount Kulal, Loinyangalani, Ngurunit and those in all the small villages tacked in the mountain, from Ndoto to Marsabit.

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Hon. Members, you will appreciate that this is quite a difficult balancing act. Every county needs to be heard and every gender needs to be heard, including the youth and minorities.

(Hon. (Ms.) Banticha): Hon. Speaker, Sir, let me take this opportunity to congratulate you and your Deputy Speaker. Let me also take this opportunity to thank the great people of Isiolo for electing me to this great House. I wish to comment on the President’s Speech. This is one of the greatest speeches that I have ever heard since I have been out there in politics. One thing that I really appreciate is that the manifesto where we anchored our pledges was exhaustively covered. Most of the areas, for example, education, women and youth empowerment, addressing the issue of the vulnerable groups and the infrastructure were dealt with. I believe that the people of Isiolo will greatly benefit from this. Having elected me to this House, I am sure I will be a great inspiration because we will be demystifying the issue of women leadership, especially among the conservative pastoralist communities of this country. I will ensure that some of these issues are covered.

I am also excited and happy because Isiolo is one of the counties that most of the people do not know. It is a county that has great potential. It has been earmarked as a resource city. It has already been commissioned for an international airport. So, I would urge all Kenyans and the Members of this House to watch out, buy plots and invest in Isiolo because it is one of the counties that will be earmarked in the next five years as the fourth city in Kenya.

As we went round the country during the campaigns, we did a lot of consultation and we enriched the manifesto. That manifesto is what sold the Jubilee Government. I am happy that we have the majority in the House. It is true that the manifesto that you sell will propel your party. I am happy that the majority of the people who are here got into this House because they dealt with issues which are useful to the common man in Kenya. I believe that given an opportunity,

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, Sir. I also wish to congratulate you on your election. Also, I want to take this opportunity to thank the people of Kajiado South for having been quite good and electing me to represent them in this House for a third uninterrupted term.

Let me thank His Excellency the President for the exemplary and elaborate manner in which he exposed his Government’s public policy through the Presidential Address that was delivered on the Floor of this House. For those who were in this House in the last Parliament, I am sure that they have no doubt whatsoever that His Excellency the President is going to deliver on the promises that he made to Kenyans. This is quite evidenced by the fact that when he was the Minister for Finance, it was the first time that resources for this country were given fairly and equitably to all constituencies in this country. It is during his tenure at the Treasury that centres of Excellency were started in the constituencies. A health centre, a market and a Jua Kali project were started in each constituency. That was the time that teachers were being distributed equally to all the constituencies and the recruitment of health personnel was done per constituency. If he was able to do that as the Minister for Finance, we have to support him as the Head of State and Head of Government to deliver on the promises that he made to Kenya. Let me refer to what he termed as the drivers of the economy. For us to achieve that, as he said, our economy has to grow and maintain a two digit percentage. I want to talk about five main pillars of economic growth. One is the issue of food security. Surely, a hungry country cannot make progress. This is why on agriculture, the President talked about putting a new one million acres under irrigation to ensure that there is food security. This is evidenced by the fact that even right now, during this rainy season, all the water that is going to waste, should be harnessed for that purpose. I urge this House to support His Excellency the President in ensuring that legislation is put in place to create a conducive and favourable environment for that. He also talked about making this country competitive globally through manufacturing. We have to produce competitive products either value added or produced and finished locally and it is the duty of this House to support the Government, particularly His Excellency, in ensuring that legislation is put in place to achieve this pillar. Another pillar that His Excellency talked about is on harnessing our human resource, namely, our personnel. One Member talked about the skills that we are producing as a country. Instead of allowing the brain drain, we need to maintain our locally trained professionals. This is a pillar on employment. I want to collapse this pillar with the issue of youth and women that His Excellency talked about. We need to go a step further and ensure that we put in place legislation that will ensure a deliberate affirmative action for the youth and women in terms of employment. We need to ensure that the issue of experience that is required by employers from the youth is done away with. About 70 per cent of this population is young. Every year, about 750,000 graduates join the job market, but we only absorb about 250,000. One of the things that are putting our youth out of employment is the requirement for experience. Right now, the county governments are advertising for executive positions and they are asking for experience.

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Hon. Members, I think it is only fair that you appreciate this balancing act.

(Hon. (Ms.) Nyasuna): Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker, Sir. I will utilize this chance as my maiden speech. I congratulate you for your election as the Speaker of this House. I also want to take this opportunity to thank the people of Homa Bay for giving me this rare privilege to represent them in this august House.

I would like to set the tone of my comments to the Presidential Address by quoting an anonymous author who said: “Promises are like babies. They are easy to make but very had to deliver and keep.” I am a mother of two, and so, I can attest to that fact.

I would like to begin by commenting on four facets of this Speech. Homa Bay County, where I come from, has some of the worst health indicators in this country. I am, therefore, compelled to comment on the issues of health based on the Presidential Address. The abolition of the charges for maternity or for giving birth for women and the abolition of fees in all dispensaries and health centres; that is Level 1 and 2 hospitals is, indeed, a move that is pleasing to hear. However, if we look at the free primary education that was introduced in this country, we will realise that that education was not free in the actual sense. While we could sort of take chances with the free primary education, we cannot take chances with free health care because health is about life and death. When you arrive at a facility and you are told that it is free and yet it is not, the services that you will get are upstanding between you and your funeral. Therefore, these services have, indeed, to be free. The Government has to be sure that they are free before announcing them as free so that our mothers in the villages can receive them as such. We do know that the Level 1 and 2 facilities that have been spoken about - I am health management professional and I will say that these facilities use the small fees that are charged to buy very basic consumables such as gloves, cotton wool and spirit. We will be running into deep trouble if these charges are abolished and they are not well facilitated.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I am concerned that this Speech was quiet on the issue of HIV/AIDS which is a major public health issue. Homa Bay County, where I come from, has the highest HIV prevalence in this country. Seventeen per cent of the antenatal mothers are actually HIV positive. In some parts of my county, up to 23 per cent are HIV positive and we currently know that HIV funding is dwindling. This is the case and yet this Speech did not give direct instruction as to what the Government will do to increase its own funding to HIV programmes. That is a major concern.

On tourism, as we speak about this sector with an aim of developing it and increasing tourism revenue in this country, we must look at diversification of our tourism and not look at the beaten path. We must look at the western circuit. As we speak today, Lake Victoria which is the largest lake in this country is choking under the water hyacinth as the Government watches. We must address the issue of the water hyacinth even as we look at issues of tourism in this country and as we open up the western circuit.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, toning down a bit, I would like to welcome the women and youth funds as proposed by His Excellency the President. I would like to say that this is a welcome move. As women representative, we are happy to receive it.

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Yes, the hon. Member for Buuri! Hon. Members, kindly read your Standing Orders and remember that contribution to Procedural Motions is not contribution to this substantive Motion. Please, relax.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, Sir. First, I thank God for this great blessing of serving the country together with other hon. Members, as a servant of the people of Kenya.

Secondly, I congratulate you, Hon. Speaker, Sir, once again for being elected as the Speaker of this honourable House. I also thank the dear people of Buuri for electing me. In fact, in that constituency, it was not an election but a revolution. That is how they elected a 26-year old servant as an independent candidate.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I would like to commend the President for making a wonderful Speech. I note that it was very much geared towards my fellow brothers and sisters, the young people of this country, especially on the creation of 10 million jobs by 2017. My brothers and sisters are out there asking what they should do.

I also wish to congratulate the founding fathers of this country. My grandfather was a freedom fighter and I like the foundation they laid for this country especially the first President, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, the first Vice-President, Mzee Oginga Odinga and the other freedom fighters. This also includes other founding people of this dear country. They said that they wanted to eliminate hunger, poverty, disease and illiteracy. I am very happy that the President, 50 years down the line, has put this country once again, on that line.

We have a problem in Buuri and I would like to bring it to the attention of our dear President. We also have other problems such as bad roads and bad schools but the major issues are three. The first problem is lack of water, the second problem is lack of water and the third problem is lack of water. I would like to bring it to the attention of this country that “Buuri” is a Meru word for “desert”. We really need water to transform our arid land and make it productive.

Kenya, as well, has a problem and the problem is the youth. These are people like me out there who want to make a difference; people like me out there who want to be heard by this Government and be given an opportunity, and Buuri has started a revolution. Mine is to request this honourable House and the Government, not withstanding our party and tribal lines that we need to point out this very serious problem which is almost a national disaster. There are youth out there who have the potential but want to make a difference. We used to make a contribution towards changing this trend of unemployment. We have talked about giving the youth cheap money for too long. We have also talked about giving them money to start simple businesses for too long but now we must think big. We should not just give out loans to start simple business. We need to think big and start mega firms that will employ the people of Kenya in large numbers. We must set policies that will establish big firms. A town like Limuru is almost fully dependent on a firm like Bata. A City like Detroit is fully dependent on the Ford industry while a City like Munich is fully dependent on the Mercedes Benz. There are also many cities that are dependent on big industries. The examples are endless. We should set an example here in Kenya. We have seen what the mega firms have done for this country. That is the likes of Safaricom, Equity Bank, Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) and many others. We need to come up with policies that will establish firms that will employ youths as an affirmative action. These are mega companies that will, first, be sustainable and secondly, will be profit making. Those companies will also be well managed. Those

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Yes, the hon. Member from the Coast; the lady. If you are not a lady, I think you are on the wrong---

(Hon. (Ms.) Khamisi) : Asante sana Bw. Spika. Ninaitwa Mishi Juma na ni muwakilishi wa akina mama katika kaunti ya Mombasa. Kwanza kabisa, napenda kukupa pongezi nyingi kwa kuchaguliwa katika kiti chako hicho; pia nataka kutoa pongezi kwa Hotuba ya Mtukufu Rais, Uhuru Kenyatta. Nina machache ya kuzungumzia katika ajenda zake alizozungumzia kuhusu ya nchi yetu ya Kenya.

Bw. Spika, ajenda ya kwanza ni ardhi. Mheshimiwa Rais alisema kwamba ardhi ni katika vigezo ambavyo vinaleta mapato, ama kwa Kiingereza factor of production. Mimi nasema ardhi si tena kigezo cha kuweza kuzalisha. Ardhi ni kitu ambacho kimeleta tetesi na vita katika Jamhuri yetu ya Kenya, tukiangalia Rift Valley, ama Bonde la Ufa, na Pwani. Sasa hivi pia tunashukuru ndugu zetu wa kutoka Mkoa wa Kati na Bonde la Ufa. Walipiga kura pamoja. Hivyo basi, hakuna tetesi nyingi na shida ambazo tumeziona. Tunashukuru Mwenyezi Mungu lakini kitu ambacho tunasema ni kwamba, ni lazima viongozi tuwe wa kweli. Tulikuwa na tume ambayo ilituletea ripoti ya Ndung’u; pia tuna Tume ya TJRC ambayo ni ya kuleta ukweli, haki na maridhiano. Tume hizi zote zimetupatia ripoti na zikatueleza madhambi na mambo ambayo yamefanyika kuhusiana na mashamba; ajabu ni kwamba Ndung’u Report inaoza katika makabati ya Serikali. Jambo hili pia limezungumuziwa na tume ya ukweli na maridhiano. Je, hii tume ya ardhi itaweza kupatiwa nguvu za kisiasa na tutaweza kuwa Wakenya wa dhati ili Wakenya ambao ni maskwota, Wakenya ambao ni wakimbizi wa ndani, ambao tunawaita IDPs, waweze kupata mashamba?

Katika Katiba yetu, sura ya tano inazungumzia swala la ardhi; inasema kuna ardhi ya kiserikali, ardhi ya kijamii na ardhi ya watu binafsi; katika mapendekezo mengi yalitolewa ni kwamba katika ardhi za kibinafsi viongozi wengi, tukiwemo sisi wa kisiasa, tumenyakua ardhi ya kiserikali. Tumenyakua ardhi za kijamii. Ni wakati wetu sisi kuwa mbele katika kuregesha ardhi hizo hata kama tuko katika nafasi kuu katika Jamhuri yetu ya Kenya. Tuwe wa ukweli katika swala la ardhi. Tunataka akina mama tupate haki zetu za kumiliki ardhi na najua katika Miswada mitatu ambayo imetolewa na ile tume ya ardhi itaweza kufanya kazi; hii inamaanisha sisi viongozi tuwe wa ukweli.

Bw. Spika, jambo la pili ni swala hili la kutolipa ada wakati wa kuzaa. Mimi namshukuru Mheshimiwa kwa jambo hili lakini nataka kusema kwamba hatukuelezewa kinagaubaga pesa hizi zitatoka wapi. Nahofia kwamba Wakenya watatozwa ushuru kuweza kufidia jambo kama hili kwa sababu mahali ninapotoka katika kaunti ya Mombasa, Coast General Hospital sasa hivi tunalipishwa Kshs1,800 kwa kujifungua kikawaida. Ukizaa kwa kupasuliwa unalipa Kshs7,500,

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, Sir. As you realize, this wonderful lady from the Coast has done wonderful things. I will take this opportunity also to thank the people of Fafi, Garissa County, for electing me back after keeping me in the cold for ten years.

I was here in the Eighth Parliament and I do not want to made a mistake again; I want to be elected forever.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, coming to the Address of the President, His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta, has really touched my heart about devolution. He said that it is not an option but it is in the Constitution. I salute him for that. I say that because Kenya will celebrate 50 years of Independence later this year. There are parts of this country, especially in northern Kenya, that have not seen independence. For the last 50 years, we have been marginalised. Devolution is close to our hearts. For instance, Garissa is allocated Kshs5.5 billion, and Wajir and Mandera are allocated slightly higher amounts; that is about US$200 million per year; that will make a difference. Anybody who tries to interfere with that, we will go against him or her with full force.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, when I was in the Eighth Parliament, we said that we wanted tarmacked roads and so on. Successive governments have been wondering about us. During the French Revolution, when people tried to demonstrate over bread, their leaders were asking, “Why do you not eat cakes?” I know people whose places have been developed and whenever we shout and ask for our rights, we are asked “Why do you not eat cakes?” We are telling people that those days are gone and we want equal opportunities. We are Kenyans. We are not less Kenyan than other people. We have our rights as Kenyans. I am very happy that people of North Eastern Province have even elected women leaders, who are very able. This time it is not only men who are going to ask for chances since even women will be asking for them. I know our President and Deputy President are very close to women and the youth; that is why in the youth

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

(Hon. (Ms.) Mwendwa)

Your time is up!

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Hon. Rotino): Thank you, Hon. Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this Motion. First of all I want to say, as my colleagues have said, that I congratulate you for being elected the Speaker of this House. I also want to thank the people of Sigor for electing me for the third time to come to this House. On the Presidential Address, as my colleague has said, several times speeches have been given in this House. The former President gave speeches several times but many a times the implementation of those speeches was what we were supposed to assess in this House. Speeches and visions can be given, and their implementation must be adhered to, so that we see things happening in this country. I want to talk about security in this country. Security is paramount. We need security services to help us. We want to see the issue of cattle rustling addressed by the Government and the Provincial Administration should be seen to address the issue of insecurity as far as cattle rustling is concerned. This is something that has brought under-development in our areas. There are many schools that have not been opened up to now because of cattle rustling. We have addressed these things as leaders. We have given a blueprint to the Government but implementation by the Provincial Administration is lacking. We have a lot of problems with the Provincial Administration, and I believe the new administration of Mr. Kenyatta is going to address this problem. I want to talk about the issue of computers. It is a bright idea and I want it to be implemented like yesterday, because we are at a time when we need our children to learn digital things. When we talk about computers, we are not talking about sophisticated computers. We want our children to have basic computer knowledge. I will even go as far as saying that even TVs should be provided in schools, so that our children in schools see us talking to them as we address them. It is quite important that the President acts on this, so that it just does not become an issue that we talk about every now and then. I also want to talk about agriculture. It is the backbone of the economy of this country. As we speak now, it is a planting season and the fertilizer that we talk about has not reached the districts. I am requesting the Government to speed up the provision of affordable fertilizer, seeds and all the inputs that are necessary to facilitate our farmers. I remember the former President; when we were in this House he used to speak so firmly about agriculture; he would support it but the time he went to State House, he never implemented what he used to say in this House. I am requesting the President to implement what he has been passionately speaking about on agriculture. We know what he did when he was the Minister for Finance. There are many projects that he implemented when he was the Minister for Finance. I believe that since he is the Head of the Government, he has all the powers and the authority to implement what he is supposed to implement.

I am pleading with the President to implement to the letter what he said in his Address.

With those few remarks, I beg to support.

Let us have diversity; let us come to the County of Nairobi. Hon. Sumra, you have the Floor.

Thank you hon. Speaker, Sir. First of all, I would like to congratulate you and all the other hon. Members in this House. I would like to thank the voters of Embakasi South. Particularly, if the late hon. Mwenje was there, he would have been very happy because I am his product. He taught me the Nairobi politics.

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Your time is up!

Come on! I am one of the minority, but I have got many issues. We have got serious issues! We want cottage industries to come up so that we can borrow---

The hon. Member for Othaya!

(Hon. (Ms.) Munene): Thank you very much hon. Speaker, Sir. I thank God for giving me a chance to be in this House. I just want to say thank you very much for the Speech of the President. That is because he talked about the youth and women. In this country we have a problem with our children. That is because they do not have any work to do and they need to work. Some are educated but they cannot get jobs. It is true that we cannot fit in the office all of us, but we can do something for them. We can build factories for them to do some work. That is because some of them are engineers. We used to see some people putting up radio stations. We want our people who have got talent to be given a chance to develop those talents. I know the President and his Deputy are young and they are going to help us. We can develop factories in every constituency and get some people to train our youth so that they can work. The second thing is about agriculture. Previously, we used to see agricultural officers going round and showing the elderly people how to do their work. These days, it is very difficult because even if you were to get a veterinary doctor to treat your animals, you will have to wait for several hours to get the service. We used to have Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC) farms where our people were trained on how to farm. I just want to ask our President and his Deputy to make sure that our people are taught how to farm and keep high breed cows like before. People who are trained on Artificial Insemination (AI) should go round and teach ordinary citizen on farming because we do not have big farms. They are small farms and if we are going to be taught on how to work, even our youth would do good jobs. I do not have much to contribute, but I support the Presidential Address as it will take care of our youth. Thank you very much.

On a point of information hon. Speaker, Sir!

Could you get the microphone and tell us what your name is?

Thank you hon. Speaker, my name is Paul Bii.

Hon. Paul Bii, can you walk up to the Bar and bow? You are informed that while you are in the House, you just do not walk from one side of the House to the other like somebody who is walking--- Please, these are the rules of the House! I saw you walk from here to the other side talking to hon. Momanyi, while the hon. Member for Othaya was contributing. Just do what I have told you to do!

Let me have the microphone, hon. Speaker, Sir. May I continue!

I am looking at some county. Siaya! Hon. Roba Duba. Hon. Members resume your seats! Order Members! When one Member has been given the chance to speak, the

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

(Hon. Duba)

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Your time is up. Let me have the lady hon. Member standing.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I would like to, first, congratulate you and your deputy for your election. I also want to appreciate the people of my county for giving me the chance to come and be their voice in Parliament. I also want to comment on the Presidential Address, starting with issues relating to youth and women and then proceed to a few other areas. I want to appreciate the issue of the youth and women funds that the President spoke about. I would like to request that the money that is meant to empower the youth and women is not channeled through commercial banks because we have witnessed a lot of exploitation. Our youth and women go to banks to apply for the money but they are asked to produce title deeds as security, which they do not have. So, it is my request that as Members of this House, we make sure that this money goes to the grassroots to assist women and the youth. I also want to appreciate the President for recognising that the youth constitute the biggest percentage in Kenya, and promising to promote their talents. I would request this House that we look at the 60 per cent of the local broadcasts and emphasise that we promote the talents of the youth through the various programmes that are aired by local media. We should also be able to protect their copyrights, especially the copyrights of musicians in this country, who are exploited by people who normally duplicate their music without their permission. Hon. Speaker, Sir, I really appreciate the policy on free delivery of babies in public hospitals. I would request that we do not fear that women are going to access these services for free. What we should do, as a House, is to ensure that our hospitals are well equipped, so that women can enjoy this free service. The President also spoke on education. Education is the foundation of this country’s future development, and I welcome the policy of increasing the number of technical institutes. As I went through our primary schools, I noted that 50 per cent of the students who sat for the Standard Eight examination in my county did not proceed to secondary school, and that majority of this lot is at home. I would like this House to ensure that all our children go to high school or technical institutes, so that we can deliver the promise of giving free education to children until they attain the age of 18 years. On the issue of laptop computers, I would say, yes, it is ambitious but it is a good strategy for this country to introduce technology in our school system. I am very sure that some of us started having our mobile phones even when we could not drive. So, the issue of laptop computers for Standard One children is welcome. I really congratulate the President on that one. I wish that as Parliament, we are able to provide our schools with enough teachers. I would also request that this House makes sure that our girls get sanitary towels, as the Government promised earlier because we have some girls missing class for four or five days in a month. So, I hope that we can be able to cater for our girls. Looking at transport, Muranga County is not left behind. I hope that the Kenol-Muranga Road will be a priority because it has been a dead swamp. As we talk about water, I would like hon. Members to know that Muranga County feeds Nairobi through Ndakaini Dam, but many homesteads in Muranga County are not enjoying that same resource. I hope that we will be fair to the people of Muranga County, who are providing water to Nairobi. Talking of our senior citizens, these people fought for our country’s Independence. I hope that we are going to look into the welfare of our senior citizens. Back in the villages, we

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Your time is up, hon. Sabina. Yes, hon. Dalmas Otieno.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity at last to support this Motion. First, I would like to commend His Excellency the President for the very careful manner in which he worded his comments on the public wage bill. He stated the facts as they are that in the year 2012, the wage bill was Kshs458 billion, which was 50 per cent of our ordinary revenues, which also was 12 per cent of our GDP. Then he stated that ideally, it should be 7 per cent of our GDP and 35 per cent of our ordinary revenues. Those facts are clear. But what the Salaries and Remuneration Commission has done is in total contradiction of the human resource policy which was focusing on performance management. They talk of “not affordable and sustainable”. What does “sustainable” mean? What does “affordable” mean? You must first grow the GDP by increasing the productivity of the nation and that is where the emphasis was on the training on performance contracting, so that public servants can raise productivity levels and grow the GDP. All this was done in recognition of the fact that it is the public servant that will make the difference in achieving Vision 2030 and the double digit GDP growth rate. Let me draw yourself to the arithmetic that this lady has done. We were 222 Members in the Tenth Parliament - this is very interesting - and we were earning Kshs851,000, which came to Kshs389 million per month. Now, the number has increased by 127 Members to 349 Members. The SRC has divided the salary we were earning per month, namely, the 222 of us, by 349 and paid us Kshs541,000. Then somebody wants to pretend that there was any job evaluation. Who is this expert who did this job evaluation? It is most irresponsible. If you want to grow the GDP of this country, you cannot de-motivate the top leadership from the President, the Executive and the Members of Parliament, that are supposed to mobilize our people to increase production. There is a productivity centre which we have started and that is what should go into action. There is performance contracting which we introduced and that is what should go into action. The Speech by the President is the first Speech that can be translated into a performance contract of the President, so this is the next performance matrix which we, the Opposition, can use to measure his achievement. Since the Jubilee alliance has presented itself belonging to A grade students, we expect no score less than 70 per cent in that performance contract. Our Members are being subjected to extreme humiliation and ridicule. The President carefully worded the matter that the wage bill should be kept in check. The Grand Coalition Government raised the wages to competitive levels with our private sector, so that we become an employer of choice before we cracked the whip that you can perform and grow the GDP and improve service delivery so that you can retain those pay levels. As of now, public servants do not earn even the equivalent of 70 per cent of what we are getting in the private sector. We are still losing all the IT experts who we have trained. Now somebody comes as if she is a salary expert and expert in job evaluation to reduce the pay. The

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Hon. Members, resume your seats! You know, this is a House of rules. It is just yesterday that you passed the various Procedural Motions. You would have to be suffering from serious lapses of memory not to remember that you passed that. I want to warn hon. Jimmy Angwenyi, who is still in the Ninth Parliament, that there is technology. Just resume your seat.

(Hon. (Ms.) Gathogo): Thank you, Hon. Speaker, Sir. I am hon. Esther Nyambura Gathogo, Member for Ruiru Constituency. I would like to comment on the Speech that His Excellency the President gave. It is so encouraging to me because as a Member of Ruiru Constituency, we may think that problems are found in other areas. People think that my constituency is in Nairobi County, but I want to state clearly that Ruiru is in Kiambu County. It is only that it neighbours Nairobi County. We have so many problems in Githurai. I want to talk about one road that has become a story of all times, namely, the Githurai-Mwihoko Road, which is in a pathetic condition. It is impassable and when driving along this road, you may think that you are in other places. Some of us may think that because we have a super highway, we have no bad roads. It is true that the Thika Super Highway is of great benefit to us, but most of my constituents travel into the interior where the roads are pathetic. When we talk about improving our agricultural production, we also need to think about our markets. We have Githurai Market in my constituency. Traders in this market are forced to carry different pairs of shoes, so that they can wear one pair in the market and another pair when going for other activities outside the market like meetings. This is because the market is filthy. The Ruiru Stadium is in a very poor condition. When it rains, you may think that it is a swimming pool. Our youths need good stadia where they can nurture their sporting talents. It is also good to consider the young people who are not academically talented. They have other talents that we need to nurture. There are those who are very good in drama and other things. So, I would like the Government to consider the young people who did not complete their education because of one reason or another. In the education sector, we have a lot of problems. There are many pupils who did not join Form One this year because they did not have school fees. I will use the CDF to support all the children who are not in school due to lack of school fees. There are those who are willing to go to school, but their parents cannot raise school fees. In terms of water, we have a big problem in Ruiru. When I go up country, I find my mother irrigating her farm using piped water. We do not have water in Githurai yet we claim to be in an urban area. I will play my part and His Excellency the President is also going to play his part. I want to promise my people that I am going to work for them and fulfill the promises I made to them. This is my first time in Parliament and I have no doubt in my mind that the President is going to fulfill the promises he has outlined in his Speech. It is not about a big Speech, but it is about the thought behind it. We have been with him and we have seen what he can see. I have no doubt in my mind that His Excellency the President is going to perform in the five years that we have given him. We do not even need to remind him that he is a President for all Kenyans because he already knows as evidenced by his speeches both at Kasarani and in this

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity. Let me start by congratulating you for your election to the Speakership of this august House. Allow me to thank the people of Ugenya for giving me this opportunity to serve them for the next four-and-a-half years.

This country is again at a time when thorough and focused leadership is required. This can only be done if we do things according to the law or as the law requires. We cannot and the President cannot claim that he will respect the Constitution and political parties and yet what we have seen in the last two weeks is a busy attempt at trying to get to the numerical number of 232.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, we would like the President to work with the numbers that he has. Let him leave the political parties alone or to operate without trying to influence them to join the Jubilee Government.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, when you first spoke in this House, you said that you will ensure that the political parties are respected. However, what we have seen in the last two or three weeks does not show that our President intends to respect the Constitution as far as dealing with political parties is concerned. Political parties should not be treated like land where there is a willing buyer willing seller. We must allow political parties to operate the way they should.

I would like to urge the President that if he is serious about devolution, let him recall the County Commissioners back to Nairobi for consultation like he has done with the ambassadors so that we can know that he is serious in ensuring that the governors take charge of the counties.

The country is divided today along ethnic and tribal lines. The President did not even mention the word “tribal” or “ethnic” in his Speech, and yet he knows that he is taking over at a time when the country is very much divided. He needs, first of all, to ensure that we seal the political, ethnic and tribal rifts that exist among us today if this country is to move forward.

We, in CORD assure the President and the country that we will not oppose for the sake of opposing because this country has made a very powerful Parliament; Parliament that almost takes all the bureaucracy. We will be required to rise to the occasion. This is possible if we respect the law.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, the just concluded elections had issues. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has already said it, and the Supreme Court has confirmed that they did not do a good job. Some of the hon. Members here are facing petitions because of lack of transparency by the IEBC. The President did not mention it in his Speech. He also did not tell us what he intends to do with that. We cannot continue disbanding and forming a new IEBC every time. We need firm measures to ensure that we have a working and transparent electoral body in this country. We cannot be doing this year in, year out.

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Yes, Racheal Nyamai. We will get a working formula ladies and gentlemen. Do not fear. We will do three new Members and one old Member.

Yes!

Order, hon. Members! Nobody should be standing up because I have already indicated who is taking the Floor. So, I will give hon. Nyamai a chance. I have said that we will do three new Members and one old Member. That is going by our 70 per cent turnover in the House.

Yes, hon. Rachael Nyamai!

(Hon. (Dr.) R.K. Nyamai): Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity. I am Dr. Rachael Nyamai, the Member for Kitui South. I would like to start my contribution by thanking the people of Ikutha and Mutomo for giving me a chance against the wave when everybody believed that we should be on the side of CORD. They made a decision to elect a woman, and so, I thank them. I would also like to congratulate you, hon. Deputy Speaker and the Speaker of the National Assembly for being elected.

I would like to go straight to the Speech of our President. I would like to congratulate our Excellency the President for the good Speech that he made. I would like to say that I really believe in this Speech. I believe that the nine issues that he mentioned which were very well elaborated by one of the media houses will be implemented.

I would like to bring it to the attention of this House that I am one of those Members who come from the most disadvantaged constituencies in this country. It is about 250 kilometres from Nairobi and yet when you get to Kitui South, you feel as if you are far away from Nairobi.

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Your time is up. Hon. Bosire.

Finally, hon. Deputy Speaker; it has been a struggle. Like my colleagues, I start by congratulating you and the Speaker for having been elected to lead this House. Also, I take this opportunity to thank my constituents for giving me this chance; I had tried in the past and a section of the Government trampled on me and I was not able to come to this august House. I thank them so much. I will try to serve them diligently.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, on the Presidential Address, it was good. It was smooth and appealing to Kenyans, especially in view of their high expectations. Many issues were raised and they raised hopes of Kenyans. We look forward to results; but as my colleague, hon. (Ms) Mwendwa put it, such addresses have been heard in the past. The best we can do is to pray for this team to do the very best to meet the expectations of Kenyans. One very dear issue to Kenyans is the new Constitution, which he promised to implement to the letter, more so the devolution aspect of it. He emphasized clearly that it is not an option

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Your time is up. Yes, hon. Member in green suit.

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. I am hon. Nakuleu. I am a Member of Parliament for Turkana North. It has been a very serious struggle to catch your eye but I thank God that I finally managed.

First, I want to thank you and the Speaker for having been elected to lead this august House. I also wish to thank the people of Turkana North for giving me an opportunity to serve them, which I will do with a lot of diligence and deliver what I promised.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, to touch on the Address of His Excellency the President, there are issues he mentioned which give a lot of hope to the people of Kenya. The first thing I want to touch on is the issue of food security. It has been very shameful to have Kenyans dying of hunger when we are in the 21st century. In 2010, Kenyans living in Turkana North crossed over to the neighbouring country to look for food, where they were eventually massacred. About 60 of them lost their lives and the Government set up a task force to make sure that there was sufficient irrigation within a span of one year. Up to now, nothing has happened. I wish the President’s Address will restore confidence to the pastoral communities who have always become victims of circumstances.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I want to echo the sentiments by hon. Anyango on the issue of the wage bill, which the President talked about. It is true that His Excellency’s words on managing the wage bill are quite clear; but if he is to investigate it he will know what caused the overshooting of the wage bill. Is it the increase in the number of Members of Parliament who have been elected to the Eleventh Parliament, or is it because of some underling issues which the Government might not have addressed, including bloated ministries which were created by the coalition Government after 2007? So, there is need to investigate further instead of merely saying we need to cut public spending.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, on the issue of free laptops, I am quite confident that this Government is able to actualise the distribution of laptops. I served in the East African

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

On a point of information!

Who are you trying to inform?

It has come to my notice that the people in the Coast are ignored in this House and since yesterday, a number of them have walked out in protest.

Order, hon. Members! Let us not have all of you standing at the same time. I clearly said that we are going to use a formula of three new hon. Members and one old hon. Member. This is the turn for one of the hon. Members who has been here before. There is no marginalization of the Coast. I am very sure that yesterday several people spoke and even earlier.

Order, hon. Members! New hon. Members, when the Speaker stands up, there should not be any other person upstanding. I can see an hon. Member and I hope you also understand the consequences of standing when the Speaker is upstanding. Let us respect each other. We will get round to it; you will still have an opportunity on Tuesday and finally on Wednesday to speak in case you have not spoken; but let us not feel that it must happen and it must happen now. Let us just try and manage the formula we have said we are going to try and manage. Remember we will give a chance to the minority party, the majority party and also try to use the ratios in the House. I am now looking for an hon. Member who is not new but I cannot see anyone standing.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity. Finally, I have caught your eye and I am very impressed. Let me seize this first opportunity to congratulate you on your election; I also congratulate your senior, my friend, the Speaker. As for whether I voted for you or not, I have seen people thanking you and pretending that they also voted for you; I leave it to their conscience because it was by secret ballot.

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

(Hon (Ms.) Tuya): Hon. Deputy Speaker, I feel like we need to identify ourselves as the 47 members from counties; I always feel awkward because of having to add the word “woman” to my introduction; I am obviously a woman. Again, I think the 47 of us are the only Members of this House who represent a whole county. I think we can easily say we are County Members of the National Assembly.

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Thank you very much hon. Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity. Let me first of all take this opportunity to congratulate you for being elected the Deputy Speaker of this House. In the same context, I would like to congratulate our Speaker, who we have also chosen. I also wish to take this opportunity to thank the people of Balambala Constituency for giving me the opportunity to represent them in this House.

On Address by the President, I must give credit where it is due. I must say that the President’s approach to policy issues and matters pertaining to water, electricity, agriculture, women and youth was a very encouraging one to listen to. Having said that, the usefulness of a plan is not in how beautiful it is written or read it is, indeed, in how realistic it is to implement; how measurable it is, so that we can form a framework or matrix that we can measure. The promises that the President made in his Speech, in my view, starting with the one on education, the most ambitious one which I can refer to here is the plan that he made on free laptops for children going to Class One next year. In many parts of Kenya children have no classrooms, they study under trees. While I applaud the initiative to move towards encouraging technology in this country, I must say that I find this priority not well placed at this moment in time in our country.

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Ahsante sana, Mhe. Naibu Spika kwa kunipa fursa hii. Kwanza, nakushukuru na kuwapongeza nyinyi wawili – wewe na Mhe. Spika – kwa kupewa wadhifa au nafasi mpya ambayo mlipata. Pia ningependa kuchukua fursa hii kuwashukuru na kuwapongeza watu wa eneo Bunge la Saboti kwa kunichagua ili niwaakilishe kwenye Bunge hili. Nikichangia Hotuba ya Rais, ninajua kwamba ana nia nzuri. Hotuba yake ilikuwa nzuri sana na itakamilika iwapo itatekelezwa. Kwenye Hotuba yake, Rais aligusia masuala mengi ambayo yanaweza kuchangia kukua kwa uchumi wa nchi hii. Hata hivyo, mambo hayo yote hayawezi kuwa iwapo hali ya usalama humu nchini haitaimarika. Ukitembelea sehemu zote za nchi hii, hakuna mahali ambapo hutosikia kilio juu ya ukosefu wa usalama. Hatuwezi kuzungumzia suala la usalama bila ya kuzungumzia mazingara ya walinda usalama wetu. Nimesema hivyo nikimaanisha kwamba kuna sehemu kadhaa humu nchi ambako mazingira ya walinda usalama wetu hayafai. Kwa hivyo, itakuwa vizuri sana iwapo suala hili litaangaziwa.

Sisi, wakazi wa Trans Nzoia, tunajivunia sana kilimo, na itakuwa vizuri sana iwapo masuala ya wakulima yataangaziwa. Kila kunapofika wakati wa musimu wa mvua, vifaa vya kilimo, na haswa mbolea, ambayo huletwa nchini kutoka ng’ambo, vinakosekana. Itakuwa vizuri sana tukijiandaa mapema na vifaa vya kilimo ndiyo wakati wa kulima unapowadia wakulima wasihangaike kutafuta vifaa hivyo. Kwa mfano, mahindi hukuzwa Trans Nzoia lakini wakati wa upanzi ukiwadia, utaona kwamba hata mbegu za mahindi hazipatikani. Pia, bei ya mbegu huongezeka wakati huo.

Nikizungumzia suala la barabara, miaka kadhaa iliyopita kuna sehemu ambako ng’ombe na mbuzi walikuwa wakilala kwenye barabara lakini kwingineko hakukuwa na barabara za lami. Ukitembelea sehemu ya uwakilishi Bungeni ya Saboti, huwezi kuona hata barabara moja ambayo imewekwa lami kilomita tano. Kuhusu elimu, katika eneo langu la Saboti huwezi kuona shule hata moja yenye kiwango cha mkoa ama kitaifa.

Kwa hayo machache, ninaiunga mkono hoja hii.

Yes, hon. Neto.

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. First, let me congratulate you on your election as Deputy Speaker. We know that your first round win was devoid of BVR kits issues and Kencall sharing of IP addresses. That shows the immense faith these hon. Members of Parliament have in you, and it is the sort of leadership that is going to prove the Kenyan vote. My congratulations and God bless you.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, the President said that he believed in the principles of the rule of law, and that he is also going to work advertently in terms of implementing the Constitution, however, interrogation of the Presidential Address confirms otherwise. I would like to expound on four particular areas. The first one is that the President, in his Address, mentioned the fact that the number of young men and women in this particular House is a manifestation of the gender rule but you know very well that there is already a High Court ruling in which the court directed that this particular House implements the gender rule by 2015, and that wherever is practically possible, the gender rule is affirmed in both appointments and elective posts. However, if you noticed yesterday in the appointment of the membership of the House Business Committee, there was no affirmation of the gender rule. Progressive realisation of the gender rule does not mean that we have to wait until 2015 to realise that particular rule. The ruling only emphases that there should be affirmation of the gender rule whenever it is practically possible. It was possible to affirm to this rule yesterday because we have 69 elected women hon. Members in this particular House. Then it was progressively possible to realise the election of one-third women Members in the particular Committees. I was really astounded that many of the hon. Members on the Government side, actually being the majority Members of this House, shot down that aspect even after the President reiterated the fact that he believed in the principle of the gender rule. Hon. Deputy Speaker, the second thing I would like to talk to is the President’s remarks on devolution. For example, he said that there are small bottlenecks in implementing devolution. That is far from the truth for someone who believes in the principles of the rule of law, and who wants to implement the Constitution. There is a High Court decision to the extent that the County Commissioners are in office illegally. If the President believed in the principle of the rule of law, the County Commissioners should have been recalled on the first day he was in office. It is not supposed---

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

Hon. Neto, are you making your maiden speech? If not, the point of order is allowed.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, the case being referred to is still pending in the Court of Appeal. Therefore, it should not be referred to in this House. Doing so is against Standing Order No.80 of the Standing Orders of the National Assembly.

On a point of order, hon. Deputy Speaker. It is not correct to say that the matter is pending in the Court of Appeal. In fact, the manner in which the matter was taken to the Court of Appeal was illegal because the Attorney-General, who is the official legal advisor to the Government, had advised that the ruling should not be appealed. Therefore, the case is before the Court of Appeal irregularly and, therefore, cannot qualify to be sub judice in so far as our Standing Orders are concerned. Therefore, the hon. Member is out of order.

Order! Order, hon. Members! We are not the Judiciary. We are not going to begin to even think that we are going to do the work of the Judiciary. So, can---

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

On a point of order, hon. Deputy Speaker.

Order, hon. Mbadi! Can we allow hon. Neto to complete his contribution?

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker, for coming to my defence. I do not want to take this chance to give an explanation on the matter of sub judice . I am of a legal background and I know what it means. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I was speaking to the fact that if, indeed, the President---

(Hon. Sakaja

What is it, hon. Sakaja?

Hon. Sakaja): Hon. Deputy Speaker, I have a point of order, and this should not be construed to be my maiden speech. Is hon. Neto in order to mislead the House that it is the Jubilee side that is actually not in support of the one-third gender rule whereas it is well known to this House that hon. Dalmas Otieno is the one who has pushed for the 20 per cent? I think he is out of order to mislead the House.

Order, hon. Sakaja! That is a point of argument. The hon. Member had already moved on.

Thank you very much, hon. Deputy Speaker, for protecting me once again. Hon. Deputy Speaker, if indeed the Jubilee Coalition is intent in implementing devolution, then what the Transitional Clauses, under Clause 17, anticipate is the fact that the Provincial Administration should be the one that is supposed to be in concurence with the devolved governments, and not otherwise. I was hoping that His Excellency the President would tell us what he intends to do with the National Government Co-ordination Act. I am saying this because if we believe in the principals of the rule of law, this is not empty rhetoric. We must deliver on the promises that we make to Kenyans. We must speak things that we believe in because that is why Kenyans trust us to come to this august House. Now that the issue of devolution looks like it should not be touched, let me go to the easier one on laptops. Laptops are good things. I look forward to a day when I can order oranges and tomatoes online from the women who sell mboga in Ndhiwa. For a President who believes in implementing the Constitution, Article 43 of the Constitution is sacrosanct. It anticipates the right to economic and social rights. The right to have and these are the rights that should be realized under this Constitution. Before we realize those rights, issues like computers are then aspirational. In meeting the obligations of the Government on implementing economic and social rights as under Article 43, the test that is normally taken into consideration is how you use the little resources that you have.

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. Finally, you have noticed me. My name is hon. George Muchai, Member for Kabete Constituency. For the benefit of those who may not know the location of this constituency---

On a point of order, hon. Deputy Speaker.

Hon. Muchai, did you not contribute yesterday on the Presidential Speech?

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I did not contribute.

Order, Members! You only contribute to the Presidential Debate once. You cannot contribute twice. Let us check the record, please.

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I had the benefit to speak on Procedural Motions, but not on the Presidential Debate.

Then it is okay. Allow him to make his contribution. It has been confirmed that he has not contributed on the Presidential Address. Therefore, continue.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, before I got interrupted, I was explaining to those who do not know where Kabete Constituency is. There is no measureable distance between the Capital City of Kenya and Kabete Constituency. It takes a step across the boundary into Kabete Constituency and a step back to the Capital City of Kenya. Contrary to the wrong impression that is created by the beautiful buildings fronting the Naivasha-Nakuru Road, where Kabete Constituency is located, the inside of the constituency is not like that. The inside of the constituency is full of abject poverty. I want to take this opportunity to thank the people of the constituency for giving me the opportunity to be their Member of Parliament in the Eleventh Parliament, indeed, the first Member of Parliament, Kabete Constituency being a new constituency. I will devote my innermost spirit to their service. Based on the high rural/urban influx in this country, where many people come to Nairobi in search of work, there is need to look at what is in Kabete Constituency. The human congestion that is obtaining in this city will finally empty itself into this constituency. So, there is need to ensure that the constituency’s infrastructure is well looked into, so that there is no difference between the infrastructure obtaining in the Capital City and that in Kabete Constituency. I am widely travelled and I can say from a position of confidence that constituencies that border capital cities of nations have no difference in terms of their infrastructure to those obtaining in those capital cities. In Kabete Constituency, there is distinct difference in terms of water services, road network, security services, drainage and sewerage services, yet the human overflow from Nairobi empties into this constituency. Speaking about security, criminals are not afraid of the policeman. Their worst enemy is light just as their best friend is darkness. The problem that we have in the constituency is enormous in terms of insecurity. Turning to the President’s Speech to this House, I would like to make a few comments in relation to education. First and foremost, when we talk about education, we should link it with training. Unless we equip the youths in this country with the necessary skills that will enable them to open up into the job market and create employment for themselves, we are doomed as a country and we are bound to fail. I want to look at our training institutions and the technology obtaining in these institutions vis-a-vis the technology obtaining in the industry. The technology obtaining in the industry is far ahead of the technology obtaining in our training institutions, which is obsolete. In our training institutions, we have not embraced the modern way of training. For instance, we are still using engines which use carburetors whereas the industry has long moved from that form of operation.

(Hon. (Ms.) Seneta): Hon. Deputy Speaker, I wish to congratulate you and the Speaker of this House on your election. I am Mary Seneta, Women Representative, Kajiado County. Regarding the Presidential Speech, I am delighted because of three aspects, one of them being the promotion of tourism in Kenya. I am looking forward to the Government improving the areas that are affected by wildlife. The people of Kajiado County are mostly affected by wildlife/human conflict. The tourism sector has really promoted the GDP of this country. So, it is my wish that the Government looks into issues that affect the communities that live next to

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Is it time for an old Member now? We have one more new Member.

On a point of information, hon. Deputy Speaker.

Order, hon. Members! I know that you are all wishing to be heard by your constituents but you must appreciate---

Hon. Deputy Speaker, my name is Silverse Lisamula Anami, the Member of Parliament for Shinyalu. I would like to join the other hon. Members in congratulating you on your election as the Deputy Speaker.

On the Speech by the President, I would like to say that it was full of content. The President touched on, at least, everything that concerns Kenyans. The focus was, however, mostly on Vision 2030 which is good because that is our aspiration. However, there are also the underlying concerns that are raised by the Millenium Development Goals. I wish that the aspirations of the Presidents are taken into consideration or implemented because they touch on the plight of Kenyans.

I would like to observe the concern that we should have as the august House. This is the challenge that has, all the time, caused us not to connect effectively with Kenyans. This also happens in all development agencies. Every time we approach things, and this is the same thing that we are doing with Vision 2030 and this was reflected in the Speech of the President, we do it from top-down. If we approach the implementation of these aspirations from bottom-up, we will understand. That is why you heard the President talk about laptops which is a big challenge to rural communities and parents. It will be a challenge to implement that.

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

That is it! Your time is up!

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I am hon. Leonard Sang, the Member of Parliament for Buret in Kericho County.

First, I want to thank the people of Buret Constituency for having confidence in me and electing me to come and represent their interest in this honourable House. I would like to assure them of my commitment to service delivery. I also want to congratulate you, hon. Deputy Speaker, the Speaker, the Leader of the Majority Party, the Leader of the Minority Party and everybody who was elected here the other day. I also want to congratulate Kenyans for electing peace before, during and after the elections. We saw Kenyans exercise patience. I have never seen an election like this where elections are declared and Kenyans are in peace doing their business. I want to thank and congratulate them. I know this is the best election that we have never had. We are now united as Kenyans and we want to move this nation forward.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, on the Presidential Address, I want to say that it was elaborate and ambitious. At the same time, it was very inspirational. I have heard few of these speeches; one for Martin Luther King, the civic leader of the United States of America, Barrack Obama, President Mwai Kibaki and now His Excellency the President Uhuru Kenyatta.

I want to commend him on some few areas

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Your time is up. It is now the turn for the old hon. Members of Parliament. Let us now go to old hon. Members and not new ones. Let us see who is in the House. Hon. Ng’ongo, you can have this chance.

On a point of order, Hon. Deputy Speaker. He has already contributed.

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. Could you protect me from hon. Members?

Order, hon. Members! Hon. Ng’ongo, have you spoken on the Presidential Address?

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I am an old Member and a stickler to the rules. I cannot speak on the same Motion twice. So, let me proceed.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, thank you very much for giving me this time. First of all, I would like to alert the Chair before I make my contribution that we do not have water in the House. I think the parliamentary staff need to look into that. On the Presidential Address, first what is the objective of the first Presidential Address after the elections to the National Assembly? The objective is to give people hope; I think to that extent, this Address achieved its intended purpose.

As to whether whatever was said will be achieved, I would say the President’s Address was elaborate, detailed and covered many areas but I want just to point out a few areas where I feel there was deficiency in this Address. First, is with regard to job creation. I did not expect to hear from the President who prides himself as a digital President talking about the same old stuff of how to create jobs in this country. Creating jobs and employing people is not the work of the Government. This old stuff of saying you will give 30 per cent of contracts to youth was said during Kibaki’s era and it is being repeated now.

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Your time is up. Hon. Member, I am sorry that I have forgotten your name but you can proceed.

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. My names are Stephen Kinyanjui, Member of Parliament for Kinangop Constituency. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you and Hon. Speaker. It should go into history that you are the first Deputy Speaker who was elected by more than 75 per cent or two-thirds. I wonder whether hon. Members of this hon. House noted that.

I would like straightway to go to the Presidential Address. When I was listening to my dear colleagues speak, they spoke about tarmacking roads and marginalization. I am requesting the Jubilee Coalition, through the party leader, hon. Aden Duale, to file a Motion immediately to be named after KK150. “KK” are my initials. “KK150” means each and every constituency within these five years should have 150 kilometres of bitumen standard roads, and the least should be 100 kilometres. If you calculate that, and I believe we have good teachers and mathematicians, it translates to about 29,000 kilometres of bitumen within a span of five years. So, within one year it can be achieved progressively and that will be about 5,800 kilometres of

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Your time is up!

(Hon. (Ms.) Mitaru): Hon. Deputy Speaker, thank you. First I want to thank you for seeing this side; we have been wondering whether we should sit there next time. I want to congratulate you for being a lady and we thank God that you got the highest number of votes when we elected you in this House. I want to say thank you again for the Address that the President gave us. I think it was about our people at the county level. I have been looking at the Presidential Address. Many people were very happy. When I look at Embu County, we have a difference between the mountain side and Mbeere side where we have a lot of water right now. I was thinking of energy that the President talked about. We provide energy, or particularly, electricity to this country. In Mbeere, we have the seven dams, yet a lot of our people cannot afford electricity in their homes because the cost is too high for the rural people. Mine is to request that this House looks at the institutions in the counties that have been providing resources to this nation, so that they are given an opportunity. I am also looking at tourism. In Embu County, we have the ability to bring in a lot of tourists. We have the Mt. Kenya. We have a tourist area where there are those dams and we need to improve it. On the issue of health, that is very important to us because we have very many health centers in Embu County that have not been completed. We have a big hospital, the Embu Provincial General Hospital that lacks a lot of resources, equipment and even medicine. You will find women there sharing beds with their babies, as one hon. Member said. So, I would like this

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, thank you, at last I have had a chance to be on the Floor. I take this opportunity, first, to congratulate you and the Speaker for being elected. Secondly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank voters in Nyaribari Chache for giving me the honour to serve them in the Eleventh Parliament; I promise that I will do my best to deliver. Coming to the Presidential Address, I would like to say that I congratulate the President for giving us hope in his Address and promising Kenyans a better tomorrow. However, looking at this Address, there are several areas which we pray that what was said is what will be done. One of them is devolution. Right now we have a crisis with the County Commissioners and governors. The court case, notwithstanding, there was a court decision that County Commissioners were in office illegally. We are telling the President, as the Head of the Executive, to kindly enforce devolution, which he said in this House is not an option. Devolution is not going to be an alternative; devolution is a must. We would like to plead with the President to act by example by recalling the County Commissioners with immediate effect and empower the governors to run the counties and hold them accountable with immediate effect.

I would like to go to the other areas of economic empowerment of our people. We are talking about job creation. I will add my voice to what the last speaker said; he said that His Excellency the President should not create jobs. He should create opportunities and we are looking at areas and sectors where opportunity can be created. From my background in logistics, I would like to add my voice to what he promised about making Kenya a logistics hub. I would like to say that for a logistics hub to be effective, we must address the issue of security. Without security, nobody will come to Kenya. Nobody will come to Kenya because we have three corridors in this region. We have the Southern Corridor which is Mozambique, the Northern Corridor, which is Mombasa and the Central Corridor.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, we have the Northern Corridor, which is Mombasa, and we have the Central Corridor. We would like the Northern Corridor to serve this region. If we do not have security, efficiency and reduce corruption, we are not going to make Kenya a regional hub. So, I request that the issue of security, which is currently wanting, to be addressed very seriously. As you are aware, 30 years ago, Kenya and Singapore were at par. The Singaporean dollar and the Kenyan Shilling were at par. They were Kshs6 to the US$. Today, Singapore is a First World country and Kenya is still struggling at the bottom. I would like to inform you that Singapore does not have any exports and natural resources. Singapore thrives entirely on logistics. So, with the human resource that we have – and I am a very good proponent of population increase--- I do not subscribe to population control. That is because this country has got a lot of land. It has got a lot of resources. All we need is more babies to take up the capacity and develop this country. The money we are using---

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Order! Your time is up! Hon. Members, have already given the position.

Thank hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. My names are Mohamed Abdi Haji, Member of Parliament for Banissa Constituency in Mandera County. First, I want to congratulate you and the Speaker for being elected to head this august House. Number two, I want to congratulate and thank the people of Mandera County and, particularly, the Banissa people for giving me an opportunity to come and serve them again. I was in this august House in the Ninth Parliament. I took a sabbatical leave and came back again. I want to congratulate them for that.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, from the outset, what I want to say is that looking at the Presidential Address and our contributions that started yesterday, we want to start from a very good foundation as the august House; the foundation of freedom of speech. We will be able to tolerate one another in the House and outside. We will engage ourselves and be able to oppose one another on issues and come to a point where we will be able to say:- “Ladies and gentlemen, I do not agree with what you said, but I would support to death your freedom to say that.” I think that would be very fundamental for us inside this House and outside.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, the President’s Speech talked about industrialization. He wants this country to become one of the developed countries. But there is a problem with that because this country has got two levels of development. There is an area where people talk about lack of clean water. It does not have even dirty water. There is an area where people will say: “We have a hospital, but we do not have a mortuary to take care of the dead.” There are areas where people are talking about dispensaries. Now, if you look at northern Kenya, we are in the news all for the wrong reasons. There are wars where we are fighting one another. There are wars where we are being fought by our neighbours. The development rate is very low. The enrolment in schools is very low. In other development indices where you talk about maternal mortality, child mortality and those other things, it shows that, that is an area which is under-developed and which has been marginalized for many years.

Now, we want this country to develop. We want this country to be industrialized. We do not want to be left behind. There has been rhetoric from the executives who have ruled this country for the last 50 years. Northern Kenya has been left behind. We want to request this Government: Let the able leader ensure that we should not be left behind when this country is developing. We know that the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) has done something that we are proud of.

The other thing that is happening is devolution. We are looking forward for everything to be devolved so that development can take place. But we want political goodwill from the Government. Deliberate efforts and marshal plans should be made so that the people of northern Kenya can develop and be at par with their friends and relatives in other parts of the country. That way, this country will develop together. We will not be left behind.

On security, security in this country is wanting. Two or three days ago, as we were watching television, they were showing the crime hotspots in this City. They were showing places where there is insecurity and where people are not able to go about their daily activities. You will be mugged, killed or maimed in broad daylight. Where I come from in Mandera County, fortunately, what we have is---

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Thank you very much hon. Deputy Speaker. First of all, I must start by thanking God for the opportunity that he has given me and the rest of us to be in this House. We must realize that leadership comes from God. We are here in stewardship to serve the people. In addition to that, I must congratulate you, also, for your election that was resounding, for reasons known to all Members. You have been able to show in the past that you are un-biased and that you fit well in that Chair.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, going into the Presidential Address, I must note that it was one of the best Speeches I have heard from a President in the opening of Parliament. Maybe, due to the fact that I am young, I have not had very many openings of Parliament, but I think this one was remarkable. It was not only on the depth of the issues covered, but also it was on the sincerity and the fact that it goes hand-in-hand with the manifesto of Jubilee. Yesterday, I heard the Leader of the Minority Party saying that the Jubilee Coalition copy-pasted its manifesto from Vision 2030. I would like to inform him, because I also happen to be the Chair of The National Alliance (TNA) party which is one of the ruling parties within the Jubilee Coalition, that the Jubilee Coalition took very many months going round the country listening to views by Kenyans, collecting information and conducting research before coming up with the manifesto that we hold. It was a process that took us almost a year or two. I must also add that in addition to the national manifesto we unveiled, the Jubilee Coalition also has a manifesto for each and every county. Where we have governors, we have handed over those manifestos.

I think one important thing that I must applaud the President for was his insistence that we change the tone of our politics in this country, and especially in this House. I think it is time that we embraced a bipartisan approach to many of the issues that come before this House. That is because we are all here for the sake and good of Kenyans; for the welfare of all and for the just Government of men. I would urge hon. Members of this House that in future, even as we go along, let our interest converge not only in the pursuit of our personal interests but rather also in the defence of the frontiers of justice, human rights and the rights of all Kenyans. We should always put their interests before ours.

Additionally, I have heard hon. Members from the minority coalition lament profusely at the fact that the Jubilee Coalition has managed to sign many post-election coalitions with other political parties. A certain hon. Member even referred to some of the parties we have signed coalition agreements with as “adopted children”. That bit was out of line and I must urge the particular hon. Member, who purports to believe in the rule of law and the Constitution, which they credit to their side as the ones who delivered it to Kenyans, a fact which is not true; to refrain from making such remarks. It is in those very instruments, namely, the Constitution, the Political Parties Act and our Standing Orders that post-election coalitions are envisaged. That is the platform through which we have followed as the Jubilee Coalition. It is not an affront to democracy because we still have an Opposition in the House.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I must also applaud the people of Kenya because if you look around in this House, you will feel that we are moving into a time when politics will stop being a retirement career. There are very many young people who are giving the country their best years of life, when they still have energy to serve. I would like to encourage more young people to get involved in politics and leadership. I encourage them to join political parties as we move along. An important aspect of the Presidential Address as well has been the issue of the youth. For a long time, the young people of this country have been relegated to the back and have never had a voice. For the first time, they have a voice in this House, and I would also like to add that they

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Your time is up, hon. Sakaja. Yes, Mrs. Nyamunga.

Thank you very much, Hon. Deputy Speaker. Before I speak on the Presidential Address, I would like to say that my background is that of finance and law. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you for your election as the Deputy Speaker, and to also congratulate all of us who have had the opportunity to be elected to the Eleventh Parliament. I have gone through the Presidential Address several times. As many of us have already indicated, it is really the Vision 2030. I am not saying that it does not measure to the expectations of many Kenyans. It really measures to the expectation of many of us. The only thing that always makes me wonder is how difficult it has been to govern the country since we got Independence. If you look at very many areas of this country, and in particular areas like Turkana, you wonder whether the people in that area are part of our country. The suffering that the people of Turkana and many other Kenyans go through is really about the basic issues. It is the responsibility of any government to provide the basic needs to its people. We should not be begging any government to provide our people with water, food, medical care, education, eradication of poverty, et cetera. These are the basic needs of human beings. Taking my county, for example, all the constituencies in Kisumu have a frontline to Lake Victoria but you realise that River Nile also has its waters from Lake Victoria. If you look at how River Nile has been utilised in Egypt, you will realise that they have used the water very well. They do a lot of agriculture and export to us the same food they produce despite the fact that we are the source of River Nile. When I was in school, as a young girl, I knew that Lake Victoria had the freshest water in the whole world, and that it was the third largest lake in the whole world. During that time, if you played in the waters of Lake Victoria, you could even see the sand. The water was very clear but I do not know what Lake Victoria has now been relegated to. The water is very filthy. The lake is dying. Nobody is doing anything to the water hyacinth, which is a very big minus to the governments that have been there. I hope that this new Government will take the life of Lake Victoria very seriously and clear it of the hyacinth and make sure that all the fishermen are taken care of. We need cold storage facilities along Lake Victoria, so that fishermen can get value for their fish and also grade the fish for both the local and export markets, so that we get maximum benefits out of that lake.

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Your time is up, hon. Nyamunga. Yes, Member for Kikuyu.

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker, Sir, giving me the Floor. I also wish to, first, take this opportunity to profoundly thank the great people of Kikuyu for electing me to represent them in the Eleventh Parliament. I must also take the opportunity to re-affirm my deep commitment to not only representing the people of Kikuyu but for ably representing other Kenyans in the Eleventh Parliament as well as fulfilling the promises and pledges that those of us in the Jubilee Coalition made to the people of Kenya. As was mentioned by a colleague and neighbour, the Member for Kabete, hon. Muchai, Kikuyu is very close to the capital city of this country but it has largely been marginalised. It has actually never been represented in this House as all successive Members of Parliament from my area hailed from my neighbouring constituency of Kabete. Therefore, I am grateful to the people of Kikuyu. I congratulate them for getting the opportunity to be represented in this House for the first time since Independence. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I note with much appreciation that many of the pledges and promises that we made to the people of Kenya were actually touched by the President in his Address to this House two days ago. I am particularly impressed by the proposal by His Excellency to consolidate the women and youth enterprise funds. I must say it is rather unfortunate that my colleagues on the minority side do not appreciate that what has been proposed by the President---

Order, Member for Kikuyu! You will have a balance of two minutes when this House convenes next.

Hon. Members, it is now time to interrupt our business. Therefore, the House stands adjourned until Tuesday, 23rd April, 2013, at 2.30 p.m.

The House rose at 6.30 p.m.

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.