National Assembly 2013-06-26: 09:00 to 11:05

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Page 1 of Wednesday 26th June, 2013 Morning
June 26, 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1 NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
OFFICIAL REPORT
Wednesday, 26th June, 2013
The House met at 9.00 a.m.
[Hon. Deputy Speaker (Hon.(Dr.) Laboso) in the Chair]
PRAYERS
MOTION
Hon. Deputy Speaker

We have the first Motion by hon. Gatobu Kinoti. This Motion was already moved and seconded. Debate had already started on it. I can see that hon. Limo is interested in contributing to this Motion.
ESTABLISHMENT OF A PUBLIC DATABANK FOR NEEDY STUDENTS
THAT, aware that bright students from poor family backgrounds who score seventy percent or more of the total marks in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) fail to join Form I in every year for lack of school fees; noting that if such trend is not checked, bright students from poor families will be left out of the learning process hence ruining their future; aware that Article 53 (I) (b) of the Constitution guarantees every child the right to free and compulsory basic education; recognizing the need to identify bright students from poor backgrounds and support them in pursuing and completing their studies in public secondary schools, this House urges the Government to establish a public databank of all bright and poor students to be in the custody of the County Director of Education, and such information be disseminated and made available to the public, including the respective Constituency Development Fund Committees and such other institutions that may be willing to support such students.
(Hon. Kinoti on 20.6.2013)
(Resumption of debate interrupted on 20.6.2013)
Joseph Kirui Limo

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. I rise to contribute on this Motion, which talks about pure students who in most cases are unable to get adequate assistance for lack of identification. This is a very important Motion given that we are already doing mapping in our respective constituencies, so that we know where these students are. This
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June 26, 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2
is so that when we identify sources of funding we quickly get hold of them and put them in these programmes. We really need a data bank where we can easily access these students. This country has had a lot of issues in terms of identifying where people are. Other than students, we have the people who are above 65 years. When the Government set out to carry out a pilot project to pay them it was difficult to locate them. So, when it comes to access these bright students, this country has been relying on articles in the newspapers which, in most cases, might not be accurate. Again, sometimes, they do not come in when the students really need this assistance. Most students fail to join national schools because they do not have money. It is not that the funding is not there. It is because nobody identifies where they are. This Motion by Kinoti has come at the right time. The Government needs to come up with ways of having a data bank of all its citizens. This will include people in the marginalized areas and people with disabilities. These people lead miserable lives just because of lack of information. I will be one of the people who will give a lot of time to ensuring that this initiative is implemented. I want to give an example. The other day when we had elections for the CDF committees, in my constituency, Kipkelion East, the unit of the elections was the sublocation. The thinking was that the sublocation committee will help us map and register all the students in all educational institutions, so that we easily reach them. This will help us get their background information on things like their economic status. This is because we will be having all the background information on their economic status, their education, what they got in primary school and the schools they attended. We will identify their needs and give them appropriate help through Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) bursaries. It is actually unfortunate that most of the bursaries in this country have gone to undeserving cases. You will find almost 80 per cent go to people who are able to pay school fees. But, the people who are very poor in most cases, naturally are people who fear to face the public. They even fear to go and negotiate for funding because of poverty. Poverty naturally makes people to become nervous and they do not speak for themselves. It is time that this House speaks out and defends the poor, and for this reason I support this Motion. I say this is the right time and we come up and set up this data bank, so that these poor students will be able to access appropriate funding. I beg to support; thank you.
Hon. Deputy Speaker

Yes, hon. Dr. Pukose.
Robert Pukose

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. I rise to support this Motion, taking into consideration that hon. Kinoti brought it at the right time; I think he needs to even go further, and come up with a Bill, which this House can enact. It is not just about the issue of poverty among poor people; what happens in some constituencies like where I come from, Endebess, is that many farms there are owned by the Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC). We have employees who are on permanent, temporary and casual terms; these people go for several months without a salary. One day I went to a house within my constituency and met a young boy called Ewoi and asked him “What would you want to become in life?” This young boy was in Standard Six and he answered “When I complete Standard Eight maybe I will become a
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June 26, 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3
supervisor”. The highest he could think of was being a supervisor, yet this young man had a potential to become a doctor or an engineer. But what causes that? Wherever they work, employees there go for so many months without salaries. They can even go for six months without a salary; this happens on Olkadongo, Sabwani and Chapata ADC farms. When the ADC makes a point of paying them, it pays them in form of meat, milk and
unga
. This unga cannot take a child to school or take care of somebody in a hospital. So, this young man just thought that when he became a supervisor, maybe he would be able to get more unga than the rest and send his child to school. This is a sad situation that this country needs to look into. There is high level of poverty in this country; more than 50 per cent of our population lives below poverty line. How do we assist them so that everybody can come up? Recently, the Jubilee Government came up with the issue of the laptops. Many people agree with it and some are criticizing it, and saying that instead of these laptops being given to schools, the money used to purchase them should be used to pay teachers. I think we have our priorities wrong; maybe the children of those who are in towns and urban areas are able to access laptops. But poor children cannot access laptops. They have never seen them, leave alone being able to access them. This, to me, is a good Government project that will assist those within urban areas to catch up with children in the urban areas. I think the issue that we should be looking at, especially when it comes to devolution is how we are devolving functions, so that everybody, including the poor, is able to benefit. We read in the media recently of governors who are even budgeting for Prados, airports and their offices, instead of looking at structures. How are we going to devolve funds, especially of the model Constituencies Development Fund (CDF), so that our people in the rural areas access quality education. We should identify children in poor families, so that they can benefit just like any other Kenyan. I think most of the governors have got the issue of devolution in the wrong way. Devolution means the functions at the national level being sent to the grassroots. It is the functions that they are supposed to budget for, so that devolved functions can be delivered for the benefit of the common man. These functions can be performed easily and can be accessible to our people. When they sit down and budget with the thinking that now they have powers, which they exercise like mini presidents in the country, then I think we go the wrong way. This House has a responsibility to oversee the money being devolved to the county level. In this country, the CDF has done a lot. It has been able to assist children from poor families although in a small way. I think in future we should look at how we are going to be able to increase this amount, so that instead of distributing it in small amounts of Kshs.2,000 or Kshs.5000 to each child, we are able to sustain the education of these children in such a way that they are not sent home. They should be able to get their secondary education, college education and university education. With these few remarks, I beg to support this Motion. Thank you.
Hon. Deputy Speaker

Hon. Makali Mulu.
Benson Makali Mulu

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. I rise to support this very important Motion. As it is indicated in the Order Paper our new Constitution does
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June 26, 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 4
actually guarantee free education. To me, what this means is that we must do all that we can to ensure that our poor students access education. Regarding the issue of mapping where these poor students are is very important, because it is going to ensure that in terms of targeting, this money, which comes from the Government, will be targeted to the right students. For example, where I come from, Kitui Central, you do realize that poverty levels are above 60 per cent. This means that majority of the people whom I lead are actually poor. I think in the whole exercise of mapping these poor students, what we will be trying to do is identifying the poorest of them all, so that when the money comes, since it is not enough for every poor student, we are able to target the poorest and assist them access education. I think it has been proved beyond any doubt that if you target poor students and support them go to secondary schools, most of them actually perform quite well in their academic work. At the end of the day, they also join very good courses when they go to the university, and transformed their own households. So, to me this Motion is very important.
This Motion is very important and I think we need to know where the students are, and have funds like the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) and other bursaries that go to the Ministry of Education, Science and technology channeled to students. We have seen situations where leaders have not been transparent in the way they share out bursaries. What has happened is that at the end of the day, the money ends up benefiting those who are not supposed to be benefiting, because they come from better households. If we do proper mapping of those students, then it will be very difficult for anybody to avoid giving them money and give it to richer households.
It should not be difficult to map out those students because if you look at our villages, we have village elders who are based there. You can talk to them because they know everybody in the village. They know who is poor or rich, and even who steals from others. If we use that system, they will tell us students who come from poor backgrounds and we will get the right information. The Ministry will then be in a position to have a data bank which will show us who is poor and who is not. With such a data bank, hon. Members seated here, who will be in charge of the CDF that has a bursary component, will know who to give that money. They will not spend a lot of time thinking about such children, or going through the process of identifying who is needy or not. To some extent, this is going to avoid a situation where most of those students have not benefited because of being unknown. We tell them to pick application forms from our offices and apply, but what happens is that the poor are disadvantaged in terms of accessing information. In most cases, they do not know this information and when they know about the application for the bursaries, by the time they get the application form, it is too late to apply. So, if we have this data bank for all constituencies ready, it will be very easy to target disbursement of bursaries to our students. It is going to help them and will reduce poverty rates in the constituencies. The whole process will be inclusive, and all Kenyans will have a sense of belonging.
So, hon. Deputy Speaker, it is important that this databank is put in place. When you look at the Motion, it talks about the CDF and other funds. We should also have an exhaustive list of people and bodies supporting bursaries to students, so that the information is shared with such organizations, institutions or funds if they exist. The money will be targeted to benefit Kenyans, and more so poor Kenyan students.
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June 26, 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 5
With those few remarks, I beg to support.
Onesmus Muthomi Njuki

Hon. Deputy Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this very important Motion. In the African set-up, the common denominator that equates the rich to the poor is education. Unfortunately, it is not so universal because the circumstances that make children of the poor not to access education in secondary schools are the same as those that make create obscurity to the people who offer funds in the form of bursaries and sponsorships. I believe there are so many sponsors who would be willing to help. A very good example is that whenever we have an issue highlighted in the media, the following day we normally get many sponsors. So it is just because of lack of information that sponsors, people who have money and who are willing to assist and to make the lives of others better, do not take action.
Onesmus Muthomi Njuki

If you look at the scenario in the villages, the bursaries, especially from the CDF and the Ministry, are normally balloted by a committee. In most cases unless that committee has a database it will not have information on who to give funds. So, what normally happens is that there is a lot of lobbying; that is why my friend from Kitui has said that the funds normally end up in the accounts of children of the rich, who do not actually deserve them.
Onesmus Muthomi Njuki

To establish this databank, it is important that we use a system that is foolproof. I believe we can use the chiefs, but if you tell them that you need a databank of kids who are needy, so that you can give them bursaries, most of the times--- I am not saying it is like this everywhere; it is just human nature; sometimes they give the names of their kids or of kids of their friends. We should have a database after mapping out the population in terms of all the sectors.
Onesmus Muthomi Njuki

The family profile should be provided, so that we know which families have needy cases. In many cases, the needy kids are normally in the hands of guardians, who, in most cases, are grandmothers, who are left with children when their daughters get married to far places. Sometimes it could be total orphans where the grandmother is in charge, and it is a grandmother who does not have information on where to access the bursaries. In the event that we decide to use only the information that we have in the Dos’ office, then the money does not get to the needy.
Onesmus Muthomi Njuki

It has been unfortunate in some cases when children of the poor get admitted in secondary schools. I know of a case of a mother--- I think there is a relationship between the families that cannot afford education for their children and the number of children they bring up. I do not know why in most cases you find that such parents normally get very many kids, while the rich normally practice family planning. I know of a mother who had to move 20 kilometers to a school where her kids were learning. She is a labourer who has not earned a single cent for all the years she has worked, because everything goes to fees. It is not even enough and they have to hold Harambees to clear fees balances. You can imagine a poor mother who has to leave her farm, go live in a local shopping center and work for nothing except food.
Elias Bare Shill

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I want your guidance. Every Wednesday we pass so many Motions, private or party sponsored. We are told that they are taken to the Committee on Implementation. So far, we have passed so many Motions. Are they binding? Can we be guided because some of them are very important Motions, yet we do not see the fruits from them?
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June 26, 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 6 Hon. Deputy Speaker

Hon. Members, I think you are aware that a Motion means you have come up with an idea that you would like the Government to consider, but we have to move it to the next level and make it a Bill. When you make it a Bill, you have to ensure that it is one that involves the Government in money matters, and that the Government, or the Minister, must be involved. So what has been happening in most cases--- You know Wednesday morning is when Private Members’ Bills, or Motions, are discussed. If you take it to the next level, we will discuss it here and--- We advise hon. Members that once you have moved it as a Motion then next it has to become a Bill. The work of the Committee on Implementation is when a Bill has been passed in the House; we give the Government 60 days and after that the Committee takes over to find out when the Bill passed in the House will be implemented. The Motions that we come up with here can also be implemented by the Government; it does not mean it is only Bills that are implemented. The Government can take it over and say if we have passed it in the House, then it was a good idea, and then tell us what measures they are taking to ensure that they implement the Motion, or, at least, part of it. So, a Bill is more binding than a Motion, but both of them are great ideas of this House. They enable the Government to know what direction they should take, and what policy they should be coming up with in their Ministries.
Elias Bare Shill

Thank you hon. Deputy Speaker for the opportunity. While many of us are new and have been very much encouraged to sponsor Motions, will you allow these Motions to materialize? I know our system of Government has completely changed; we are in a presidential system. We will really love to see one or two Motions implemented. With all this bureaucracy of 60 days, we will really love to see one of them implemented; from past experience, it the House can just become a talking shop. We just talk and talk and nothing materializes.
Hon. Deputy Speaker

The implementation Committee will see how you can urge the Government to implement them. But, as I said, Motions are really not binding. What is binding is when the Motion becomes a Bill, and then it becomes an Act of Parliament. But that does not mean the House is a talking shop. That is why we are urging our Implementation Committee that these hon. Members’ efforts and ideas contained in all these Motions should not be in vain. The Implementation Committee will take it up and urge the Government to ensure these Motions are implemented. Can you proceed and give your contribution, hon. Mbiuki Kareke? If you get too many points of order--- I can see points of order by hon. Gikaria, hon. Murungi and hon. Kathuri, are those points of order on the subject matter of this Motion?
David Gikaria

On a point of order, hon. Deputy Speaker. Under Standing Order 209 on the Committee on Implementation. I am a Member of that Committee and what my colleague has just said is true. If you look at Standing Order 209 (2), it states in part as follows:- “The Committee shall scrutinize the resolutions of the House (including adopted Committee Reports), petitions and the undertakings given by the National Executive and examine---“
David Gikaria

The problem that we are facing is that, just as the Speaker said yesterday, this House passes resolutions but the Government has not given any commitment to implement them. Either there are no budget allocations or it is not that easy to implement
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June 26, 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 7
them. We are also finding it very difficult to understand the mandate of our Committee, and how far we can take these issues.
As my colleague was saying, we need some guidance in this House as to what we should be asking or urging the Government to do. The Speaker made it very clear that there is no Government in this. So, when you urge the Government to do something which is not implementable, then it becomes a problem. Yesterday in our meeting when we were trying to discuss, we found there is a problem. I also think--- I want to support my colleague that we need some guidance, so that we do not become a House which passes resolutions which cannot be implemented.
Hon. Deputy Speaker, I want to agree with the hon. Member. As to one of the Motions that we passed recently, although the 60 days are not yet over--- It is about the minimum 20 kilometres of road construction to Bitumen Standard in every constituency. Then how practical is that? So, these are the issues that we really want to know, so that we consider the implementation, and know how best we can do it.
Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker.
Hon. Deputy Speaker

I think all your sentiments are very good. Let us see whether there will be a difference now that we are in a presidential system; but it is this same House that is controlling the Budget. Before the House was not in control of the Budget. Now that we are in a presidential system, let us see whether there will be a change in the sense that even the Budget and Appropriations Committee can also influence what Government is going to fund, using some of the Motions that hon. Members have come up with in this House, because you are controlling the Budget. I think we have better teeth this time round under the new dispensation than we did in the previous Government. Hon. Wambugu, I can see we are going to be derailed from the Motion at hand; let us not go too much into this
Clement Muchiri Wambugu

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. This is just for clarification purposes and a bit of information. That issue has come up because most likely hon. Members of this House are not seeing things being implemented. It is good to let hon. Members know that Motions have been passed in this House and they have been implemented. Their effort is not going to waste. It is only that with time, if the Committee on Implementation is working, then we should start seeing reports on implementation. Hon. Deputy Speaker, formerly there could have been a problem because we did not have control over the Budget. But now the Budget is within the powers of the House; we are the ones who are controlling the finances and everything. We cannot expect a Motion which will be discussed in the House to be implemented tomorrow. I think things will start moving in the right direction. We have seen things being implemented after discussion in this House. Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker.
Hon. Deputy Speaker

Hon. Members, a lot of the things which you have passed here will eventually become actual Government policies. The issue of the aged and the youth being given funding, all started off as Motions, and eventually became a Bill. The Government took it over and now it is something that is implemented. So, do not look at the House as a talk shop, as hon. Shill said. It is only that this is the beginning. You are
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June 26, 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 8
starting it here, and what you need is how to fast track some processes, so that they become implementable within the shortest time possible. Hon. Mbiuki, can you proceed to contribute. Hon. Members, I have a very long list with me here.
Japhet M. Kareke Mbiuki

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. I hope the time keepers will now put my time as three minutes. I want to thank hon. Shill.
Hon. Deputy Speaker

You had already used two minutes.
Japhet M. Kareke Mbiuki

That was earlier, hon. Deputy Speaker. I am now under a new dispensation. I know how hon. Shill is feeling. In primary school, we used to debate issues in under a debating club and nothing used to happen. It is a feeling that nothing happens, even with what is passed in this House. I believe the ball is in the court of the Committee on Implementation. Hon. Deputy Speaker, when I was finishing, I was talking about the vicious circle of poverty, where children are brought up in a family where their father burns charcoal and they eventually end up going back to burning charcoal as well. If this Motion is implemented, it will help bright children from poor backgrounds. The way I see it, is that it does not actually even need funding. It is a question of implementing a policy. Governors and the county governments should be compelled by the national Government to keep a database that can be used to help needy children. Lastly, I want to touch on the issue which I believe must have come into this House during the 10th Parliament. It was a Bill which was brought by the late hon. Mutula Kilonzo to compel head teachers to release results of children who had actually cleared Form Four, and had not completed paying school fees so as to be given certificates to enable them find a source of earning income, and then be able to clear school fees balances. This has not happened in most cases. We still have very many children who have their certificates held by schools, on the demand that they have to clear their fees balances in order for them to get their certificates. These are the same children we are saying are not able to afford the fees. How can they afford school fees, when they do not have their certificates to enable them get some form of employment? With those very few remarks, I beg to support.
Hon. Deputy Speaker

What is happening? Put it in the intervention button.
Rose Nyamunga Ogendo

Thank you hon. Deputy Speaker, I also rise to add my voice to the many hon. Members who have spoken on the same Motion. We all know that the difference between the poor and rich in Kenya is very wide. That gives us so many students who are needy, and who should be going to school. Some of them are very bright. So, I stand to support the Motion because it touches on almost all of us. If there is a mechanism by which there could be a database which can be used even by the CDF itself--- I do support what CDF has done over the years, but I do not agree with the way it has been operating. For one thing, you realize that bursaries can be given to some students--- Let us say you want to give 100 students bursaries, but the way it is done right now, you find that students are given maybe a quarter or a half of what they need and, maybe, it is given only in the first term; meaning that the second and the third terms are left out. In my view, that does not assist many students. It should be given in such a
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June 26, 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 9
manner that, once a student has been identified and is supported with a bursary, it should be provided all the way up to the very end of learning. Learning to me is very paramount in our country and, more so, when you want to tackle issues of economic empowerment. We cannot empower school dropouts. If we take, for example, a young mother who is married and does not have basic education--- Even if you want to empower such a person; even if you wanted to move them from one level to another, they do not know anything to do with hygiene. Some of those things are learnt in school, maybe, from Form I to Form II, Form III or Form IV. In my view, it is important that we run the bursary. But let us change it so that it benefits a student up to the end of education. Another thing that, to me, is very important is the fact that, if we want to help most of our people, it should not be only in Form I to Form II. It should also touch on the youth polytechnics. Our village polytechnics could go along way if we improve on them. Most of them are there but they are under-utilized and most of the time they are not even equipped. We can equip our youth polytechnics so that we have technicians who can also help the school dropouts. It is not only school dropouts but even people---
Hon. Deputy Speaker

Your three minutes are over. Hon. Wanga has an amendment. Can we get that amendment?
Gladys Wanga

Thank you hon. Deputy Speaker, I would like to thank very much hon. Kinoti for bringing this very important Motion. From consensus, I would like to then move an amendment to give this Motion even more teeth than it currently has. I beg to move that the Motion be amended by inserting the word “institution” after the word “public” appearing in the third last line. And by, inserting the words, “which shall take into consideration, when disbursing the bursaries” immediately after the words “fund committees” appearing in the second line. The gist of this amendment is that the motion as it is currently is, is basically saying that the data will be made available to the County Director of Education, the public and the other institutions without necessarily saying strictly that they should use that data bank when they are disbursing any bursaries. This is very important because it will curb any random distribution of bursaries to students, particularly who may not be the neediest in our communities. When we spend resources to create the data bank, we must also have mechanisms for ensuring that the data bank is the primary source of distribution of any bursaries by public institutions in our constituencies and counties. This amendment will ensure that anybody, or any public institution, whether it is a bursary fund started by the governor or any other public institution, uses the data bank as the primary tool for assigning or giving out bursaries. The amended Motion will, therefore, read--- I will start from the beginning.
Hon. Deputy Speaker

Start from “This House urges”
Gladys Wanga

Yes, it will read. This House urges the Government to establish a public data bank of all bright and poor students to be in the custody of the County Director of Education and such information be disseminated and made available to the public institutions, including the respective Constituency Development Fund Committees, which shall take into consideration when disbursing bursaries and any such other institutions that may be willing to support students.
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June 26, 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 10
So, this amendment compels public institutions and Constituency Development Fund Committees, to use the data bank that we will create. Education is key. It is the bridge that can enable us to move from poverty to riches, and it is what turns around lives. Some of us are a testimony of having come from very poor backgrounds and having received help and bursaries from various sources and now, we have become people to be spoken of in this country.
With those many remarks, I beg to move this amendment and call upon hon. Iringo to second.
Hon. Deputy Speaker

Yes, hon. Iringo.
Cyprian Kubai Iringo

Hon
.
Deputy Speaker, I rise to support the amendment to the Motion as read by my sister, hon. Wanga. The Motion is quite elaborate. Hon. Gatobu had thought it out very well but, as hon. Wanga has said, if we leave it the way it is, it will left to the discretion of the institutions aforementioned to use the data bank or not. Therefore, I support that we amend the Motion, so that we can give it clout. Once that data base has been created, it will be binding. It will be used by all institutions that give bursary funds. If we leave it the way it is, the CDF committees can ignore that data bank and develop their own lists. Other donor institutions or even education foundations can ignore that data bank. But if it originates from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and is given to every institution which supports the needy children, we will not go back to the grassroots to look for who we should support. That process should also be properly vetted to ensure that we have the right recipients of those funds. Once that is done, it will be easy for institutions, the county governments and even CDF committees to identify who should be supported. If we leave it blank, it can be put under the carpet and nobody will take it seriously. If it is put into law, then it should be used for the purpose of giving money. That way, we shall be able to assist the many needy children who need education most and yet, they get it rough. We know very well that most of the national schools are patronized by the children of the rich. But those who deserve to go there are unable to get there because they do not have fees. At the same time, we should also put a benchmark on how to assist. There are those needy children who need more assistance and we should not give blanket assistance of, for instance, Kshs5,000 for everybody. Some are very needy and they need all the fees for them to complete school.
(Question of the amendment proposed)
Michael Manthi Kisoi

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. I rise to support the Motion as amended. This country has come from a background where some communities are completely marginalized not because they wished to, but because of circumstances beyond their control.
Michael Manthi Kisoi

I want to thank hon. Gatobu for moving this Motion. This should not only be to avail the information, but should be enlarged to make it mandatory, so that those children are also educated. Availing the information does not necessarily mean that the children will be assisted. We should also look a little bit further and ensure that we compel the
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June 26, 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 11
Government to educate those children. For example, orphans have no other sources of fees. There is nowhere else that they can get support. They are so needy to the extent that they require full funding. I support this Motion and urge that we should look at children with disabilities. They should be encompassed in this so that we can also make it mandatory for the Government to support them. We may have the information but the CDF is not enough to cater for those children. Therefore, this House needs to move and ensure that the needy children of this country get access to education. We should also be ready to embrace certain actions that will ensure that children get education. The children are not necessarily poor. When we establish a public data bank of bright and poor students, they should be children from poor family backgrounds and, therefore, they are needy. If we talk of needy students, there are a number of variations and certain parameters that we use to gauge how needy a child is. Therefore, when we talk about poor, I do not know how relative it is. We should look at all the needy cases and not only just the poor students. When you look at the CDF right now and the guidelines that have been provided by the Ministry, they are talking about funding of needy and bright students in boarding schools. When you look at the day schools, we have also very bright and needy children.
James Nyikal

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me an opportunity to contribute on this Motion. This is an extremely important Motion, in my view, because it addresses the needs of needy and poor students. Any nation that cannot take care of its poor and vulnerable people is not worth being called a nation. We have realized that in this country. Our Constitution takes care of the vulnerable people and the leading cause of vulnerability is poverty. You find that in Articles 43, 54 on disability and 53 on children and orphans. Before that, there are many Government programmes, about eleven, in various departments that are dealing with issues of poverty. Amongst them are children and the bursaries that they need. Also, there are programmes for the poor, old and people with disabilities. In this House, we have had three Motions since we started, that are dealing with issues of vulnerability. We need to take a wholesome approach to this. Hon. Deputy Speaker, we have put in place a Social Protection Bill and there is a big social protection programme that is going into that. I would, therefore, urge the Implementation Committee to look at all the Motions that have been passed and put them together in the Social Protection Act, and come up with a programme. That is what they did in Brazil. Then you have a single registry that deals with all aspects of poverty, whether it is old age, health care needs or bursaries for students, so that everything can be implemented. I am aware that some Members are worried that those things are not going to be implemented.
(Hon. Mule crossed the Floor without bowing to the Chair)
Hon. Deputy Speaker

I am watching you, hon. Mule! You know the rules about crossing the Floor?
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June 26, 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 12 Hon. (Dr.) Nyikal

So, hon. Deputy Speaker, I can tell hon. Members that this is not a talk shop because I know one time in this House, a Bill was passed that increased the stipend that is given to old persons from Kshs1,500 to Kshs2,000. We were forced in the following financial year to do that. So, I think this is important. Let us get the documentation of this. Let us get a registry for those poor children. But I think what we need is a bigger picture on a social protection programme that will look at all those issues.
June 26, 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 12 Hon. (Dr.) Nyikal

With that, hon. Deputy Speaker, I beg to support.
Hon. Deputy Speaker

Hon. Joseph Manje.
Joseph Wathigo Manje

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker for giving me this chance to contribute to this very helpful Motion. A poverty cycle can only be broken by educating our youth. There is no other method and in order to help them, we have to have a data bank to know who we can help. If we organise a data bank, it will help the country to manage the resources it has as far as education is concerned. For example, you will find that there are so many people or Kenyans who would like to help but they do not know who they can help. So, if we get this data bank, I think those Kenyans will be going to where the information is and assist.
Joseph Wathigo Manje

It will also help us to assist the people in an organised manner because the county governments will be offering bursaries. The Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) will be offering bursaries and also the Government will be offering the same. If we do not do it in an organised manner, then it means they will not help as much. Also, that information can be used by the Government in the management and planning. So, I tend to think this is a very good idea.
Joseph Wathigo Manje

Hon. Deputy Speaker, we should not forget to say what we have in the country. We know our country today is experiencing a problem because teachers are not in class. I would like to urge Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) to accept to negotiate with the Government. It is becoming a hostile union and it is refusing to negotiate. I urge them to negotiate. We cannot sit down as Members of Parliament and watch our kids and resources being wasted.
Joseph Wathigo Manje

I am not digressing because we are discussing an issue on education but I realise that KNUT only operates during an election year and when the management is new. We should come up with a method of seeing how we can assist the country move forward and where unions will not be negotiating with the Government during an election year when the management is new. I urge them that this is a new Government and let us give them a chance. They will help the teachers because some of us in this National Assembly were teachers.
Joseph Wathigo Manje

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker.
Hon. Deputy Speaker

Hon. Agostino Neto.
Augostinho Neto Oyugi

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. It is with a lot of emotion in my heart that I rise to support this particular Motion. Some of us were beneficiaries of bursary programmes by well-wishers who supported our schooling. In moments like those, the words of William Butler that: “Education is under a peel but yet a fire that is supposed to be lit each time” comes to my mind. That is because education is a process that, once it is started, should continuously be spooked so that the fire burns by.
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June 26, 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 13
Hon. Deputy Speaker, I have listened to double-speak in this particular House. Members are supposed to be alive to Article 53 of the Constitution which my colleague hon. Gatobu actually alluded to. The Constitution makes the right to education a constitutional right. What that means is that it is a right. But is it realizable? We actually do not need a Motion like this to help us realise that particular right. The only thing we need to do and ought to do as a House is to realise where to put our priorities.
Hon. Deputy Speaker, this particular House is questioning our ability to effect a policy or a Motion like this – a Motion that gives needy brilliant students money to finish their schooling – whereas this particular House is also going to vote for Kshs53 billion to give laptops to children. Where then is our priority as a House? I am not saying that, that particular issue is about policy, but the test of the right to education is: How do we use the little money that we have in helping needy brilliant students realise the right to education or do we use that little money that we have in buying laptops and other fundamentals that really are accessories to education?
Hon. Deputy Speaker, the right to education, which is what we are talking about right now – making needy and brilliant students access that education – also means that we ought and need to take care of our teachers. It is not fair. Teachers are the ones who mould our character. Some of us are products of very good teachers. If it was not for our teachers, we would have actually been other things in our lives. It is not fair for the Government to then sit and make sure that teachers are out in the streets whereas we can be able to negotiate and give them whatever they demand. It is unfortunate that, as a Government, we would not want to listen to the teachers right now. The Government has what it takes. As a House, we have what it takes. What we need to do is give effect to some of those polices.
Hon. Deputy Speaker, that means that apart from creating the data bank, we do not necessarily---. We only need to make sure that we give more money to bursary programmes and help realise what Article 53(1)(b) hopes to achieve - and that is free and compulsory basic education. That free and basic primary education which is---
Hon. Deputy Speaker

Your time is up. Hon. Mwinga Gunga Chea.
Mwinga Gunga Chea

Thank you hon. Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this Motion as amended. I must, from the outset, say that I support the Motion as amended. When we speak about children, we must be guided by the express provisions of the Constitution. That is Article 53(2) and, of course, the Children Act. When it comes to children, we are talking about the best interests of the child.
Mwinga Gunga Chea

Hon. Deputy Speaker, as other Members have stated, some of us today are able to speak in this House having been beneficiaries of bursaries and other contributions from other well wishers. So, as we are here today, we must reiterate the fact that even as Members of the National Assembly, we should be able to come up with initiatives to get more money to assist those bright and needy students.
Mwinga Gunga Chea

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I must say that having created a data base for identifying some of those needy students, we must also be able to exercise transparency in the distribution of those resources. We must be able to identify the very needy and we must employ all mechanisms available to ensure that really the bright and needy students benefit. I support a situation where if we are to support bright and needy students and those are students that we have identified, then we must be able to support them right
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June 26, 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 14
from the level of joining Form I up to the time they complete Form IV. I say so because we have witnessed very ugly situations in the past where a student benefits in the first year but after that, in the second and third year, they drop out. If we spend a lot of money sponsoring students in the first year and we do not endeavour to ensure that they complete their studies, then basically, what we are doing is putting that money to waste.
I must say that as leaders, we must equally come up with innovative ways. We must encourage the private sector to chip in some funds. However, above all, I think as leaders, we also have to take responsibility and ensure that, even as we are here, we are able, on our own, to take, at least, two or three students and sponsor them. I was actually attracted by the questionnaire that was distributed to the Cabinet Secretaries and the Principal Secretaries who we vetted. I think part of the questionnaire included a clause in which we wanted to---
Ali Wario

Ahsante sana, Mhe. Naibu Spika kwa fursa hii. Ningependa kumpongeza Mhe. Gatobu kwa kuleta Hoja hii hapa.
Ali Wario

Ilivyozungumziwa mara nyingi, Kifungu 53(1)(b) kinatoa kwa uzito haki kwa kila mtoto kupata elimu, na kinasema kwamba ni lazima. Bunge litakapopata fursa ya kutekeleza Kifungo hicho cha Katiba, ni bora itafute ni vipi itawasaidia wale watoto.
Ali Wario

Katika Hotuba ya kwanza ya Rais wa Taifa hili, Baba wa Taifa Mzee Jomo Kenyatta alitoa changamoto tatu kubwa ambazo ni umaskini, kutojua kusoma na kuandika na maradhi. Ni kwa nini kutoka miaka 50 iliyopita mpaka leo hatujapata zuluhisho la matatizo haya? Tunapozungumzia kuhusu elimu ya watoto, elimu ya watoto wanaoishi katika sehemu kame ni nadharia. Ikiwa watoto wa Kenya wana matatizo, watoto wa kutoka sehemu kame ya Kenya au watoto wa wafugaji wana matatizo mara kumi ukilinganisha na watoto wale wengine. Kwa nini nasema hivyo? Ni kwa sababu watoto wa wafugaji ni watoto ambao wanategemea mazingara. Ikiwa kumenyesha na kuna nyasi ya kutosha, wanapata fursa ya kusoma. Kukiwa na ukame, inabidi watoto hao watoke wanapoishi ili watafute malisho ya mifugo. Watoto hao wanaathirika.
Ali Wario

Hoja hii inazungumza juu ya mtoto mwelevu. Watoto welevu ni tegemeo la taifa lolote. Kama watoto welevu ni tegemeo la nchi hii katika siku za uzoni, lazima kuwe na mikakati. Tuna pesa ngapi katika kila sehemu ya uwakilishi Bunge kuwawezesha watoto hao kusoma? Nasikitika kwamba katika sehemu ninayotoka hasa Boka, Ilimani na Asa, mpaka leo, watoto hawapati fursa ya kupata manufaa ya elimu ya kawaida.
Ali Wario

Kwa hivyo, naunga Hoja hii mkono ilivyorekebishwa ili watoto kutoka jamii maskini waweze kupata elimu kama watoto wengine.
Samuel Kamunye Gichigi

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. I rise to support the Motion as amended. What we really need is a reliable and scientific formula to identify bright and needy students in the society. Our experience is that the whole thing is done in a haphazard manner. If you go to a constituency, you will find that the bursary that is given through the Ministry of Education is given to some students. The bursary component in the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) is also given to another lot while other donors who may come in assist different students. In most cases, you will find that it is the person who reaches the source first and knows the people who call the shots in the constituency who get funding. So, it is important that we have a formula that will identify and list needy students.
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June 26, 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 15
There are some students who will lose their parents in the course of their studies and yet, they were not needy when the money was sent to the CDF committee. However, the following term, those students become needy students. So, we need to identify those happenings and take care of them in our funding.
Hon. Deputy Speaker, the other issue is inconsistency. You will find that the CDF or the Ministry’s funding will take care of a student this term and the child does not get funding the following term. That is because the bursary is given to a different lot. At the end of the day, that child is expecting to be funded throughout the course. But because they do not become rich suddenly, they lose the opportunity to go on with their education.
So, if we have the information, all those funds and donors will have a list in a central place and it will be possible to assist students who deserve to be assisted. So, it is important that we harmonize this information and we have a formula of identifying the kids or children who become needy.
Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker.
David Ouma Ochieng'

Thank you very much, hon. Deputy Speaker. I would like to commend Hon. Gatobu as I support the Motion that has been moved by the able Member. Data bank is key in the sense that we are throwing good money by doing what the previous speaker has just said. You will find that a student is given bursary this year or this term and then, there is no bursary for him or her the following term.
David Ouma Ochieng'

Bursary is allocated on the basis that the student is poor. I have a fundamental problem with this Motion the way it is framed now. That is because we have to agree, as a country, that education is not only for bright students. That is why our focus should be on poor students and not bright students. If you only take it to bright students, then we will be missing the point. Let us focus on the needy and poor students whether they score 250 marks out of 500 marks.
David Ouma Ochieng'

In some parts of this country, if a child scores 200 marks out of 500 marks, he or she is a bright student. That is according to me. That is because of what hon. Wario has just said. Some students go to school under very difficult circumstances. If they can pull themselves and score 200 marks out of 500 marks, they should be considered as bright pupils. I think the focus should be on poor students. There should be no much ado about bright students.
David Ouma Ochieng'

Hon. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we should be planning 100 per cent for students from primary schools who join secondary school due to the free primary school education. That is why, as we prepare the data bank, the Government should be informed that we need to up our allocation for bursaries for the graduation of children from primary school to secondary school, to ensure that every one who gets a chance to join secondary school is able to carry on with education from Form I to Form IV without any break.
David Ouma Ochieng'

The problem we have in every sector in this country is that of exclusion, where some people get while others do not get. It starts very early; as early as primary school where some children get fees while others do not get. The same case applies to secondary schools. At the university, some students get help while others do not. I think we must have a system that includes everybody, wherever the apportioning of public resources arises.
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June 26, 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 16
Hon. Deputy Speaker, with those few remarks, I would like to support this Motion as amended and request the Government to have an integrated data bank that includes all information about all the pupils and students. It will enable us to know who is poor and who is not so as to allocate the resources equitably.
Thank you very much.
Jackson Kipkorir Rop

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker for giving me an opportunity to contribute to this amended Motion. Information is key. Most needy students cannot access the bursaries in financial institutions, the CDF and the Ministry of Education because parents are not aware of that availability of funds. I believe we should have a data bank so that we know the needy students from each ward and constituency. Many students have lost opportunities to attend national schools. I have a case in point of a student in my constituency who was called to join a very prestigious school called Maranda Boys but he was unable to join it because of lack of school fees. I would propose that as much as we would like to have a data bank we should also think of doubling the bursary kitty in the CDF. Most of the activities have now been devolved to the counties. We were building hospitals, nursery schools and roads using the CDF money. We can now propose that because these activities have been devolved to the counties we double the bursary allocation so that many needy students can access the bursary fund. There is need also for the Ministry of Education to come out clearly on the way they disburse the bursary funds to the needy students. You will always hear that money has been allocated to the districts. However, you will not know the number of students who have benefitted from the same fund. You will not know where they get information about the availability of funds. I propose that principals of institutions should also be incorporated in giving us the information. This is because they are the ones who are aware of the needy students in their schools. People in our constituencies have myriad problems. We, therefore, need to support these students. In this year’s budget funds have been channeled to day schools. I propose that each constituency should have a number of day schools to cater for such needy cases.
Samuel Mathenge Ndiritu

Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this timely Motion. I have a history of having worked with an organization that has been sponsoring children poor backgrounds. The opportunities lost by children from poor backgrounds are very clear in my mind. Many students who get fewer marks are not helped. Just last week I placed a child at Naivasha High School. He had scored 371 marks and would not be admitted in a day school somewhere. He came to me for assistance in June, 2013. I was very disappointed. I could say that, perhaps, this Motion has come on my behalf. I would like to suggest that we harmonize the bursaries. There are students who get bursaries during the first term and in second term they are denied. Bursaries from the CDF and the Ministry of Education need to be harmonized. The data bank would be the best point of reference. This is because all those who get opportunities will permanently be on that list. For those who went to school many years ago, the competition was not as it is today. The disadvantaged children are mostly found at the primary level. You know the case of
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June 26, 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 17
private schools and public schools. Those who score very high marks are normally from private schools and are largely from advantaged backgrounds. That is the first case. Even as we talk of the teachers’ strike we should know that it is hitting children who go to public schools. These children are disadvantaged.
Marcus Mutua Muluvi

Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker. I rise to support this Motion as amended. All of us are aware that in the early 1960s and 1970s if a child from a poor family was admitted to a national school people would rally around to support the child. However, this social fabric has since died out. More often than not students from poor families upon admission to national schools usually are forced to go to day schools. This reduces their chances of doing well in the university. We are aware that birth is an accident of time and place. These children did not choose to be born in those poor conditions. We have bursary kitties. As we talk of the public data base it is important that we have serious co-ordination so that people do not benefit twice. The Constitution is very clear under Article 53(1)(b). It guarantees every child the right to free and compulsory education. However, serious modalities need to be put in place if we have to centralize this kitty at the county level. In most cases those who stand to benefit are not those who deserve the most. If we have to derive maximum benefit out of this we need to ensure that students joining Form One are seen through to Form Four. With those few remarks I support the Motion.
Kathuri Murungi

Madam Deputy Speaker, I rise to support this Motion as amended. I would also like to congratulate my colleague, hon. Gatobu for coming up with this brilliant idea. I realize that poor Kenyans are becoming poorer by the day. As much as we want to come up with this data bank, I would urge the Government to come up with good policies which will help in the alleviation of poverty. This will enable parents to take their children to school. As hon. Ochieng noted, we have bright students, but we also have others who have no opportunity to continue with school. I remember Dr. Carson the American neurosurgeon. He used to come last in his class, but he came to realize his potential letter. Today he is the best neurosurgeon we have in this world. Most of the students realize their potential late in life. If the Government can support all students from poor backgrounds we will be in a position to get the best quality in their lives. I also want to urge that these students be directly absorbed by the HELB so that we have at least 80 per cent admission from secondary schools to our universities and colleges. I realized that most of these students after they complete Form Four they start taking alcohol. You will find them loitering in the streets. If they can be transited to colleges and universities we will have a good population of young people. I support this Motion.
Chrisantus Wamalwa Wakhungu

Madam Deputy Speaker, I rise to support this Motion as amended. It is said the shoe wearer knows where it pinches. I rise to say this because it is true that poverty through fund raisings and everything has seen me where I am today. So, what Hon. Kinoti has said is very critical. A student or pupil who has scored 70 per cent is an A student and the probability of succeeding is very high. That is why we are saying that this database is very important. I just want to say that it should be updated; not just creating one and you forget because as times goes by, we have other needy cases coming
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June 26, 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 18
up. So, we request that as this database is going to be put in place, it should be updated regularly. Our forefathers have been fighting poverty, disease, hunger and ignorance. Out of this ignorance would not fulfill anything and we can only fulfill this if we embrace education. We know very well that when you look at the Millennium Development Goals, the first goal talks about eradication of extreme poverty and hunger. This can only be realized if only we will put more effort when it comes to education. The Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) has done so much and it is my humble request that as we put up this database in place and for us to have effective results, we should call upon Members of Parliament at a later stage to increase the CDF from 2.5 per cent of the GDP to about 5 per cent because it is going to add value as far as education is concerned. When you look at Vision 2030, it looks at the three pillars; the economic, political and social pillars. On the social pillar, there is the element of education and we can only succeed when there is enough funding. I want to say this: We cannot talk of pupils if we do not talk about teachers. The two of them are mutually inclusive. If at all we want to embrace this aspect of what Hon. Kinoti has said, it is high time that the Government must be serious as far as the welfare and remuneration of teachers is concerned. We can have the money but if the teachers are not happy, we cannot go anywhere. So, it is my humble request that as we look into this, we should also focus on the welfare of teachers. I want to give an example of Mr. Kambi who is currently the Cabinet Secretary. During our vetting, he mentioned to us that at one time he dropped out of school to go and do houseboy work. Look at where he is today. When we read the Bible, we are all equal before the eyes of God. No one applied to be born poor.
Madam Deputy Speaker

Your time is up! I can see your passion.
Leonard Kipkosgei Sang

Madam Deputy Speaker, thank you for giving me this opportunity to contribute towards this Motion. I also like to thank the Mover of the Motion, Hon. Kinoti for coming up with this idea at the right time. I want to support this Motion as amended by my colleague, Hon. (Ms.) Wanga and say that it is time that came up with a public databank so that we ensure that our students go through school at the right time. We have seen that for most of the students admitted in schools; most of them cannot be retained through the entire process of four years in high school because of problems of poverty and other things that we always see. At this juncture, I want to thank Equity Bank. In my constituency, Equity Bank has been of great help though the wings to fly initiative. I have seen them take a good number of my students to public universities and secondary schools. I want to encourage some of the multinationals in our counties like Brooke Bond, African Islands and Septic Islands to do the same so they plough back what they get so that our students get bursaries. What they actually get so that our students get bursaries.
Leonard Kipkosgei Sang

I want to say that this is a very good Motion. I wish to urge the Government to ensure that we get the databank so that we ensure that students from very poor backgrounds complete school. At the same time, I also want to urge the Government to listen to the voices of teachers. I know teachers have issues. In 1997, the negotiation they had at that time, I want to urge the Government that they ensure the teachers are paid their remuneration so that they can go back to school and make sure that our students read, learn and get out of school.
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June 26, 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 19
With those few remarks, I beg to support.
Cecily Mbarire

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, thank you for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this Motion. I want to start by congratulating and thanking the hon. Member, Hon. Kinoti for giving this issue some thought and bringing this very important Motion and also support the amendment by Hon. (Ms.) Wanga that also added value to what Hon. Kinoti had brought.
Cecily Mbarire

I want to speak as a Member who has served this House now for two terms and say that the biggest challenge facing our country today is that of poverty and as a result many able brilliant students cannot complete their secondary education which is a basic right. Many of them have had to drop out of school and the rate is very high. Many bright students who end up in boarding schools that are expensive are unable to continue or join because they cannot afford it. as a result, it is very important that we have this public databank that becomes mandatory for every public institution and any institution providing bursary to look at so that we do not have bias in the way the bursary is awarded. Sometimes you find, as hon. Members, the CDF being used for friends or relatives. So with such a databank, a Member of Parliament has no excuses but to give bursaries to those deserving. We also have the bursary kitty that comes through the Ministry of Education which, although hon. Members have been asked to give their chairman of the CDF to sit in the committee, does not have much influence on who ends up being awarded. Therefore, I hope that with this public databank, we can focus on the very needy.
Cecily Mbarire

I want to go a step further and say that for as long as we continue to receive the CDF of 2.5 per cent, we will not manage to give to as many deserving cases as possible bursaries. That money, on the face value, looks like a lot because if a constituency gets between Kshs60 million to Kshs70 million, it looks much but because of the needs of that constituency, the amount of money you end up allocating to bursaries of even Kshs7 million or Kshs8 million per year---
Madam Deputy Speaker

Your time is up!
David Gikaria

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. I take it to thank the Mover of the Motion for having brought this timely Motion. Also like my brother from Kericho has just said, I also want to take this opportunity to thank Equity Bank because of the good work that they are doing for this bright and needy children all over the country.
David Gikaria

Thirdly, much as we do not like the media, I would also want to take this opportunity to thank them for occasionally highlighting some of these cases where the needy and bright students are denied an opportunity. Whenever they bring this issue to the media, maybe within a week or so, we find that these children have benefited. Hon. Deputy Speaker, it is a bright idea to have this databank so that we can have some basis where we can collect data. As hon. Wanga had said, it should be compulsory for all the institutions giving bursaries to be compelled to use that databank. I am saying this because recently when I was orienting myself on issues to do with monies that are sent to the District Education Officer (DEO), we came to realize that children of officers from KRA and other banking institutions were beneficiaries of this fund. So, with this kind of databank, these are issues which cannot be able to arise. It was
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June 26, 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 20
very unfortunate that children of very senior people in the Government; very senior people working in other institutions, are the ones who are getting these bursaries. Lastly, it is on what the Chair has advised. From this Motion, the Mover now needs to take the next step and get a Bill where he is going to give the policy guidelines ho how best these monies should be disbursed, especially the bursaries. It should either be given through the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) or monies that are being given through the Ministry of Education. That way we will assist and get a way that these children can benefit. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I also want to agree with hon. Ochieng’ that we may be having very bright children from poor families, but under Article 53 (1) (b), I think it is also necessary----
Wesley Kipchumba Korir

Thank you hon. Deputy Speaker. I rise to support this Motion as amended, and I would like to reiterate that education is liberation. For us to change this country and move it forward, we need to liberate our young men and women by educating them. The late of poverty is increasing in this country. We are becoming a country that really does not care about the poor people. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I stand here today because people cared about my education. I was not born in a rich family, but because somebody cared and gave me support, I am here today. That is why a couple of years ago, I went ahead and started a foundation to help needy people. Let us not all depend on the Government, but find ways of helping others. We hon. Members should come together I think on how we can help a lot of people. Hon. Deputy Speaker, one other issue is also about school fees, which is ever unending increase of school fees. Our schools have always increased school fees and it has become so high that middle class families cannot afford to take their children to school. The Government needs to come up with a mechanism to control the rising school fees for our children. The Government provides money for free secondary education, but still school fees are still too high that parents cannot afford. So, as much as we want to have that databank, as much as we want to give scholarships; if we do not come up with a mechanism to reduce school fees in this country and to tame the ever rising school fees, we will not help much. Hon. Deputy Speaker, as I support this Motion on establishing the databank, we have to be careful that that databank does not be corrupted to only involve children of friends. Let us make sure that we have more option. We should give people more options of finding ways of helping these children from poor families. You might be rich today and tomorrow you become poor, how about if you are not in the databank. Are you going to miss the scholarship? Let us not discriminate these people. Let us make sure that we find ways of including everybody and helping those who are needy. I call upon this House to support this Motion so that we can help the poor and also increase the scholarship amount that we give to CDF. It is currently 2.5 per cent; let us make it 3.5 or higher, because if we focus there, we are going to have a lot people. Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. I support.
[Hon. Deputy Speaker left the Chair]
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June 26, 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 21
[The Temporary Deputy Speaker(Hon. Kajwang’) took the Chair]
Tom Joseph Kajwang' (The Temporary Deputy Speaker)

All right. The hon. Member on my right, could you please introduce yourself? I understand you have a beautiful constituency of young people in the galleries, who have come to see the august House. Do you have an intervention?
John Karanja Kihagi

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for this opportunity. My name is hon. John Karanja Kihagi. I want to acknowledge the presence of Fahari Academy from Naivasha who are here with us. Fahari Academy is a school which my wife and I are directors and, we sponsored quite a number of needy students. So, when hon. Kinoti brought this Motion of a databank on needy students or pupils, it actually touched my heart. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to say that we have all been out there giving bursaries for the last few weeks and we have seen how bursaries are managed in this country. We have seen how the needy children are deprived of opportunities of benefitting from Government bursaries. We have also seen how bright students are denied the opportunity to achieve their best. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, Fahari Academy has the motto of becoming the best. For that reason, there is need to use the resources around here for those needy Kenyans. This country has resources that can assist bright and needy students to become the best that they can. When you look at the resources that are being wasted out there; and when you look at those people who are benefitting from the money that the Government provides, through the CDF or through the Ministry of Education. The people who are getting the money are the able ones, but because of greed and dishonor, they are not able to reach the very needy children in our society. That is why I say that hon. Kinoti Gatobu’s Motion is very important. Information is power and the key in the lives of many people here in Kenya. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we live in the information age. If we can have this databank, it will help us, it will help the needy and it will also help to disseminate information all over the country such that, even as we get philanthropist; people who want to assist in supporting the needy students, we will already have a databank with us and we will be having some information as hon. Members so that we can channel some of this aid that is going to help our constituents. Parents in our constituencies are going to help this country because when a bright child is not empowered; we also know that he can use that brightness to do some very destructive things that will not help the community. With those remarks, I want to support the Motion and urge hon. Kinoti Gatobu to develop the Motion into a Bill, to ensure that we have this databank which will be very crucial for our country and for our youth, who are actually the major beneficiaries of that. Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I support.
Tom Joseph Kajwang' (The Temporary Deputy Speaker)

It is now 10.50 a.m. We want to call the Mover to reply.
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June 26, 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 22 Hon. Kinoti

Thank you very much, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. Before I reply on the issues raised, I beg to donate three minutes to hon. Wanyonyi to give some contribution.
Ferdinard Kevin Wanyonyi

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for the opportunity. I would like to appreciate the mover of this Motion for donating his time to me. As we debate about education for the children who come from poor backgrounds, I also wish to add a leaf that there are students with special needs who are also bright. Sometimes, these needy students are forgotten because in most cases, they are not taken to school. If we can establish this databank even for these children with special needs, they can also benefit from the allocation of bursary so that they can also be taken to school. It is a fundamental right that all children benefit from education. It is a fundamental right that all the children must be given education. I have personally contributed to the education of some of these children and some of them can make it great heights if they are given an opportunity. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we should also streamline the Higher Education Loans Board. This is an area where students who have struggled and made it to institutions of higher learning are denied opportunities to get loans. Some of these funds are given to undeserving students. So, if we streamline the manner of allocation of these funds, then the bright students from poor backgrounds can also benefit from this. This Motion has come at the right time. If we can harmonize what the CDF and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology are doing, these children can benefit a lot from these funds. With those few remarks, I support the Motion.
Boniface Gatobu Kinoti

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I wish to request your guidance on the minutes that I am left with.
Tom Joseph Kajwang' (The Temporary Deputy Speaker)

Hon. Gatobu, you must be in charge of your Motion. You have seven minutes.
Boniface Gatobu Kinoti

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. In the interest of how emotive this issue is, I wish to donate one minute to hon. Beatrice, one minute to hon. Chanzu and one minute to hon. Melly.
Tom Joseph Kajwang' (The Temporary Deputy Speaker)

As you please, but we are going to keep time.
Boniface Gatobu Kinoti

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. Hon. Beatrice Nyaga, hon. Mary and hon. Chanzu.
Beatrice Nkatha Nyaga

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I stand to support this Motion. It is a very important Motion that has been brought by hon. Gatobu. I support it as amended. It is very important that we have a data base, so that we can know which child needs support. The Constitution provides that every child has a right to get education. At the same time, how do we identify these children? How do we know where they are? So, the data bank is going to give us a formula on how we are going to distribute whatever resources that we have to support the needy children. I belong to this category and my parents struggled to bring up to where I am, but if we had these kinds of resources and the information, maybe my parents could not have struggled the way they did. So, I
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June 26, 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 23
support this Motion. Hon. Gatobu has a passion of supporting the needy children, particularly in his constituency, but since he has brought the Motion to the House, we should support it.
Yusuf Kifuma Chanzu

Thank you very much, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. This is a very important and timely Motion. Majority of the students who qualify to join secondary schools come from poor families. We have had a problem because the people who should have kept the records should have been the teachers who teach these children from the lower primary up to the time they sit for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE). It is going to be useful because it is not possible to help when you do not know the children that you are supposed to help. There is the issue of the Constitution, which is very important, but there is also the issue of the implementation. When we come to actualize this Motion into a Bill, the Mover must put in place measures to make sure that we implement what is in the Constitution. This is law, but when it comes to adherence to the law; following and implementation, that is where the problem is.
Julius Kipbiwot Melly

Thank you very much, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I want to thank the Mover of this Motion, hon. Gatobu. This Motion is very timely. It is very important especially for our country. Over 40 per cent of our population is very poor and needy. You will realize that education is the only equalizer. It is the only thing that will make the society move forward. The CDF is allocating about 15 per cent. It is also important that this House compels the county governments to ensure that they also allocate part of their incomes to assisting the needy. The large multi-national companies should also assist.
Boniface Gatobu Kinoti

Thank you very much, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I rise with deep gratitude to God and to this House for giving me a chance to change the lives of the children of this dear nation.
Boniface Gatobu Kinoti

When the youths of this nation have taken leadership, they have done a lot of lift their fellow youths that they left outside. I wish to acknowledge the contribution done in this nation by the young leaders who went before us like Tom Mboya and the famous Mboya Loyalists and the people they produced like hon. Wangari Maathai and my first professor at the University of Nairobi, Prof. Nzomo. In the spirit of lifting my fellow youths out there and the young children that I have been teaching for the last eight years, I brought this Motion before this House to see what we should do to change the destiny of our young Kenyans. I am very happy that in time of need, the Members of this House have responded in an appropriate way. This is the first step towards making that dream come true.
Boniface Gatobu Kinoti

This is an area that I am very passionate about. I was not brought up in an area that is very different from the poverty that stricken Kenyans all over. My grandfather was a carpenter and he worked so hard and his first born daughter, my mother, became a teacher in the same school where he was a carpenter. The literature teacher worked so hard that I became the writer that I am and in 2010, I won the Writer of the Year Award. I have seen what education can do to this dear nation. My other grandfather was a peasant living in the largest rural slum in Kenya, namely, Machaka in Mburi. He worked so hard that my father became a teacher and the son of a teacher became the Member of
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June 26, 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 24
Parliament. So, I have seen the social progress education has brought in this dear nation. I want to stand with this House in ensuring that that social progression continues.
My story cannot happen anywhere else under the sun except in the dear nation of Kenya. We must ensure that the system that supported me to become a Member of Parliament, namely, an education system that worked to ensure that the son of a peasant, my father, became a teacher, remains in place through the Motion that we are passing today. An education system where teachers are rewarded for the wonderful work that they do for this nation through a social system that ensures that the needy have a chance. The only thing that the greatest nation in this world did is to ensure that opportunity is available to all; nothing else. That is how the son of an immigrant, Obama, became the President. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, so, I believe this morning is a milestone that we made a step towards the betterment of this nation and we will continue doing so. I see it in the Departmental on Labour and Social Welfare where we handle issues of children, women, youth and the disabled . I wish to acknowledge the contribution done by hon. Wanyonyi and hon. Nyikal that despite ensuring that the bright children are given the support of the country, we must ensure the disabled children too must get the support of this dear nation. We must ensure that the social fabric of Kenya is perfectly in place to ensure that our disadvantaged people get advantages not just education but in so many other areas. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, in addition, I wish to acknowledge that there is a Bill in the office of the Speaker – The Basic Education Act (Amendment) Bill, 2013 – that I am working on with the Legal Department of this honourable House to ensure that when it comes here what we have discussed and the inputs we have given today to this Bill over the one week will be enshrined in the Constitution. It will be law to ensure that there is a legal perspective in supporting the needy children of this country. I also wish to acknowledge the input by honourable Wesley Korir that in addition to pushing the Government, we too as leaders must do something and in Buuri which is the largest constituency in Meru County we have already done that. We have put in place the Buuri Education Welfare and it is through it that we have produced the best materials of this country. The best child that we sponsored to Maranda High School last year was in position one in Form One class. We have sponsored the other children to Ontolili High School in Meru County in Buuri. Ontolili High School has produced them and it has risen to become the second best school in Meru County and school number 17 in Kenya. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, so, we will not tire and as I said in my maiden speech that my fellow youth and children out there, we will stand with you.
Tom Joseph Kajwang' (The Temporary Deputy Speaker)

Hon. Members, I thank you for the debates that we have had in this House this morning. Because of reasons that have been brought to the Speaker’s attention, we will defer this Motion to the next session. I am also informed that the next contributors in the next Motion are apparently not in the House but we will come to that. So, so far as this Motion is concerned we will put the Question in the next business of the House.
(Motion deferred)
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Tom Joseph Kajwang' (June 26, 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 25 The Temporary Deputy Speaker)

Next Order.
MOTION
INCLUSION OF SMES IN INDUSTRIAL TRAINING LEVY FUND (ITLF)
Tom Joseph Kajwang' (The Temporary Deputy Speaker)

Hon. Jude Njomo is not around to prosecute his Motion. We will defer it to next week.
(Motion deferred)
Tom Joseph Kajwang' (The Temporary Deputy Speaker)

Next Order.
MOTION
ESTABLISHMENT OF DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AUTHORITY
The Temporary Deputy Speaker

(Hon. Kajwang)Hon. Tiya Galgalo. You have sympathy of the Speaker. I understand that you have had to come from hospital and you are not in a position to prosecute your Motion. We will defer it to the afternoon if you get the chance.
(Motion deferred)
Tom Joseph Kajwang' (The Temporary Deputy Speaker)

Next Order.
MOTION
MEASURES TO CURB IRREGULAR PAYMENTS THROUGH ILLEGAL SCHEMES
Tom Joseph Kajwang' (The Temporary Deputy Speaker)

Hon. James Opiyo Wandayi. Hon. Wandayi is not here? I think I have to send a very strong word to the Whips of this House that they need to prepare the contributors and the prosecutors in good time because we have to handle this not at your convenience hon. Members but at the convenience of the Speaker and the Clerks at the Table. We will also defer this Motion to the afternoon after we have prosecuted the Motion of hon. Tiya Galgalo.
(Motion deferred)
ADJOURNMENT
Tom Joseph Kajwang' (The Temporary Deputy Speaker)

Hon. Members, may you rise. This House stands adjourned until this afternoon at 2.30 p.m. Thank you.
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June 26, 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 26
The House rose at 11.05 a.m.
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OFFICIAL REPORT

PRAYERS

MOTION

ESTABLISHMENT OF A PUBLIC DATABANK FOR NEEDY STUDENTS

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MOTION

INCLUSION OF SMES IN INDUSTRIAL TRAINING LEVY FUND (ITLF)

MOTION

ESTABLISHMENT OF DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AUTHORITY

MOTION

MEASURES TO CURB IRREGULAR PAYMENTS THROUGH ILLEGAL SCHEMES

ADJOURNMENT