Hon. Members, we seem to have a challenge with quorum. Those Members who are leaving or coming in kindly settle, so that we can get quorum. I also direct that the Quorum Bell be rung for 10 minutes so that we can get the requisite quorum to start the business of the day.

Who is that Member who has just walked out? Serjeant-at-Arms, you must be aware that when the Bell is ringing, no Member should be allowed to walk out. Hon. Members, we have the requisite quorum and can commence our business for the day.

Hon. Vincent Kemosi Mogaka. You have the mic, Hon. Kemosi.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I beg to move the following Motion: THAT, aware that Article 53(1)(c) of the Constitution guarantees every child the right to basic nutrition, shelter and health; cognisant of the fact that primary school-aged children are at a stage where a child requires nutritional meals for healthy mental and physical development and growth; aware that school feeding programmes have been implemented in Kenya since the 1980s with varying degrees of success, and with heavy reliance on foreign aid and management; noting that the Kenyan Government introduced a home-grown school feeding programme in 2009, a more sustainable and nationally integrated programme by the national government funded school meals programme through multi-sectoral co-operation; appreciating that the school feeding programme has played an integral part in realising the country’s goal of universal primary education through incentivising the enrolment and retention of children; further The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

noting that the feeding programme targets food inequality in the most vulnerable areas of Kenya, including school districts in the Arid and Semi-Arid Areas (ASAL) and the informal urban slums of large cities such as Nairobi and Mombasa; this House urges the Government to expand the primary school feeding programme to all public primary schools in the country.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, universal access to free and compulsory education is a key tenet of the Constitution of Kenya 2010. Article 53 (1) (c) of our Constitution guarantees every child basic nutrition, shelter and healthcare. Free primary education was adopted as a State policy in the year 2003. That programme has gained significance and success in Kenya. Still, the feeding programme in the Republic of Kenya, although it is an ongoing project, faces regional inequalities. Children in arid and semi-arid areas are partly enjoying the fruits of that programme. However, in some areas and more particularly the western region where I come from, we are not receiving any Government funded free programme in terms of meals.

In the schools in the rural areas, children report as early as 8.00 in the morning. They have to spend several hours in school. They spend not less than six hours in the morning and then leave in the afternoon to go to their homes to get lunch. In urban areas, for example, in the slums and also in the arid and semi-arid areas, that programme, which is known as a home- grown feeding programme was rolled out by the Government of Kenya in collaboration with the World Food Programme in 2009. However, that programme has not been universal. It has not been rolled out nationally. The programme of free primary school meals is not new in Kenya. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, when you and I were growing up, you can remember very well the era of Nyayo when we used to have the Maziwa kwa Wote Programme. Some like my colleague here, Mr. Gikaria, says they have never enjoyed that programme. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, you remember and I am very sure you were a beneficiary of that programme. We used to have that programme which was of much benefit to the children of this Republic. I remember very well when I was growing up. A class had about 20 pupils. When we heard that milk was coming, the following day, you would find a class with 50 pupils. So, what I am trying to say is that the issue of rolling out free meals to pupils will alleviate poverty and increase enrolment in our schools. You can agree with me that if a student or pupil is in class with an empty stomach, he/she will never concentrate on his/her studies. If we roll out that programme and the children of Kenya universally and throughout the Republic of Kenya are able to benefit, then I can assure you that even the school performance will go high. This programme has been supported by various policy documents by the Government of Kenya. The only problem is the implementation part of it. If you do a thorough search, you will find that the Republic of Kenya is so much coloured such that people who are accessing the internet and other search engines are convinced that this programme is good success in the Republic of Kenya. However, if you look at it internally, the programme is not felt in some parts of the country, while in some parts of the world, people are really applauding it. You will even find in the coming days people wanting to come and benchmark and see how successful the programme is. We wonder where they are going to benchmark because the programme has not been felt more particularly in the rural and poor areas. That is where our focus is. If the programme is implemented universally, the rural poor and our children in the rural homes will be able to access schools and the enrolment and performance will improve. By so doing, I assure you that we will be able to alleviate poverty in the Republic of Kenya. Food security is one of the Big Four Agenda that the President has set. I want to submit that if the programme is rolled out, then this will go along in solving the food security and also The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

enhancing that agenda of food security. In the Republic of Kenya, various policy documents geared towards implementing the programme have come up. One of the inputs in this policy document is the Food and Nutrition Security Strategy and the National Nutrition Action Plan of 2012 to 2017, which highlights the importance of improving nutrition and school feeding programme in schools in Kenya, and involving both the public and private institutions in Kenya. Secondly, there is also the National School Health Policy 2009 which recommends the provision of balanced school meals in all the public primary schools in Kenya. This policy document was developed jointly by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the Ministry of Health. Its objectives, among others, are to promote the nutritional status of school going children. Further, the National Social Protection Policy recognises school meals as an important requirement for school children and their families. It aims at improving their livelihoods in the long run, as well as expanding coverage of social protection. Further, the Food and Nutrition Security Policy, 2011 state that it is the responsibility of the Government that all Kenyans, throughout their lifecycle enjoy, at all times, safe food in sufficient quality and quantity, as well as satisfy their nutritional needs for optimal health. Finally, the National Education Sector Plan 2013-2018 identifies home-grown school meals programmes as the preferred strategy for providing school meals in Kenya, whereby the local small farmers are encouraged to farm and thereafter, sell their produce to the local schools. This particular policy document was aimed at improving the poverty level by providing income for small-scale farmers in the local areas. They grow food crops where they come from and directly sell them to the local schools. By so doing, the locals will get income as well as provide meals to the local schools. Implementation of this programme is a worthy intervention which will enhance access to education and also improve enrolment, particularly in rural schools. This programme will definitely motivate children to attend school at an earlier age. If this programme is successfully enrolled throughout the Republic of Kenya, I can assure you that the rate of school drop-outs will be minimal. Where I come from - particularly in my constituency and other constituencies - I can inform you without hesitation that there is no school that is benefiting from the programme. It is high time that the Government of Kenya takes over and ensures that the programme is enrolled out and enhanced throughout the Republic of Kenya. The Daily Nation of 10th June 2017 highlighted how the World Food Programme (WFP) intends to conclude its programme. The newspaper quotes Cabinet Secretary, Mr. Matiang’i, who was the then Cabinet Secretary for Education in May 2017, when he said that time has come to feed our children. He further said that the Government cannot continue to rely on outsiders to feed our children. That statement, coming from the Government of Kenya, means that the Government is ready to enhance and roll out the programme throughout the Republic of Kenya. However, the time limit for the programme to be universally and nationally enrolled was January 2018. Up to date, most of the schools and, more particularly, those in the rural areas have not felt the programme. I, therefore…

Hon. Kemosi, on account of this being probably your first time to move this kind of Motion, I will allow you a minute or two so that you can move your Motion. According to our rules, you only have 15 minutes. You should have timed yourself. Kindly, finish moving in the next two minutes so that we can make progress. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

(West Mugirango, FORD-K)

(Makueni, WDM-K)

I will give the first opportunity on this to Hon. Iringo Kubai, Member for Igembe Central.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this Motion. On the same token, let me thank and congratulate Hon. Vincent Kemosi for bringing the same. Education is a basic need for our children and for everybody in this country. Equally, food or nutrition is quite a basic need to each and every human being. Therefore, we should support the Motion so that as our children go to school, they have healthy bodies. They should be fed well so that, at least, they can concentrate and achieve what they went to learn in schools. The School Feeding Programmes in this country has been there for quite a while. Most of us have grown seeing it. Initially, it was a pilot school feeding programme. Unfortunately, it has never taken off to the extent that it takes into account each and every child in this country. It is well known to all of us here that not all families can afford three meals per day. That is breakfast, lunch and supper. This becomes a big burden to those poor families whereby children drop out of school or they do not go to school because they did not take any breakfast. You find that when a child leaves home without having taken any breakfast, he or she shivers in class while others who had breakfast concentrate on their class work. This brings the disparities we have in education. That is why we find that public schools are not performing as well as private schools. Private schools or academies have children whose parents have the means. They pay for their food, accommodation and everything. But in public schools, we have poor infrastructure, few teachers and pupils do not get any food. During the dry spells especially in the marginal areas, school attendance drops even by 50 per cent because children are unable to go to school because there is no food. Once they hear that there is some food in schools, they go there. Once relief food is brought in the constituencies or to the counties, it should first be distributed in schools. For example, in my constituency, Igembe Central, when we get food, I always agree with the administration to take it to the schools first, before we give it to other families. When the pupils hear that there is food in school, they all go back there. So, if we introduce this programme, we will not have school dropouts and absenteeism. Therefore, there will be continuity. That is the time we will get good results. Previously, we had the milk programme - maziwa ya nyayo . Some counties have also started giving milk to children in nursery up to Standard III. A case in point is Meru County. In Meru County, you will find that the enrolment is going up because the Governor has started a milk feeding programme for the children. The children are now going back to school in droves. The money that is being stolen through corruption can be put to good use by introducing the programme. It can be sustained without any problem. Thank you.

Hon. Members, you will note that you have five minutes to contribute. Before I give the next opportunity to the next Member, I would like to recognise the presence of students, in the Speaker’s Gallery, from Rugunga Primary School, Budalangi Constituency, Busia County and Bubamba Primary School also from Budalangi Constituency, Busia County. In the Public Gallery, we have Meshack Tumkou Primary from Kapenguria Constituency, West Pokot County. Feel very welcome to the House.

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

I would like to give this opportunity to Hon. Prof. Oduol Adhiambo, Nominated Member.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to support this Motion. When we look at…

(Inaudible)

Hon. Gikaria, Hon. Prof. Oduol has been sitting here with you throughout from the time we started. She was here when we started. I will give you an opportunity. Do not worry. Hon. Prof, proceed.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I know I am at the risk of losing one minute. I would like to confirm to Hon. Member that, not only was I here when the second bell was being rung, but I was actually here way before the bell rung. The world over, we are aware that education is an equaliser. We all know that when we seek to determine the future of our country and to ensure that we are committed to all those programmes that we have, we look at education. I, therefore, support this Motion. We also know that if we want to determine where a country is going, we just need to look at the children and much more importantly, we need to look at the programmes particularly the way we want to provide for education. When we consider the kinds of programmes that we already have, we will see that, by and large, we not only have programmes that deal with developing the intellect of the students, but we now increasingly have programmes that also seek to try and ensure that our children are protected. We would want to ensure that they are in an atmosphere where they are protected from anything that would affect their livelihood. We always ensure that we come up with lots of activities that relate to sports. By and large, we also want to see them doing well. To a larger extent, however, we will notice that we have all these programmes in a context of extreme poverty. There are situations where many children have even become heads of households. We are aware that, as a result of the HIV scourge and many other challenges, very many children are growing up in poverty. Many children are being brought up by their grandmothers, or by parents who are not able to meet their needs. Therefore, as I support this Motion, I would also like to urge that we ensure that in its implementation, we not only seek and confirm that it is a good programme and remember what happened in the past, but also ensure that the policy is backed with sufficient budgetary allocation for its implementation.

We have many programmes in this country. We have the orphans and vulnerable children programme, the elderly, persons with disability and, now, the universal health programme, which will be in 12 countries. As I support this Motion, I would like to urge that we do not become a country that only comes up with very good programmes, but no implementation. Rather, we should ensure that we have adequate financial allocation and monitoring. I support the Motion and thank the Member because this is an extremely important aspect that we would like to address. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker.

Very well Professor. The Hon. Njoroge Wamaua, Member for Maragwa.

Thank you Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this chance to contribute to the Motion. I support and commend the Mover. It is good that, as we discuss the issue of the food programme today, we have the beneficiaries with The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

us. They will know we are looking into their plight. The other citizens also know what we do whenever we come here. As much as the Mover talked about this Motion, it is true that the moment we urge the Government to push to the feeding programmes to the public primary schools that we have--- It is very true that we are going to boost a lot of enrolment in the schools. Some of the children, when they hear that there is food in school, they will see the reason to be there. This will also hold children in school. We are going to eliminate truancy that usually occurs in schools during lunch hour and in the afternoons, when they feel they are hungry and they cannot continue to listen to their teachers during the afternoon lessons. So, this is a Motion that really needs to be implemented. That is the reason why we are urging the Government to implement this. When you look at ASAL areas and especially in the rural areas, you will find that many of our children, due to lack of getting enough food at home, they are malnourished. The moment we urge and this programme takes shape, it means we will improve the nutrition levels of our children. We are going to fight some of the malnutrition-related diseases. We are coming up with the universal health for all. This is also going to boost their health because much of what will be eaten at schools will be balanced diet. Leave alone the issue of improving the health. Look at productivity when it comes to syllabus coverage. The teacher will be able to capture the concentration of those children because, in the afternoon, most of the time when our stomachs or those of the children are empty, you may find that the children do follow the teacher as the teacher tries to cover the syllabus. It is also going to create some employment. Whoever will be cooking in those schools will be some of the members who finished schooling or even our mothers and other members of the public. They will be employed as cooks to make sure that the food is ready by lunch hour. Those are some of the citizens who will be able to put food on the tables at their homes. We are also going to improve on the production of food crops in the local areas. What the farmers will produce will be easily bought by the schools, so that they can give enough food to the students. We are also going to zero in on child labour. Most of the time, you will find that since the students are not going to school because there is nothing to eat, they are the ones you will find accompanying the parents to assist them in trying to get something at home. Because we are going to zero in on child labour, we are building the locals. It is going to help. I fully support the Motion. I request that the Committee on Implementation will move and push the Government to have the compulsory feeding programme done in all the public primary schools. Thank you.

The Member for Budalangi, the Hon. Sauti.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I also want to take this earliest opportunity to congratulate the Hon. Vincent Kemosi Mogaka for bringing this Motion. It has come at the right time, especially because the beneficiaries of this Motion are in the House as we are talking. I also take this opportunity to thank my Women Representative for Busia County, Hon. Florence Mutua, for making effort to enable the pupils from Bubamba Primary School and Rugunga Primary School to be in this House as we are talking. I want to remember that I was a beneficiary of the Moi Milk Programme. It came when I was just in Standard IV. Indeed, that is the thing that helped some of us to remain in school. When I am telling you that I thank the Women Representative for having enabled these pupils from Bubamba Primary School, you need to know that, that school is located in a swamp. That swamp covers an area of 17,000 The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

hectares. All of that is marsh. Movement there is not easy. But she has managed to bring them up to Nairobi. For them, it is as if they have reached heaven. This is heaven for them because I know most Members of Parliament here do not know Kenya. They simply go to their constituencies from Nairobi. Some of your constituencies are near Nairobi. Even if they are not near Nairobi, they are possibly exposed, developed and so on. That does not mean Budalangi is not developed. It is developed, but that part of it is under a swamp. The School Feeding Programme is the only thing that keeps students in Bubamba and Rugunga Primary in schools. It is because of the topography and the way they live in the swamp in Budalangi. Even the little relief food that the people of Budalangi are given, we always have to make sure we give those schools something for students to be kept in school. Therefore, this Motion has come at the right time, when the beneficiaries are listening as Members of Parliament are articulating their plights, so that they can benefit and be kept in school. This programme is in the law. I am happy that the Hon. Member has quoted the Article in the Constitution. We need the Kenya Human Rights Commission to fight for the rights of Kenyans which are enshrined in the Constitution, so that the Government can take responsibility to ensure that pupils in Bubamba School eat lunch, breakfast and supper. Without that, these people will be left behind. It is only education that can give equal opportunities to all Kenyans. Once you deny people education, you have denied them opportunities amongst other Kenyans. Therefore, what will stabilise this country is for us, as a House, to fight for the rights of all Kenyans to access clean water - which is never accessed in Bubamba, to access food that is edible, not just any other food so that pupils in those places can also stay in schools and learn like other pupils in other places. I thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity.

Very well spoken, Hon. Member for Budalangi. We shall now have Hon. Gikaria, the Member for Nakuru Town East.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity and to also thank you for recognising the primary schools that are seated in the galleries of Parliament. We want them to confirm whether they are beneficiaries of the feeding programme. As I was looking at the Motion, I wanted to agree with Hon. Vincent Mogaka. At first, it was meant for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs). But I want to point out the fact that he has forgotten a few other urban areas and he has just included Nairobi and Mombasa. I come from Nakuru County; a county that has just been given a city status and we have slums. That is the biggest problem that we are having in urban areas. I was just trying to confirm with the County Director of Education that this programme is not in Nakuru. It is meant to have started for purposes of ASALs. They need to include urban areas, particularly people from the slums. It is not just in the ASALs where there is no adequate food. In urban areas where we assume there is adequate food, so many families cannot take their children through school because of this. Even in my constituency and Nakuru County as a whole, you will find so many kids carrying food because parents do not have money. By the time they are taking their food, it is either very cold or it is stale after staying for so many hours and, therefore, is not of any use to them. I think the programme as initiated by the Ministry, did not start yesterday. It started a long time ago in the 1980s, where we used to have a school milk programme in the Moi’s regime. I was actually telling the Mover that he is not a beneficiary of that milk. I do not think he was in primary school by then. I just want to confirm that when the programme started, it started for a purpose. It failed because when they think you are dealing with the Government, The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

the cost went up, accountability was not even there and so, many people would be taking the milk back to their homes or even unpacking or selling in the villages. There was also lack of firewood to cook in those schools and there was a problem of salaries for the cooks. These are some of the issues that we need to check, as we ask the Implementation Committee to ensure that these are matters that are going to be resolved if this Motion goes through. It is also important for us, as Parliament, to consider the budgetary provisions that will be provided. It is one thing to bring a Motion… I am trying to look at the Budget that we have just concluded and the capitation that is given to primary and secondary schools for free education and the element of school feeding programme is very little. I want to agree with the Ministry of Agriculture. What they need to do is that for schools that have big chunks of lands, they need to support farms and irrigation projects, so that the schools can be self-sustaining. It is one thing to bring a Motion, but it is also another thing for us to have enough funds in the Budget for the programme. I agree that keeping and feeding children is something… I help to pay for feeding programmes for many primary kids. So, it is important for us to have some budget for us to sustain the programme. With those few remarks, I support.

Hon. Gikaria, you seem to doubt that the Mover of this Motion benefited from the Nyayo Milk Scheme. He is on record as saying that he benefitted. I do not know why you doubt him. We will choose to believe him. We will have Hon. Oluoch Tom, Member for Mathare to speak from Nairobi County.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. Allow me to thank the Member of Parliament who brought this Motion. This is a very important Motion. In spite of our Constitution 2010 dealing with the questions of discrimination, we are still largely an unequal society and I want to agree with Member who said that education is one of those things that will act as an equaliser. In particular, the question of school feeding programme which will be able to keep our children in school. I also want to join the Member who has just spoken before me, who said that this ought to be applied equally across the nation so that our children are able to spend time in school rather than spend time walking long distances. I have an example in my constituency in Mathare, where many parents live on less than a dollar a day. If children were to spend about an hour in order to go back to their homes to get food, it would take a lot of time and affect their concentration in school. Universal health is one of the Big Four agenda of the Government today, and one of the questions we need to ask ourselves is how much has been dedicated in this Budget to school feeding programme. We have a budget of close to Kshs1.7 billion on Health. How much of this are we putting on the school feeding programme? I want to agree that if we have not placed any allocation in this particular Budget that we made, certainly, the Budget and Appropriations Committee and the Implementation Committee should look at how this can be factored in. So, I want to laud the Member of Parliament who has brought this Motion and ask that this Motion should not die at being a Motion. It should go to the next step in which we will be able to ensure that our children are able to go to school. With those few remarks, I want to support and congratulate the Member of Parliament who has raised this Motion. Thank you.

We shall now have Hon. Obo Mohamed, Member for Lamu.

Asante sana, Mhe. Naibu Spika wa Muda kwa kunipatia nafasi hii kuchangia Hoja hii. Haya ni mambo muhimu sana, hasa kule kwetu The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Lamu. Lamu kuna shule ambazo zimefungwa kwa sababu ya mambo ya kutokuwa na usalama. Wanafunzi wanapata shida kwa sababu wakiamka asubuhi, wanalazimika kuenda kutafuta maji walete kwa nyumba zao ili hayo maji yatumike kutengeneza chakula cha mchana na chakula cha usiku. Kwa hivyo, mpango huu utasaidia sana. Nikitoa ushuhuda, mimi ni mmoja wa waliofaidika na Maziwa ya Nyayo na tuliyafurahia sana. Matokeo yake yalionekana. Mpango huu ukifanyika utasaidia sana wanafunzi. Wabunge wakisema kila Mkenya anafaa kuwa sawa na Mkenya mwingine, bado tuna sehemu kama Lamu ambapo hatujakuwa sawa na wengine. Wale wanasema hivi labda wanaangalia Nairobi na kaunti zingine. Wanafaa wakienda Lamu wasiende Amu; waende Lamu Kaunti watembee. Wajua wengi wakija Lamu mjini wanaona ni tofauti na pengine watu wanajiweza. Kuna sehemu kama Basuba na Kiunga ambapo kuna matatizo mengi. Inabidi wanafunzi waende kwa hizo kambi za majeshi au askari ili wajipatie chakula hata cha kupeleka nyumbani. Lakini mpango huu ukiwekwa kwa shule, wanafunzi hawataenda kutafuta hivyo vyakula. Kwa hivyo, mpango huu ni mzuri sana. Tunaomba uwekewe mkazo ili usaidie wanafunzi wetu kwa shule. Pia, mpango huu utasababisha wale wana shida kwenda kusoma kwa sababu ya njaa kuja kwa wingi. Nina hakika mpango huu ukifanyika, hata baada ya miezi matatu, zile shule zitajaa wanafunzi. Mpaka sasa, kuna sehemu Lamu ambazo wanafunzi wengi hawaendi kusoma. Ukihesabu wale wametoka shule za msingi kuenda shule za upili, utaona kuna mwanya mkubwa. Tunapambana kama viongozi lakini matatizo bado yapo. Na ule mgao wa Lamu huwa ni kidogo; hauwezi kutusaidia. Tafadhali Wabunge, mkizungumza, wengine sisi matumbo yanatuuma mkisema Wakenya wengine ni sawa na wengine. Haijakuwa sawa. Tembeeni. Naomba mtembee muone sehemu kuna watu bado wanasoma chini ya miti. Kuna shule zimefungwa, wanafunzi wanabebwa kwa ndege kupelekwa shule za malazi ili wapate kusoma. Kwa hivyo, naunga mkono mpangilio huu sana. Naomba wenzangu wauunge mkono. Ni mpangilio wa maana sana. Ahsante.

Hon. Wamunyinyi, I heard your loud voice when she was saying that she enjoyed the Nyayo milk scheme. I doubt you enjoyed that milk yourself. We shall have Hon. Muli Fabian, Member for Kangundo.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to rise and support this important Motion. Also, I will appreciate Hon. Vincent Mogaka for bringing this important Motion to our children. Feeding programme is one of the millennium goals which are very important, especially for our children. Because of climate change, there are areas like the coffee zone in Kangundo where I come from, where farmers produce nothing and the market is also very poor. So, you find you do not have enough stock to feed our children. Also, cotton and tea zones are all affected by climate change. Not only people living in rural areas are affected, people who live in urban areas also have economic challenges, especially in towns where we have many slums. Many kids end up not being in school because of lack of food. The Government is now talking about the Big Four Agenda. If you want to make this country proceed in terms of progressive development, we must give our kids proper education, which will involve restructuring how the whole stretch is made by the Ministry of Education. Our kids are not attending classes. They are having a lot of desperation in classes because of lack of food. So, we end up losing attendance and concentration in classes. So I urge this House--- This is a very important Motion especially right now that we are talking about education. It is important to give our kids the best price in terms of being in class. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

It is not only in education. The country has problems in terms of equitable distribution of resources. There are some areas which benefit from feeding programme and other areas which have never received the feeding programme. Every part of this country is represented by a county government and the national Government. Some areas get a lot of benefits in the pretext that they are marginalised. The distribution of resources to the county governments--- We get equal share and so, we do not want to hear this pretext of marginalised in terms of distribution of resources. We are all in this country and we are all marginalised. So, we need equal distribution of resources. I want to urge the Committee on Implementation: We are having too many important Motions which have passed through this House. Last week, I wanted to bring another Motion which was passed in 2016, but has never been implemented. We pass some important Motions, but we just look like a House of passing laws which are never implemented. So, we urge the Committee to move ahead and spearhead this Motion once it is passed and taken to the Ministry of Education. If they do not have a budget, we can pass the budget. We are parents who need to take care of our kids. Our people are suffering. If it is a budget which needs to come to this House, I urge them to bring it. We will pass it for the benefit of our kids. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, with those few remarks, I support the Motion. Thank you.

The Committee on Implementation, I think you have heard the plea of the Member. You should take action on this. Hon. Wachira Kabinga, Member for Mwea.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support this Motion. As I do so, I take note that this Motion is simply bringing this House into compliance with the Constitution. I also want to thank partners who came together to develop the current school feeding programme that links the feeding programme to the local small-scale farmers. I want to agree with the Member who has just talked. Sometimes, we create more disparity by focusing on some of the historically marginalised areas. I appreciate that some of those areas require much more attention. But even as we do so, we should not forget that some of the other parts of this country also require those services and facilities. The school feeding programme in my time was referred to as sukro . I do not know what that meant at that time. It kept us in school, especially in areas that are vulnerable. I have my constituency in mind, where we grow rice and there is an attempt to have child labour. By having a school feeding programme, children are maintained in school. As it is now, a number of schools are reporting high rates of absenteeism simply because children get into farms in their attempt to get food. Nutrition is vital for our children. It enhances their cognitive abilities. You realise that in most of the areas where we come from, especially in settlement areas like Mwea where farmers do not have any crop to farm other than rice, when they get back to the settlement schemes, they have no space to grow anything that can add to nutrition. Therefore, having nutrition supplements in schools would add a lot to those children. Therefore, it is important that even as the Government focuses on the ASAL areas, it should also come up with programmes that will enhance school-feeding programmes in the rest of the counties. It is possible for the Government to be innovative in its support for this programme.

We still have schools that have many acres that are unutilised. The many youths that are out there with no jobs can be allowed to farm in those areas and then they can sell the produce to The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

the schools in a subsidised manner. We also have things like greenhouses. The Government can support most of these schools to build greenhouses, which they can use to grow vegetables and other things that can enhance nutrition, so that children in some of these marginalised areas or poor areas like where I come from can enjoy a meal just like any other person who is out there from a rich family.

If you visit children during lunch hour, especially where they carry food, you notice that some young children go to the field when others are eating simply because they do not carry anything. Their families cannot afford any meal for them as they go to school. Therefore, this school feeding programme will bring some equity to the children. It will give them an opportunity to compete with others in school.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I support this Motion.

Hon. Tindi Mwale.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support the Motion. The Motion will enhance the fundamental rights of children as enshrined under Article 53(1)(b) and (c) of the Constitution. This Motion will make sure that children get adequate health care and education.

My main concern is on the management of the free school feeding programme. We had such a programme before which was sponsored by the Government of President Moi, but it was a let-down because of mismanagement. Therefore, I ask Members, especially the Mover of the Motion, to consider putting this free school feeding programme under the National Government- Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) Act 2015 as a project just like any other. The Government will have a challenge with the management of the school feeding programme, especially in identification of schools and number of students to be fed. Since Members of Parliament have got direct link and the correct network on the ground, it is my suggestion that we have the school feeding programme as a NG-CDF project which will be implemented as stipulated by the national Government.

Malnutrition in students is very rampant, especially in the rural setting. Pupils who do not have food will obviously have a problem in thinking, behaviour, health and factors that impact on academic performance. Therefore, I want to ask the Government to consider putting up this free school feeding programme, so as to enhance the good health of our students and performance in our schools. If this Motion is considered, discussion regarding poor performance in this House will be a thing of the past. We will experience a free level of competition when it comes to performance in schools.

With those few remarks, I support the Motion.

Hon. Gitau Wairimu, Member for Nyandarua.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I rise to support this Motion. I really want to thank Hon. Vincent Kemosi Mogaka for bringing this important Motion.

It is quite disturbing to note that most students, especially from Nyandarua County, where I come from, go to school hungry. I want to correct the Mover of this Motion that it is not only schools in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) that need to be provided with food, but there are schools elsewhere with very poor students who go to school with no food at all. We have very dry areas in Nyandarua where parents of these students are very poor. I support the parents and their children most of the time. I know if we start this programme, it will go a long way in enabling and enhancing the learning of our students. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

I just want to say in this House that we need a docket that can take care of this programme. I do not think there is any other docket that can take care of this programme than the woman representative one. Even as we think of channelling this money to any other docket, I suggest that this money be channelled through the woman representative docket. This is where you find motherly love and care. We will follow it up with all the schools and headmasters as mothers. The Government should fund this programme progressively instead of allocating money for one term and then there is no money in the next term. It will go a long way.

As we start this school feeding programme, we should encourage our schools to start farming programmes, so that the feeding programme cannot be temporary. It should continue to the end.

Members, the levels of consultations are too high. Members, I recognise that there is a lot of interest in this matter. I think that every Member in this House is interested to contribute to this Motion. I have 37 interests on the board. So, I will give the opportunity to contribute fairly and try to distribute it to as many Members as possible. Members, take it in good taste. We will proceed. Hon. Faith.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. It is good to give these children food during lunch time. However, I want to suggest that we introduce a take-home potion because when these children go home, they sometimes have nothing to eat. Some of them sleep hungry.

So, there is no point of feeding them during lunch time and when they go home, they have no food. The ‘take home’ portion should also be considered. I am putting this across to the Mover of the Motion so that he can include it. The issue of irrigation should be emphasised. When we do irrigation in schools---

Hon. Member for Nyandarua, you only had five minutes and there is a lot of interest in this. I will give this opportunity to Hon. Dennitah Ghati.

Thank you so much, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. Allow me one minute to join my people of Migori County in mourning my beloved Senator, Ben Aluoch Okello, who passed on yesterday. I hope you will give me a bit of time. My Senator has succumbed to cancer just one year after his election.

I served the County of Migori as the Woman Representative in the last Parliament. Senator Okello, who was in the media by then, played a major role in highlighting the work that I did and that I do for the people of Migori County. Many people are not aware that I am also a journalist by training. On behalf of journalists in this country, including KJ, Hon. John Kiarie, the Member for Dagoretti South, I pass my condolences to the people of the Migori County. I request them to hold on and put aside politics as we mourn. The body of my Senator lies frozen at this moment. We, as Members from the county and many others, are planning on how to give him a befitting send off. I thank Kenyans, Members, the President and the Right Hon. Raila Odinga who have joined us as we mourn our Senator.

I support the free feeding programme for children in all public primary schools. As I speak, in my County of Migori, my governor has been in the front line providing free milk to school children. I have seen this happen in many other counties. However, this issue of free food especially for those from far distances is welcome. I remember when I was growing up in rural The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Maeta, Kuria East Constituency, Migori County I would walk a distance of almost 10 kilometers to school. Going to school and back home for lunch was a challenge. At times, I could accompany my fellow pupils to their homes, where I could hang around and have lunch and doeadoea. Then come back to school. This is not easy especially for children learning from rural settings.

I speak in this House on behalf of children who live with disabilities and still walk to school. You can imagine a child leaves home, walks to school and has to struggle going back home for food and get back for the afternoon lessons. Children with disability in rural settings and even urban settlements have this challenge. Therefore, I wish to challenge and support Hon. Vincent Kemosi Mogaka for bringing this Motion to this House. The Member has spoken for almost everybody in this House on the challenges our children face in public institutions.

I support this Motion. It is not a matter of who should run this programme, whether women representatives, constituency Members or nominated Members. It is efficiency in planning that will ensure our children do not waste much of their efforts and energy walking all the way to and from school in search of food. This interrupts their education and tires them. Definitely, this is a programme that is going to address the issue of malnourishment.

Even children who do not get enough food in their houses will have enough food and concentrate on their education and complete school. This Motion is in line with our Constitution on the Bill of Rights in Chapter Four. The right of children is very well enshrined in the Constitution of this country. So, we are not talking out of context.

Very well, Hon. Chepkwony Kathambi, Member for Njoro.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this important Motion. Being a Member for Njoro Constituency, I consider this programme very serious and important. Njoro Constituency is the most affected. I confirm that climate change has affected us. Rivers have dried up due to logging. We have no water. Parents and children struggle daily to look for water. Due to food insecurity, children from poor homes cannot feed. So, as I stand here, I support this Motion and request that it should not only target the ASAL lands. Children are not going to school in Njoro Constituency. This is a constituency that was previously affected by tribal clashes. Therefore, most parents are poor and we have many slums. I have tried many times to approach the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology just talking about this issue. I am very happy that out colleague has brought the issue here.

This matter must be taken seriously and be implemented. It must benefit every school going child. We cannot be promoting education if some children are disadvantaged in their respective areas. Mau Narok in Njoro Constituency has been in news headlines because of the way children are affected. Instead of children going to school, they accompany their parents to look for money that can help them get food.

So, we should ensure that such Motions are seriously supported and the Government ensures that they are implemented. I will be proposing that if this programme is to be well implemented, it should be constituted in the NG-CDF. We are in a better position to know the most affected schools and areas. So, I support it because Njoro Constituency has been affected greatly. Children are not going to school due to high poverty levels and it is time we supported such initiatives.

Also, the Government should ensure that every family accesses water. It has become a burden to women and children. It has made the girl child not to go to school. Therefore, let us The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

push the Government to ensure that everyone accesses water and our children are fed and given an opportunity to learn.

Thank you very much. This is a very crucial programme, which we all appreciate. I wish to support.

Hon. Ochieng Awuor, Member for Migori.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me an opportunity to also add my voice to this important Motion. I want to congratulate my colleague, Hon. Kemosi, and all of those who have contributed before me.

The concept of education and its ability to change people’s lives cannot be over emphasised. Some of us, as we stand here today it is purely courtesy of education that has transformed us to who we are today. I join my colleagues who are testifying that the milk, which the former President Daniel Arap Moi took to primary schools, made a great difference in the lives of the children. It was sad when I watched that programme collapse. I know what it did to me and many other children in my class. I wished it continued to help other children of Kenya.

However, we appreciate the efforts that have been made. In as much as we are talking about the primary school feeding programme, it was intended to help children in ASAL areas. I would like to support this Motion that we expand the feeding programme in schools. In light of global warming and environmental changes that we have witnessed world over, many places in Kenya which were considered agriculturally rich, self-contained and able to support their populations have actually turned to ASAL areas. To date, there has been no update of our regions. Therefore, many schools, even those that were once in areas that could feed their children are no longer able to do so.

We have witnessed serious droughts that have killed animals all over and the serious rains which have swept and destroyed fields of agriculture. Many schools especially those in the rural setting are affected. As I stand here, I represent Migori County, which is by and large a rural setting. For example, if you go to a school like Got Orango in Nyatike, it sits in the middle of a desert. Children have to walk long distances to get there. Consider a child who walks about 5, 7 or 10 kilometres in the morning, then walks back at lunchtime and in the evening. This is a very tired brain by the end of the day. Time is wasted, energy is lost and the children cannot perform. It is important for the Government to make sure that food is availed in schools for the children.

The Government is implementing the concept of free secondary school education, where it is advocating for 100 per cent transition from primary to secondary schools. However, this statistic may only be talking about those who are already in school. Some families are unable to send their children to school due to lack of food and they are hungry and weak. Therefore, all the children of Kenya will not benefit from the so called free basic education. Therefore, in my view, we should ensure that every child born in Kenya, whether by design or coincidence, goes to school. That can only be done if we avail food in schools. Food, to me is all about health and nutrition. I recommend that even as we think about feeding children in primary schools, we should also be aware of the fact that quite a number of them were born HIV positive. Therefore, I recommend that we should think about feeding the children with healthy foods like probiotic yogurt and other fermented foods that can boost their immune system so they can go to school when they are healthy and well. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I support this Motion. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Hon. Awuor, I heard you say some children are born by coincidence. I thought all children are born by the design of God. Hon. Tum, the opportunity is yours now. Give her the microphone. Hon. Wamunyinyi, you are right, if our women Members of Parliament speak, then all of us have spoken. Hon. Tum proceed.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I stand to support this Motion. When we attained Independence in 1963, we said that we were going to fight three things, namely, poverty, disease and ignorance. If our children are not getting the required food, ignorance will be our portion in Kenya. The Jubilee agenda is about four things and among them is universal healthcare and food security. For our children to achieve what is required in schools, we have to expand the homegrown school feeding programme (HGSFP), which was started in 2009. In our nation, there are areas experiencing food insecurity and many families do not have enough food. So, if all the children were to be fed in schools, we will kill ignorance. We know that education is an equaliser. There from ASAL areas, slums and nomadic families move from one place to another. I support this programme for us to attain universal healthcare and universal primary education, which is in our Vision 2030. If our children are not given food in school, some of them report late to school and attain bad grades. Therefore, we want fairness and equality in our schools. I support this programme so that girls and boys in Kenya, and not only from the ASAL areas, but also from Nandi County where I come from, are fed and do not lose many hours running back home for lunch. Let all the children be fed in school. They should be given a balanced diet that contains carbohydrates, proteins and vitamins. We do not want them to be given ugali and Sukuma wiki or what they eat at home. We want equality in Kenya. We want our children to be secure and fed properly for cognitive development. Thank you.

Hon. Tum is proposing that the children should not be fed what they eat at home. Hon. Odepe, Member for Turkana.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. The importance and magnitude of this programme can only be highlighted by the definition from the World Bank, which states that a feeding programme is a targeted social safety net which provides both educational and health benefits to vulnerable children. This definition alone tells us that this programme is very important because it is a right for every child in this country to be fed. We need this programme for the poor, orphans and children of single-parent, who drop out of school because of lack of food in their homes. If we are going to provide food in schools, the children will benefit from the education given in our institutions.

Another reason why we need this programme to be implemented in our schools is that it takes the burden off the parents. Some parents have up to, say, 10 children. They carry the burden of school fees, feeding the children and clothing them. In fact, some parents retain some children at home. That is why we are saying that we need to have this programme in our institutions. It also fights malnutrition among the school-going pupils. Most students, especially from ASAL areas, are affected by malnutrition. If we have this programme in our schools, malnutrition will be eradicated. It is only in Kenya where we are demanding that this programme The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

be done. We have other countries like Botswana, Chile, Brazil and Ecuador where the free feeding programme is provided in schools. By the way, some of them like Chile and Ecuador provide two meals a day to pupils. They run two kinds of programmes. There is one they call on- site meal, where you are given food at school and they also have a take-home ratio. In the evening hours, they give children food to take home.

This country is rich. If we stop corruption and save the money that we are wasting on so many other things, we will be in a position to provide two meals for our children, namely, the on-site meal and take-away ratio. By doing so, this country will have energetic and well-built students who can advance in their studies. Members have spoken about the benefits of this programme and I do not want to repeat. However, allow me just to highlight a few. This programme will alleviate illnesses and consequences of childhood malnutrition.

This programme will also encourage school attendance. I am from Turkana and when I was attending school in lower classes, I would look forward to food time. We used to go to school at almost lunchtime because you could get lunch and go back home. When we have this programme especially in ASAL areas where children walk many kilometres, school attendance and enrolment will go higher. The Member of Parliament from Migori has said that the Government of Kenya is implementing the free secondary school programme. We are saying there must be 100 per cent transition rate from primary to secondary school. I urge that we should also have food take-away rations. When a child eats in school and goes home, he or she is unlikely to sleep hungry. How I wish the Member who came up with this Motion could adjust the Motion to provide for two meals per day. Thank you. I support the Motion.

Hon. Lodepe, you want children to have two meals.

Yes.

Very well. Next is Hon. Washiali, the Whip of the Majority Party.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity. Allow me to thank Hon. Vincent Kemosi for this Motion. I have been listening to Members here and I had quite a number of definitions of this Motion on school feeding programme. The one that fits in most is the one that I got from the World Bank. Allow me to quote: “That this programme targets social safety acts that provide both educational and health benefits to the most vulnerable children, thereby increasing enrolment rates, reducing absenteeism and improving on food security at the household level.”

This definition summarises everything that we are talking about. When we talk about enrolment rates and the school feeding programme, even parents or caretakers who may think that the children will stay at home will encourage those children to go to school so that they can have something to eat. There is the issue of absenteeism. There is no hungry child who would not want to go to school when he or she knows there will be something to eat in school. Next is the issue of improvement of food security. We have been moving around this country and we know that food security is a challenge to this country. If this programme is in place, I am sure this will improve on food security. Therefore, it will be good for Kenyans, especially the young ones who will be growing. I have been capturing from the media that this or that Member has been issuing out bursaries to secondary schools. I have also done the same in my The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

constituency. Actually, the people we are giving bursaries in secondary schools are mature school going students. Given that the Government is meeting the cost of tuition and all other requirements of a student to go to school, the money that we are giving as bursary is for the provision of the school feeding programme.

Hon. Oyoo, kindly make your way in an orderly manner in the Chamber. We know you have come. Make your way in a way that you allow the progress of the House to proceed.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I hope you will add me one more minute. I was just saying that as Members of Parliament, who are responsible for school going children, we need to ask ourselves whether the money we are given under the NG-CDF will be used to feed the slightly mature school-going children in secondary schools or the most vulnerable children in primary school. I was going to request that as we pursue this Motion that urges the Government to provide for food in schools, we also need to consider whether in our own small way, we will continue feeding students in secondary schools or learners in primary schools. I strongly believe that even if we have limited resources, we need to start with the most vulnerable children in primary school, so that we can move to the ones in secondary school.

Otherwise, I support.

There is a lot of interest. Next is the Member for Laikipia West.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for this chance to speak to this extremely important Motion. I thank the Mover, Hon. Vincent, for such a critical Motion. In Laikipia West, in the last six or so months, we have been doing an assessment of the level of education in Laikipia West and some of the challenges that we face as a constituency are particularly because the level of education has been regrettably very low. One of the issues that have come out very clearly is that, indeed, the issue of feeding programme in the constituency is a big issue. In Laikipia West, we have two sub-counties. Interestingly, one sub county benefits from the feeding programme and the other sub-county, which is in same constituency, does not benefit. In fact, we have a very peculiar situation where one school on one side of the road benefits from the feeding programme, but the next one on the other side of the same road does not benefit from the feeding programme. This is a big issue because there are children, pupils and students who cannot stay in school because they did not eat the previous day. They are meant to be in school studying, but they come from poor families and homesteads and are not able to concentrate in school. I met some of the teachers in some of the areas in my constituency and I got very sad stories of where pupils just collapsed in a parade. I went to one of the schools and I was told by the headmaster that they were in a parade and one of the kids just collapsed. After an assessment, it was found that the kid had not eaten the previous day and he was in school. This is an extremely important matter in this country. This is a Motion, but the Government should take the views and perspectives of the Members on this very seriously if we want to improve education in Kenya. We need to widen the perspective of this issue of the feeding programme. It is not just the national Government that should deal with this. We should have a framework where the national Government works with the county governments so that the feeding programme is extended. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Agriculture, for example, is a devolved function. This is an area of business where the food that is eaten by the pupils could come from the families around the school so that they can get business and our pupils are kept in school. There needs to be a very clear and collaborative framework between the national Government, county governments and donors. I noticed that the World Food Programme (WFP) has been supporting this programme, but they exited at some point. The World Bank is coming in. Just like the Mover indicated, this is an area where we could have a multi-sectoral approach so that all the facets, agencies and levels of Government work together to feed our pupils in schools. There was also the issue of the school milk programme. I noticed that some counties have embarked on a milk programme. Our neighbouring county of Nyandarua and a few other counties have a feeding programme. This is still part of the feeding programme, so that our children can study in school. Education is the only opportunity we have to equalise communities and societies. We need to emphasise and support this feeding programme and spread it across the entire country and not only in some parts, so that our children can benefit from it. I support the Motion.

Let us have Hon. Mwambire Ngumbao.

Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me an opportunity.

Hon. Mwambire, before you proceed Hon. Baya, Member for Kilifi North has a point of order.

(Kilifi North, ODM)

Hon. Baya, I think you have read the mood wrongly. The temperature is different. Maybe the thermometer you are using is faulty.

Hon. Mwambire, kindly, proceed.

Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. The mood he was watching was for those who have taken breakfast, but this Motion entails those who are from marginalised areas and children who cannot access food even in their homesteads. I support this Motion because I am a beneficiary of school feeding programme. First, I want to assure this House that I am one of the beneficiaries of the Nyayo Milk. I know how beneficial it was. I also benefitted from the lunch programme when it started in this country. It would go to all schools, but now we only have a few selected schools even in ASAL areas. Only a few schools benefit from this programme. This Motion caters for all schools including those in urban areas. This will be great. For people who come from ASAL areas like me, it will be of great benefit to everyone. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

The biggest problem that we have in this country is corruption. This programme was running very smoothly, but because of corruption, some schools were removed. If we follow it closely, it will be very easy for us to roll it out in all schools. We should have a good budget that will facilitate the provision of the school feeding programme in all schools. This programme should be channeled to the State Department for Special Programmes. I have heard people propose that it should go to the Woman Representative and others to the NG- CDF. If this programme is handled by the State Department for Special Programmes, it will work very effectively and bring sanity to the country. It will be easier for us to oversee it instead of it being taken to the NG-CDF or to the Woman Representative. By doing that, it is like we want to push it to ourselves. We want a way where we will be in a position to oversee it, so that it can benefit many children in this country. With those few remarks, I beg to support the Motion.

Let us have Hon. Tong’i, Member for Nyaribari Chache.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support this Motion. Before I do that, allow me an opportunity to mourn my neighbour, Senator Ben Oluoch, the Senator for Migori County. He was a member of my faith. We worshipped in the same church, the Seventh Day Adventists (SDA). Therefore, I know him as a man of integrity and virtue, who served this country in earnest. Death being what it is, has taken him way too early before he had an opportunity to serve his people in the Migori County. I mourn with the family. I am hurting with the family members. I know how painful this can be. May the good Lord rest his soul in eternal peace. On the Motion of expansion of the school feeding programme to all public primary schools, it would never have been said in any better way than to support it. We all know that the success of education is a function of many things. One such function of the success of education is food. When you are well-fed from an early age, it helps you to develop your mind and all the faculties of your body. That enhances your chances of success in education. Part of the challenges we have seen in some parts of this country is because people do not have good food and a balanced diet. Our children are denied an opportunity to develop their minds to full capacity. Most of our children go to private schools. In private schools, there is a feeding programme. The feeding programme is never about githeri and s ukuma wiki every other day. They are given a balanced diet. They are not doing it because they want to fill their stomachs. They are doing it because they want to ensure that those children have an opportunity to develop their minds and faculties so that they can understand what is being taught in school. Therefore, if the fact that food enables one to succeed in education is a scientific finding, we have a duty to ensure that function is shared by every Kenyan in this country. We have had challenges in the past where the Equalisation Fund model has been discriminative. You find that just because some areas qualify under some skewed system and formula of determining which areas are marginalised, they are given special treatment. You find that some school children are fed and just because the immediate neighbouring school happens to be in another constituency, it is not a beneficiary. Our children are too small and young to understand those marginalisation issues. They are too young to understand why children in one school are fed whereas children in the other school are not yet they have the same challenges. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Most of us come from a rural background. We come from poor families. I remember during my school days, I used to carry some roasted maize. I would roast it overnight. I had a concept.

Most of us have a concept of what a meal meant during break time. We would carry quietly to school. After break, you had something to bite. Occasionally, when teachers got you, you would be punished so badly. We do not want that to happen. We are living in the 21st Century where equal treatment to everybody should be given. We all know education is an equaliser. It is the only equaliser we have in the world. Secondly, farmers will get market for their produce at the local setup. Jobs will be created. Children will get education and will be able to compete at the national level without being discriminated against. When you appear before a panel of interviewers, it will not matter which school you went to. If you went to one of the local schools, like I did, and another one went to Alliance High School, all of us would be assessed based on the certificates that we have. Currently, one who went to a private school would be ahead of you. That is not fair. That is not the kind of country we want to build. This Motion seeks equity across the country so that everybody can have a fair opportunity. I laud my brother, Vincent Kemosi, for bringing this Motion. He thought it out well. It has captured the mood of the country because that is where Kenya wants to be. With those remarks, I support.

Hon. Mutua.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me this chance. I wanted to welcome my two schools that have just left because they are from marginalised schools in Budalangi. I am happy that we are making a difference in their lives by such exposures. They have just left. I also want to congratulate the people of Budalangi, who are here, for electing Hon. Wanjala, because he is doing a very good job in the county. He is trying very hard to improve the livelihoods of students in various schools. I also support the Motion because we all know that a school feeding programme will ensure that the enrolment goes up. So, this is a very good Motion. I hope it will progress beyond a Motion, so that a school feeding programme can be rolled out in all public schools. Right now, the programme is in just a few schools and there is a lot of disparity. Children require nutritious meals for mental and physical development. We all know the poverty levels in our areas. Most of the children go to school without even having porridge in the morning. Concentration in class is very poor because of such things. So, if a feeding programme is rolled out in all public schools, it will help to improve the grades in schools. I was among the first beneficiaries of maziwa ya nyayo. During those days, we knew the days on which milk would be given out. On those days, we used to have full house in school. Therefore, once introduced, the school feeding programme will ensure that school enrolment goes up. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

The country has a lot of funds which can be channelled to this programme to ensure that we protect and solidify basic education. Our children will be the biggest beneficiaries. I urge the governors across the country to set aside little funds for feeding children at Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres through the proposed school feeding programme. With those remarks, I support the Motion.

Next is Hon. Korere.

Laikipia North, JP): Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I want to add my voice to this debate and congratulate the Mover of the Motion, Hon. Vincent Kemosi. A very wise woman once said that “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”. In this case, for us to retain our children in school and make sure that they have maximum concentration, we have to take care of their stomachs. As the case is now, it is very important that Kenyans rise to the spirit of the Constitution of equity and equality. As it is now, we are aware that there is a school feeding programme going on in some schools, but that is discriminatory. In some constituencies, for example, Laikipia North, where I come from, this issue has placed me at crossroads. Parents cannot understand why some schools are benefiting from the feeding programme while others, in the same neighbourhood, do not benefit. As the Member who just spoke before me said, most of us seated in this House take our children to private schools. We know very well that they take tea and some snacks at 10.00 a.m., a meal at lunch time and snacks at 4.00 p.m. The children must be taken care of so that they can concentrate in class. There is absolutely no reason why some children should be discriminated against simply because their parents cannot afford to pack some snacks for them or their parents cannot afford to take them to private schools where they can have lunch. This Motion should have been passed like yesterday. I will also ask this House that as we concentrate on pushing this Motion to reality, and as we concentrate on makings sure that Kenyan children are treated as children of an equal God, we should not try to bring our personal interests into it like suggesting that the money, if available, should go to the woman representative or the NG-CDF. As it is now, we have enough work of legislating in this House. We have enough work of concentrating with the resources that we already have through the NG- CDF. There are other Government departments like the State Department on Special Programmes which can handle this issue. We know we have some of our parents who are farmers and cannot feed their children, so that we can avoid instances like that of the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB), which has become another cash cow for some cartels in this country. This august House should push for this very important Motion because the children of Kenya need some very special attention. The children of Kenya should be fed. It does not make sense to ask a student who goes to school on an empty stomach to concentrate. At the end of the year, all children across the country sit for the same exam, irrespective of whether they went to Alliance High School or to Doldol Secondary School or some school in West Pokot. It is only reasonable that, at this juncture, we make sure that the school feeding programme is rolled out across the country, especially for nursery school children. I congratulate the Governor of Nyandarua and other governors who are providing milk to school children. We need to take care of the little children in nursery and primary school so that, at least, they stop worrying about what they will eat or that they slept hungry and concentrate for the eight hours that they are in school. I beg to support. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Hon. Members, I want to remind you the resolution of this House on 28th March 2018, that an individual Member’s Motion should take a maximum of two hours. The interest from the Members is immense, but I stand with that resolution. Two hours have lapsed since debate on this Motion commenced. In that case, we have to call upon the Mover to reply. If the Mover is gracious enough, he can donate part of his five minutes to whoever is interested. Hon. Vincent Kemosi Mogaka.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I will be kind enough to donate part of my minutes. One minute will go to Hon. Masara, another to Hon. Gertrude, we have the Whip of the Minority Party and Hon. Murwithania.

Order, Hon. Member. You can only do a donation of four minutes because you will have one minute to conclude. So, can the first talk? It is one minute each.

Thank you Hon. Member for donating one minute to me. Thank you so much, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. Members, I rise to support this Motion because it is very important for the children of Kenya. Some of us are in Parliament today because we got fed in school during former President Moi’s time. I want to support this Motion because we have families back at home who cannot afford three meals in a day. If this programme is rolled out in our public schools, school enrolment rates will increase and the Kenyan children will get the universal primary education. This programme does not need even piloting. Since the feeding programme was started in secondary schools, so many pupils have enrolled in schools. So many secondary schools are feeding students back in Suna West Constituency and we have realised an increase in the number of students enrolling into secondary schools. I am urging Members that we set a lot of money aside.

Thank you for this chance, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support this Motion. This is a good Motion for our children in schools. I congratulate my Kilifi County Government because they already started giving milk to ECD children in 2016. As for the Government, a few schools in Ganze and Kaloleni constituencies have been piloted under the primary school feeding programme. We are very grateful. This will give more concentration to our children, bigger enrolment in our schools and better education standards. I take this opportunity to congratulate the Mover.

Hon. Member, one minute, please.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I rise to support the Motion. I want to say that this Motion about feeding poor children in schools helps the poor children of Kenya to stay in school. I know the children of many rich men are in private schools. Those of us who are poor have our children down in the village. So, this a good Motion. We have structures that exist in the country. I believe the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has their job well cut out, so that our children can get food for them to stay in school the whole day. More importantly, I believe the food that will be given will be nutritious enough.

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

I am not going to repeat what everybody has said. I want to remind ourselves that our Constitution in Articles 43 and 53 talks about the economic and social rights. Then, it specifically dwells on the rights of the child. We cannot legislate on issues that are seen to discriminate against others. Outright, I would want to thank the sponsor of this Motion. We had sat down with him and I apologise for coming to second late. If we put the right mechanisms in place, I know we are going to improve the performance of our children in school, improve their health and their general development. This is a very important concept. We should not leave it at this point. We need it to go to the Committee on Implementation.

Very well. Hon. Kemosi Mogaka, you have a minute to reply.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. This is a very important Motion as my colleagues have aptly said. The Government has all the funds to implement this project. The only thing that is required is inter-ministerial collaboration between the ministries. We are not only talking about the Government putting funds fully into this programme, but also saying that the Government, in collaboration with other stakeholders and inter-ministries, can agree in a way. We have vast land. Some schools have very big chunks of land. Therefore, if proper farming practices are put in place, this land can be of use. We can get food from this land.

Just say you reply. Indicate that because it is important. You donated most of your time.

In reply, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I wish to conclude by saying that the money in the Government is enough. It is high time the Government moves forward to implement this programme. I conclude and reply.

Next Order.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I beg to move the following Motion: THAT, aware of the socio-economic benefits of sports; recognising that sports can and do make great and positive economic, health, and social and cultural impacts on individuals, communities and the wider society; further aware that sports can be a major source of employment and foreign exchange earnings in the Kenya with potential to improve the country’s economy on a large scale, if well harnessed; deeply concerned that the standards of sports in Kenya in many disciplines remain low due to among other things, inadequate investment, scouting and nurturing of talent; cognisant that Section 33(4) of the Sports Act, 2013 establishes the Kenya Academy of Sports, and further, Section 34(a) of the Act provides that the functions The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

of the Academy shall be to among other things, establish and manage sports training academies; appreciating that Article 6(3) of the Constitution provides that a national State organ shall ensure reasonable access to its services in all parts of the Republic, so far as it is appropriate to do having regard to the nature of the service, this House urges that the Government through the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Arts to establish sports academies in every Constituency. This country has to deal with the problem of youth. One way of dealing with it is by ensuring that the youth are engaged in gainful activities like sports. Sports is not just a recreational activity. Sports has become a major economic activity world over. It is time that this country harnesses the economic potential that comes with sports. As we are talking right now, the entire world is glued on their television sets watching World Cup. If you see how countries fight to host World Cup, it tells you the importance of sports. A lot of foreign exchange earnings, a lot of income to support the country emanates from sports. Many other benefits such as social and cultural emanate from sports. We are now facing a major problem of drug abuse among our youths. The youths are idle, they have nowhere to go and play. Most of the playgrounds have either been taken away by land grabbers or have been utilised for other things. It is now necessary for us to devolve sports activities and projects to our various regions especially at the constituency level. The Government under the Vision 2030 came up with the national sports academy at Kasarani and they are putting some money in that project. It is important that we change the strategy because the Government strategy was a top-down strategy where you establish the national academy and gradually start the regional academies. I think for sports, it works well if it is well approached. Talents are in the villages. We therefore need to set up academies at the county and if possible in future, we consider setting up academies at the ward and in sub-location level, so that we tap these talents at an early stage. We have a lot of talent in this country. If you go to your village and watch young boys playing football, you will be amazed by the skill and the talent they have. Then you wonder why we do not have a strong national team. It is because we have challenges with scouting, we only pick youth who are in Nairobi and say we have picked a national team. We have youths in villages who play better but they have no access to these facilities that are in urban areas. So, it is important to set up sports academy. We also have to look at the cultural aspect of the sports. There are some sports in this country which are basically traditional. For example in western, Kakamega region, we have bull fighting. This is a sport that should be nurtured. As we promote foreign sports, we should also promote our traditional sports. These sports will also be managed under these academies. I have talked about the economic value of sports, it is huge. You can imagine if this country had 1000 Victor Wanyamas. Victor Wanyama earns over Kshs20 million a week. How much money would we be bringing to our national basket? A lot of money! Many countries in West Africa, sports is one of the highest income generating activities. Countries like Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast, get a lot of foreign exchange earnings from football because they have invested in academies. It is now time for this country to consider serious investments around the issue of sports. If you look at global figures, you will be amazed. Globally, it estimated that the world makes about Kshs60.7 trillion a year from tourism associated with sports, travel tournaments such as World Cup among others. It is also estimated that in UK alone the sport sector makes Kshs 2.7 trillion. You can see that is almost close to the Budget of Kenya. So, this is an area that if well developed and well managed, we can make a lot of money from. Our own Kenyan experience is on betting. It just started the other day. These people are making trillions of money every year. These are youths who are betting every day and making The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

them get that money. That money should be used to support youth activities. I am happy that in this year’s Budget, we have been told that the proceeds from betting will now be taken to the sports fund. We would want these sports funds to be used to set up these sports academies in the constituencies. We can go on and on and talk about the benefits, they are many but it is also important that even as we think of having sports academies in every constituency, we need to have a multi-sectorial approach. I am aware that the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology is trying to do the same thing. The NG-CDF has an allocation for sports. All these sectors must be brought together so that we can have a structured process of having sports academies in every constituency for all the sports and not only football, because the moment one talks about sports academy, what comes to the mind of many is football. We want a sports academy that will have athletics, football, rugby, volleyball and even traditional sports. This will enable us to deal with the issue of drug abuse. We will also promote health among our people. We have been complaining about diseases like cancer, heart attack and others. These diseases are coming because we do not exercise. We would want these sports academies to be accessible to older people and not just the youth. The older people in the villages will get an opportunity to go and train in these sports academies. There is a lot you can talk about…

On a point of order, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker.

Order, Hon. Osotsi. What is it Hon. Waititu?

I am rising on a point of order. For 30 years I have been working as a group farm manager in the coffee farms where you do not drive, you just walk. I live in Juja, I do not use cars, I just walk. Is he in order to say that when you do not exercise, you get cancer and he knows I have it?

You are running into pretty complex waters here. Hon. Osotsi seems to be an experienced Member in this area. You better guide.

Well, I sympathise with my colleague for that condition. No one knows the exact causes of cancer. There are a lot of speculations here and there. Even cancer aside, exercise is very important for your own physical and mental health. When it comes to youth activities, we always complain that we do not have funds, but this country has a lot of money and it can invest in the youth. In this Budget, we have allocated over Kshs30 billion to go to social safety net, which is for the older people. How I wish part of this money could be allocated to sports academies. We meet the elders and they tell us they have not got the money. So they need to consider investing part of this money in sports academies. We have also talked about betting and the Sports Fund. Since the Fund was started, I am told there has been very little activity around it. Now with betting, we expect that the Fund will be facilitated and used to support the creation of sports facilities in counties, constituencies and also to support sports in this country. The sportsmen in this country should be appreciated because they are our ambassadors. We have great sportsmen in this country, people like Kadenge, who are dying poor. They should not die poor. If you go to a country like Brazil, Pele is their ambassador number one. When our youth see that we value our sportsmen they will try and do better and sports will be better in this country. We also need to invest in facilities. I want to encourage the counties to invest in sports programmes. For example, the County of Kakamega under Hon. Oparanya has come up with a The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

modern stadium. If every county had that kind of stadium, we would easily host big tournaments like the Africa Cup of Nations. It is a shame that this country is one of the biggest economies in Africa but we have never hosted the Cup of Nations, a tournament that comes with benefits. It is because we have not taken sports seriously. This House should pass this Motion and we should follow up through the Committee on Implementation so that we ensure that this programme is rolled out across the country as soon as possible. The negative effects on our youth we see every day; every weekend when we go home we see how our youth have been wasted by drugs and other social ills. We cannot continue keeping quiet and doing nothing. Our Constitution is very clear on affirmative action for the youth. Very little has been done in this area. I can see my time has run out. I urge Members to support this Motion. I beg to move this Motion. I now invite Hon. Anthony Oluoch to second this Motion. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker.

Hon. Anthony Oluoch.

Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. Allow me to thank Hon. Godfrey Osotsi for moving a very important Motion. The question I want to begin by asking is: Is it possible for this to be done, for us to create sports academies in all the 290 constituencies? Let me try and put this, then, in perspective. This year alone we have allocated about Kshs2.1 billion of the Budget to the sports ministry’s recurrent expenditure. Only about KShs1.5 billion of this goes to sports development. Kshs675 million alone has been allocated to sports activities. In my view, the investment that we have put in sports is way below what needs to be done for us to be able to harness and develop our sports talent. Where else have we put money? I read in today’s Daily Nation that the House allocated Kshs3.3 billion that went into purchase of some land in Ruaraka, which turned out to be the Government buying land from itself. What could we have done with Kshs3.3 billion assuming, for the sake of argument, that one sports academy including staffing and equipment would cost Kshs30 million? We would be able to create 300 well-equipped, properly-staffed sports academies in the entire country. That is the money we just lost, if that is anything to go by. In National Youth Service II, we are told that about Kshs9.9 billion has been lost in some other scam. Out of Kshs9.9, other than the number of sports academies this could have created, there was a Bill recently on creating cancer centres in the 47 counties. Not only would we have been able to do 300 sports academies in this country, we have spare money to be able to create a cancer centre in each of the 47 counties. What am I trying to say? That we have enough money to go around, but in our Budget process, which is our primary responsibility as Members of Parliament, we put money where at the chain end of it are corruption cartels that are getting ready to pilfer this money. So this Motion calls to our conscience as Members of Parliament to try and see how we can develop sports academies. I want to challenge Mheshimiwa Osotsi that in the Sports Fund that has been created and which exists in the Sports Act, we have allocated 2.5 per cent. We factor it in for purposes of NG-CDF. We have allocated 0.3 per cent which is supposed to go to our political parties for purposes of ensuring that the institutions of governance are properly harnessed. We have provided 15 per cent to our counties to be able to devolve matters to the counties. We also have other things which have been put in the Constitution. I want to challenge him to make a basic threshold, perhaps 0.03 per cent of our projected revenue should go into sports development and a sports fund which is already established under the Sports Act. This calls for us to relook at the Sports Act itself. The sports academy is provided for and Hon. Osotsi has indicated thus. This is The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

a top-down approach. We want this to begin at the constituency level so that this 0.05 per cent can be administered by a constitutional commission. I want to dare suggest to us that unemployment is a national security threat, a national disaster, we should create a constitutional commission and move that fund so that it is developed, harnessed and managed for the benefit of our youth in this country. With that, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker and Members of this honourable House, I want to support. I hope the relevant committee will be able to factor this in our next Budget so that we can push the youth of our country forward. Thank you.

You second?

With that, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I second this Motion by Hon. Osotsi.

Hon. Members, I can see quite a number of Members have interest. I will be guided by my screen here and how Members have registered. We shall start with Hon. Muhanda Busihile.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to add my voice to this important Motion. As County Members of Parliament, our mandate is envisioned in Vision 2030 and our task is to help in nurturing talents. This will be achieved if these academies are put in place.

Our youth have different talents but it is lying low compared to other countries. We need these academies so that we can bring out the best that we have in our youth. Looking at our country, we are mainly dependent on agriculture and land, but sports is a huge industry. If we take up these academies, you can imagine how many Lupitas, Wanyamas and Kembois we shall have in this country. We are cognisant of the fact that the talent of sports in the Rift Valley, if developed, could get us more income than what we are getting now. We see our youth running bare feet and still succeed.

So, I support this Motion. When we have these academies in different constituencies, we shall have national cohesion because we shall have the youth travelling from Mombasa competing with my youth in Kakamega County, Nyandarua and other places. This will bring cohesion in the country and we shall exchange ideas that will help us in development.

We know that an idle mind is the devil’s workshop. We want our youth to be engaged in sports so that they can be busy. This will prevent problems such as early pregnancies and gender- based violence. So, with the development of these academies, we shall have a better Kenya.

Thank you.

Let us have Hon. Wambugu Munene.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to add my voice and support this very crucial and important Motion. I thank the Mover, Hon. Godfrey Osotsi for coming up with this Motion which is long overdue. We all know for a fact that sports is very important, not just in development of a human being but also to enhance cohesion within the competitors.

We are much aware that most of our youth are jobless. These youth come to our offices, nagging and pleading with us to get them jobs and yet some of them have talents but have The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

nowhere to have their talents mentored and exploited to earn a living. Sports is popular. Apart from the participants, we also have fans; people who cheer and watch sport. In the process they are busy and do not engage in activities which are not productive such as alcoholism.

We have to appreciate that we do not live in isolation. Other countries are ensuring that they are growing their sports and talents. We also need to join those nations so that we can also grow our talents and in the process have Kenya recognised worldwide like what our athletes have been doing. We can grow other sports such as football, volleyball and all types of sports by enhancing and ensuring that in every part of our country, we have well established sports academies.

With that I support.

Hon. Jaldesa Dida

Isiolo CWR, JP): Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this important Motion. I also take this opportunity to congratulate the Mover of this Motion for bringing it at a very timely and important period in the lives of our young people in this country.

Sports is built as a universal language that brings people together no matter their background, religious belief or economic status. Sports academies challenge students not only to develop their athletic skills but also develop their personal identity, self-esteem, character and team spirit.

The benefit of a sports academy cannot be overemphasized. We have so many youth who are talented. Unfortunately, they have nowhere to nurture their talents. I represent Isiolo County and in the last three years we have had youth who joined serious leagues outside the country. We even have a young boy that was trained to join Liverpool. It may not sound true but it is the truth. So, given those opportunities, I am sure we will have so many. We happen to be the cousins from Ethiopia and we have so many athletes who can run. Unfortunately, they have not been given an opportunity.

Westlands, ODM): On a point of order, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker.

Order. What is it Hon. Wetangula Wanyonyi. You seem to have pressed an intervention.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I think that is the only way I can catch your eye. Today I was the first person in the House and when the session started, I could not catch your eye. That is why I have pressed it so that you can see that I am here.

Order, Hon. Wanyonyi. If all of you pressed like that... You will catch my eye at the appropriate time. Hon. Dida, please proceed.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I hope you will give me the one minute that was taken away from me. I was talking about the many benefits of sports academies. We have the health benefits. Over the past 20 years, many studies have looked at the correlation between the rising rate of obesity and the lifestyle diseases due to lack of physical activities, especially among the young generation. With the establishment of sports academies, it will improve.

Secondly, it has so many social benefits. Development of sports academies will greatly help to fight social problems like early pregnancy and radicalisation, which is unfortunately very rampant in my county. We have so many youths who have crossed over to Somalia. We have so The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

many youths who are rotting in jail because of being suspected of engaging in radicalisation activities. It has the important benefit of nurturing talents. I do not want to overemphasise the importance. It has great economic benefits, including employment creation. If we create sports academies in the counties, they will employ the local youths. They will help us to address the problem of unemployment amongst the youths. Like I have mentioned, they will help to create careers. They will also improve diversities because the youth will be playing with each other. We will have exchange programmes where youth from my county can go to Machakos or Kisumu and play with them. My only concern is when the Mover said that the money should be taken from the social safety net. The Government has enough resources to ensure that this programme is supported without taking money from the elderly.

With those remarks, I support the Motion.

Hon. Mbithi, Member for Masinga.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to contribute. I rise to support the Motion by Hon. Osotsi. This is a very important Motion. Young people in this country need to nurture their talents, especially now when there are no employment opportunities. They can earn their living by nurturing their talents and engaging in sporting activities. We should establish sports academies in every constituency, so that school dropouts can have somewhere to train and nurture their talents. When we go home over the weekend, we come across so many young people at the market places doing nothing. If there was an academy somewhere where they can go and train, they would be busy with whatever talent they may want to nurture. I support this Motion because it will help my constituents. Young people will have something to do. Iten Town, which is a rural place down in the valley, is all over in the papers because young people there are talented and are training. There is money which is circulating in that area because they run and earn a living. Therefore, the economy there is developing more than other places where there are no sporting activities. We need the whole country to be the same, so that we can nurture so many of our young people.

Young people in Masinga Constituency are so talented but they only practise when they are in school. Once they finish Form Four, they put their talents in their boxes. That is the end of the story. There are so many youths who have so many medals because they are talented. If they can be nurtured continuously, they can become good athletes and footballers who can earn a living. I tried to nurture some youths but I did not go very far because of little resources. If the Government can help us by establishing sports academies, we will go down in the history of this country as the Parliament which cared for young people in terms of nurturing their sporting talents. We are spending so much money by paying their bursaries in learning institutions but nothing is done as far as their talents are concerned. Therefore, I urge Members to support this Motion by Hon. Osotsi, so that we can allocate funds to build sports academies. We will take idle and miraa -chewing youth from the market places to the sport academies and have them trained. They will be busy at the sports academies practising.

With those few remarks, I support the Motion.

We will now have Hon. Nangabo Janet. She left her card on. Hon. Obo Mohamed.

Asante, Mhe. Spika wa Muda, kwa kunipatia nafasi niweze kuchangia Hoja hii. Naiunga mkono Hoja hii. Huyu mheshimiwa ambaye ameleta Hoja hii amefikiria sana. Hili ni jambo la maana kwa sababu vijana wetu The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

wanarandaranda mitaani. Kila kaunti ina matatizo yake. Katika Kaunti ya Lamu, jambo hili litasaidia pakubwa.

Mwanzo kabisa, tutaona mabadiliko katika magereza. Idadi ya vijana magerezani itapungua sana kwa sababu watakuwa wamepata jambo la kufanya. Lamu ni tofauti na kaunti nyingine kwa sababu kuna upande wa visiwa na ardhi, na matatizo yao ni tofauti. Katika Faza Ward, ambayo ni kisiwa kikubwa, vijana hupigana wakilipiza kisasi kwa sababu hawana kazi ya kufanya. Shule za michezo zikijengwa katika maeneo bunge, zitawasaidia pakubwa sana kwa sababu ni vijana ambao wanapenda kazi hiyo. Zitawafanya wawe na umoja na uwiano. Pia ikiwa hizo shule zitahusisha kaunti nzima, itabidi upande wa Lamu Mashariki na Lamu Magharibi waletwe pamoja ili wawe na uwiano.

Ndugu yangu, Woman Representative wa Isiolo, amesema kwamba kuna kaunti ambazo zina matatizo ya vijana kuvuka kwenda Somalia. Shule za michezo zitapunguza hilo tatizo pakubwa. Kumekuwa na matatizo mpaka akina mama wanalia kwa sababu hawajui ni nini kinachoendelea. Akina mama ambao wako nyumbani hawajui ukweli wakati watoto wao wanafuatwa na polisi. Haya matatizo yatakwisha vijana wakishiriki katika michezo. Pia, kuna tatizo la kuonea watu wengine wivu wakati wamekaa pamoja. Kuna wengine wamepata zaidi na wengine hawajapata. Wivu huchangia kuwepo kwa matatizo fulani katika Kaunti ya Lamu. Hali hiyo itapungua shule za michezo zikijengwa katika maeneo bunge. Watu wakiketi pamoja watapendana wakiona vile michezo inawasaidia. Hili ni jambo la maana sana, naomba liharakishwe kwa sababu, hakuna Mbunge ambaye atalikataa na kila mtu analipenda.

Lisianzishwe kwingine na Lamu iwe ya mwisho. Sisi watu wa Lamu husahaulika wakati miradi mingi inaanza tunakuwa wa mwisho. Naomba lianzishwe kwenye kaunti zote ili sote tusaidike. Matatizo mengi yatapungua especially upande wa akina mama. Tuna kipato kidogo cha kusaidia youth na tuko tayari kujitolea na kushirikiana na jambo kama hili ili youth wetu wasaidike. Kama mwenzangu ambaye alinitangulia amesema, hili jambo litaleta upendo na kusaidia watu kufanya exercise . Tunajua magonjwa mengine husababishwa na watu kutofanya

au walizoea kufanya wakiwa shuleni…

On a point of order, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker.

Order, What is out of order, Hon. Kiti Chonga?

On a point of order, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I want to ask the hon. Member on the Floor whether it is acceptable to mix two languages, Kiswahili and English while contributing to such an important Motion.

Hon. Mohamed should know you can only choose one language and stick to it. You cannot mix.

Asante, Mhe. Naibu Spika wa Muda, nimepotelewa na ulimi na kukosea. Asante kwa kunirekebisha. Nimechagua Kiswahili. Msinitoe mbali na hii Hoja kwa sababu ni nzuri. Ni vizuri sote tukichangia tujiangalie ili tusipelekane kwa mambo madogo. Hili ni jambo la maana na tunaomba litiwe mkazo. Vijana wetu wanatuangalia na kutamani sana. Wengine wanatuma message kwa simu kwamba tuchangie hii Hoja kwa sababu wamegonjea, na ilikuwa ije hapo awali. Saa hizi walikuwa wanatarajia iwe imefika mashinani. Kwa hivyo, tuharakishe ili ifike mashinani wanangojea kwa hamu sana.

Asante, Mhe. Naibu Spika wa Muda. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Hon. Members, the interest is there and I shall progressively give Members an opportunity to speak to this important Motion. Hon. Amisi.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support this Motion. In fact, Hon. Osotsi the mover might have had a glimpse of my campaign manifesto because establishing sports academies is among my four agendas for the people of Saboti.

In line with this allow me to congratulate the team from Senegal in Africa for performing outstandingly well against Poland. You realise that one of the reasons why the European nations do so well in the World Cup is because they have sports academies. They nurture talents from a very tender age, this helps people to realise their talents very early. You can see this from the results at the World Cup. I believe we should establish sports academies in all our constituencies. The pilot one should start in my constituency because it is cosmopolitan and we have all sorts of talents like athletes and footballers. I know most Members here are always caught in a situation where the young people ask them to support their sporting activities and tournaments. I have spent many years supporting youth projects and sports tournaments. I believe this is going to be a relief to us. We should not just talk about sports academies but we should equip them well, so we can nurture talents. You realise that when you go home and you find an idle population of young people, they are basically doing betting. Others are involved in gambling activities. Some play this pool table sports. The result of betting is, in some cases, even death. This is because people bet and when they lose they start fighting. So, it is paramount that we put these youth under some controlled talent development mechanism and a sports academy is crucial. In fact, it is something that should have been included in the last Budget. These things must be supported budget-wise so that this money we waste in Uwezo Fund and the rest… Some youths are really not entrepreneurs. They are just very good in some areas and we just need to support their talents.

So, as one of the young people in this country, I really urge Members to support and pass this Motion. We also urge the Government or the Committee on Implementation to quickly make sure that they follow up so that it is operationalised and our very many idle young people in this country will get somewhere to start exercising their talents. I really support this Motion dearly as a Member of Parliament who has really supported youth activities in my constituency, especially in promoting sports. I urge my colleagues to support this to help our young people develop their talents. It should not really be sports alone. We should also start thinking about other talents in terms of music and arts. They are also part of the talents that young people exhibit down there. Thank you. For those few remarks, I beg to support.

Hon. Wetangula Wanyonyi.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. You see I was the only one who put an intervention. It was just because yesterday I stayed here the whole afternoon and the Speaker came in and was picking her friends to speak. I am not going to fear to say that.

I support this Motion. I want to say that you remember in 1998 when France won the World Cup, the whole of the French team had been in an academy and they trained together. They were picked from that academy and they demonstrated how a good investment can create good results. Kenya is a sporting nation and we are not doing enough to nurture our talent and The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

our young people. We have so much talent in this country starting from down at the village coming upwards. I realise these days even the football teams only look in the urban areas for players when we have raw talent down in the villages. Even West African countries have academies for different agencies. You will find the under 10, the under 14, the under 17 and the under 20 going up like that. Before a player graduates to go a senior team, he has passed through so many stages. That is how you find that some of these countries are doing very well. A country like Iceland has a population of 300,000 people and it has a team at the World Cup competing among the best in the world. That shows how important some of this investment can bring. This also is a game changer because it will bring our young people to be more productive, to use their talent and avoid some of these activities that lead them to illicit activities. Those who are involved in funny things will be busy with this thing. In my constituency, I normally host a tournament once a year and I realise it is not enough. During that time, you see a beehive of activities. You see young people turning up. Over 100 teams register to play. That shows the enthusiasm of those young people. They just lack somebody to motivate them. If we invest in sports, it will bring out a lot of raw talent from the young people who will come and demonstrate the gifts that God has given them. It is for us as leaders, the Government and all of us together to make this a priority and ensure that we help those young fellows because these days, sports are a big investment. You realise that some of the best paid people in the world today are sportsmen. There is no CEO of any company in the world who earns the kind of money that the boxer called Mayweather earns. Not even the President earns the kind of salary that some of the best footballers like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and even our own, Victor Wanyama, are paid. It is something that we must look at and develop so that we reach the same level as those other nations. You can never go wrong with it. When Hon. Osotsi brought this, he was looking inside-out and seeing how we can help to create employment for our youth and occupy them positively.

Let us have Hon. Nguna.

(Mwingi West, WDM - K)

Let us now have Hon. Mwangi Mburu.

(Lari, JP)

Hon. Joyce Kamene.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. I support this Motion fully and thank Hon. Osotsi for bringing it. A healthy person needs to exercise periodically. Sports for sure make great The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

and positive economic impact in the society. Football in Europe, North America, Latin America and some parts of Africa is a high paying sport. Let us have academies established and then encourage our young men and women to immerse themselves in sports for their own benefit and that of our nation. Sports is also a rich source of employment. It spurs the youth into action rather than remaining idle. It is rather depressing to note that the budget allocation to the State Department for Sports, Culture and Arts is rather small. It may not suffice for the expensive endeavour. However, it is also good to start from somewhere. Let the department earmark a few constituencies in this financial year. Let us not wait for another financial year to have some pilot projects on this worthy cause. This is a worthwhile and very good way to begin and have the academies in place. With those remarks, I fully support the Motion.

Shall we have Hon. Kabeabea Mwirabua?

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. My true names are Josphat Gichunge Kabeabea – the one and only Member of Parliament from Tigania East. I rise to support the Motion. Before I continue, I want to congratulate my good friend, Member for Masinga. He did a good contribution but when he was concluding, he said that the youth move round chewing

when they are not properly engaged. As an MP who comes from an area where miraa is a cash crop, any time you talk negatively about miraa, you are stepping on my toes. Alright? So,

is a good cash crop like any other from Meru County, Tigania East, where I come from. We support it. There are a few things I want to say about this Motion. I have noted with a lot of concern that every career has a training. For people who train to be doctors, there are big schools of medicine which have been set up to train them. When I take management as a career, there are so many schools which have been set aside to train students of management. When we talk about people who are training to be teachers, there are many universities and tertiary colleges which have been set aside to train teachers. Sports has proved to be a stronger career than any other in this country. Because we measure the strengths of careers by what we get out of them, sports have proven to bring more income than any other career. So, I ask myself why not? It is a brilliant move for this country to set up training centres in every constituency. During my life in school, I used to be a bright student. Above all, I used to be a great footballer. I used to be a striker but teachers kept on telling me, “You need to become an engineer. You need to become a doctor”. They encouraged me so much to become what I am; to take academics more seriously than sports. If I had somebody to train and guide me through the way of footballing, I could have been a great man today – like the great African footballer by the name of Didier Drogba, who is my age mate. That is if I had somebody to train and guide me. Today I want to support the Motion that we have the training centers set up. Above all, we should come up with proper legislation so that even the money set aside to support those centers can be well managed. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker.

Hon. Amin Kassim.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this important Motion that talks about creation of sport academies in various constituencies in the country. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Before I contribute, first, I would like to send my condolences to the family and friends of the armed officers who have fallen in the hands of youths who have been radicalised through

. We have lost six members of my community in my county. They are; Abdulahi Hirab, Ali Ahmed, Ali Widho, Abdulaziz from Wajir and Abdulahi Dawood Ibrahim. These are great gallant men who have lost their lives in trying to maintain peace and order in my county, and have fallen in the hands of radicalised youth through Al Shabaab . If there was an academic excellence for sports in various constituencies, youths who have engaged in vices that are detrimental to the society could not have been there. So, indeed, I pass my condolences to those families and I feel saddened as a man who superintends the people of that region. This is the second incident that has happened so far in my time as a Member of Parliament. I am disappointed and I feel recreational of sports academies will put sense in these youth. There are quite a number of youth so far in my constituency and Wajir Township that are engaged in illicit vices. I am surprised, my man from Nyambene talks of miraa . Miraa chewing is one of the serious vices that dominates our society so far. It is has lured youths to engage themselves in drugs and we feel the creation of sport academies in our respective constituencies will lure those youths who would rather chew miraa and engage in drug abuses. We feel that the creation of sports academies in various constituencies will engage youths with their talents and their energy so that they can get employment and earn income. One thing we have realised is that what we are getting so far through the NG-CDF and the allocation from the Ministry of Culture and Social Services may not suffice for us to engage our youths in sports. So far, there are individuals even in my constituency who have received their sponsorship to academies in Qatar and many other places and they do not have money, even for their air fare. We have contributed so that that they can go to those stations. Indeed, if we had academies, we could have engaged and directed our youth so that they can develop their talents and be useful kids in our society. So, creation of academies in our respective constituencies is in the right direction and I urge the Government to support in terms of funding. One thing we have realised is that Jubilee in their manifesto said they were going to create five stadia in five constituencies. That has never done it. We consider that as an abuse in not fulfilling the pledge they made. This funding should be decentralised and go to various constituencies and the money that is meant for those five stadia which has not been given should go to the constituencies to develop sports academy which will be useful to the society and the aspiring youth. Thank you.

Hon. Members, it is 1.00pm. From the look of things, this Motion attracts tremendous interest from Members. Hon. Members, the House must rise at 1.00p.m., the good news is that we have a balance of 48 minutes for this particular Motion and so, it will not be concluded now. The House Business Committee will slot it in the subsequent time. When that comes, you will have a balance of 48 minutes on this Motion. Clearly, there is interest from Members. Hon. Shariff, it is 1.00 pm, when the House must statutorily rise. Hon. Mwashetani, there can be no suggestion on extension of this. We have a balance of 48 minutes on this particular Motion.

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

Hon. Members, the time being 1.00p.m., this House stands adjourned until today afternoon at 2.30 p.m.

The House rose at 1.00 p.m.

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