(Hon. (Ms.) Shebesh): Hon. Mburu, you have ten minutes to reply to your Motion and I see many requests. I do not know whether people have made mistakes. Please check that you have not pressed the interventions button if you do not intend to raise a point of order.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, with all due respect, I am begging you to allow me to give a number of hon. Members some of my ten minutes. I want to take two and I will share the rest eight minutes with hon. Members who are interested to contribute to this Motion.

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(Hon. (Ms.) Shebesh): That is your discretion and so, you can go ahead.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, the first hon. Member is Kemei. I want to give him two minutes.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, since the introduction of Constituencies Development Fund (CDF), there has been equitable development in the entire country. With the Motion by hon. Mburu, I am sure the road network in the entire country will also be equitable. In my constituency, we have two bitumen roads and both roads head towards other parts of the country. They pass through my constituency. I have eight kilometers from Kiptere up to Sondu and five kilometers from Soliat up to the junction going to Muhoroni. If I get 20 kilometers of bitumen road in my constituency, I am sure there will be better development in the constituency. With those few remarks, I beg to support.

Naibu Spika wa Muda, namshukuru Mhe. Mburu kwa kunikabidhi fursa hii ili nichangie Hoja hii ambayo ni ya muhimu kwetu. Uchumi wa nchi yetu, asilimia 90 unategemea mawasiliano na uchukuzi wa barabara. Sote tunajua kwamba baadhi ya sababu ambazo zinachangia kuzoroteka kwa barabara hasa ni wakati wa mvua. Sehemu ambayo ninawakilisha ya Saboti, inakisiwa kuwa na watu karibu 200,000. Lakini hakuna barabara yoyote maalum ambayo tunaweza kuita highway. Watu wa Saboti wanajulikana - na watu wa Trans Nzoia kwa ujumla - kuwa wakulima. Lakini tukienda upande wa barabara, kama ni namba, labda tupewe kuanzia mwisho katika sehemu ambazo hazina barabara nzuri. Wakulima kutoka Trans Nzoia wameumia sana na pia wanakosa huduma muhimu kwa sababu ya barabara mbovu wakati mvua inanyesha. Najua kwamba hii Hoja ikizingatiwa, nchi yetu itanufaika sana. Ahsante!

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, thank you for giving me this chance to contribute to this Motion. I want to thank hon. Mburu for bringing this Motion. In particular, I want to urge the Government to tarmack a minimum of 20 kilometers per year in every constituency. I have a case in point in my own constituency, which is Mbeere North. We have a district headquarters called Siakago which was started in 1950. There is a stretch of 29 kilometers that has never been tarmacked. We get into a lot of trouble when pregnant mothers are referred to the provincial headquarters in Embu. At times, they give birth on the way. I pray that, once that is done, the Government will prioritize the 29 kilometers road. I would also appreciate that, that tarmac is stretched all the way from Siakago to Ketire. Thank you. With those few remarks, I beg to support.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, thank you for giving me this opportunity. Let me say from the outset that I support this Motion. I want to thank hon. K.K. Kinyanjui for bringing this Motion at this time. We all know the history of this country, particularly when it comes to the roads network. During the old days, a road could only be tarmacked or murramed, if you were close to the “powers that be”. This Motion will bring equity to this country. I think where we are as a country, we need to have equity in the road network. In the Maasai Mara, the Seventh Wonder of the World, 75 per cent of it is in my constituency. It is important for this House to note that, that is the only wonder of the

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Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, mine is to sincerely support this Motion. If you look through what we have done, as a country, by putting murram in our roads year in, year out, you will see that, once we have the harsh weather that we experience now and again in this country, all our investment in murram roads go to waste. We just then duplicate investment of resources. A minimum of 20 kilometers per year in five years will be 100 kilometers. In the long run, we will put our resources to other productive activities in this nation. That way, we will avoid wastage. In fact, there will be savings. We will never attain Vision 2030 and all its advantages unless we look at rural development. Rural areas have not enjoyed tarmacked roads for many years. When there is tarmacking of roads, it is not evenly distributed. If we can do tarmac roads in rural areas, we will curb rural-urban migration. I want to talk about rural-urban migration. With the Thika Super Highway, it takes you about 45 minutes or even one hour from my constituency to Nairobi. So, we will have people going back to live in the rural areas and contributing to the economies. The other thing I would like to talk about is decongestion in the city. People can do business in the rural areas. If we have that, we could connect the counties. I would like to talk about a very simple road from a place called Gatukuyu to a place called Matara. If that road is done – and it is only 35 kilometers - it will connect Matara to Rwanyambo which is in Kinangop. We will be able to get food to Nairobi within one hour. If food is brought to Nairobi within one hour - after reducing the distance - we are going to have cheaper food in this city. By doing so, the people going to Nyahururu will not do the curve that they normally do by going all the way to connect the Nakuru Highway, and then to Nairobi. That will be a short-cut; another by- pass. That will again, decongest our roads. So, if there is anything I stand to support, it is this Motion. Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I would like to thank all hon. Members who have contributed and supported the Motion. God bless you and, maybe, with God’s blessings, this Motion will become a reality.

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(Hon. (Ms.) Shebesh): Hon. Members, this Motion has 18 more minutes. There was nobody on the Floor but, if you remember, we had agreed five minutes per Member because of the interest that was shown. So, currently, there is nobody who is willing to speak. Okay! I see one request from hon. Barchilei.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support this Motion. That is because the youth form 70 per cent of the population. Those are the people who have been sidelined. Therefore, there is need for the Government to immediately allocate and release those funds to the Council, to enable it to discharge its mandate. When the problems affecting the youth are solved, 70 per cent of the problems in Kenya will be solved. Therefore, it is very important for the Government to realize the functions of the council and support it by releasing the funds. Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker.

(Hon. (Ms.) Shebesh): Hon. Dido Ali Rasso.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. At the outset, I wish to thank hon. Ms. Juma for bringing this Motion to the House.

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(Hon. (Ms.) Shebesh): I am sorry for interrupting you, hon. Dido. Hon. Kyengo, do you have a point of order?

No, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker.

(Hon. (Ms.) Shebesh): If you do not have a point of order, please, be pressing the right button for intervention or contribution.

Proceed, hon. Dido.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, the fact that the requirements of 70 per cent of our population are so many cannot be over-emphasised. If we make the National Youth Council (NYC) operational, the Government will focus on the youth agenda. At the same time, the youth of this country will have a central organ through which their issues can be properly articulated. We have seen our youth experiencing mundane problems like attachments while in college; something which should not be happening. The youth should be able to get attachment within the Government and in private companies without a lot of stress.

Another thing that I would like to say about this Motion is about employment and, more so, the quota system of allocating Government and private sector jobs. A certain quota should be set aside for the youth. That way, they will access those positions after college. We have said that the youth are involved in certain misdemeanours. That problem has been brought about by the failure of this House and other public institutions to put the youth agenda in the proper perspective. Those institutions are not playing their noble roles. As the august House, we have a role to play in furthering the youth agenda in this country.

With those remarks, I beg to support.

(Hon. (Ms.) Shebesh): Hon. Florence Kajuju, you will have four minutes and then the Mover will have the Floor to reply.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I would like to thank hon. Zuleikha for bringing this Motion and appreciating the talents that our youth have in this day and age. One of the achievements of the new Constitution is that it has recognised the rights of each and every individual to participate in decision-making towards the development of this country. One of the things that we can do as a county is to empower our youth, who already have talents and skills. Having set up the NYC, there is no reason as to why it should not be given the necessary funds to enable it meet its mandate as provided for in the Act, which was passed way back in 2009.

Time is gone when we used to hear “ Kazi kwa vijana, pesa kwa wazee .” It is now time to give the youth the money they need, so that they can work. I urge hon. Members to pass this Motion, so that our youth can be empowered. This is a good Motion

With those remarks, I beg to support.

(Hon. (Ms.) Shebesh): Hon. George Ogalo, you have two minutes.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support the Motion and go a little further than just supporting it. I am a little perturbed. I have been

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(Hon. (Ms.) Shebesh): Mover of the Motion, you have ten minutes.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I want to donate two minutes each to hon. Gunga and hon. Silvance before I reply.

(Hon. (Ms.) Shebesh): Proceed, hon. Gunga.

Mhe. Naibu Spika wa Muda, nakushukuru sana kwa kunipa fursa hii. Ningependa kutoa shukrani zangu kwa mhe. Zuleikha kwa kunipa dakika mbili za muda wake ili niweze kuchangia Hoja hii. Ningependa kusema kwamba Hoja hii ni nzuri kwa sababu katika taifa letu la Kenya, tumeona mara nyingi masuala ya vijana, ambayo ni muhimu sana kwa taifa hili, yakiwekwa nyuma. Kwa hivyo, ningependa kuiunga mkono Hoja hii kwa dhati kwa sababu ninafahamu kwamba iwapo vijana watapata fedha, watapata nafasi ya kujiendeleza na kuleta maendeleo katika taifa hili. Ni kweli kwamba suala la kusema vijana ni viongozi wa kesho limepitwa na wakati. Naamini kwamba tukitoa fedha kwa vijana na wapewe nafasi ya kuzitumia vizuri, fedha hizo zitaendeleza mipango ya vijana humu nchini. Hatutaki kusikia tena vijana wakijiingiza kwenye shida za mihadarati ama wakiwekwa katika ngazi ya chini. Mara nyingi, vijana huchukuliwa kuwa watu wa kuendesha pikipiki za boda boda, kufanya kazi duni na kutumiwa vibaya, haswa wakati wa kampeini za kisiasa. Sheria inasema kwamba ni lazima pesa hizo zitolewe kwa vijana ili vijana waweze kuendeleza miradi yao ndiyo tuweze kupata maendeleo katika nchi hii.

Kwa hayo maneno machache, naunga mkono Hoja hii.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker and hon. Zuleikha, for giving me this chance to contribute to the Motion. My concern is that NYC is a creation of this House. Article 55 of the Constitution of the Republic of Kenya makes it mandatory for the State to take measures to ensure that the youth are given an opportunity to participate, associate and be represented in the political, socio-economic and other spheres of life. In as far as Parliament has the legislative role, it follows that the oversight role was added to this House to ensure that when we pass legislation, we oversee and ensure that it is implemented. We realise that Parliament may pass certain laws which may not be convenient to the Executive that is in existence at certain times. That is why we also have to ensure that laws passed by this House are implemented. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I happen to sit in the Departmental Committee on Labour and Social Welfare. Up to date, NYC has not been allocated even a single cent. When we inquired into the matter, we were told that the funds have gone to the Ministry for Planning and Devolution. However, a follow-up has shown that not even a single cent has been allocated to NYC. NYC operates from Uchumi House, where it has

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Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. First, I would like to urge the Jubilee Government - which has been saying that it is a Government of

and gave a lot of promises in the President’s Address – to support the young people by allocating money to National Youth Council. We hope that since the money was not captured in the Budget that was read here, they will include it in the Supplementary Estimates. For example, some money has been moved from some Ministries and given to teachers. That is equally important, as another hon. Member has said. If you solve the issues affecting the youth, you will solve 70 per cent of the problems of this country. There is no point of allocating Kshs26 billion to the youth and adding more money if they have no say on how that money will be used. That is why you see Government projects for the youth failing time and again because young people are not consulted. They do not have a say on how the money is used. So, when you establish a white elephant project, it fails. So, the National Youth Council is there to make sure that young people get involved from the grassroots up to the national level.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I also want to take this opportunity to thank all hon. Members who have supported this Motion. In fact, this Motion has been supported by all the Members who have contributed to it. As we prepare to vote, I would like to request hon. Members to support it.

I would also like to thank the young people out there. I know there are many young people who are following this Motion. I also thank the National Youth Council for helping to make this Motion successful. I salute the young people. There are some people who have said that if young people get a billion shillings, they will not be able to manage it. That is not true. In fact, this Parliament has about 75 young hon. Members, many of who were voted in by their constituents. They won overwhelmingly. There are many young people in other sectors like Muthomi in Meru, who is globally acclaimed for carrying out the banana business. There is Mukwano Youth Group in Machakos which has a successful farm despite the drought in the area. There is Okolo, a young woman activist and innovator who is trending globally in the international humanitarian field. There is also Mombasa Youth Bunge that is doing a lot of work to sensitize the girl-child through drama. There are dozens of young professional, for instance, in the Kenyan media who are the engines of the industry in Kenya. We have Patricia Amira, Larry Madowo, Lulu Hassan, Philip Mwaniki, Hussein Mohamed and so on.

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(Hon. (Ms.) Shebesh): Hon. Members, I am made aware that when I was on my feet, one of our colleagues walked in and proceeded to his seat when the Temporary Deputy Speaker was on her feet. Please, hon. Members, let us try and adhere to the rules of the House so that we have decorum. Hon. Member, I have not directed you to do anything. I will direct you if I so wish. I was on my feet and I have given my statement. Go ahead and take your seat.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, the sector of education in all Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) and counties in Kenya is characterized---

(Hon. (Ms.) Shebesh): Hon. Dukicha, you have to move your Motion before you start contributing to it. That way, other hon. Members will get the gist of what you are urging the House to pass.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, aware that the number of girls- --

(Hon. (Ms.) Shebesh): Hon. Dukicha, please state “I beg to move the following Motion: THAT,---”

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I beg to move the following Motion:- THAT, aware that the number of girls dropping out of school is very high in the Arid and Semi-arid Areas (ASALs) because of the limited number of schools in those areas; concerned that most of the girls dropping out of school opt for early marriages, thus affecting the education standards of the girl-child; noting that lack of boarding schools in most of those areas has greatly contributed to increased number of school dropouts, this House urges the Government to establish girls boarding schools for both primary and secondary education in all ASAL areas.

The sector of education in all ASAL counties in Kenya is characterized by low enrolment levels, high dropout rates and poor infrastructural development. In Kenya, the introduction of free primary education contributed to a significant increase in the enrolment level for both boys and girls. The dropout rates increase with the high number

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(Hon. (Ms.) Shebesh): Hon. Dukicha, let me just guide you. Your notes are for you to refer to and not to read throughout. Refer to them rather than reading through them because it will be against our Standing Orders.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for that. The girls are prone to sexual abuse and violence more than boys. That is due to the fact that education has more significant positive impact on the lives of communities. The declaration of Free Primary Education (FPE) policy in January 2003 by the Kenyan Government was a move in the right direction. It was meant to address some of the issues raised in the Koech Report. However, that policy lacks affirmative action. For example, every child is provided with a grant of Kshs1,020 per annum - which is the same amount for every child in Kenya - to cater for instructional material and general school support. ASAL-based schools are less developed. They have very few teachers and so educational standards of the learners are compromised. Where the enrolment is low, the schools suffer during famine because parents are forced to supplement the grant from the Government.

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Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I wish to second this Motion on the girl-child education. The Motion has come at a very good time. It should have come a long time ago because the girl-child education is very important for this country. In fact, an educated girl is more likely to raise a healthy and educated family than her un-educated counterpart. Statistics show that a literate woman raises a healthy and well nourished family. An educated mother will take her children to the clinic for immunization and treatment. She will even know how to administer drugs, for instance, three or two times a day or one time a day. Therefore, this is very important for the economic, social and political development of this country. We have a challenge on girl- child education, especially in ASAL areas and many other parts of the country, where the girl-child enrolment in school is very low. There is high drop-out of girls from schools and there is poor retention. Even with the low enrolment of the girl-child in school, in Standard Eight, many girls will have dropped out of school than boys. By the time they are finishing secondary school, more girls will have dropped out. The introduction of free primary education has increased the enrolment of girls in school. But the problem is retention, quality and infrastructural development. We do not have accurate statistics. In my constituency, in 2011/2012, out of the 250 students who

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(Hon.) (Ms.) Shebesh: Honourable Members, before I give you the Floor, let me just guide you. If you have pressed the button and you want to speak, you do not have to come and whisper in my ear. I can definitely see your name. It makes my work easier and our work much faster. Hon. James Lemonen Ekomwa.

Honourable Temporary Deputy Speaker, I rise to support this Motion. There is a dictum that says educating a girl is like educating the whole world. So, you can imagine if we provide a conducive environment for girls in schools, how many worlds will we have educated? I come from a pastoralist community, specifically the

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(Hon.(Ms.) Shebesh: Honourable Leader of the Minority Party. I am giving you this chance because of your position in the House.

Thank you, honourable Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity. I rise to support this very important Motion which says that girls have not been favoured in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) areas. Those areas include Kajiado which is in Maasailand, Ukambani and Samburu, which are normally left out when we talk about ASAL areas and yet, they are ASAL areas. It will be good for the Government to establish those schools to cater for girls who have been left out. I have also learnt from the Mover of this Motion that in pastoralist communities, the ratio of girls to boys who go past secondary school is very low. Very few girls go past secondary school and there are very many reasons for that. The main reasons for that scenario include cultural practices. There are very many challenges that face the girl- child. I am happy that the Jubilee Government has allocated money in their Budget for free sanitary towels. That is a good move because I understand it is one of the reasons why girls miss classes. Honourable Temporary Deputy Speaker, now that we have Free Primary Education (FPE) - and I stand guided--- In the Jubilee Manifesto, they also proposed Free Secondary Education (FSE). I do not know whether they have kept quiet on the latter, but it is something that should be followed so that there is FSE. Even in the CORD Manifesto, there was FSE. Now that we have finished elections, let there be FSE so that those girls can get a chance to go on with their education. I want to say that the idea of free laptops and the allocation of Kshs58 billion towards that can do all those things. It can build those boarding schools in ASAL areas. It can pay the teachers’ salaries and it can also employ more teachers. I want to say that it is not only the girls in pastoralist communities who have not been facilitated to get

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Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I also stand to support this Motion. To begin with, I am one of the people who have come to whisper to your ears. I have done that because I have been trying for the last three weeks to catch the Speaker’s eye but I have not succeeded. So, I hope you will not get offended.

I stand here to support this Motion by hon. Dukicha, and say that it ought to have come yesterday. The girl-child in this country, especially in the arid areas, has been

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(Hon. (Ms.) Shebesh): Order, hon. Member! Let us see whether the hon. Member knows how to cross the Floor.

You may proceed, Hon. Karani!

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I was thanking the Catholic and other religious groups who are establishing boarding schools in the ASAL areas. Once the schools are established, it is easier to put up infrastructure and amenities like security, electricity, good roads and water. With those few remarks, I beg to support.

(Hon. (Ms.) Shebesh): I want to call upon hon. Gikaria, who has an amendment to this Motion; let us listen to his amendment.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I rise to support this Motion and thank hon. Dukicha for having brought it. However, I beg to propose some amendments to this Motion. I propose that we delete the words “in arid and semi arid areas (ASAL)” appearing on the second line and insert the words “across the country” in place thereof. The second one is by deleting the words “in most of these areas” appearing on the fifth line and lastly by deleting the words “all ASAL areas” in the last line and inserting the following words:- “needy constituencies using the criteria that establishes the need and ensure equity, taking into consideration the special needs of ASAL areas.”

(Hon. (Ms.) Shebesh): Please stick to the amendment you have given to the Chair to approve. I see a deviation from what you have given me to approve. Please stick to the amendment you gave me. If you are changing it, you will need to come to the Clerk and have it approved a second time.

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Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, in the last amendment, I wanted to take into account the fact that ASAL areas need something special, but the last one should appear as deleting the words “all ASAL areas” in the last line and inserting the words “the country” in place thereof.

(Hon. (Ms.) Shebesh): Please repeat because what you have given me talks about deleting some of the words and replacing them with nothing. Please repeat your amendment from the beginning for the sake of hon. Members. Be clear and do not change from what you have given the Chair.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, the amendment in the first place is deleting the words “in the arid and semi arid areas (ASAL)” appearing on the second line and inserting the words “across the country” in place thereof. Secondly, it is deleting the words “in most of these areas” appearing on the fifth line. The third one is deleting the words “all ASAL areas” in the last line and inserting the words “the country” in place thereof.

(Hon. (Ms.) Shebesh): Justify those amendments to hon. Members.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, these problems are not only in the ASAL areas but across the country. With due respect to the Mover of the Motion, if you look at my constituency, we do not have those problems but we have children, especially girls, who have dropped out of school, not to get married but---

Put off your microphone, hon. Gikaria.

On a point of order, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I think the hon. Member who wants to introduce some changes to the Motion does not care. This Motion is specifically for a particular area, where pupils are mostly affected.

That is an argument. What is your point of order?

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I was just putting across that information.

Hon. Members, you have time to debate the Motion and then I will put the Question. So, please, do not use points of order as a way of making a contribution. I am actually very strict on this issue.

Proceed, hon. Gikaria.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. You told me to justify my amendment. According to the explanation given by the Mover of the Motion, one of the issues is that some of these areas have been marginalised for quite a while. I agree with him on that fact. However, one of the reasons he is trying to advance in support of his Motion is poverty. Really, poverty does not just affect the ASAL areas. Even in urban areas, like my constituency, poverty has pushed girls out of school. Much as we have free primary education, there are parents who cannot afford to buy school uniforms for their daughters. So, when the girl-child of such a parent goes to school, she is told to go home and ask her parents to buy uniforms for her. Such a child has no option

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(Hon. (Ms.) Shebesh): Who is seconding your amendment, hon. Gikaria?

I have my brother here, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker.

Before he does so, what is your point of order, hon. Mati?

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, from the way the hon. Member has proceeded, it seems as if he just wants to “assassinate” the Motion. What he needs to do is just coming to the House with another Motion focussing on the girl-child nationally in terms of education.

Hon. Mati, let me put it right for you. If you felt that the amendments were totally changing the whole intention of it, you would be right. Unfortunately, the Clerk and the Chair have approved these amendments because they do not appear to deviate from the core issue, which is increasing the number of boarding schools for girls in Kenya. Therefore, that point of order is not valid.

I now ask the Seconder of hon. Gikaria’s amendment to proceed.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I stand to support the Motion as amended. It is true that the girl-child in ASAL areas is facing challenges. However, at the same time the challenges that the girl-child is facing in the ASAL areas-- -

(Hon. (Ms.) Shebesh): Hon. Member, are you supporting the amendment?

Yes, I am, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker.

(Hon. (Ms.) Shebesh): Please, make it clear that you are supporting, as you speak.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I am supporting the amendment. The proposed facilities are needed all over the country because the challenges that the girl-child is facing in the ASAL areas are more or less the same challenges that the girl-child in, for instance, Turbo Constituency is facing. Maybe, additional allocation should be made to the Equalisation Fund to help the ASAL areas, but the matters being considered in this Motion should be for the whole country.

With those remarks, I beg to support the amendment.

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(Hon. (Ms.) Shabesh): Hon. Members, again, let me give you guidance. You will now be contributing to the amendment. You will be stating whether you support it or not. Once we dispose of the debate on the amendment, we will go on with debate on the Motion either as amended or in its original form.

Yes, hon. Bare Shill.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to oppose the amendment. Kenya is celebrating 50 years of Independence but during this period, we created two countries in one: a Kenya that has everything and a Kenya that has been marginalised. It is shameful. Over the last ten years, ASAL areas were recreated to an extent that Turkana and Nyeri counties have been put in the same category. For instance, the illiteracy rate in Turkana is almost 90 per cent, while the literacy rate in Nyeri is 90 per cent. However, if you look at the number of teachers, for instance, you will see that Nyeri County has more teachers than Turkana County, which has a much higher rate of illiteracy.

What this Motion is really about is the fact that there are Kenyans who have been marginalised since Independence. We know that our new Constitution has given 30 per cent of public appointments to the female gender. We are unable to provide even the 30 per cent because our women are not educated just because they lacked the necessary infrastructure. For example, we have no nurses or teachers. Even in the security area, we cannot provide enough women to take up their quota because the security agencies need women with Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) qualification. We have multiple problems. So, I think it is in bad taste for somebody to introduce this kind of amendment to the Motion.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, what we are saying is that ASAL areas have unique problems. They have a low enrolment. For instance, in my constituency, the percentage of school-going girl child is only 25, while in my counterpart’s constituency of Tetu is 90 per cent. So, we cannot compare those two constituencies while trying to create space in ASAL areas to boost enrolment of the girl-child through establishment of boarding schools for her. It does not make sense for one to say that they also want this facility. These are people who want to “kill” this Motion. I will tell them, as a Kenyan, that they must have that moral obligation of creating one Kenya rather than creating two Kenyas. It should hurt you when you see that girls are not going to school in Turkana---

On a point of order, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. Is the Hon. Member not misleading the House by saying that there are two Kenyas, yet we know that we only have one unitary Government in Kenya? We have one Kenya. I do not know what he is talking about when he talks about Kenya---

(Hon. (Ms.) Shebesh): That is really a point or argument! Continue Hon. Shill.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. It is well known that we have Kenya whose infrastructure has been developed properly and another which does not have a single kilometre of tarmac.

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Hon. Shill, please help us to hear a few more hon. Members, so that we dispose of the amendment. You can still speak on the Motion after the amendment.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I am saying that this amendment is not good. This is because it will dilute what we really wanted. Therefore, I urge this House, especially Members of Parliament who feel that they have a moral obligation to protect marginalized places, to vote against this amendment.

Thank you.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to oppose the amendment to this Motion. The idea of this Motion is to provide facilities where they lack. We know that there are areas even in urban areas that lack these facilities but they are not part of ASAL areas. You can come up with a different idea on how you can facilitate areas like Kibera. We know that these areas exist.

However, in ASAL areas there are many challenges that a girl meets in her education. The challenges which girls face particularly in the ASAL areas are sexual harassment, poverty, early pregnancies and early marriages.

We do not have any law to prevent early marriages. It is high time we came up with a law to prevent early marriages, so that we can protect our girls, and so that they can get proper education.

(Hon. (Ms.) Shebesh): Hon. Shakila, remember that we are on the amendment. You can speak on the Motion later on.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker.

Thank you very much, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this amendment, which I oppose. The amendment is in bad taste because it tends to dilute the original Motion, which had a specific intention

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Hon. Member, you have directed me to do something that you should not do when you are on your feet and you have contributed. I will give one more hon. Member a chance to contribute, so that it does not look like there is an attempt to direct the Chair from where you are seated. Yes, Hon. (Maj-Gen.) Nkaissery.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support the amendment. There are three areas in our Constitution which are very fundamental. Article 43(1)(f) says that every child is entitled to education. That does not mean a child from the ASAL areas; it means all the children of Kenya. Article 55(a) also specifies that it is a right of the youth to be given education and training. Article 55(b) demands that the marginalized be given the opportunity to education. So, the Mover of this amendment is trying to assist all the children of Kenya.

We have to resist with reasons. All the children, whether they are in ASAL areas, arid or in urban areas are children of Kenyans. The Constitution says that each child is entitled to education. I want to be very specific on this. When the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) was introduced, it covered the whole country. I want to ask my colleague from the ASAL area: What stopped him from putting up a boarding school during the ten years of the CDF?

With regard to the issue of the girl-child, let us not forget that what we have is compulsory primary education, which was introduced by former President Kibaki. The chiefs, DOs and DCs from those areas belong to jail if those children do not go to school. The Jubilee Manifesto declares that both primary and secondary school education will be compulsory. We want to see this Government fulfilling this promise. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I support this amendment. We need to move in that direction. We should not isolate some parts of this country. All children belong to Kenya and have the right to be given education.

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Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I seek to oppose the amendment. I find it unfortunate and ill advised given the fact that there are special concerns in the areas that have been mentioned by the Motion. We should be able to treat this country as an equal opportunity country, but socio-economically this country is not equal. We have the other Kenya which suffers from abject poverty, marginalization, serious underdevelopment and so on. Unless there is an intervention of the kind this hon. Member has requested in his Motion, then obviously we are not going to help the many needy girls in the arid areas. It is important that we clothe those who are naked and feed those who are hungry. This amendment tells me that we should add more to someone who already has something. There is already poverty even in my constituency, which is in central Nairobi. However, it is certainly not equal in terms of scale and needs to Turkana, Moyale or Wajir. I think this is a legitimate Motion that we should support. I would like to advise my colleague to withdraw his amendments because they serve to kill this deserving Motion. He should bring another Motion with regard to those other areas and we will support it.

Hon. Members, for clarity purposes we are now going to debate the Motion as originally set out in the Order Paper.

Yes, Dr. Shaban

Thank you very much, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I want to join others in congratulating hon. Dukicha for coming up with this Motion which highlights the problems that the ASAL areas are facing, more so where the education of the girl-child is concerned. Close to 80 per cent of the land mass of this country is semi- arid. In fact, we have areas that are arid, and which are so near Nairobi, but which most people do not even know. For example, if you visit the larger Limuru area, or a place called Ndeiya, you will be surprised that it is so near Nairobi yet it is so different from Nairobi. We have areas where people assume that the girl-child is okay and is able to attend school. It is no wonder that our Constitution recognizes that there should be an Equalization Fund which is supposed to fund development in these areas. One issue that has been highlighted is education. The girl-children in these areas drop out of school every month when they have their monthly periods. They actually run away from school because of the high poverty levels. That is why the Government set up a special kitty for purchase of sanitary towels for the children, especially those in these ASAL areas. We cannot say that we are equalizing this country when the girl-child is left behind. As much as the Government policy is to ensure that we have compulsory education at primary and secondary level, I would like to point out that the inequalities in

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Ahsante sana Mhe Naibu Spika wa Muda. Naunga mkono Hoja hii kuhusu mtoto wa kike. Sisi tunaoishi katika sehemu kame sio kwamba tuliomba kuishi kule bali ni maumbile ya Mwenyezi Mungu. Serikali zilizopita zilitutenga ndio maana tumeamua kuwa na Hoja kama hii. Namuunga mkono Mhe. Dukicha kwa kuleta Hoja hii. Kwa kweli hakuna shule katika sehemu kame. Hata kama mtazungumzia CDF, tunafahamu kwamba imekuja juzi tu. Miaka ya nyuma shule hazikujengwa. Kuna sehemu za wafugaji wanaotafutia wanyama wao lishe. Wao hata hawana nafasi ya kusoma. Ndiposa tunaonelea kuwe na shule ambako watoto watalala na kusoma. Mimi nazungumzia watoto wote wa kike na wa kiume wanaoishi katika sehemu hizi kame. Mwenzangu amesema kuwa nchi nzima inafaa kuangaliwa kupitia Hoja hii. Lakini kuna kule ambako ni Kenya na kule ambako ni Kenya nusu. Kwa hivyo, Kenya nusu nayo ivutwe angalau ifike karibu na Kenya nzima ndio tujihesabu kuwa katika nchi moja. Hii haitafanyika mpaka mambo ya elimu yaangiliwe na yatekelezwe kwa wakati unaofaa. Kwa sababu ya ukosefu wa elimu katika maeneo kame, ile hesabu inapoletwa kwamba watu waajiriwe kwa kiwango fulani, sisi tunakosa hizo nafasi. Kwa upande wa kuwaajiri askari au wauguzi, tunakosa nafasi. Tunaletewa watu kule kwetu ambao hawako tayari kufanya kazi kule. Mtu anaajiriwa kazi leo na baada ya miezi mitatu anaomba kuhamishwa. Anasema huko kuna shida nyingi. Kwa hivyo, tupewe hizi nafasi. Serikali inafaa kutoa pesa za kutosha na kutujengea mashule ili watoto hawa wasome na kuwa watu ambao watatuhudumia kule kwetu, ambako wengine hawataki kufanya kazi. Kama alivyosema mhe. Shaban, wengine wanapatiwa pesa za kuwsaidia katika sehemu ambazo zina uzito wa utendaji wa kazi, lakini hawastahili kupewa hizo pesa na

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Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I rise to support this Motion. Before I make my contribution, I want to thank the hon. Members who denounced the amendment that was proposed because it was killing this Motion. I totally agree that the number of school dropouts, especially girls in ASAL areas is very high. For example, if 100 girls are enrolled in Class One, only less than 20 finish high school. This shows the unconducive learning environment that these pupils go through. One of the reasons is insecurity. In most of the ASAL areas, there is a lot of insecurity. In my constituency, there is cattle rustling and insecurity is the order of the day. Secondly, the distance from home to where the girls attend school is more than five kilometers. So, you can see the harassment and the problems that the girls will undergo. Some of them will end up with unwanted pregnancies because you do not know what happens between their homes and the school. I support this Motion also because civilization and religion went to the ASAL areas later and people are still engaged in some harmful cultural practices. For us to be compared with the rest of Kenyans - the way somebody wanted to do by amending the Motion - we need to be given some facilities to enable us to attain the same level with the rest of Kenyans. The Kenya Government should borrow a leaf from the Ethiopian Government where the girl-child is given some incentives, including their families. I worked in Ethiopia and I realized that in areas like Afar, Tigilai and Borana, the girl-child is given some incentives. They are given oil and some special treatment, so that when they take the incentives home, they encourage even the parents to take their girls to school. This encourages the girls to go to school; the incentives are given based on attendance. The girls are given incentives for attending school alone. The families will always push them to go to school. Another thing that I want to add is that the rising levels of poverty in the ASAL areas are also a contributor to the high school drop-out in the ASAL areas. In as much as we will want to be compared to other areas, building dormitories in schools will keep girls in school. It will also reduce the pressure on the parents, most of whom do not have income generating activities, or ways of getting food for these children. In boarding schools girls will face less pressure in looking for food and indulging in some activities which might not be conducive to learning. I support the Motion.

Hon. Ogalo; kindly, do not talk on the amendment which failed. Just proceed and talk on this Motion.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I did not have any such intention. I was going to speak about the Motion as guided earlier.

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Hon. Ogalo, you realise that you went back to the Motion we amended; when you talk about it being national and so on--- This is a specific Motion to ASAL areas and I was wondering whether Rangwe itself is an ASAL constituency. I do not know whether it is. Yes, hon. Ntutu.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to also contribute to this very important Motion. First of all, I would like to thank my good friend, hon. Dukicha, for bringing this Motion. I realise that you probably have come to this House because of boarding school, like myself. I want to say that the boarding schools for girls is something that this country must take note of, because most of us who grew up in those ASAL areas in Maasai Mara went to boarding schools. Really without going to a boarding school, I probably would have never come to this House. Whenever drought occurred we were sent by our parents to go and look after cows, and that was actually where the problem is. I would probably have included boys in this Motion, but I know girls have more problems than boys. However, I am not going to get into that. I want to support this Motion in totality because I think for a long time our girls have had a lot of problems, particularly in day schools. Whenever kids go to school they get themselves into a lot of trouble; this is because of the fact that they travel so many kilometers from their respective homes to schools. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, so, I want to support this Motion by urging hon. Members of Parliament, particularly those who come from ASAL areas, to make sure that they use a lot of their Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) to build boarding schools. It will help a lot and I know this CDF has done wonders in these ASAL areas. I also want to urge hon. Members that now that we have devolved governments, particularly the county governments, we should use funds like the Equalisation Fund to build boarding schools; this will go a long way in helping the Government to have so many of them. The transition stage, as my colleagues have said is critical; a lot of girls start school at Standard One but when they reach Standard Seven and Eight, during their puberty stage, they start dropping out of school because of early marriages. This is because of various reasons but the main reason is that when they go to their homes in the ASAL areas their parents assign them chores. When kids leave school they do not go back home and revise their homework. That is why they drop out of school. So, I am urging this House to wholly support this Motion; we are actually targeting these particular areas which have been marginalized, and have so many other problems apart from those affecting girls.

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On a point of order, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. Is the hon. Member in order to talk for the Government in the National Assembly? I mean we are an independent institution of governance. We are not the Executive. Secondly, is the hon. Member in order to be talking about matters which are irrelevant to the Motion before the House, and to which all these hon. Members want to contribute? He is talking about laptops and other things which we are not debating now.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. Well, remember that I come from the Jubilee Government. I have to defend it every time that the other side raises issues; but I do not think I should engage myself---

(Hon. Cheboi) But be relevant. Proceed, hon. ole Ntutu.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. Some hon. Members also like talking about issues which are not relevant to the topic at hand, and I must also tell them that, that is not the issue. The issue of ASAL areas must be emphasised because we need boarding schools. I just want to urge my colleagues not to worry about other issues. We, as the Jubilee Government, are digital and we are going to do just as we have planned. Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir.

Yes, hon. Kajuju.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I rise to support this Motion and I rely on the principle that you are supposed to invest in your children and not invest for your children. We, as parents, at times have misplaced ideas concerning where we want to acquire property, and thinking that our children will enjoy it. What matters is the investment that you make in your child, especially a girl-child. I support this Motion on account that some of the ASAL areas have pastoralist communities who keep moving, as is their culture, in search of pasture for their livestock. We find that for a girl to acquire education, we cannot afford to have them move with their parents to new pastures. Therefore, a boarding school is the most convenient and assured means of ensuring that your child goes to school as provided for in Chapter Four of our Constitution. In parts of the county I come from, especially Nyambene, girls do not go to school, and if they do they drop out. The reason is that there are cultural practices that

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Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I rise to support this Motion. I have a lot of sympathy for this Motion and that is why I was very uncomfortable when there was an attempt to amend it. It is difficult enough for the girl child anywhere. I am just imagining that it must, therefore, be much more difficult in an environment like the ASAL areas. It is very important that everything be done to employ affirmative action in situations like this, where the Government is committed to providing universal education. If we are going to ensure that we attain this kind of goal, then affirmative action in situations like this is called for very much. I support this Motion bearing in mind that education is the foundation of every form of development. That is where development will start. If we do not assist in ASAL areas, then we shall never get the equality that we are looking for, or we are advocating for, as a nation and a Government. While focusing on this, we should also look at the various other hindrances that affect education, the sort of hurdles that the girl-child has to go through. A number of them are occasioned by the community practices and cultural beliefs. A number of them have been mentioned here. We have some communities that have certain beliefs, or cultural activities that hinder the progress of the children we are talking about. These are activities like FGM and early marriages, some of which are cultural---

Order, hon. Okoth!

Proceed, hon. Onyura!

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I think these issues need to be addressed, so that the girl-child, who suffers a lot of these disadvantages, is protected.

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Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, thank you for this opportunity. I rise to support this Motion. When you look at our Constitution, Article 43(1)(f), every Kenyan is entitled to education. I think it is on the basis of this that we all need to have our children going to school. But when we look at the ASAL areas, we realize that girls are disadvantaged in terms of accessing education. When you analyze the national education indicators, they are all unfavourable to the girl-child. For example, when you look at the enrolment rate, you will realize that it is low for the girl-child. When you consider the dropout rate, it is also very high in the case of the girl-child. That also applies to the transition rates; they are quite low. Many girls enroll at Standard One but by the time they get to Standard Eight, a number of things have happened; what we call “extracurricular activities” will have forced them to drop out of school. In view of these factors, I think it is important that we all support this Motion. I get concerned when I hear some hon. Members saying that this situation also exists in many other parts of Kenya. I think we all, as Kenyans, also appreciate the fact that some regions of this country are disadvantaged; that is why we have the Equalization Fund ; it is meant to be used to see if we can push those regions to catch up with the rest of Kenya. I also think that when you look at the kind of distances covered in some of the ASAL areas to get to school--- Most of the girls will be expected to cover around ten kilometers in the morning to get to school. What this does is that it forces the parents to wait until the children, or the girl-child is about eight or nine years to join Standard One. That forces them to start their education when it is late and because of that they drop out and get into early marriages. Even when you look at the cultural practices in some of the ASAL areas, they discourage the girl-child from pursuing her education. I want to plead with all hon. Members to support this Motion, so that at the end of the day, the girl-child accesses education. This can easily be done if we support the construction of the boarding schools in ASAL areas. I totally agree with those saying that educating a girl-child is educating the nation. We all believe it! Those of us who are not lucky to have mothers who are literate, I am sure we have been disadvantaged in one way or another; this is because an educated mother is able to take care of her children better than one who has not gone to school. Research has also confirmed that an educated mother, or woman, is able to manage her businesses better. She is able to keep simple books of accounts and because of that she is able to differentiate between profit and loss. We find that ladies who are educated do better in businesses and it is important that we support this Motion. As I conclude, the other thing I want to say is that good education for the girl- child comes as a package. Doing the boarding school alone will not provide that package, and I think we should support teachers. We all know that teachers are up in arms for their allowances. I think it is high time we supported the girl-child to access education; we should also motivate the teachers enough, so that they can provide services to the

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Yes, hon. Kihagi.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I also rise to support the Motion, of course, with serious reservations; based on your earlier warning about the defeat of the amendment. The amendment was for a good reason but, as a reasonable hon. Member, I understand and appreciate the concern that the amendment would have defeated the main agenda of the Motion.

I come from a constituency which is largely ASAL within a county which is agriculturally productive. Therefore, my constituency is totally disadvantaged in that it is not classified by the relevant Ministry as an ASAL area. In Nakuru County, Njoro, Molo and Kuresoi are highly productive agricultural areas. However, as you move from what even hon. (Dr). Shaban talked about; there are areas which are dry. If you move to the lower side of Mai Mahiu, Longonot, Suswa and Gilgil, you pass through an expansive area of dry land, which is not recognised as an ASAL area just because we belong to the larger Nakuru County. There lies the discrimination that could have prompted some of us to oppose the Motion but, understanding that this is a progressive nation, I want to support this Motion with the full knowledge that the girl child is disadvantaged. The girl child is vulnerable in all circumstances and more so those found in ASAL areas. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to congratulate the lady hon. Members who have endured the hostile environment occasioned by the aridity of the areas in which they were brought up. For them to have made it to this august House is testimony that women are a lot that can persevere. There is need to empower women in this country. We stand to gain as a nation by empowering the woman. As I started my campaigns in 2011, I visited a part of my constituency, which is mainly inhabited by pastoralists – members of the Maasai community. When I went there, I looked at the enrolment and I saw clearly that the numbers of male and female pupils who joined Standard One were almost equal. However, I realised that as the children progressed in their education towards Standard Eight, only about three or four of the girls who would enrol in Standard One would still be in school. When I discussed this matter with the school committee, it emerged that the girl child in that community does not have any vision beyond Standard Eight and, therefore, it was deemed unnecessary for girls to proceed with education up to Standard Eight. By the time the girl child attained the age of 15, the only option for her was to get married. I am happy to say that I challenged the community and we started a secondary school, which now has about 34 students, half of whom are female. I agree with everybody that if girls were encouraged to go to boarding schools, we would have a better transition from primary to secondary school and most of them would access college education for the betterment of the community. An issue was also raised in this House yesterday regarding the responsibility of parents. I want to expand this to include teachers. Teachers, especially head teachers, have to go back to being managers. We visited institutions in this country which we believed could be better managed if the teachers were a bit more innovative. Teachers should encourage and challenge the

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Yes, hon. Dido Rasso.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the Motion. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to say on the outset that we pay special tribute to teachers in the ASAL areas as well as to the girl child, who endures so much hardships as she goes to school. As previous speakers said, educating the girl child is educating the nation. Within the ASAL areas, at the entry point of Standard One, the numbers of boys and girls are equal. However, as time goes by, the number of girls reduces drastically. Towards the end of primary education, the number of girls dwindles to about 25 per cent of the initial enrolment. If you transcend that trajectory to higher levels of learning, you find that for every ten boys who progress to the college-level, only one girl gets to that level. Recently, in Marsabit County, when the Governor was recruiting members of his Executive Committee, it was difficult to have the critical mass of ladies applying for those jobs. The problem started at a very early stage in life for the ladies. In Saku which is my constituency, we only have one primary girls school and two secondary girls schools. That number is really deplorable. This is because many girls do not access higher education after primary school.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, culture is also endemic and it is something that we, the leaders from the ASAL areas, must address. These are issues of female genital mutilation (FGM), early marriages and discouraging the girl child from pursuing higher education. That discouragement disables the girl-child from pursuing higher education.

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Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to also contribute to this Motion. Coming from an ASAL area, I understand the problems the girl-child faces.

The nature of our livelihood or the way we live dictates that we should have schools of this nature especially for the girl-child. This is because we migrate from one place to another in search of water and pasture. This has affected a great deal the people living in the ASAL areas.

For a long time, the girl-child in these communities has been seen as part of the assets of the family especially the father who “sells” her as he wishes when she grows up. I believe that this should not be the case because these are human beings with hearts and feelings. They have a right to live their lives to the full without the intervention from anybody, including the parents.

If you look at the Constitution, the Children Act and the Penal Code, you will find that they provide for the protection of these children. But unfortunately the people who are supposed to protect them do not implement these laws. You will find that a child who is barely 15 years is married to an old man of 60 years. I believe that these laws and rules should be implemented so that a child can live her life to the fullest.

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Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the Motion. Where I come from my teacher told me that culture is social legacy as pertains to people’s barbaric reality. Culture sometimes favors others the way the hon. Member who spoke before me said. The societal settings have favored men and so they have been given power time immemorial. The girl-child is thus always struggling; I also struggled. When we look at the favouritism by the societal settings, we find that in cultures like the one I come from it is manifested in domestic chores. The schools are there, but the norms and beliefs that we used to hold onto are no more. This is because of permissiveness in society. Even the young girls have started to discover themselves and they know their duties differently. We are seeing things like prostitution on the rise. The girls are running away from home to come to the urban areas in order to make money. As much as we know that poverty is there, other things are happening. In the ASAL areas, the problems there are more pronounced. While we talk of early marriages, early pregnancies, abortions, increased HIV/AIDS infections, prostitution and so on, in my county there are other problems. The first one is distance. One school is further from the other. They talk of insecurity and cattle rustling. Even we say that we want to put up mobile schools there, it will not work.

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Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I stand to support this Motion because it intends to address inequalities in the development of our country. The ASAL areas have continued to lag behind. Successive Government’s investment priorities since Independence have favoured certain areas. It is, therefore, natural that we look for ways of addressing these inequalities. I commend the Jubilee Government for coming up with a budget that seeks to equalize those unequal developments. However, we need to deal with the girl-child specifically because she suffers much more than the rest of the society in the ASAL areas. Teachers tend to like to go to urban areas where comfort levels are higher. In my constituency, Mwingi North, most of the schools have one-half of the teachers required simply because nobody wishes to come and teach there where he or she will most likely sleep in a grass thatched house. We also need to look at the issue of income distribution. We talk about the country as if we have a uniform income for the whole population. That is unfair because we are likely to perpetuate the inequalities that already exist and are being addressed through other positive discriminatory policies. I went to school in Kyuso. I would walk 15 kilometres to school and 15 kilometres back home. That has now changed, but slightly. We need to have boarding schools so that a number of girls are able to make it through our education system. Three weeks ago, I attended a school education day. The biggest disappointment that I got was that in one sub-location alone we had 15 girls who had dropped from primary school as a result of early pregnancy. This would not have happened if the girls were in boarding schools. I realize that we cannot have boarding schools for every child, but at least let us protect a few who will go back to educate and support other girls. In conflict areas where we have cattle rustling and insecurity, women tend to be more vulnerable. I strongly support that the Government comes up with a programme that will protect this vulnerable persons of our society. Hon. Dukicha could look at a situation where some of his investments in CDF come to Mwingi North. That way they will not have floods in lower Tana. This is because we will use the money to irrigate more land and empty the Tana and produce food for the people of Tana.

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Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this Motion. I want to thank my dear friend and neighbour, hon. Hassan Dukicha, Member for Galole from Tana River County, for bringing this very important Motion to this House. Girl-child education is of essence. As has been stated, educating a girl is educating a community. Therefore, there is need to help the people from the ASAL community to have enough boarding facilities for their children. In the ASAL areas, you can see the dangers the girls go through in terms of the distance they have to travel to school and in terms of the insecurity in those areas. Poverty that is prevailing in the region makes the girl-child to be an endangered species. Parents always keep them as a source of income. Therefore, they would want to marry them off as early as ten to 12 years old thus endangering their lives. I support the Motion that we should have enough boarding facilities in those areas. In my constituency, I have started a programme where every ward will have a public boarding primary school. The essence of this is to promote education in the region and improve performance. Not all the children who go to school have enough facilities at home. Some do not have enough space in their homes and others use the lantern lamp. So, I have thought of having a boarding public primary school in every ward in my constituency, so that we can boost education in the region. The ASAL areas are sparsely populated and schools have not been built as closer as in other places. The distance between one school and the other is over ten kilometers. So, you can imagine a girl-child walking for ten kilometers and back and she is sent to go and collect water. Compare that child with a child who has water within the precincts of her home and has enough time to read. These children are endangered. I want to support the Motion by my brother, hon. Dukicha, so that we can have enough facilities to enable these students continue with their education smoothly. We have been having a lot of inequalities in this country in terms of resources. We have been talking of resource allocation. As a result of that, there is the Equalization Fund which is to be allocated to the under-developed areas. The same applies to education. There have been disparities in education in this country and as a result, we need to have an equitable distribution of knowledge in the region through building enough facilities in these areas, so that the people can educate their children. I support this Motion, which is timely and well intended. I believe that all the Members from the ASAL areas will see the reason to support it, so that children from those areas can get quality education. The intention of my brother, hon. Dukicha, is to have these areas develop like other areas. As it has been said, educating a girl-child is educating a nation. These areas have been marginalized in terms of education. As such, they have not developed like other areas. I support this Motion, so that we can help the girl-child in the ASAL areas to get quality education.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. Mine has been a long time of patience. Education is a right, particularly basic education. We also reckon

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Hon. (Ms.) Shebesh.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I want to start by saying that today to many of us who are seated here especially the women Members of Parliament, this Motion is music to our ears. Listening to our colleagues is even more musical. I want to really thank hon. Hassan Dukicha, Member of Parliament for Galole. In this House in the last term, Galole was discussed in many other parameters to do with insecurity but today we are celebrating Galole as bringing to us a Member of Parliament who can bring a Motion that focuses on the education of girls.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, not so many years ago, it would have been impossible to find on this Floor a man Member of Parliament bringing issues to do with women or girls and speaking freely about sanitary pads, like my colleague has just done. I know the work done by many women in this country to try and bring to focus the marginalisation of the girl-child. These are women who came before me and those who are seated here, women whom I respect like the hon. Nyiva Mwendwa who I am happy to be sitting in the same House with. These are women who must be celebrated because it is through their braveness that today this discussion can be done so generally without discrimination or bad language. So, I want to celebrate hon. Dukicha for that and all the Members who have supported.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, of course I was on the Chair and I know that the attempt to have an amendment was defeated and for a good reason. I represent Nairobi County. We have in Nairobi County probably the poorest schools in this country. It is not a competition; it is just a fact. The Member who was attempting to bring the amendment mentioned the school. This is a school that I visited where a girl called Akinyi was selling groundnuts. We heard that her family and many students who come from schools in Nairobi and who live in the slums sell groundnuts and hawk at night so that they are able to feed families. When they go to school in the morning, they cannot concentrate. So, they lose the whole morning. When I visited the school, and the school is Morrison Primary, for your information in Bahati, I wondered really whether I was in

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---(off-record)

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Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, everybody now knows that Jakoyo is in the House. Let me tell you this: The Jubilee Government is not a government that does not have ears. The idea of a manifesto, hon. colleagues, is for a government to give ideas of what they intend to do. Again, the idea of having a manifesto is so that people can improve it or question it or ask for it to be amended. What is important is that you have come up with some ideas. What is the overall idea about the computer laptops policy? The overall idea is that we are a digital Government and we believe in industrialisation.

Hon. Shebesh, you should be winding up.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we should look at the bigger picture as to why we want to give laptop computers to school children. Let us find a solution rather than kill the idea because I believe that this House has committees which can bring better ideas. With those remarks, I beg to support.

Hon. Nelit(?), you have two minutes to contribute. We want to ask the Mover to reply.

Order, hon. Members! You have the freedom of approaching the Mover of the Motion and asking him to donate part of his time to you.

Proceed, hon. Cheboi and conclude in two minutes’ time.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I thought I would get enough time. I ran out of a Committee meeting because someone had whispered to me that debate on the girl-child was going on in the House. I left the Committee meeting because that is something which is very dear to some of us.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, having said so, I must indicate that I am not very impressed with the House today. This is something which is very important. In solidarity with the girl-child, particularly those in ASAL areas, we should have had more hon. Members in the House. I want to salute the hon. Members who are in the House, particularly the ladies; for the passion with which they have debated this matter.

For those of us who come from the pastoral areas, there are issues which are very pertinent and special. Some hon. Members would probably require a guided tour on those issues. Talking of ASAL areas, the issue is not just aridity. These are areas which have a lot of insecurity, and where people lead a pastoralist life. The word “pastoralist”, which sometimes sounds strange to some of our colleagues from urban areas, means that during one season you live in one area and in another season you move to another area. Why is that important in terms of having boarding schools? When I was growing up, I changed about five schools. Sometimes schools were very far apart that I had to walk about eight kilometres. Do you know what happened to my sisters? They all left school because they could not walk. You know God created male and female differently in terms of masculinity. So, it is usually ladies who are affected when you have schools which are very far away from home.

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That should mark your end!

It is very unfair for a pastoralist!

Well, that is neither here nor there but it is about time.

Hon. Dukicha, reply.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. Before I reply, I would like to donate two minutes each to four Members of Parliament. The first should be hon. Ng’eno.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to support this Motion and thank the Mover for donating two minutes to me. I think this Motion is very dear to most of us. This is because we believe in education to everybody and not only to a few. If you look at this Motion, you will find that it talks about creating schools which could help the pupils from ASAL areas. I am one of the people who come from those areas and I know how students find it hard to even attend school. I also know how parents find it hard to keep these children in school because of the difficulties that we have in those areas.

I think this Motion is very timely and it is important to this country especially to those children who face very many problems. One of the problems which children from these areas face is failure to attend school due to lack of schools, lack of fees or early marriages which are practices by most of the people. Another problem is the female genital mutilation which is practised by most of the people who come from these areas.

I believe that if we have boarding schools for those children, we will save many children who would have gone to waste. This is especially girls whom we know would be married off because of lack of fees.

Because parents from these areas do not have other sources of income, some of them burn charcoal, sell charcoal or firewood to get fees to pay for these children. We do not only need to have these schools in place but we also need to set aside money so that we can save the parents the agony of looking for fees to cater for these children.

Otherwise, I rise to support this Motion and thank the Mover because this is a very timely Motion, it is very important and it is dear to all of us who like the girl-child to pursue education.

Thank you.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, many hon. Members have shown interest in this Motion, but because of limited time I would like to donate two minutes to hon. Maweu.

(Microphone off)

Your microphone is off!

Hon. Maweu, I am sure you can now see why you do not get an opportunity to contribute. It is because sometimes you are not able to operate the gadget. You have just put off your microphone!

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(Microphone off)

Hon. Dukicha, just summarize. You do not have ample time.

First and foremost I thank hon. Members for supporting this Motion. This is a very specific Motion to the ASAL areas. The main thrust of this Motion is to give morale to the girl in the ASAL areas so that they can become role models in the future. I ask hon. Members to have one obligation to this Motion so that we have one resolution and operationalize the inter-nomadic education policy. I beg to move.

Hon. Members, cognizant of Standing Order No.36, we cannot put the Question at this point because of issues beyond the control of the House particularly the quorum. So, we will put the Question in the next sitting. Could the hon. Members stand up for us to adjourn?

Hon. Members, the House stands adjourned until this afternoon at 2.30 p.m.

The House rose at 12.30 p.m.

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