Member for Kinango, Hon. Benjamin Tayari.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. This is a public petition regarding Mackinnon Road Settlement Scheme in Kinango Constituency. I, the undersigned, on behalf of Mackinnon Road Land Owners Association in Kinango Constituency draw the attention of House to the following: THAT, access to and ownership of land as a factor of production is a fundamental enabler of the realisation of the highest attainable standard of life through exploitation of the economic resource of land. THAT, the Mackinnon Road Settlement Scheme was started in 2011 and envisioned to be rolled out in three phases with a view to availing to residents land for settlement and economic utilisation to the local community that had lived on the land for years. THAT, to effectively manage the settlement phases, the community, under supervision of the then District Commissioner for Kinango District, established a committee and elected members to represent various villages in the committee and liaise with government lands officers in processing resettlement. THAT, in spite of the coordination structure the committee provided, no meeting was convened and survey works continued. Instead, members of the committee were informed that they would be updated when every phase of the settlement scheme was completed and validation and verification of plots done. THAT, contrary to the assurances given to residents, no communication was issued regarding the process of survey and verification of the various phases of the settlement scheme. Further, that during Phase II survey works, the Administration Police Officers were used to frighten and repel the public, who wished to witness the process, from allegedly interfering with the survey works. THAT, residents held peaceful demonstrations seeking respect for their right to information and participation in the process but no assistance came through. THAT, the local administration allegedly removed members of the committee elected by the community under unclear circumstances and replaced them with handpicked representatives. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

THAT, the process has been marred with malpractices including but not limited to alteration of plots, non-adherence to the 10% rule of according residents priority in allocation of land and undeserving beneficiaries paying bribes to be allocated plots. THAT, consequent to the malpractices majority of rightful beneficiaries were not allocated land. Some were lumped up in small parcels of land, while others who were issued title deeds for allocated parcels of land were later displaced from their homes in favour of outsiders who are now selling the land. THAT, the petitioners have sought justice from various government agencies such as the County Commissioner for Coast Region, the National Land Commission and the County Government of Kwale but all has been futile. THAT, none of the issues raised in this Petition are pending in any court of law, constitutionally or any legal body. Therefore, your humble petitioners pray that the National Assembly through the Departmental Committee on Lands – (i) Intervenes to cause the relevant government agencies to nullify the exercise of survey and validate and verify plots in Mackinnon Land Settlement Scheme. (ii) Recommends that a fresh and transparent exercise be undertaken to ensure that only genuine beneficiaries are allocated plots in the said settlement scheme and that the people’s inalienable right to participate in the exercise is guaranteed; and (iii) Makes any other recommendations it deems fit in the circumstance of this matter. And your petitioners will ever pray. Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

I see there is a comment from the Member for Makueni.

Thank you Hon. Speaker, for giving me an opportunity to comment on this Petition. The Petition is quite plateful. Considering what has happened with petitions in the past… One time I brought a Petition which was processed and it went through. I saw how heavily the Departmental Committee on Lands was then burdened to deliver in 60 days. Considering the weightiness of many petitions, probably it would be good if Parliament rethinks maybe on the number of days given. This is because you have seen committees coming here to request for more time because of the activities involved. When it involves land, it is quite complicated. Secondly, there is the issue of the National Land Commission (NLC), which is supposed to work with the national Government. Although the NLC is now in place and has been there, it seems the old role of the chiefs and county commissioners is parallel to what NLC can deliver. The Committee has a lot of work to do. When a Committee makes recommendations as it has been requested, you find that at times it is very difficult to implement. Even when matters go to the Committee on Implementation, it has to go back to Government and sometimes it becomes very difficult for the Committee to eventually deliver whatever the petitioners are looking for. We may have to relook at the Standing Orders especially on how we handle petitions because they are framed in the Constitution and are very important to the people. If a Member of Parliament does not deliver on a petition, it will then look like he has not performed for his people.

Very well spoken. It is important to appreciate that in crafting the Standing Orders, the House appears to have only assumed that when people petition, they only just get back the recommendations. But, if, as you said, the recommendations require adoption by the House, you must look at the Standing Orders, particularly Standing Order No.227 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.

make an appropriate adjustment so that the report of the petition then becomes subject to adoption by the House. As it is now, the report is merely supposed to be sent back to the petitioner with whatever recommendation. It does not go to the Committee on Implementation because it deals with recommendations of the House which have been adopted. Since these ones are recommendations of the Committee which are sent and merely laid on the Table of the House for comments for a period of only 30 minutes without any Question put or any resolution sought, as Hon. Maanzo said, there will be need for us as a House to look at what should be done with the recommendations that come from a Committee pursuant to a petition to give effect to Article 95 which gives this House the power to discuss and resolve matters of concern. It could work along those lines. I am also mindful that in the morning I heard the Leader of the Majority Party make a very good proposition that perhaps it is high time we came up with one committee to deal only with petitions regardless of whatever subject they touch on so that other Committees are given time to deal with the other functions that are equally demanding. Sometimes you may accuse Committees of taking too long with petitions. They are also dealing with Bills, legislative proposals, issues to do with reports of public accounts and investments as well as other reports. If Members would be persuaded, they could consider that proposal which I find quite forward- looking. For the time being, the Petition is committed to the relevant Departmental Committee on Lands to deal with as provided for in Standing Order No.227. Before we move to the next Order, allow me to recognise a delegation of seven members of staff from the Parliament of Zambia who are seated in the Speaker’s Gallery. I welcome them to observe the proceedings in the National Assembly this afternoon. Let us move to the next Order.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table of the House: The 4th Quarterly Report covering the period from 1st October 2018 to 31st December 2018 from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission. Reports of the Audit of the National and County Policy and Legislation from the Council of Governors and Sectoral Reports from the Kenya Law Reform Commission on the following sectors: (a) Public Finance Management. (b) Agriculture. (c) Urban Development, and (d) Health. Annual Reports and Financial Statements of the following Institutions for the year ended 30th June 2018: (a) Kirinyaga University. (b) Commission on Administrative Justice (Office of the Ombudsman), and (c) Salaries and Remuneration Commission. Annual Report and Financial Statements of Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) for the year ended 30th June, 2015. 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.

Let us have the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to lay the following Paper on the Table of the House: Report of the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs on its consideration of the Law of Contracts (Amendment) Bill, 2019.

Very well. Next Order.

Hon. Members, the first Question is by the Member for Dagoretti North, Hon. Simba Arati.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. This is a Question by Private Notice. It is Question No.017/2019 to the Cabinet Secretary for Health. Could the Cabinet Secretary – (i) Provide a detailed report on the status of the recent cholera outbreak in Nairobi, Murang’a and Machakos counties? (ii) Confirm whether there was a cholera outbreak in Nairobi Hospital? (iii) State what measures the Ministry has put in place to prevent any possible spread of cholera to other regions in the country? (iv) Confirm whether the Ministry has any policy in place to ensure that Kenya does not experience further Cholera outbreak in the future?

Very well. The Question is referred to the Departmental Committee on Health to prioritise. Note that this is a Question by Private Notice so it should be responded to at the earliest possible time including Monday or Tuesday next week. The next Question is by the Member for Bondo, Hon. Gideon Ochanda.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I rise to ask Question No.174/2019 to the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development. (i) Could the Cabinet Secretary clarify why Goye/Usenge causeway tendered three years ago, Bondo-Wichlum/Misori road maintenance works tendered four years, and works for the Uhanya-Odongo road tendered two years ago have not been awarded to date and acted upon for construction to start? 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.

(ii) When will the construction of Usenge-Siaya Road which has stalled for two years resume?

The Question will be responded to before the Departmental Committee on Transport, Public Works and Housing. The Next Question is by the Member for Moyale, Hon. Qalicha Gufu Wario.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to ask the Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Education the following Question:

(i) Is the CS aware that the construction of Sololo Vocational Training College in Moyale Constituency has stalled despite having been funded?

(ii) Could the CS provide details on the amount of money allocated for the construction of the college in the 2017/2018 Financial Year and how funds were utilised?

(iii) When is the construction of the said college expected to be completed?

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

The Question will be responded to before the Departmental Committee on Education and Research. The next Question is by the Member for Butula, Hon. Joseph Oyula.

(Butula, ODM) Hon. Speaker, I beg to ask the Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Water and Sanitation the following Question:

(i) Is the CS aware that Butula Sub-County has five unutilised dams that were constructed before Independence?

(ii) What measures is the Ministry putting in place to ensure that the said dams are immediately rehabilitated and put to use for the benefit of the residents of Butula Constituency?

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

The Question will be responded to before the Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. Hon. Members, the next Question is by the Member for Kangema who wrote to me to indicate his inability to be present in the House this afternoon. He requested for the Question to be deferred which was acceded to. Therefore, the Question is deferred.

The next Question is by the Member for Kinango, Hon. Benjamin Stephen Dalu Tayari. Uliza swali lako Tayari. 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.

Asante, Mhe. Spika. Niko tayari.

Je, uko tayari kuuliza Swali?

Niko tayari, Mhe. Spika.

(Kinango, ODM) Hon. Speaker, I beg to ask the Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Water and Sanitation the following Question:

(i) Could the CS provide details on the amount of funds utilised in the initial stages of the development of Mwache Dam?

(ii) Could the CS further state the benefits of this project to the residents of Kinango Constituency vis–a-vis residents of other constituencies meant to benefit from the Mwache dam project?

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Very well. The Question will be responded to before the Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. Next Order.

Next Order.

Hon. Members, this is resumption of debate. There are some Members whom I suspect especially the Member who is number one on the list contributed this morning. Can he confirm that before I give him an opportunity to contribute? Hon. Christopher Nakuleu Doye. The Member may not think that I know that because I was not here. I observe proceedings. I recall that Hon. Nakuleu contributed to this Motion. Is that correct, Hon. Nakuleu?

Yes.

Very well. I have the list now. Hon. Kirima Nguchine, you have a balance of two minutes. You can get my sympathy to get one extra minute but the record shows that you have two minutes. Proceed.

Hon. Speaker, as I said earlier, I support the President’s Speech which talked of a very strong nation. The speech dealt strongly with the Big Four Agenda which is the promise of the President to have a legacy to leave to the Kenyans by the time he retires in 2022.

There are a number of promises which were made by the President when he was campaigning. There are some roads which he promised that they would be tarmacked in my constituency. As the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of this country, a word from the President is taken to be binding. It is a directive from the President. If there is nothing taking place in those roads, especially on a road from Katheri, Kinjo, Gatembe which goes down to Kambau Road, it is taken that it is the Member of Parliament who is not pursuing the promises which the President made. Failure of the fulfilment of the promise which was made by the President has made me to be a punching bag by my constituents because they think that I am the one who is not persuading the President to construct those roads. The word from the President should be taken as the law because he is the CEO of this country.

I support the President’s Speech on the fight against corruption in this country. We should all join hands to fight corruption because it enriches few and renders the majority of Kenyans poor. I echo what the President said that the fight against corruption will be guided by the rule of law in this country. I pray to my colleagues in this Chamber that when one is mentioned in a corruption scandal, he should not be branded a criminal. In law, one is branded a criminal the moment he is convicted by a court of law. The Members who spoke before me, especially the Member for Yatta, said that whoever is mentioned in a corruption scandal is a criminal. I hereby stand before you to correct my colleague. When one is mentioned in any scandal or crime, he cannot be branded a criminal, unless he is convicted by a court of law. I am saying this so that I can protect my friend, Member for Yatta. He was associated with the loss of money at the National Youth Service (NYS). To call others criminal means that he also wants to get into that pocket of being called a criminal. That is where he has a house. When he calls others criminals, he also wants to call himself a criminal which is not right.

With those few remarks, I support the President’s Speech. We should support it generally because it is the best speech I have ever seen since I came to Parliament. The rule of law must guide us when we are fighting corruption. That is all, Hon. Speaker.

Let us have the Member for Mandera West, Yussuf Haji. Member for Nyali, Mohamed Ali. All of them are absent. 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.

Member for Kiharu.

Thank you very much Hon. Speak for giving me a chance to make my contribution. I rise to support the President for giving such an exemplary Address. I know that the main issues the President came to discuss in Parliament were national values, international obligations and security. At the outset, on national values, I commend the President for talking eloquently about corruption and about bringing our country together in the name of unity. As a Member of Parliament, I support the efforts being put forth by the President in uniting the country, especially doing something that has never been done before in Africa of embracing former competitors and bringing them close for the sake of the country. The only challenge I want to take to the other partners in the handshake is for them to reciprocate the same honesty being exhibited by our President by encouraging every leader out there to embrace each other in the spirit of the handshake. For the country to be united, it will take years for the President and the former Opposition leader Raila Odinga to do so. For the whole country and the fabric to be united well, we need to encourage the handshake to happen below them, especially with the leaders who were former competitors. Therefore, I challenge the ODM party to embrace the handshake by encouraging people like Hon. Aisha Jumwa to embrace other leaders like the Deputy President or the Member of Parliament for Kiharu so that we can take our country forward while we are united. I also want to commend the President for talking very well on the issue of corruption. The elephant in the room that is in the economy of the country is having a short-cut for people to embezzle and steal Government and public resources. Most of us - the sensible Members of Parliament - support the fight against corruption. I have been misquoted out there that I am targeting the instruments that are charged with fighting graft in our country. I want to put it forthrightly that we support the fight against corruption. We support the President's Address that the fight against corruption has to be based on facts. The fight against corruption cannot be fought and won on the basis of innuendo and vigilante justice. Therefore, I challenge my colleague politicians who have been going out there every Sunday and sometimes getting chased from some churches for taking hatred to the pulpit to obey our President and let our Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Ethics and Anti- Corruption Commission (EACC) and other institutions to fight corruption on the basis of facts and evidence. On security, I commend our Government for doing much to safeguard our country. Like friendship, security’s value is only known when it is lost. When I reminisce, some few years back, we had a lot of security challenges in our country. The investment made by our President especially in his first term is bearing fruits. We see fewer security challenges and we commend the Government for doing that. The major source of insecurity is, of course, poverty. I commend the President for talking a lot of things about our economy, especially about the coffee farmers in Murang’a and about the small business holders that going forward, the Government will be guaranteeing loans and will be acting as security for those people.

Member for Rangwe.

Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker. It is my pleasure to rise to support the President's Address on the state of the nation. Allow me to take this chance to thank the Hon. President for giving an excellent speech on the state of the nation. I want to specifically look at certain items that he highlighted in his speech. The President was particular on matters to do with development of the Big Four Agenda. He looked at aspects 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.

touching on agriculture and the need to enhance food security in this country. It is important that as a nation, the country is well fed. A well fed nation will develop. At the same time, I implore the Hon. President to look at our young people who are out there trained in agriculture, but are not employed. We should put more money in agricultural activities to engage them. We have very many trained extension officers out there who can do extension work. Any agricultural system that is not supported by agricultural extension services is due for extinction. So, it is important that, as a country, we relook at the work of extension officers. This is what did Kenya proud in the 1970s and early 1980s when we were just picking up. It is important we go back to the extension work and probably, when His Excellency comes back to the Floor of the House, he should address that. We should look at agriculture as a way of empowering women and young people for purposes of security. This will be a very good tool to engage our young people and women and make us feed the nation very well. I also want to laud the President on the universal healthcare and the launch and roll-out that was done in a few sub-counties. It is also important that, as much as healthcare is devolved, the nation moves with speed to roll out universal healthcare in the remaining counties so that our people can access it. As long as we are sick as a country; as long as we have people who are reeling with cancer; as long as we have very many cases of arthritis and several lifestyle diseases, we cannot develop. It is important that, as a nation, and in the next President's Address, we are given the state of particular illnesses and what steps the country has taken to mitigate on their progression. I am also talking about the problem that we have with the delivery system for expectant mothers. As much as we are rolling out the universal health care, it is important it is done fast so that we can save the lives of mothers out there struggling to access healthcare even as they deliver the next generation of Kenyans. Allow me to laud the President's Address on national values. As a country, we were at the brink of collapse. As a country, we were seriously and literally divided. But the steps that have been taken by His Excellency Hon. Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta together with Raila Amollo Odinga through the handshake is something we will keep on talking about and leave for future generations to talk about. That is only if we hold it together. I support the President's Address and in the coming times, let leaders hold together. I do not see why we should divide as leaders and make careless speeches when we are out there in funerals or in churches. We use those platforms to divide our country. Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker.

Member for Kikuyu.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I also rise to support the President’s Address. Two things that caught my attention when His Excellency the President spoke was his determination to continue uniting this country and to continue the fight against corruption. I was rather excited when the President said there is no going back on the efforts to unite our country and there is also no going back in the fight against corruption. I must state that we have a duty and an obligation as this House to support the President and the Government in the efforts not just to unite the people of this great country, but also in the fight against corruption. When the President said that there is no going back on the war against graft in this country from the Floor of this House, he was telling us that we must not just support him by our words in public rallies, funerals, weddings and in all the other public engagements that we do, but support this war against graft from the Floor of this House not just in terms of legislative proposals that Members bring and those that are there to ensure that we follow the rule of law, but also to make sure that certain directives that are given are followed to the letter. 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 remember late last year, His Excellency the President gave a directive that all public procurement in Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) must be made public, open and transparent. He ordered that MDAs must publish results of all their procurement engagements detailing who they have awarded a certain contract, for how much and even making disclosure as to who are the directors of particular companies that have been awarded tenders. I am yet to see any ministry, including the Office of the President that has started publishing names of the people they award tenders to supply police choppers and police insurance. This House has a responsibility and duty to support the President in this war and also to safeguard public resources that we appropriate in every budget for use in procurement of public goods and services. I noted in one of the dailies yesterday that the issue, for instance, of land in Ruaraka has now come back to this House through the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). I want to challenge Members in this House and, particularly, Members of PAC not to let what happened in the Senate to happen in this House. If we are truly genuine and honest in the fight against corruption, we must get to the root cause of what happened in Ruaraka. Unlike those issues that we are hearing now of losses of Kshs21 billion where we cannot tell where the money was lost, in Ruaraka we can tell that there was an actual Kshs1.5 billion that was paid out. There are issues on how that money was shared. That information was in the public domain. I challenge the Chair of the PAC, let us see this House act decisively if we, indeed, intend to support the President in the fight against corruption. We cannot just be talking about the fight against corruption. That is what the President referred to as narratives of political innuendos and vigilante justice. We will not win this war that way. On the issue of security and bringing our nation together, I was rather taken aback this week when I read in the dailies that a Principal Secretary (PS), a mere PS, is now answering back the Deputy President, a constitutional office on matters to do with security. I was among those whose security was withdrawn for no reason. I said I was okay, so long as that security was being withdrawn to safeguard the interests and the security of millions of other Kenyans. I beg you to give me one minute, Hon. Speaker, to finish that point. Those charged with our security in the Office of the President must not be seen in any way to be playing politics with the security of not just of Members of Parliament, but with the security of any single Kenyan in this country.

One minute only.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I was saying more instructively not just the security of Kenyans, but a constitutional office holder like that of the Office of the Deputy President. It is not just insubordination for PS Kibicho to be seen to be answering the Deputy President in the media. It is an act of treason to jeopardise the security of the Principal Assistant to the President. I want to tell PS Kibicho this because he sent me a very nasty text message when they withdrew my security and I answered him back, security of all Kenyans is not a favour by him to Kenyans. It is a responsibility and a duty he has been given by the people of Kenya through the votes that they voted for President Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto, the Jubilee Government, and the rest of us. Therefore, let him choose whether he wants a legacy like that of the late Hezekiah Oyugi in the Office of the President or he wants a legacy of one gentleman called Ambassador Muthaura. I want to tell him he will not and we will not, from the Floor of this House, allow a mere PS to jeopardise the security and wellbeing of all Kenyans by his politics. Let them sponsor their politics. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

We have seen stories of people using public office and public money to sponsor political groupings to go round the country playing politics. This again, as a House, we must rise to the occasion to ensure that there is accountability in the utilisation of public funds. We should ensure that public funds are not utilised to perpetuate parochial tribal and ethnic politics. With that, I rise to support.

Member for Kiminini.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I rise to support the Address by His Excellency the President. When His Excellency the President was in this House, I was away in South America but I followed it through YouTube . I was very impressed particularly on three important things that he addressed. This is in line with Article 132 of the Constitution. I want to talk briefly about the international obligations. Kenya does not exist in isolation. We know very well that there are many treaties that Kenya has been a signatory to. We know that in line with Article 2 (6) of the Constitution, the ratification of treaties makes them part and parcel of our laws. In the last Parliament, I served in the Departmental Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations. There are so many treaties. I want to salute the current Departmental Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations. I know it has moved with speed to expedite matters of ratification. One of the goals of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is about global partnership. We do not exist in isolation. We must try to partner with other institutions and countries. I salute His Excellency the President because from his comments, he said that our relationship with other countries is strong. Apart from the international obligations, another issue was about the security status. When I went through the Address, the President indicated that the security in this country is strong. We know very well that the cardinal responsibility of the Government is to provide security to Kenyans and their property. Just recently, two Cuban doctors were kidnapped somewhere in Mandera. It is very unfortunate. Much as His Excellency the President talked about the issue of security in this country being strong, those people who came to provide healthcare are yet to be found. How I wish measures were put in place to ensure that those Cuban doctors who were kidnapped can be found with immediate effect. On obligation three, the President is supposed to come to this House to give measures towards the realisation of Article 10 of the Constitution, which talks about the principle of governance and the core values of this country. This is the part that issues of corruption fall. We know very well that 30 per cent of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) goes down through issues of corruption. Corruption cannot be won through blame games. Corruption is a collaborative effort that all the arms of Government must work together. I also want to note that he also talked about the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI). We must work mutually in this country, as one team. How I wish this was cascaded down to the counties, including the local level so that we can move ahead as one nation. When it comes to corruption, we have institutions that are mandated by the Constitution to fight it. We are talking about the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the courts. One important thing that the President mentioned is that we are not going to fight corruption in the wrong way. We must do so as per the rule of law. That is very important. The principle of innocent until proven guilty is highlighted clearly in the Constitution. That is very critical. Those institutions are helping in the fight against corruption. For instance, the DCI must do investigations so that when it comes 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.

prosecution, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) presents before the courts watertight cases with evidence. Judgment can only be given in the court of law based on the evidence that has been given. There is no way we can get some judgment and yet, the work that has been done in the investigation is shoddy. It is important that all the arms of Government, wherever they are, work together and avoid blame game. That is if we are truly going to fight corruption. On the Big Four Agenda and food security in this country, the President indicated something. When it comes to allocation, like the subsidised fertiliser, up to now…

Hon. Wamalwa, you know you could easily appeal to my generosity to extend you an extra two minutes because of the people of Kiminini and Trans Nzoia in general, so that you can say what you wanted to say. Proceed.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. We must look at the issues of farm inputs when we talk about food security in this country. As we speak, we thank God we have the rains. We have really been praying for the onset of rains. We have been having the National Prayer Breakfast. I do not know why we do not have it this year. We need to pray to God. He has given us good rains. When you go to areas of the Rift Valley like Trans Nzoia and Uasin Gishu where I come from, you will find people who contribute to the food basket of this country. On subsidised fertiliser, the Government had indicated that it would provide it to farmers. It has not yet been delivered to the North Rift up to now. This is the time when planting is done. So, we call upon Hon. Kiunjuri, wherever he is, as the Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Agriculture, to move with speed so that the subsidised fertiliser can be supplied to the farmers in the North Rift as we prepare to plant and provide food to this country. Otherwise, I thank His Excellency the President, particularly on the BBI. That is so that we move together as one country. I thank you and I support.

It is only that you seem to have forgotten something in your contribution, and I thought you are a strong and serious member of the Catholic Members of Parliament Group (CMPG). The National Prayer Breakfast happens on the last Thursday of the month of May every year. Today is 24th April. So, the National Prayer Breakfast comes in May, the last Thursday of May. You are just being anxious but I am sure, maybe, you mean well. I suspect. Member for Tigania West.

Thank you Hon. Speaker for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the President’s Speech that was delivered on the last day of the last Session. The President gave a very balanced speech. He touched on many issues, including governance, economy and strategic options linking up with the Vision 2030 going forward. There are also various efforts, especially the concern he gave and the emphasis on SMEs as part of the job creation process in this country. I admired the speech, especially the terms the President used on corruption. He said “no turning back” and “I will never relent” or “I will not relent”. The Head of State repeated this several times, especially on dealing with the challenges that face this country. He is dealing with the fulfillment of his mandate and the trust that is bestowed upon him by Kenyans. He is dealing with realising the reforms that are supposed to be done in this country and the fight against corruption. Having said that, I would like to bring to the fore several issues that we expected His Excellency the President to raise. I recognised the emphasis that the President gave on the The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

importance of agriculture as the backbone of this economy. We lack the linkage between agriculture and the Big Four Agenda. We probably need to understand that better. If there is a problem that affects us most as MPs, it is the one of being unable to employ Kenyans. We have very many Kenyans who are leaving institutions of learning and yet, they do not have jobs. I believe there is a potential in agriculture to employ many Kenyans. We can link that with the delivery of food, nutrition, security and containment of health. A greater proportion of ill-health is linked to nutrition. Delivery of jobs could also come through manufacturing, especially where we turn around production systems in agriculture to give us raw materials and then emphasise on processing. So, lack of job creation has not come out very strongly in the Address. It is a major problem that is affecting this country. The other issue that I picked from this speech is that of security. I am looking at internal security in this case. We are seeing a major problem emerging in terms of deviance in our localities. The law enforcement system is crumbling. We are having serious problems with increased consumption of illicit brews and abuse of other substances within the localities. Where I come from, many people are consuming alcohol today than ever before. Security system and its management is the problem. It is like what we used to call “Provincial Administration” in the Ministry of Interior and Co-ordination of National Government. It is unable to contain that menace. Young people are consuming alcohol and the police system seems to be supporting this issue because they are not arresting people. Instead, they are collecting money. When we talk about corruption, we are saying that systems are crumbling and everybody is looking for money. In this case, people do not do their work and they end up collecting money from individuals to contain some of those issues. That is not the correct thing to do. We are going in the wrong direction. We would like a focus on this area and tighten the belt, especially in the domain of internal security. The Ministry of Interior and Co-ordination of National Government needs to look into that. The issue of factor productivity did not come out very strongly, especially in the linkage with job creation. We see land diminishing. What we call potential areas are being put into alternative use. We expect the potential areas to be put on agricultural use. Our Land Act is wrong. It does not ring-fence agricultural land as such. When you go to other countries like Canada, the United States of America which we benchmark with, agricultural land is ring- fenced. Nobody can do anything else on agricultural land. We are allowing buildings to be erected on agricultural land in this country. Land is going away. We are not looking at Kenya as a country that is young. Much of our population is young. We will need food in the future. We are doing away with potential areas and we are using our land for erection of buildings. Therefore, we are taking land away from agricultural use. We are, in this case, creating a problem that will haunt us in the future. If we want to leave this country better for our younger generations, we need to preserve land. I support. Thank you.

Member for Tongaren.

Thank you Hon. Speaker for giving me this chance to contribute to the President’s Address to the nation. I think this is the second time I am commenting on the President’s Address since we elected His Excellency the President Uhuru Kenyatta. First, he said that the state of the nation is strong. If Mr. President lives in this country, then he is misled. The state of this nation is not strong. Yes, he had the handshake with Raila 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.

Amolo Odinga, the former prime minister that brought a semblance of peace to the country. But the problems that caused our division are still there. They are simmering under. The feelings of alienation; the feelings of exclusion; the feelings of disenfranchisement are still there, especially if you sack a CS from Kakamega and replace him with one from Siaya. What inclusivity is that? So, the state of the nation is not strong. It is weak and if we talk about bringing people together, then let us move and bring those people together. But it must be in a structured manner. The President said the fight against corruption will be relentless and assured us that there will be no vigilante justice. But remember, vigilante justice comes about because people have lost faith in the criminal justice system. When people lose faith in the laid down structures or laid down institutions that are supposed to fight corruption, then vigilante justice will come. So, Mr. President, hurry up, Kenyans are waiting for arrests. The day you said that you will not do vigilante justice, Kenyans were disappointed. Kenyans know who has stolen. They know whose lives have changed within a very short time. If I may quote the late Hon. ole Ntimama - and may his soul rest in peace - there are those we have seen recently wearing suits crumbled like they slept in them but, suddenly, they are in designer suits and designer shoes. Kenyans know who the thieves are. If your institutions do not act against those people, Kenyans will visit on them vigilante justice. You talked about the economy and then you flew off to China, probably to borrow some more money. On the trip you are with the Rt. Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga. Rt. Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga should inform you that around the lake region, they say fish rots from the head. If there is corruption, clear the top. Clear the upstairs. That is where the problem is. Downstairs there are just chicken thieves. They are not many. It is upstairs. As you are in China, you are going to borrow more money for the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). We have the meter gauge railway, all the way from Mombasa to Malaba with a branch to Kisumu, Nanyuki, Kitale and everywhere. Those wayleaves belong to Kenya Railways. Why do you borrow money to buy wayleaves for SGR? Why do you not use the wayleaves that already exist and reduce the cost of SGR? Mr. President, the country’s situation is not strong, the economy is poor and we are doing very badly. The 100 per cent transition to secondary school is very good, but it was not well thought out. The schools are over-crowded, there are not enough teachers and the infrastructure is poor. You said we, as Parliament, should procure money to put in the infrastructure. We agreed we will do so. You talked of agricultural exports. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy of this country. When I look at the Budget, the amount of money put into agriculture is so decimal. Then you have set up some animal that took over what used to be Coffee Research Foundation and put them under one thing such that research on coffee is not going on because Coffee Research Foundation now called Coffee Research Institute does not have money for research. Therefore, if you go there, they are not there because the research has died. The same agricultural institute will come up and say that farmers will not use manure. The state of the nation is not strong. They have also come up to say that small dairy holders cannot sell their milk to their neighbours…

Hon. Eseli, one more minute.

When you talk of health care, when I studied medicine, both at undergraduate and postgraduate level, nobody paid any bills at Kenyatta National Hospital except foreigners. It is only foreigners who paid bills. That was universal healthcare. You do not need conferences or experts. Just go back to what we were doing in this country and healthcare will be free. Mr. President, the state of the nation is not strong. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Thank you.

Member for North Imenti.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. First, I want to thank the President for his speech on the state of the nation. My previous colleague has talked of it not being strong, but I think we have gone far from where we were many years back. That is because when he graduated, after that there was a lull in how the country was being run. But that is beside the point. We have devolved more than Kshs1.7 trillion to the counties. That was in the President’s speech. That money was from 2013. What have we got out of the counties besides more corruption and more people being employed? We need to think about how we are going about this county through devolution. The President noted that the economy has been improving over the last five years by 5.6 per cent and he put a figure of 6.3 per cent for 2019. Unfortunately, it is in the public domain that the Central Bank of Kenya said the economy will not grow at 6.3 per cent but 5.3 per cent because of the drought. I am even surprised that when the President was doing his State of the Nation Address, he never even mentioned the drought. I do not know whether he has not seen the drought or he has not heard about it or he was not in Kenya when the drought situation befell the country. I believe his handlers should have told him more about it. When we are talking about our economy going up by 6.3 per cent, the debt is going up by 14 per cent every year. We need to bring this debt down. The President, together with the former prime minister have gone to China. They should not sign the agreement for the new SGR from Naivasha going all the way to Kisumu. We should first be told how much the SGR is bringing from Mombasa to Nairobi. Is it paying itself or it is not? We cannot load debt on debt. At the end of the day, we will not survive. As a country, we may go the French revolution way where Marie Antoinette said: “If you cannot eat bread, eat cake.” I think we are treading on dangerous grounds and we need to sort that out. Regarding corruption, like the previous speaker has said, the fish rots from the head. If we can handle the corruption issue, we have a lot of money in this country. But we have to have the will. The way is there but the will is not. If we sort the corruption issue, we will be very far in this country. The programme of 100 per cent transition from primary to secondary school was very good, but where is the infrastructure? We need the infrastructure, the teachers and… When the President says we should not do new projects, for many of the first term Members if there were no projects from last Parliament, how do they get projects and how do they get re-elected? It is the job of an MP to look for projects. If the President has put a moratorium on new projects, how do we get new projects? In the morning, when the Leader of the Majority Party was contributing, he quoted a section of the Bible. Hon. Mogaka said it is criminal for a Muslim to talk about the Bible. Let me inform Hon. Mogaka that there is nothing criminal about a Muslim quoting the Bible. I have done theology in the university and I was not denied the chance to study theology. We need to talk about the universal health care. We are not getting the right things in the universal health care. In manufacturing, second hand car dealers need to be supported and not thrown out by…

Member for Homa Bay.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me this chance to make a few comments on the State of the Nation Address by His Excellency the President. If you were to give this speech a title, it would be: ‘No Turning Back The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

on the Fight against Corruption.’ Even as the President spoke about no turning back on the war against corruption, he must be aware that corruption will definitely fight back and we have seen that corruption is fighting back actively on his war against corruption. We have seen the attacks on the DCI. There are people who are saying that DCI does not have a role in investigating economic crimes such as corruption. He must be aware that corruption will fight back as we see people fighting the DPP. Corruption will fight back. When the church said that they do not want to receive money, we have seen people going against the church and saying: “We will bring our money by force because we must work for the Lord.” But what we know is this: When you want to work for the Lord, it is not for you to go to a pulpit and announce what you are giving. What the Bible says is what your left hand has given, your right hand should not know. So the church is not even saying: “Do not give your tithe. Put your tithe in an envelope, take it to the church and do not make an announcement about it.” What we are seeing are people taking money and sanitising corruption money in churches. And those are the people we have seen fighting the most. Corruption will fight back. The President must know it. The President must remain firm on this path because corruption is not done by any community. Corruption is done by individuals. So communities should not come up saying: “This is our person.” I have heard Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah talking about the Ruaraka land scandal. I want to urge the Chairman of PAC… Because we know that this matter was brought before this House by the Lands Committee which gave its report and it was adopted by this House. I urge the Chairman of PAC not to support a certain line. This Ruaraka land scandal has become a dead snake that is being used to scare anybody who is seen not to support a certain line. This dead snake must be dealt with once and for all. You should not continue scaring people with a dead snake in the name of the Ruaraka land scandal. The President said there is no turning back on our unity as a country. There is no turning back on the Building Bridges Initiative. We must remain firm on that path because there is nowhere we will go as a country if we are always fighting and pulling in different directions. When we start to campaign for 2022 politics now, there is no development that we can achieve. The President was very clear that we must first do development and then 2022 campaigns will come later. But we have people who are campaigning so much for 2022 that even the security apparatus cannot keep up with their schedule of campaigns. If as a DP you have three, four or five meetings in a day, the security apparatus might find it difficult keeping up with your schedule. When Hon. Ichung’wah mentions the PS for Interior, sometimes we mention public servants who, in the course of their duty, may rub us the wrong way. But we must know that they do not have an equal opportunity to defend themselves on the Floor of this House. So, even as we mention that, we must know that, that is something that we must deal with. Talking of people who are funding political groupings, nobody is more funded in terms of political groupings than a group that moves around playing 2022 politics in the name of

. Even as we move forward, we must give full support for economic growth and economic development to happen. I am happy that we are paying more attention to education, because even as we implemented the 100 per cent transition, the infrastructure to accommodate the 100 per cent transition is not in our schools. So, we must allocate more money for infrastructure within our schools so that we can effectively transition our students for purposes of their secondary school education. Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I rise to support the State of the Nation Address by His Excellency the President. I do not want to repeat the issues other Members have raised, but I had a lot of concern on the President’s Speech particularly on the enablers of the Big Four Agenda. You will recall last year the Government withdrew the development budget for electricity. When we talk about manufacturing, we are talking about electricity being provided to the consumers. And those are the people who brought us to Parliament. I am happy to note there is a mega project the Government of Kenya is undertaking but, my concern and that of the people of Buuri is that there is no electricity connectivity into their houses. So, in as much as we are talking of manufacturing, when power is lacking, then the President needs to go back and revisit the matter of development money for electricity to the rural areas and particularly to those young men who want to start Jua Kali sector in their areas. The President spoke about transportation. He said that transportation is one of the enablers of the Big Four Agenda. But last year, there was a lot of rain that caused a lot of destruction to a majority of roads in the country. This year again, there is rain coming. The roads were not repaired. The emergency money that we had spoken about in Parliament here to repair the roads that were destroyed by the rains was withdrawn. So, when we talk about transportation as an enabler of the Big Four Agenda, we are not being sincere. We must revisit this issue. The President and his handlers must revisit this issue. I noted that there is the element of education with poor infrastructure and the 100 per cent transition where we are required to have taken all the children to high school. There is no much interest and support from the Government through infrastructure. We are left only with National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) and this is not enough. The Government needs to be sincere. When the President says there are no new developments, then he is not being sincere to Kenyans. We are left wondering where we are going to get new laboratories, classrooms, toilets and new dormitories. The other concern is that I come from a potato-growing zone. The President and the Government spoke only of coffee and tea. I think it is high time the President addressed himself to the plight of potato farmers in this country, particularly where I come from, which is the main potato-growing region in the whole country. There are concerns by our farmers in terms of fertiliser. We have seen so many fertilisers being brought to this country in the name of being subsidised fertiliser, but it has destroyed our soil nutrients. In fact, a majority of farmers are not using fertilisers anymore. They are using manure, which the Government, again, is saying farmers should not use. The issue of milk is another concern. So, when the President talks about agriculture, he needs to put emphasis on the zones that do not grow tea, coffee, maize and wheat. They should look at other crops to support. I thank the President for supporting miraa, but it is not enough. We cannot talk about creating jobs. We must fund the Technical Vocational Education and Technical (TVET) institutions. How many constituencies in this country have TVET centres? The Government must fund all constituencies in terms of TVET institutions.

Member for Bondo.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I rise to support the President’s Address. I also want to recognise and bring in a number of issues that some of my colleagues have observed. The President brought out a number of issues, some of which are good for this country. For example, on the issue of BBI, he gave a commitment that he will never abandon it. This is one thing that the public is still not in the know in terms of what the President 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.

wants to achieve. There are nine clear indicative agendas that were on his speech, one of them being the fight against corruption. Fighting corruption has been changed to mean many things. For example, it is now being seen as a way of looking at the 2022 elections, an ethnic cleansing process and all other manner of things. However, BBI was a clear-cut agenda. The next thing – and this is where the nation must focus on – is elections. It ought to have been the number one agenda in the BBI. If we are concerned about the future of this nation, its children - as it has been mentioned here – its resources and how we are to move as a nation, it will be important, at this particular time, before the next elections, to retreat and see how we will manage our elections in future. What is dividing us, more than any other thing, is elections. I am sure the elections of the year 2022 will divide us more if we do not address the pertinent electoral issues now before we get to the heat of the moment. There is going to be a big problem in this country. The commitment to BBI and fighting many other ills in the society is going to be zero if we are not careful, in terms of how we handle our elections in the year 2022. For us to handle elections properly in the year 2022, the issues around elections must be addressed now. If we delay and start addressing them after next year, there will be a problem. The issues around the electoral commission and how we are going to manage procurement of equipment that will be used in our next elections must be looked at now. How political parties are going to handle elections must be looked at now. The mess that is in the political parties is the mess that moved to the Electoral Commission in one way or the other and messed up the whole elections. It got us the “winner takes it all” electoral system. Maybe, we will not have the candidates, like the current ones, who will go back to shake hands. After the 2022 elections, the winner will take it all again. When the winner takes it all, the loser who contested in the elections will say no and that will be a big problem to the country, if we do not fix it now. I want to implore the entire leadership of the country that it is important that we get it right with our electoral issues now rather than later. Let us get to know who will manage our elections and who will be trusted by Kenyans. The other thing that the President mentioned is commitment to devolution. For sure, that commitment is being realised. We are seeing it and the resources are flowing. However, there is a pull back. Some of the functions that were supposed to have been devolved were not devolved. The resources that were supposed to go to the counties are not going there. So, the commitment must be re-checked. The issue of food production in this country must be re-checked. I mentioned here the other day that we have a big problem with the food situation in the country. If you go to the border posts like Kiunga Border Post, you will realise that all our food is coming from outside. So, what is it that we are doing? We must re-check how we are producing. Our land is fertile. Nature was good to all of us even in Turkana where there is wind. So, let us consider what we can invest in as a Government, so that we do away with the issue of food insecurity in the country. I support.

Member for Laisamis constituency.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this Motion. I applaud the President on his Presidential Address. He emphasised on eradicating corruption. We support his zeal in fighting corruption. Corruption is something that has been widely discussed in Kenya and world over. Unfortunately, as much as many people tend to talk about it, whenever I visit Government institutions, I get surprised 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.

come across statements and billboards that state that they are corrupt free zones. That is just in theory. When you get in their buildings, you will be welcomed and given the services you have gone to seek. However, the moment you want to step out, somebody will request – as if that is a culture in Kenya – that you leave behind a soda. Just imagine! You may be a generous person and you interact with such persons who willingly ask for soda, perhaps because they have other problems. You will give in and give them something. Kenya is one country that has been emulated by many countries. It is in the forefront in terms of development, education and infrastructure. Our neighbours, Rwanda and Tanzania in the East African Community (EAC), have been trying to emulate Kenya. I remember sometimes back, Julius Nyerere used to tell his citizens that whenever they wanted to go abroad, they should not waste their resource to travel all the way to Europe when Europe is just next door. They only needed to cross the border. Here, he was referring to Kenya. But because we have been derailed by corruption, a small county like Rwanda that suffered genocide the other day is overtaking Kenya on development. It is growing at a faster rate. The other day, in the newspaper, I came across a cartoon that showed Rwanda was leading whereas Kenya was lagging behind in terms of development. It is a big shame that the citizens of this country do not love their country to shun corruption. I concur with the President when he said that he will leave no stone unturned and that he will mercilessly deal with anyone who is accused of corruption. The President wants to leave behind a good legacy. The President also talked about the Big Four Agenda. The Big Four Agenda, as we all know, is comprised of universal health care; food security, manufacturing and affordable housing. Hon. Speaker, please give me an additional minute just as you did to my previous colleagues. I want to emphasise more about the universal health care. Right now in my constituency, there is an outbreak of Kala azar disease. It is a rare disease that is not commonly known to everybody. It is one of the neglected diseases. The fact that the President addressed the universal health care, Laisamis Constituency residents have equal rights to it. I want to personally congratulate the CEO of the Kenya Red Cross Society, Mr. Abbas Gullet, for attending to all kinds of disasters in this country single-handedly.

Hon. Arbelle, I will give you an extra minute. Wait for the microphone.

Hon. Speaker, the other aspect the President addressed is food security. Coincidentally, I come from a very remote part of the country that is marginalised, drought stricken and dominated by pastoral communities. Hon. Speaker, drought affects pastoral communities. They lack water, food and have all sorts of problems. Mr. Wamalwa, the Cabinet Secretary for Devolution and Planning has been touring the country to establish whether some people had died out of hunger. Until today, they have not been given sufficient food.

Let us have the Member for Migori.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Allow me to also take this opportunity to thank the President for his Address on the State of the Nation. I also thank God for bringing me back to this House after a very long time of absence following an accident last year. By and large, we all appreciate His Excellency the President for a well coverage of the issues that he addressed. However, I still have to express the following sentiments: Food security is one of the Big Four Agenda. Some people in this country are very well fed while others are very hungry like the case of Turkana. My observation is that as much as 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.

we keep talking about food security, if we do not enable people to produce more food and save that food for days when we do not have we will never achieve this objective. My take on this is that beginning with Migori County where I come from and the people I represent here, we have good land and can produce enough food. However, most of the time, and I will allude to what one of my colleagues has said that the issue of fertiliser and the cost of production is high, and it is a hindrance. Most of the time, after producing that food it is wasted. On that note, I urge the President and all of us to be keen on value addition and food preservation. This is what agriculturalists call post-harvest mechanisms to ensure all Kenyans are fed from what we produce every year. Following that Address, we are talking about universal health. This is beyond ensuring there are hospitals within our areas in the country, having doctors and medicine. There is need to emphasise on means through which Kenyans can be healthy. We should emphasise on the issue of clean drinking water for all families in Kenya. Kenyans should drink, eat, sleep and grow healthy. It will be noted that much of our nation lacks clean drinking water. This is an area that our President and our leaders need to emphasise on so that as we talk about universal healthcare, we do not just wait to treat people who are already sick. We should grow a nation that is healthy and spends less on medicine. Much has been talked about fighting corruption. We will not tire because it is unfortunate that when the word corruption is mentioned in this country, some people are bold enough to equate it with some leaders. My take is that we do not know anybody in this country whose name is for example, Johnson Corruption. We only know people by their names. So, I urge the group of leaders and politicians who always want to draw mileage whenever the fight against corruption is mentioned to stop it. These leaders are quick to point out that somebody is fighting the Deputy President of this nation. Corruption has been such a cancer that is even eating people deep in the rural areas under their beds. Husbands hide family money from their own wives. Therefore, we need to come out as a nation; mothers, fathers and leaders, and condemn corruption. I would like to say something about the education system in our country. As an educator, there is no way we can say the four objectives will be achieved if we do not provide quality equitable education achievable. Some of our schools and universities are well equipped, but others do not have the very basics.

Let us have the Member for Gichugu. Always observe that the yellow light shows that you have one minute. The red one shows you have 30 seconds. So, organise yourselves that way.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Does that mean that I have an extension of one minute?

You have an extension of 30 seconds.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I support the President’s Address on the State of the Nation. I would term it as an Address of hope. Hope in the sense that something that you do not see tells you that though things may not be the way you want today, tomorrow will be a better day. That hope has been seen by the President assuring the nation that the state of the nation is strong and he is committed to fulfilling the mandate that he was given by Kenyans through the ballot. One of the areas that the President stressed is the transformation of the country’s economy, so that enough jobs can be created for our many jobless youths. That gives the future 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 this nation some hope because the future of this nation is in the youth, who will be the future leaders. Another area that came out very clearly, and which might be ignored in some quarters is that the President was quick to recognise that Kenya can be on top of things by recognising the heroes and heroines of this country. Kenya has produced the best teacher in the world, athletes and innovators. So, that gives very many Kenyans hope that if we can embrace national values, we can be on top of the world. What I also liked about the President’s Address is that he stressed the need to improve agriculture for purposes of food production. Kenya is an agricultural country. I was very happy when he pointed out that a lot needs to be done in terms of improvement of agriculture in the areas of coffee and tea. This is where technocrats are tasked to come up with reforms so that our farmers can benefit from their hard labour. Farmers will also benefit from the export of coffee and tea that we produce in Mount Kenya and Gichugu, where I come from. I believe the technocrats who are given that responsibility like Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries should advice the President that the other agenda which should be added to the Big Four Agenda to make it the big five is road infrastructure development. As much as we mainly deal with agricultural activities, we are unable to transport our goods to the markets for export or to realise other benefits without good roads in our areas. This is an important area. I believe when our President comes back from China, where he is dealing with the issue of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) to Kisumu, he will consider the issue of road infrastructure in Mount Kenya region, which produces most agricultural products. An extension can be made to Nanyuki. Already, we have an existing way leave to Nanyuki and this will be very beneficial to our people.

Another area that we need to look at is school infrastructure development. Budgetary allocations from the ministry are very minimal. This will enable us achieve the good intended 100 per cent transition from primary to secondary school. This is an area which the Ministry of Education needs to consider because of the congestion that we are experiencing in our schools. Therefore, this area should be relooked at. Due to limited time, I largely and wholly support the President’s State of the Nation Address. It was a good Speech full of hope.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Member for Mwatate.

Shukrani, Bw. Spika kwa kunipatia fursa hii. Mwanzo kabisa, kwa upana, Hotuba ya Rais ilikuwa ya kufana. Hata asilimia themanini kwa mia ninamuunga mkono. Ni maswala tu hapa na pale ambayo alikuwa ayashughulikie halafu angepata alama tisa kwa kumi. Mhe. Spika, wengi hapa wanalia kwa ukosefu wa chakula kwa sababu ni taabu kukipata. Lakini Mwenyezi Mungu alitupatia hewa na maji bure. Kule kwangu sehemu ya Mwatate kupata maji ni shida. Kuna matatizo makubwa tunapochimba visima kwa sababu ya ukosefu wa hela kwa vile kaunti yetu ni ndogo. Tunapata maji ya visima yakiwa na madini. Hata watu wengine wanatuambia kwamba tukinyua hayo maji, basi baada ya miaka kumi kwenda mbele, wakati visasi vyetu vitakuwa vinapata watoto, hao watoto watakuwa hawana mapua, midomo na kadhalika. Tumejaribu kila namna. Tunapoongea juu ya usawa wa nchi, inafaa Rais aangalie pembe zote za Kenya. Inafaa tuangalie wale ambao hawana maji ili wapewe ndio chakula ifuate na maswala mengine. 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.

Kule sehemu za Mwakitau kuna ndovu wengi na akinamama hawawezi kwenda kuchota maji ovyo ovyo kwa sababu wengine wameuawa. Kuna matatizo. Ni vyema wakati Rais anaangazia mambo haya, anaangazie pande zote.

Kamati za Bunge ambazo zinahusika na maji na bajeti zinafaa kuwa makini sana. Kenya ni yetu sote. Ni lazima tuangalie ni wapi hakuna maji ili tuzibe hizo pengo ndio tuje kwa maswala mengine. Sasa hivi, ukiniambia juu ya barabara na sina maji, hiyo barabara itakuwa haina maana kwangu. Juzi hapa Bungeni wakati Rais aliongea kwa Kiingereza, kuna watu ambao walikuwa wanauliza kama tunaelewa. Katika hii Bunge, Wabunge zaidi ya asilimia 90 wanaongea Kiingereza na wale ambao wanaongea Kiswahili ni asimilia 10. Lakini ukienda kule nje, asilimia 90 ya wananchi wanaelewa Kiswahili na asilimia 10 ndio wanaelewa Kiingereza pekee.

Ni vyema sisi kama Waafrika tuangalie na tuangazie lugha zetu bila kuchukua lugha za watu wengine na kujigamba wakati tunaongea lugha hizi mpaka wengine wanaweka vifua vyao mbele. Kwa kweli, ni lazima tuangazie suala hili. Kwa kweli, mazungumzo ya Rais yalikuwa ya kufana sana kwa sababu aliongea juu ya ufisadi na swala la utangamano ili tuwe kitu kimoja. Ni vyema tuwe kitu kimoja kama mandugu.

Lile swala la ufisadi alilisisitiza sana na sisi tunangojea tuone vitendo. Asubuhi nilimsikia mwenzangu akiongea kuhusu mihadarati. Hili si swala la kuchekesha, lakini ni swala mbaya katika pwani haswa Lamu. Hata kule kwetu sehemu ya Voi na kwingine, hili ni tatizo. Sasa hivi, Rais ameshikana na kinara wetu wa chama cha ODM na kwenda Uchina. Mtu kama mimi ninayetoka kabila ndogo siwezi kwenda Uchina, ilhali kule Voi, mpaka Taveta, reli inatakikana zaidi kwa sababu Arusha iko karibu ndiyo iende mpaka Rwanda. Je, nani atatusaidia watu wadogo kama sisi? Ninaomba pia ikiwezekana sisi Wakenya tubadilike. Juzi tumewapigia watu kura. Inafaa tuanze kufikiria kwamba ni bora Rais atoke kabila ndogo kama langu.

Ahsante sana, Mhe. Spika.

The Member for Kipkelion East, you have the Floor.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me an opportunity to contribute to the President’s Address. From the onset, this country has a history. It has come from far and many plans have been communicated since Independence. These are very good ideas, but the only problem is their implementation. If you followed what the President said, he mentioned the Big Four Agenda. I want to dwell on two issues concerning the Big Four Agenda, which are touching the country.

I expected the President to dwell seriously on food security because the activities surrounding it have never been clear to anybody here. When we talk about food security, most people think about subsidies, but if we learn from the developed world, there is no country which has succeeded purely on relying on subsidies. Therefore, I expected the President to come up with very clear activities which the country will implement to ensure that we are food secure. One of the activities which is very successful is farmer contracting. This is where farmers are contracted by the Government to produce a certain quantity at a certain assured price.

On top of involvement, Public Private Partnership (PPP) has been embraced in this country where existing and new private millers are involved in contracting farmers to assure them of the price. In this case, farming will be transformed to a business where you are assured of the price. Our youth, who are wallowing in poverty because of unemployment, will quickly embrace this because you can take a paper and calculate what you will get at the end.

To help us achieve, we recently passed the Insurance Bill where we introduced indexing where farmers can take insurance for their crop. When the crop fails, there is a way of The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

determining the framework of paying the farmers for the losses incurred. Therefore, once such a structure is in place, food security will be assured under the Big Four Agenda. On top of that, the Government should invest in storage through the PPP. There is no need of producing so much and yet we cannot store for future use. The main problem is when the country faces drought. There is no food because we did not store enough. On industrialisation, a country like Ethiopia is overtaking us because they have simplified the way investors are attracted to their country. The President should have addressed the issue of Government enhancing and building more industrial parks. Through the PPP, county governments should contract players in the private sector to come and build industrial parks. The Government is expected to supply power and construct roads. It should also provide water. If it does that, investors will come in plenty without hustle to invest in the country. On security, the President has assured us that justice should be for all. So, justice on one hand cannot be injustice on the other hand. As we embrace the BBI, we should also embrace sincerity. When you bring in a friend, you cannot displace another friend. What am I saying? You should not be looking at each other and saying that now that Baba has come, the Principal Assistant, who is the Deputy President should go out, and that he should not be involved in anything. In this country, we are investing in a lot of suspicion and it will not thrive.

Let us now hear the Member for Kisumu West.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I rise to support the President’s State of the Nation Address, but there is something that I want to say. I was dismayed on that day because I know His Excellency’s Speech to the nation from the Floor of this House was grounded on the Constitution and the Standing Orders. Discipline and parliamentary language must be maintained throughout. Hon. Speaker, you are a stickler to time as it should be. Members had to wait for about one hour for His Excellency to come in. That must be communicated to His Excellency. He has been a Member of this House and so he knows. He is experienced and he knows that here we keep time. If he is supposed to be here at 2.30 p.m., he must be here at 2.30 p.m. I was also dismayed when Members of this honourable House turned into cheer leaders. When the Deputy President came into the Speaker’s Gallery, chants of “Ruto, Ruto, Ruto” filled the Chamber. There were also chants of “Raila, Raila, Raila”. I was dismayed. I did not know that we had gone down to that level where this House turns to be cheer leaders. I thought the excitement that the presence of the Deputy President or Hon. Raila would remain at that level, but we were not supposed to turn to cheering and sounding like we were in a rally. I was disappointed. That should not have happened. Leaving that aside, the President referred to asset recovery. It is important that we emphasise on corruption and asset tracking and recovery. So far, the office of the DCI, the EACC and the AG are working very well. I expect as we go on towards the end of the year, a lot more will be recovered. Fixed assets like land and buildings are easy to be returned to the owners, but when we recover cash, it is expected that there should be a legal framework on how it will go to either the Consolidated Fund or any other special fund. As it is now, the legal mechanism on recovered funds is missing or is very weak. It is important that this House moves very fast to assist the offices of the AG, DCI and EACC to have a legal framework whereby assets that are recovered, particularly funds, are properly utilised. If that does not happen, although the three agencies seem to be doing an excellent work, we will create another clique of corrupt officials at the Treasury who will use the money that is recovered from corrupt people. 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.

Another issue is about the housing levy. Many Members of this House will recall that when the VAT rules came the first time and the House rejected them under Article 115 of the Constitution, the President referred the Bill back to the House. Members, either on their own volition or because they were coerced by their party leaders decided to accept the referral by the President. In that referral, there is the 1.5 per cent Housing Levy. That is the legal basis. So, I get dismayed when Members of this House turn to the public out there and deny having passed that law. It is this House that passed that law through the President. So, now that it has been passed, we must address it as Members of this House. Does the Housing Levy help the ordinary Kenyan? It is not a tax. It is a levy. If it is a levy, in whose benefit is this levy going to serve Kenyans? Time has come for the House to readdress itself to the 1.5 per cent Housing Levy, so that those who want to invest in housing do so at their own volition and pace as they wish and not by compulsion. Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

The Member for Igembe North, you have the Floor.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for the opportunity to say a few words about the President’s Speech during the State of the Nation Address. I state upfront that I support it. There are issues raised there specifically on the BBI. What we need to remember is the history of the handshakes and what they have brought to this country. The first handshake, that is in the leading memory in the last 20 years, was done in the 2000 when the Kenya African National Union (KANU) leader shook hands with the NDP leader in order to bring down temperatures. For sure, until when they met in Kasarani and parted ways, the country enjoyed a lot of tranquility. The second handshake happened in 2008 between former President Kibaki and Hon. Raila just to stop a violent episode that had resulted in the death of more than 1,000 people. Again, we had a moment of quietness. Then in 2013, there was a handshake again to get one of the leaders in the protagonists of the 2008 violence that is the URP leader, to do a joint electoral pact with President Uhuru. We also enjoyed five years of peace after that handshake. When we went to the 2017 elections, which were more volatile and explosive, again we had a handshake between Hon. Raila and President Kenyatta. I do not want to be one of the people who live in selective amnesia by purporting that when the President of the Republic shook hands with Hon. Raila, he did it on behalf of anybody who is in the Jubilee Party from the membership to the Deputy President. When Raila does it, there has never been debate, squabbles or questions about who else we should do handshake with. I heard Members in the morning and this afternoon purport to speak on behalf of the country or electorate to say that we need the handshake to be extended downwards to some other leaders. They have been using derogatory language specifically on a very hardworking civil servant, Karanja Kibicho, that he is misleading the President. Mr. Karanja Kibicho is in charge of internal security and is doing a thorough job. He will do it without fear. I know the fellow. He is not a coward. He does not get scared. Do not intimidate him in a place that you know he cannot respond. Do it outside. Mtakutana huko . I also heard Members talk about corruption and vigilante justice. It should be noted that for those who want to be rich after college or when you start working, go into innovation, be an entrepreneur or a manufacturer of something and then you will make your billions. You cannot go stealing public money, stash it in your houses and start yelling about how you want to be 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.

leaders in a country. You then enlist and hire a choir of leaders to go cheering you around with the money you have stolen and you expect the country to cheer you all through. That must stop. We need a country with ethics. We need leaders with ethics and dignity. They should support all the things they bequeath their children because nobody can tell their children they are stealing. Even when you have stolen, you are ashamed of saying it. We want leaders to uphold national ethics.

Let us now have the Member for Suba North.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker for giving me this opportunity. From the outset, I support the President’s exposition. I want to focus especially on the issue of the treaties that the country has ratified such as the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and the convention on torture, cruel, inhumane and other degrading punishment. Even though the country has ratified the convention and also domesticated the same, we are very short on implementation. There are very many women in the recent past, especially young women, who have been killed. It is worrisome. Something needs to be done. It is not enough for us to pass international and national laws and yet our young women are being killed like flies daily. There is a problem in this country. I do not know what the problem is, but perhaps it is about learning violence. There is a report that was done in Zimbabwe that shows that in areas where civil strife was common, there were a lot of cases of violence. Kenya has gone through a lot of violence especially during elections. Violence is learnt especially when our police forces mete out violence against the Opposition and think it is okay. This is the consequence. In my constituency, the areas that were most violent especially in the place where I built my home, they burnt it down. Very recently, they were asking me to set up a police station for them because the same youth who were taught violence have turned against each other and their own society. They even cut the legs of a woman who was found on the streets. Beyond that, we need to look at the issue of implementation of those conventions. Members have spoken a lot about the issue of corruption. There are many attempts to politicise the issue. I support the President fully on the fight against corruption. I was shocked as I sat here listening to Members saying that we should not go to churches to talk about corruption and yet they are the ones who go to churches to talk about it. If you are serious about not talking about corruption in churches, do not go. I can confess I went to church with a group called “Team Kenya” and spoke about peace. If you want to unite the country, go to churches and speak about peace. If you are not corrupt, you should not be worried when we say we are dealing with corruption. Why are you afraid that we are talking about you? If you are not corrupt, do not be worried. I would also like to tell our newspapers that they are the ones that will make us lose the fight against corruption. They make the fight against corruption a joke. Last week, the Daily

newspaper wrote that Suba North stole Kshs63 million from the National Government- Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) by putting it into one road. Excuse my French, but it takes an idiot to think that the NG-CDF can allocate Kshs63 million to one road. How much is Suba North getting for the NG-CDF if you can allocate Kshs63 million to one road? I was shocked when I wanted to deal politically with the journalist who wrote that and the journalists told me to follow the law. When he was writing falsehoods, did he follow the law? If you follow politics, I will deal with you politically. I have no time to deal with you legally. I will deal 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.

you politically. I told him if I would have found him, I would have chunad his nose. I will leave that for another day.

Finally, I thank the Members who have said that we should stop attacking civil servants who cannot defend themselves. Mr. Kibicho cannot defend himself. We are the ones who go to churches. He does not go with us. Some of us were attacked. My security has been withdrawn three times and I have never complained. Yours has been withdrawn once and you are acting like a cry-baby. I want to repeat what I told one Member in a programme - man up! If your security is withdrawn, deal with it the way Millie Odhiambo did when hers was withdrawn. Let us support the President. I can see my time is up. Let us be serious. Let us support the President.

(Hon. (Ms.) Jessica Mbalu): Allow me to give Millie Odhiambo one extra minute.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. Let us support the President. If there is one person who should not be talking like this, it is me. I have called the President names in the past, but I am here supporting him. You who was not attacking the President when I wanted Raila Amolo Odinga to be President are here now telling me the President is bad. It is hardly a year. I have joined you to support the agenda that you were pushing for the country. Do not turn around and tell us other things. We are supporting the President to deliver his agenda. If you do not support, we shall cane you to make sure that you deliver the agenda you were selling to us.

(Hon. (Ms.) Jessica Mbalu): Order Members! Take note of the change of Chair. Let us have the Member for Tharaka.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to contribute to the State of the Nation Address by His Excellency the President on 4th April in this House. On that day, the House was full and the Members were very attentive. I darted my eyes across and I could not see any Member who was resting his or her eyes. We were all listening to what His Excellency the President had to say about the three key constitutional issues that are to be addressed in the State of the Nation Address. What sent me wondering is that I have recently had the privilege of listening to the State of the Judiciary Address. On this day, we were hearing about the State of the Nation Address. Can we also hear something about the state of the legislature address? I know it is not provided for in the Constitution, but I am also informed that in the near future, there may be a referendum. I do not know when and what the question will be, but I intend to have a question that if there is to be any referendum, we should also have a state of the legislature address when Parliament can account itself to the people of Kenya. 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.

There is a notion out there that the only time you hear Parliament is robust, see Parliament full or Members debating is when they are discussing something on the Order Paper that has to do with their perks. It is not true. So, let us all have something for the country, so that we can debate it here and the residents of the Republic of Kenya can know that we are doing a fantastic job and discharging our constitutional mandate.

The President’s Speech was highly balanced. There was emphasis on security, which cannot be compromised under any circumstances and facts or factors that may prevail. It is vitally important to tighten security in our country. It may not be fair to hear that even Members of Parliament are complaining about their security being withdrawn or the security of the second highest office holder in the country being compromised at the county or whatever level. Security is important and it must be assured for every Kenyan, however big or small, and wherever he or she is. Therefore, I laud the Report from the President.

I move on to the next point that has raised temperatures, namely, corruption. It must be fought tirelessly. There is absolutely no reason why we should not talk about selective justice in regards to corruption. The EACC is the institution which is charged with this. If it is not strong enough, we must strengthen it such that it will fight corruption in accordance with the law. The office of the DPP is mandated to prosecute cases of corruption relentlessly. We support the President in this.

The Big Four Agenda is part of what the President gave to us. We must support it. The Building Bridges Initiative must be with us. However, it must encompass the President, the Deputy President and the other leaders who are supposed to be in it.

Finally, we must have an address on what is facing the country now, namely, drought. The rains may not be sufficient and our rivers are drying up, especially in Tharaka Constituency. We will face acute food shortage. This is an area that the Government must address wholeheartedly.

(Hon. (Ms.) Jessica Mbalu): Your time is over, Hon. Member. If we keep on adding a minute for each Member, we will not do justice.

Give me one minute.

Give him one minute!

(Hon. (Ms.) Jessica Mbalu): Out of the demand of the House, I will give you one more minute. Hon. Members, you cannot dictate to the Temporary Deputy Speaker. It is my discretion.

It is a polite request, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. Thank you very much. The rain is not likely to be sufficient. It is vitally important that we call upon the Government to ensure that we have sufficient food for the entire country. We are in the arid and semi-arid areas which will not have sufficient food. So, we are calling upon the Government to work tirelessly on this to ensure that we are well fed.

Secondly, rivers are drying up across the country, including rivers in my constituency. Water is in acute shortage. This must be drawn into the Government agenda. As we go through the drought, citizens should be given enough water both for their use and their livestock. Otherwise, Kenyans will be impoverished.

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.

With those many remarks, I support the President’s Speech. Thank you.

(Hon. (Ms.) Jessica Mbalu): Hon. Members, we passed a resolution in this House that each Member should debate for five minutes. From where I sit, I order that you please plan your five minutes. I will not add you more minutes or use the discretion of the Temporary Deputy Speaker. Thank you. The Member for Kajiado North, you have the Floor.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me this chance to contribute to this debate. Article 132 of the Constitution gives the functions of the President of this country. Article 132(c) of the Constitution gives him the mandate to report to Parliament the progress on the realisation of the national values as referred to under Article 10 of the Constitution. Some of these values are patriotism that we should have in the country, unity, rule of law, good governance, transparency and accountability among others. It is my check that he reported well in most of these.

He talked about the transformative economy of this country, which he said he has put many enablers to make sure that, at least, we achieve a good economy. He projected that the economy will run at 6.1 per cent throughout to achieve that. I also want to emphasise the need of a realisation that this is an agricultural-based economy. We should put more funds in agriculture to make sure that we realise a good economy. We should also promote small businesses. I have realised that the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is not very friendly to small businesses. When people start businesses, they are normally harassed with high taxes that they are supposed to pay and when they delay, they are penalised highly. We should check on that. We should also see businessmen as friends that we should enable to prosper. We should also see how we can change the jua kali sector to a formal sector and we start realising taxes. That is the way to go.

The President also talked about the BBI, which is the right way to go. It should be the real thing in the country. We did not need to have the “handshake” because we should live as Kenyans to make sure that we appreciate each other in our diversity. We should support him on that and emphasise that is the right way to go.

The President emphasised that corruption compromises most of our achievement of our goals. We cannot achieve the Vision 2030 if we do not do something about corruption. We should make sure that we strengthen the institutions that have been given the mandate to fight corruption. He also emphasised and advised that corruption is not good. We are teaching our children and generations to come a bad vice. I know there are people who inherently appreciate corruption. It is not a good value. It is not a virtue. If you are corrupt, you are not hard working. If you enrich yourself through corruption, then you are not a rich person because you do not have integrity and you compromise the growth of your country to that extent.

The Head of State also mentioned the issue of not turning back on devolution. He emphasised the need to make sure that we have functional county governments. I want to applaud him on this because I know county governments are operating. We can see resemblance of something operating in our counties. If you go to any county, you will see some good structures. That is the way to go in our country. I emphasise the fact that money should be sent to counties promptly. We should have a particular date that it is sent to the county, so that governors can plan and manage their affairs. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

On the Big Four Agenda, he emphasised the issue of manufacturing. He has given enablers like the low cost of energy that he is advocating for, education and ICT, which are doing very well and the SGR). They will spur the achievement of the Big Four Agenda. On international obligation, the President has signed 280 treaties. We are online emphasising on them.

Lastly, on security, he talked about the creation of border police posts, which is a good thing to do and the creation of 15,000 Nyumba Kumi clusters, which will come in handy.

I support the President’s Speech. Thank you very much.

(Hon. (Ms.) Jessica Mbalu): It is your time the Member for Trans Nzoia, Hon. Nangabo Janet.

Asante sana, Mhe. Naibu Spika wa Muda kwa kunipatia nafasi hii nichangie Hotuba ya Rais wa nchi ya Kenya. Ninamshukuru Rais kwa kazi nzuri ambayo amefanya katika nchi yetu. Pia, ninachukua nafasi hii kumshukuru Naibu wa Rais wa taifa letu la Kenya. Wenzangu wemeongea mambo kadhaa kuhusu utenda kazi wa Rais na matakwa ambayo ameweka mbele yetu tuone jinsi anapofanya kazi yake. Ninamshukuru kwa sababu ametambua Bunge letu kwa kusema kwamba Miswada 22 imetekelezwa katika Bunge. Ninamshukuru pia kwa kazi yake katika upande wa usalama. Mashinani wameweka mikakati ya kuwa na nyumba kumi kuhakikisha kwamba utekelezaji umefanyika katika sehemu tunakotoka. Lakini bado tuko na changamoto. Tuko na kamera ambazo zimewekwa katika maeneo kadhaa ya nchi yetu lakini hazisaidii maeneo mengine. Hivi majuzi, watu walienda katika benki moja hapa Nairobi wakaiba zaidi ya Ksh12 milioni. Bado tuko na changamoto kwa upande wa usalama nchini. Mwenzangu Mhe. Millie Odhiambo amesema kuwa watoto wetu, hasa wasichana, wananajisiwa. Jana kule Bungoma kulikuwa na kisa ambacho mama wa miaka 95 alinajisiwa. Hii ni baadhi ya changamoto kwa usalama wetu nchini. Wengine wamesema kwamba Katibu Mkuu hafanyi kazi yake lakini hayuko hapa kujitetea. Vile vile, Naibu wa Rais mwenye wanasema anahusika na mambo kadhaa, pia hayuko Bungeni kujitetea.

Sisi kama viongozi tumepewa nyadhifa na wapiga kura tuje Bungeni na tunafaa kuwa katika msitari wa mbele kuleta amani na kuhakikisha tuna amani. Rais anataka tuende wote kama viongozi wa nchi hii bila kutenganisha wengine kwa manufaa ya ubinafsi. Pia, ningependa kuguzia elimu katika nchi yetu. Ninashukuru kwa sababu washikadau wanaosimamia elimu nchini wamekuwa katika msitari wa mbele. Sisi kama viongozi tunawaunga mkono ili watoto wetu wapate elimu ya kutosha na wale ambao wametoka katika shule za msingi waingia katika shule za upili. Tunafaa kuhakikisha wamepata haki yao ndio wakitoka hapo waende chuo kikuu na wapate haki zao. Hayo ndio matakwa yetu. Ninamuunga Rais mkono kwa hayo. 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.

Ningependa kumwambia Rais kwamba licha ya kuleta uhusiano mzuri katika Afrika Mashariki, kuna changamoto kwa upande wa Migingo. Migingo ikiwa sehemu ya nchi yetu ya Kenya, tunataka tuone Rais akizungumza juu yake. Nikimalizia, ningependa kuongea kuhusu ufisadi. Jana, nilimsikia Mwenyekiti wa Magavana, Mhe. Oparanya, akisema kwamba mitambo ilikuwa imeletwa katika hospitali ya Kakamega lakini hakujulishwa. Wakati walipeleka vifaa hivyo katika hospitali hiyo, walienda wakaambia machifu…

(Hon. (Ms.) Jessica Mbalu): Hon. Nangabo, your time is over. I had made a ruling on that. You have spoken very well, Hon. Member. Let us have the Member for Nandi.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I rise to support the President's Address. The President talked about his obligations in the Big Four Agenda on food security. Agriculture is the mainstay of our economy. It creates 60 per cent of the jobs in Kenya. But there are concerns that farmers and traders have 16.3 million bags in their stores and the Government has four million bags yet there are people who are dying in Turkana, Baringo and other arid areas. So, when we talk about food security, the Government should buy the 16.3 million bags to take care of people who are dying in our nation. Another issue the President talked about is environmental sustainability. Climate change is here with us. Right now, people have not planted because they do not have money. We should be weeding our farms now, but farmers do not have money to do so. So, when climate change is here with us, it means we will be having diseases. People and animals will be dying. We will not achieve universal healthcare if we do not take care of our forests. We need to practice afforestation and not deforestation in our nation. Another issue is security. We know that our country is safe, but we need to take care of women and children. There is a high rate of gender-based violence in Kenya. A case in point is Nandi County. Kericho County is another one and there are others. Women are raped and children are killed. Because the state of security is good, we have to take care of the Kenyan women. We have enough security personnel and when crime happens, they need to report and take the victims to wherever they need to be taken. Many times, those who rape are HIV positive. So, we do not want our women and children to die when we have security personnel. On the BBI, we accept it and are in it, but one section should not say that they are doing better than the other. They do not have “thermometers” to measure who is fighting it. Let us build the country together. We should not show that we are better than others. We are here to support the unity of our nation. Let us not bring in organisations and institutions in our discussions in Parliament. The DCI knows his role and no one should assist him. We should all assist the DCI, the DPP and others. Let nobody show that they are doing better than others. They have not measured us and do not have “thermometers”. We are here to support the Government fully. This is our Government. Nobody should talk better than the other. We are here to bring peace. We are not here to advocate for differences in 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.

Thank you.

(Hon. (Ms.) Jessica Mbalu): The Member for South Mugirango, Hon. Onyiego Osoro. Is he in the House? He is consulting and so, let the chance go to the Member for Kisumu West. The Member for Isiolo North, you have the Floor.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to comment on the State of the Nation Address by His Excellency the President. I must say that it is fairly an imbalanced Speech. I say fairly imbalanced because there are a number of issues which I expected to feature in the Speech which probably I will mention later. Generally, as required of him by the Constitution, His Excellency the President updated us on what has happened over the last one year in terms of achievement of values which are highlighted under Article 10 of our Constitution. The President touched on security. Of course, the security situation in the country is fairly good, but we had an unfortunate event where expatriate doctors were kidnapped and up to now, we are yet to secure them from the hands of the Al Shabaab . As a result of that incident, Cuban doctors who were offering good services in a county like Isiolo have been withdrawn. Therefore, I would like to urge the national Government to beef up security and ensure that Kenyans and foreigners who are either visiting our country as tourists or are serving our people in different capacities are secure in this Republic. On the BBI, we all support it. It has helped us bring down political temperatures. On the other hand, we have seen that because of perception, the handshake goals go beyond lowering political temperatures and probably have implications on the political alignment with regard to 2012. We have seen some cracks on both sides of the political divide. Therefore, I would like to urge the two principals, His Excellency the President and the former Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga, to try and see how best the handshake can be extended widely and how it can permeate all the affiliates so that the intended purpose is achieved. I was particularly happy about recognition of people who help us to fly our flags high; sportsmen and women and also the teacher who scooped the best teacher award in the world as well as a Kenyan who happened to be recognised worldwide for innovation. When we have our President recognising these heroes and heroines, it is a good thing and it will encourage other Kenyans to emulate them. Of course, on matters devolution, we fully support the commitment of His Excellency’s Government. He indicated that so far, Kshs1.7 trillion has been transferred to various county governments since the first term of 2013-2017. I can confirm that as a representative from a an ASAL constituency, what we have achieved from the time devolution came into force cannot be compared to what our areas received in terms of development funding or transformation in the first 50 years of Independence. 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.

Finally, because my time is up, I would like to comment on two other issues, one being manufacturing. When I saw value addition of leather in Kariokor, it hurt me because this ought to be done in areas where we do livestock rearing. I can confirm to you that Isiolo County ought to have been the natural home for that value addition plant. When I saw value addition on cotton and textile being done somewhere in Nairobi, it did not impress me because it ought to have been done in counties where cotton is being grown, namely Kitui, Embu and Kisumu. I support the President’s Address. Thank you.

(Hon. (Ms.) Soipan Tuya): The Member for Lari, Hon. Mwangi Mburu, you have the Floor.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. From the outset, I support the President’s Address. The President sometimes is a genius. He touched on all the areas that Article 132 is supposed to address, namely the issue of national cohesion, international relations and security. When we start with international relations, the President lured President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda to Mombasa. That guy was opposing the SGR to go all the way to Uganda. He was lured and was given some land in Mai Mahiu. Now, we will have a Ugandan port, but the biggest question that I wish to ask the President - and I know he will come up with another stroke of genius - is: Who will be employed within that port? Do we again import Ugandans to be employed at that port? I bet we will have many Kenyans getting employed in that Ugandan dry port so that our young boys and girls can get employment. Again, when I look at the SGR, which is a transformation issue in this country, it is catering for the rich who are importing from China or Dubai and the rich man who is importing from Uganda and then exporting. I will ask the Government, now that the President is in China with Baba, to get an extra, maybe, Kshs100 billion or Kshs200 billion, so that we can do more roads connecting to the SGR. We have very many avocados in Lari. How will they come from Githunguri all the way to Mai Mahiu where we will have a station if we do not have a road connecting Mai Mahiu, Githunguri and Kiambu? How will all the bananas come from Embu? How will they come from Meru without a good road network to bring the goods to the SGR? In addition to the SGR, which is transformational, we should have a road network that is connecting mwananchi in the village. The road network should enable people to deliver their agricultural goods from the villages all the way to the big wagons of the SGR. We can put cattle in our trucks and bring them to the wagons of the SGR. That is transformation by the President. Another stroke of genius from our President is this thing of the handshake. The handshake has brought a lot of peace in our country. I am sure the President will pull it again because it seems everybody has turned it to be tribal. Maybe my president in Luhyaland was not given a handshake, my president in Kalenjinland was not given a handshake or my president in Ukambani was not given a handshake. May be another stroke of genius is coming where all those kingpins will get a handshake so that we can all be singing the same song, but it was a good thing. The country is moving forward. What we need to eliminate from that war of handshake is trying to put illusions of the 2022 elections. 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.

Another thing that I want to talk about is agriculture. Agriculture is the backbone of our country. Now the rains have come. The President is forward thinking about food security. It is our main agenda. All its organs should be aligned to food security especially the agricultural organs. Tomorrow you will hear seeds to plant have not been imported yet. You will also hear the same about fertiliser. So, we wonder, if the President is focused, what about the other organs that are supposed to pull us together so that these things become a reality? We need to have fertiliser and seeds ready to plant because the rain is coming. We should have prepared well. In a nutshell, I give the President mia kwa mia; 100 over 100. It is about his organs to come together. The President, the Deputy President, Baba on this side, tuungane, so that we can take our country forward. That was a great Speech from the President. Thank you.

(Hon. (Ms.) Jessica Mbalu): Very well. However, Hon. Member, you should take note of our Standing Orders that if you start your speech in English, you must finish in English. If you do it in Kiswahili, you must start and finish in Kiswahili. Let us now hear the Member for Butula.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity to comment on the Presidential Address. I want to start by echoing the President for a well-balanced Speech to the nation. The President covered all the areas that ought to have been covered. In no uncertain terms, he repeated that there is no turning back on fighting the enemies of Kenya, foreign or domestic. If I can be allowed to comment a little on foreign enemies, they are those briefcase contractors who come and deceive Kenyans and carry away huge sums of money. These foreign enemies are the cause of hiking of our external debt because they create a situation where the Government is meant to borrow and increase foreign debt. We should be very careful about the foreign briefcase contractors. If they are not registered as is required by law, the country should not allow them to carry out or participate in any contract. They are the worst enemies that we sometimes have in this country. They poison the domestic enemies. As the President said, there is no turning back on fighting all the enemies. We should take that seriously. I want to comment a little about the realisation of universal access to electricity by the year 2022. Some parts of our country are still lagging behind as far as electricity is concerned. Electricity is very important for development. If we have electricity supplied in our areas, you will find young men and women, who are looking for jobs, creating their own industries which will help them get employment. It will also reduce the movement of the unemployed from rural areas to towns. So, this statement by the President should be supported to ensure that all the corners of the country are supplied with electricity. Parliament should try as much as possible to support the President by ensuring that the allocation provided for electricity is adequate and not like it is now. So, it is important that the unemployed in the rural areas are trained and enabled to use power to create industries that will help them.

The President also mentioned about the prioritisation of education particularly in the construction of classrooms. This is a very important area because of the 100 per cent transition. We have schools that are having problems with providing accommodation for the students. So, it is also our duty, as parliamentarians, to support the President and make sure that all the points The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

that the President raised are implemented. The implementation of some of these proposals is very important.

With those few remarks, I want to fully support the President and ask Hon. Members to support him fully and ensure implementation of the proposals.

(Hon. (Ms.) Jessica Mbalu): Very well. Next is the Member for Mwea, Hon. Wachira Kabinga.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me a chance to support the President in his State of the Nation Address. The President set the agenda. He means well for this country. Listening to that Speech, one could clearly see the passion the President had in seeing a better country and that he leaves this country in a better state.

What is now left is the implementation part of it. We need to see how to implement what the President stated in his Speech. He clearly said that there is no turning back in some of the issues that he raised in his Address. Corruption was one of them. How we implement the fight against corruption and succeed in it is what will determine the state of this country as far as that sector is concerned. We all support the fight against corruption. I have not come across any Kenyan who says that he does not support the fight against corruption. It is the way we fight and how we implement the fight that is causing some discomfort here and there. We have taken this fight as though it is supposed to lead us to somewhere else and not a corrupt free country. We would like to see more and more resources directed towards the institutions that are charged with the responsibility of fighting corruption. We want to see our institutions become more and more independent. We want to see people out there stop trivialising the fight against corruption. We should support it and wait for action from the institutions that we have constitutionally mandated to fight corruption.

When I listen to some of our colleagues trying to direct the fight to some areas, I feel it because that is where we are losing it. That is why we are not getting it right. That is why the fight against corruption, no matter how much we say we are supporting the President, will be lost. We want to see the media reporting facts and shunning trivialising the issue. They should stop using the fight against corruption as something they just want to make headlines.

When we wake up every morning and we are told that billions of shillings have been misappropriated and we do not see people being arraigned in court over the same, we lose hope. I hope the institutions which are mandated with the responsibility to fight corruption will support the President in this fight. We can see the passion from the President. He wants to see a country that is corruption free and our generations will say that people who were there before them fought this menace and it is no longer there.

When it comes to the BBI, it is one of the best ideas that we can talk about, but we need to ask ourselves some questions. When I hear Hon. Maoka narrate about the various handshakes that we have had from 2000, 2007, 2013 to 2017, we need to ask ourselves why we need to have handshakes now and then. Why can we not sustain what we have achieved? Right now, we have an initiative from the leader of the ruling party and the leader of the Opposition. That handshake needs to be planned and processed to ensure that it is sustainable. If we talk about the Opposition leader and the ruling party leader having a handshake and then we have temporary peace, tomorrow we may have a different party leader and a different Opposition leader. We do not want to see a country that is permanently on handshakes. We want to see a process and an implementation plan that ensures that the handshake is sustainable and it ensures that we shall no longer have violence during elections in this 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.

Finally, this is a House of rules. Let us avoid bringing in names. I have heard names of Kiunjuri, Kibicho, the DP and others being mentioned.

(Hon. (Ms.) Jessica Mbalu): Your time is over, the Member for Mwea. It is true we should be guided by our Standing Orders and the procedures of this House. Members should take note. The Member for Dadaab, Hon. Duale Dahir and not the Leader of the Majority Party, you have the Floor.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity to contribute to the President’s Address. From the outset, I want to appreciate His Excellency the President for the Speech to the nation and the two Houses of Parliament although the spirit of the Speech did not capture some of the issues that were really of concern to many Kenyans. We have, for example, the BBI. It is a well-grounded initiative and it is good, but one thing that is obvious to many Kenyans is that it will not make any sense to make peace and agreement with one leader and another one goes out through the other door. I think this country is headed that way right now. The political temperatures have been rising over the last few months. One of the things I will advise His Excellency the President is to pacify the leadership, which is currently not in good terms. The spirit of the handshake should encourage everybody on board. Although we have been told that the economy is growing and is strong, I think we also have a challenge and it must be said very clearly. In terms of our economic growth, economists have been giving us figures. One of the indicators, and I feel that the economy is not doing well, is funding to county governments that trickles like a drip fixed on a patient. We have the NG- CDF, which helps the education sector, for example. If you look at both primary and secondary education in terms of construction of classrooms and other amenities and in terms of paying fees, the NG-CDF has supported education with the leadership of Members of Parliament. I am sorry to say that currently, we are approaching the end of the financial year and Members of Parliament, through the NG-CDF, have not accessed close to 80 per cent of the funds which were allocated. That, of course, is an indication that we are not collecting revenue to disburse to both county governments and the national Government. Many parts of this country have different situations. For us in the northeast, we border Somalia. Somalia has been unstable for quite some time, but that does not mean that there is no economic activity. We have borders with Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia. Unfortunately, the border between Kenya and Somalia has been closed for over 10 years. This is not to say that there is no border movement of goods and people. Today, as a country, we are not gaining any revenue from that border because it is porous. Goods come in and people go out. This country needs every shilling. Right now, the only beneficiaries of that border movement of goods and people are bandits and terrorists. This has also created a serious migration of people from the northeast to the rest of Kenya, which in one way is good, but on the other hand, we are losing people there. They say nature abhors a vacuum. So that is another issue. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

On the issue of universal healthcare, according to the policy of the Government, we are supposed to have 90 per cent coverage by the end of the term of this Government. However, according to what we are seeing, we will be far short of that. We do not seem to have a concrete way forward in terms of ensuring that every Kenyan has access to social health insurance that will make them access health services with an insurance cover. We need to come up with a blueprint that will help us achieve this.

(Hon. (Ms.) Jessica Mbalu): Plan your five minutes well, Hon. Members. Before the Member for Chesumei, allow me give the Floor to the Member for Kisumu East. The Member for Chesumei, you will be next. I noted the issue with your card. Hon. Ahmed Shabir, the Member for Kisumu East, it is your time.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. First, I want to support and laud the President for the Speech that he gave the other day. This is the third time I have heard the Speech and every time, we are pleasantly surprised. This time, the President made it very clear that he is committed to the fight against corruption. In 2015, we were one of the countries in the world where over seven cabinet secretaries and a number of other very senior Government officers were asked to step aside and they did. When we go to conferences sometimes - and I chair the African Parliamentarians Network against Corruption - this is one of the positives that we discuss. The way the world sees Kenya is based upon actions that it takes. However, there are people in the Western world who always tell us that we are corrupt, that Kenya is number this and that. I urge the President, now that he is in China, to take it up with the Chinese. Why is China so strict about grand corruption in its country, where they even execute corrupt individuals, yet they export corruption to Africa? Why is it so? We need to understand. We are asking. Now that the President is in China, that issue must be taken up. We also need to learn from the Chinese that sometimes we need to be firm. I would love to see a situation where we are firm with corrupt individuals. In this country, somebody steals a cob of maize, he is jailed. Another one steals Kshs100 billion or Kshs100 million and he pays a fine or bail of Kshs500,000. This is not going to happen. We do not want this. Kenya has suffered the effects of corruption for a long time. We hear in South Africa there was State capture. State capture in South Africa may only have occurred 15 to 20 years ago. State capture in Kenya has been there since 1980’s. It started when civil servants were allowed to take on other jobs and do business. That is when tenderpreneurship started. We are the kings of State capture. We have made it an art. When plunder becomes a way of life for groups in the society, over the course of time, they will create for themselves a legal system that authorises it and a moral code that even glorifies it. That is what we are facing. The only way you can cut out a cancer is to be specific, precise, exact and firm. If you have to cut off that arm, cut it off. Let us not say we are waiting for this or that. I want to plead with the President that this time, all his Big Four Agenda should be challenged. You must act now. We are tired of being told that we are following the procedure. That is fine 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.

but somewhere Mr. President, you have to act. Let us be severe. Let one or two people – for the benefit of many – suffer. Kenya is surviving by the grace of God. Come with a sword and cut off the corrupt. Let us start acting. I would not mind seeing one or two of them being hanged or executed at Uhuru Gardens just to be sure that the message gets through to them. Thank you.

(Hon. (Ms.) Jessica Mbalu): Very well. Let us have Hon. Kogo Kipngetich, the Member for Chesumei Constituency.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. From the outset, I support the Motion on the President’s Address which came at the right time when the whole country doubted whether we are moving in the right direction or not. The assurance the President gave came at the right time. He gave a lot of hope to our people. I want to appreciate the fact that he kept on repeating that the country is moving in the right direction, the nation is strong and the economy is strong. He kept on talking about not turning back. I want to appreciate him for acknowledging that our people are capable and have the potential to do well and change this country. The transformation that we need will not come from anywhere else, but from our people. All we need, as the President rightly observed, is a conducive environment that has fairness, integrity and the rule of law.

What is critical for this country is the rule of law. Many times we have tried our level best to give guidance and direction to this country. One area that we have failed to observe is on the rule of law and that is why we do not seem to be moving.

On matters of the economy, I want to appreciate that he indicated how the economy is growing. At the same time, even if we talk about the many good figures that we see, as given by those who are in charge, I believe if there is no money in the pockets of people, you cannot talk about a good economy. I urge the President, on the measures that are being put into place, that if only they could translate to having money in the pockets of people, then it will be great. He mentioned many good things in his Address. There are interventions that are being put in place. I support the President because this is what will give us what we need in as far as the economy is concerned. On matters of food security, it is sad that every year we have problems. People die because there is no food. This should be corrected. I believe what the President has proposed as a way forward, especially in the maize sector, the sugar sector and the coffee sector will transform that which we need in the areas that provide food. The North Rift, where I come from, is considered the food basket for this country. If we can put more attention in that area, I believe we will change what we have been experiencing every other year. The long-term solutions to our problems have a lot to do with education. I appreciate the President for mentioning that it is critical that we put emphasis on education by allocating more resources to infrastructure and education of our children. That is the only way we can change and inculcate the right values in our children. By doing so, it will provide the solutions that we require for our country now and in the future. Therefore, I urge the President that on the The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

curriculum, it should be done in such a way that it benefits us and gives direction to this country. It is out of education that you can get what we wish to see in our economy. Education is important and I wish we can put more resources in it. Thank you, “Madam” Speaker.

Hon. Member, it cannot be “Madam” Speaker. It must be “Mr.” Speaker. There was a transition on the chair. Shall we have now, Hon. John Bunyasi, the Member for Nambale Constituency?

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support the basic thrust of the President’s Address that he delivered a few days ago. For me, these kinds of speeches emphasise constitutionality of our country. We have a set of conduct codified in the law and the Constitution that we follow. This is important because increasingly, we have personalised our achievement and lack of it around individuals. I want to start off in the middle of what I have to say. It is an important area of concern. It is on the issue of corruption. Corruption in any country degrades its social fabric. It distorts the allocation of resources and gives the wrong lessons across generations. Intergenerational changes are highly distorted by corruption. To deal with corruption, we have instruments of investigation, the law and the courts to help us with enforcement. It should remain strictly within the tenets as defined in the letter and the spirit of the law. It must be 360 degrees. If you want to combat corruption, fight it wherever it is. If you are unidirectional, like a fan fixed at one corner, and you think that you will fight corruption that way, you will miss nearly all of it in the areas that will be behind you. If we are going to succeed in fighting corruption, and for the President to deliver a legacy on it, it must be fought 360 degrees. It is then that it will be removed geographically across this country, in institutions and sectors. That is what will help us deal with the demon of corruption. It is important that we deal with it and move 360 degrees around it. Kenya has entered into a number of treaties. Many times, we do not get sufficient participation, and as such we do not get their implications on our side. We talk about opening our market to improve access to foreign markets in areas which we have a fledgling growth and capacity like in agriculture and agricultural processing without doing a balanced assessment. Each time we seek to open, we must open. When we open, it becomes a critical decision that can make a difference between success and failure. We are an agricultural country still at the stage of rain dependent. Our irrigation is completely – if I may use a polite word – primitive. Therefore, when we opened up our agriculture – as we have sometimes done – we do so prematurely. In countries that have succeeded in agriculture globally including those in Europe and Asia, the sector of agriculture was the last one to be opened. We opened ours at about the same time when everything else was opened. That is where most of our employment comes from. That is why we run a big risk of getting undermined by countries that have come into the global economy with their agricultural sectors mature and ready. The President said that the nation is strong. I would have added to it that the nation may be strong at the core but we have issues. We who live in the border counties such as Busia have lost jobs at the border because of trade reforms and nothing was put in place to mitigate that. Each time you have a good thing, praise it and think about who benefits and who may not benefit even if the aggregate may be a beneficial one. We must step back and look at the high unemployment rate that has been created, the opportunities for trade at the borders that are now going to be disrupted because of the changes that have been made in the policy but nobody has looked at the consequences. 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.

Very well. Let us have Hon. Mutai Kiplangat.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me this chance. First, I support the President’s State of the Nation Address. It was a well- balanced Address. On that particular day, the President rose to be a Statesman. I wish to comment on the issue of corruption. Corruption in Kenya is a cancer. It is a disease eating the nation. In the President’s words, we all should have moral re-awakening. We should stop being hypocrites in this country, pointing fingers and appreciate that fighting corruption begins with us. What we need in this country is not hauling all Cabinet Secretaries to jail, jailing the entire political class but a change in the moral psyche in the country entirely. Right in the village, small children will not get you anything in the shop unless you offer to buy them sweets. That is the beginning of corruption. Corruption cases in this country as the President said should be dealt with expeditiously and determined at the shortest time possible. However, what we see in this country is the baying for blood, expecting that Tom, Dick and Harry are rushed there so that we seem to be fighting corruption. Every case should be determined based on concrete evidence and not maligning names or name calling. Lynch mobs are currently in this country waiting for any smell of blood so that that a person could be lynched. However, what we are asking the nation is that we handle this thing following the due process of the law.

Secondly, when it comes to corruption, we have institutions that deal with it. Section 35 of the National Police Service Act gives powers to the office of the DCI to handle crimes which include corruption because in essence it is a crime. There are certain multi-agencies that are handling corruption. However, we need proper legislation in this House to lay the foundation so that it is clear that in cases that are complex in nature and require extra manpower, they should be given to certain institutions that are in existence in law such as the EACC. That is what we are asking. When it comes to matters insecurity, my constituency, Bureti has been hit hard by insecurity in the last three months. It is high time the security organs started dealing with insecurity. Security is not about taking away security from Hon. Members. What is interesting about this issue of security for MPs is that there is ethnic profiling. It is only MPs from Central Kenya that have had their security withdrawn. I, Japheth Kiplangat Mutai did not have my security withdrawn because I come from Rift Valley. Hon. Members from Central region are the only people in this House that have had their security withdrawn.

Lastly, as I wind up, the issue of extension of the SGR from Naivasha to Kisumu is very welcome. That SGR will pass through my constituency and I am sure that it is going to bring an economic boom in my constituency and the whole region especially around Kericho and Bomet as it goes all the way to Kisumu. So, we welcome such incentives. On another note, when it comes to the BBI, the President rightfully said that it is going to ensure inclusion, cohesion, unity and respect. I do not feel included in it. I am talking as an individual and not on behalf of anyone. I do not feel included.

Very well. Shall we have Hon. Oku Kaunya, the Member for Teso North.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to add my voice here. I support the President’s Address on the critical matters that he pointed out. The President’s Address was fairly balanced particularly on 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 issue of corruption where he clearly and categorically stated that there is no turning back. He stated that those who are accused of corruption will be dealt with in accordance with the law. In the recent past, corruption has been politicised. I urge the leadership of this country starting with our Parliament to fully support the President in the fight against corruption. If any person including myself is found to be corrupt and is suspected, let them face the music individually. Let us not take this war on corruption as tribal or political. Kenya needs to salvage itself from corruption. I think the initiative the President has taken requires total support otherwise we cannot grow as a country economically and in terms of overall development.

Apart from the issue of corruption, the President commended this Parliament for enacting several Bills into Acts - 22 in number. This was a commendation from the Head of State to Parliament for the work well done but among these Bills that we enacted into the law which was mentioned by the President is the Kenya Coast Guard Act. This Act is very important for this country in terms of security management. It is very critical because it empowers the KCG, which the President launched to undertake maritime law enforcement. We have had difficulties managing crime along our water sources both internal and external. The KCG is a bridge between our National Police Service (NPS) which does a lot of crime management within the internal area and our navy which deals with defense.

There is the aspect of search and rescue which the KCG is supposed to undertake. I urge the institutions dealing with search and rescue even at the internal level to collaborate with the KCG. As I end my contribution, I wish to say that, I support the President’s effort in enhancing the issue of security, more so the reforms which have recently been…

Let us now hear the Member for Fafi.

Asante sana, Mhe. Naibu Spika. Leo nimeamua kuzungumza Kiswahili. Kwanza ningependa kusema pole kwa watu wangu, Waislamu ama ndugu zangu wa Lamu. Hii ni kwa sababu, leo asubuhi, the Leader of theMajority Party, aliongea vibaya sana kuhusu dada yangu ambaye amechaguliwa na watu wa Lamu.

Alisema, alipeleka Atwoli Lamu. Sisi ni Waheshimiwa kama yeye aliyechaguliwa Garissa Township. Mimi nimechaguliwa kutoka Fafi Constiuency, na Mhe. wa Lamu, dada yangu amechaguliwa kutoka Kaunti ya Lamu, na ana haki ya kupeleka mtu yoyote anayetaka Lamu. She is also a leader.

Kwa hivyo, ninaunga mko Mhe. Rais Uhuru Kenyatta kwa Hotuba yake ndefu ambayo ilikuwa nzuri sana na ilihusu mambo mengi. Ningependa kuongezea mambo ya security . Nimetoka Fafi Constiuency ambayo ni kubwa sana, iko na 17,000 square kilometres. Tuko na wadi mbili ambazo mtu hawezi kuenda. Ukitaka kufika huko lazima uwe na askari iwe usiku au ujifiche. Tuko na shida kubwa ya usalama katika Garissa Kaunti na Fafi Constituency.

Ninataka kumwomba Rais, atusaidie kama wananchi wa Garissa Kaunti, kwa sababu tulimpatia kura mia kwa mia. Nimechaguliwa kama Mbunge wa chama cha KANU. Katika Garissa Kaunti tuna waheshimiwa watatu ambao wamechaguliwa kwa chama cha KANU. Lakini tulichagua Rais mmoja. Kama wewe ulikuwa ni wa Jubilee ama KANU tuliomba Rais Uhuru Kenyatta na akasema tuingie kwa hiyo chama na tumpatie support .

Kwa hivyo, Jubilee kama walivyosema ni chama cha kuleta umoja, lakini sasa hivi tunasikia mambo mengi ambayo yanatendeka. Hii ndiyo maana sisi kama wafugaji tumeamua kuwa na chama chetu cha wafugaji. Hii ni kwa sababu, tuko na shida kubwa sana hapa nchini. 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.

Asilimia 70 ya watu katika nchi hii ni wafugaji. Kama ni maji, barabara ama usalama hatuna. Pia shule zetu nyingi zimefungwa kule Marsabit, Lamu, Turkana, Samburu na eneo la Maasai. Sisi wafugaji tuna shida.

Miaka hamsini imepita tangu tupate uhuru kutoka kwa wakoloni, lakini sisi bado tunajihisi kama tuko chini ya ukoloni katika nchi na serikali ambayo tumeunga mkono kwa miaka 50 iliyopita. Kwa hivyo, ninaomba His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta atuangalie kwa makini na kwa macho ya huruma, kwa sababu sisi kama Wakenya tulikuwa kunapiga kura kabla sijazaliwa mpaka sasa. Tumeunga mkono Serikali kila wakati na tuko nayo kila wakati. Sasa hivi, tunaambiwa tuko na the Leader of the Majority Party ambaye hashughuliki na kazi yake bali fitina. Kwa hivyo, sisi kama waheshimwa kama yeye anafikiria tuko ndani ya mfuko wake. Hatuko ndani ya mfuko wake, tunajisimamia. Tuko na haki ya kuchagua mtu yeyote tunayemtaka.

Ninataka kusema kuwa leo asubuhi Rais aliongea kuhusu mambo ya dini. Mimi ni Muislamu kama yeye. Tukiingia ndani ya msikiti, tuko na Imam na akisimama tunasimama, akiinama tunainama na akisujudu tuna sujudu. Kwa hivyo, hapa nchini Rais ni Uhuru Kenyatta na ameleta handshake ambayo ni nzuri, na imeleta amani nchini. Kwa hivyo, tunaunga mkono kwamba yule mtu ambaye hataki kumsaidia ama kufanya kazi asiwe ndani ya serikali na atoke nje. Tuko na Rais mmoja hapa na lazima tuwe nyuma yake na tumpatie support . Huwezi kuwa pande hii na mara nyingine pande nyingine. Hatukuelewi. Tunataka wale ambao wanafanya kazi ndani ya Serikali ya Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, wafanye kazi na Rais.

Hon. Osman, your time is over. I am afraid, if I give you one minute, Hon. Wamuchomba who is next will also ask for an extra minute. Hon. Osman, your Kiswahili was good but I wonder whether there is a Kiswahili word “wanasemanga” maybe there is, but I am not sure. Yes, Hon. Wamuchomba.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving an opportunity because I have really waited to rise and support the President’s Address. He addressed both Houses - the National Assembly and the Senate. I support it 100 per cent. This is because it was quite balanced and it gave us a lot of hope. It built a lot of confidence amongst us, as leaders. I believe it also gave hope to Kenyans. The President dwelt so much on corruption. This is something all of us who have been debating this Speech today, have contributed towards. We know very well that corruption is a limiting factor towards positive development, and more particularly, development that is politically driven. Corruption is a delimiting factor when it comes to issues that require political deliberations, political legislation and very many processes which catalyse development. Personally, as a leader from Kiambu County, I am quite concerned because corruption is not only the economic corruption we are reading in the newspapers and listening to in radios, but it is that which affects the common mwananchi, voter and citizen who queues for hours in the national and county land offices trying to pursue issues of title deeds. As I speak about title deeds, I particularly talk about Kiambu County because we seem to have a problem. I do not know whether this is a problem which I am the only one who is familiar with, but I must say, as a leader, that Kiambu County is the dormitory of Nairobi. We have so many people who work in Nairobi, but reside in Kiambu in the so-called rental houses. I had an issue because most of these houses are owned by single women or widows. These women queue in large numbers in our land registry offices to follow up on their title deeds. It is never clear 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.

who picked them and left the widows and single women struggling. This is corruption. In fact, you might be surprised that we are losing these women out of depression. Personally, I have buried about four elderly women who apparently passed on because of the burden of depression derived from injustices which are manifested around the issue of land and title deeds. So, I support the President’s Address because it dwelt seriously on issues of corruption. How I yearn and long to see what would happen if what the President said was put into practice. What would be delivered to these very meek voters of Kiambu?

On the same note, I note that we also have the same issue of corruption trickling down even to businesses. These same businesswomen have their cargo still lying at the port of Mombasa, after they have paid everything that they were supposed to pay. They cannot get their cargo to Nairobi for business. I wish that whatever the President said during his Speech is put into practice, and rescue these women from the arms of depression that is causing their deaths. Otherwise, I rise to support whatever the President said around corruption and positive economic development. If that is put into practice it will take this country into another arena. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker.

Could we hear Hon. Mwagogo, the Member for Voi?

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to contribute to the President’s Address. At the outset, I support it and I want to make a few remarks. One of them is about the state of the economy of the country. All of us are aware that the economy is not doing well. It is not true because people do not have money in their pockets. Secondly, many businesses are closing down because money is not in circulation. The point that our economy is doing well is not true. We need to work harder to ensure those things which are stopping us from growing our economy like corruption are stopped. Corruption should be fought using the right agencies and not through rallies and churches. We must ensure that we empower our agencies to fight corruption properly. One of the issues in the Big Four Agenda is food security. We may not attain food security if we continue depending on rain-fed agriculture. We need to go down and do irrigation in most areas. In my constituency, Voi, which is in Taita Taveta County, we need to harness all the water which goes all the way into the ocean to be used for irrigation by the people in order for us to attain food security. On health, you will realise that many hospitals in this country do not even have drugs and enough staff. It is something which must be addressed unless we want to go back to the early 90s or 80s where diseases as simple as malaria could not be treated. So, we need to put a lot of emphasis on our health systems like what happened to the containers which were imported to be used as dispensaries. They are still lying in Mombasa unused and yet taxpayers’ money was spent. We need to know what is happening to those containers. The other issue is on industries. The industries in this country are built in only a few areas. We need to have industries even in rural areas. Where the SGR has passed, we need things like inland container depots. In Voi, which also connects Tanzania, we need the inland container depot as at yesterday so that all the traffic to northern Tanzania can pass through the Taveta line which should be constructed. Last but not least, on education, our education system is getting messed up. Those people concerned with education like the Ministry, KNUT and other unions are not agreeing with what is going on right now in our country. We need to agree and have all-inclusive meetings to ensure The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

that everybody is taken on board so that we do not end up with a situation where you promise our children iPads but are delivered six years down the line. I want to add on the debts in this country. I think they are becoming unmanageable. We must stop borrowing in this country if we are to develop. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I support.

Hon. Koyi Waluke, the Member for Sirisia, you have the Floor.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me the chance to also speak. I must say that the President’s Address to the Nation was very balanced. The President gave a lot of hope to the nation and the people of Kenya. Even before the Speech, many people were wondering what the President was going to address. To me, our President is a very wise person. For the many years I have known him even before he became the President, he is a development-conscious president together with his Deputy. That is why I was attracted to cross over from the party I used to be - ODM - to join the Jubilee Party. The President talked about very many things that attracted the people of Kenya. Many of us have spoken about corruption. The President cannot fight corruption alone. It is the duty of all Kenyans in this nation to join him to fight corruption. Corruption is bad to every nation. In Kenya, there are people who want to make headlines in the media. For the past few months, we have seen in the media that there is very big corruption in the Kenya Pipeline Company. It is said that Kshs9 billion was stolen and then after three months when people were taken to court, again we heard that it was Kshs90 million. So, the DCI and EACC should tell Kenyans the truth before they take people to court. Last time I checked, they took people from Kenya Power Company to court and after a month or so, those people were released. Ten people were released because there was no evidence. The money that was said to be in billions turned out to be Kshs180 million. I am wondering why they lie to the nation and the world that this has happened and yet it did not. The President talked about many things including the handshake. The President did good to bring Raila to government. I thank the President because in Kenya, we now have one government and one party which is Jubilee. We appreciate the President for that. Before, you would have seen almost all the Members from the other side opposing the Presidential Speech. Now I am happy that there is no one who is opposing because we are one Government. That should continue. The President should stop because he cannot continue greeting Raila for two years. We know him as a development-conscious person. The greetings are enough. The President should get back to his Deputy to develop this country. I support the President for the Speech and the handshake that he initiated. The economy has gone down.

Very well. The Member for Sirisia, your time is up! Let us now have Hon. Tuitoek Kamuren, Member for Mogotio.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support the President’s Speech. The President initially emphasised two key points, namely, the handshake and fighting corruption. On the issue of the handshake, he has been spot on. Starting from the Prayer Breakfast which was at the Safari Park Hotel, he tried to bring everybody on board. I would like him 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.

continue spreading the handshake further because as of now, some of us do not see the handshake spreading to everybody. We support the handshake but it should cover everybody. On fighting corruption, we totally support him. I totally agree with his Speech which was well-balanced. He said he will rely on the rule of law. As he and everybody fight corruption, we should stick to the law so that we do not allow people who use vigilante tactics to scare other people. Every Kenyan should join him in the fight against corruption. On the Big Four Agenda which includes food security, this nation will face starvation very soon. The other week, we heard the Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries say that we only have 21 million bags of maize being held by farmers and about 4 million bags being held by the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB). If we are consuming around 4 million bags per month, it looks like we will have no food in five months. Already the rains are failing. The Government should address this issue very seriously. They should start planning right away. If it is to make sure that we get enough cereals on time, the Government should start looking at it very closely because right now the rains are failing. The rains are coming but it is already too late in some areas in the North Rift where maize should have been planted by this time. We are staring at a massive crop failure. The issue of food security should be addressed as soon as possible. We do not want to see impulsive importation of cereals which distorts the pricing of maize. We call on the Government to clearly address that issue as soon as possible. Another aspect which I did not hear the President clearly outline was youth unemployment. In this nation, we are churning out graduates from colleges and universities yet there are no jobs. We need to view this issue as a disaster. Many youths are currently not getting anything to do in their villages or towns. This leads them to engage in a lot of activities which are not useful like betting and other practices which are not good. The Government should look for a way to deal with this by utilising the Uwezo Fund. Some of us have been waiting for the Government to approve funding for the groups which applied for money from the Uwezo Fund. I call on the CS to release this money as soon as possible. We are told that the Board is not in place. This could have gone a long way to assist the youth to engage in employment. Lastly, I would like to address the issue of security. Security is necessary for all. You have heard about some Members of Parliament being denied security. I call on the Government not to do that. Members of Parliament are state officers and they all require security. There should be no selective security for a few MPs while others are denied. Public servants should not be misused to target MPs holding different political views. All Kenyans are supposed to be provided with security. With that, I rise to support the President’s Address.

On my left, top of the list is Hon. Nyikal Wambura, the Member for Seme.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. I rise to support the President’s State of the Nation Address. I support this because the President exhibited a spirit of commitment. More than five times, the President said there is no turning back. That is the kind of commitment that is expected. It also exposed the President’s philosophy - the philosophical basis of his governance which is to address the critical issues affecting the nation. The greatest threats to this nation and state are corruption, tribalism and poverty, particularly exhibited as youth unemployment. His Speech addressed this. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

On corruption, the President was very clear. He was vigorous and fiery. Obviously, this is necessary. Corruption undermines development, efficiency and leads to poor services to the people, whether it is in education, healthcare, infrastructure or security. You cannot do anything in an atmosphere of corruption. We support that. However, I laud what he said at the end that this will be on the basis of rule of law and that nobody will be condemned without being heard. This gave a ray of hope to corrupt people. In this country, people who are corrupt or intend to be corrupt should live in fear. There should be no hope. We cannot give hope to corrupt people. Obviously, the rule of law will be applied. If I was the President, I would not have said that. I would have implemented it without saying it because people who are corrupt will think that there is a ray of hope and that they can get away with it. You will not get away with it. On tribalism, the handshake and the BBI are great efforts. The handshake has brought peace to this country. It has brought us from far. People were dying. It has made it possible for Government efforts and development to go on. The BBI has brought cohesion and unity to this country. Those of us who saw it and can remember know that in 1963, Kenya was a very cohesive, united country. It has fallen apart in that aspect. The BBI can bring that back so that we build institutions that people have faith in and trust. We then become proud as Kenyans and not ethnic groups. That is something we should allow. I am sad when this handshake and the BBI are being trivialised and seen as a strategy for 2022 politics. We are losing the point. Even if we leave that alone, we need to build a nation called “Kenya” that people believe in. On poverty and the Big Four Agenda, the President stressed the way to look at poverty and the welfare of the people. Kenyans are suffering. Every week or month, there is a Bill here that says that dead people should not be detained in hospitals. Housing is a basic need of the people. You cannot talk about a nation without food security. Youth unemployment will only be addressed if we improve our manufacturing sector, particularly in the agro-industry.

As I end, the most important bit of the Big Four Agenda is the implementation. The President must be ruthless in his efforts to get this implemented. I know that the remaining time is limited.

Shall we have Hon. Noor Sophia, Member for Ijara?

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me this chance to add my voice to this very important debate. We are discussing the State of the Nation Address by His Excellency the President of this nation. First, I want to thank the President and congratulate him. I believe that he means very well for this nation.

The handshake is good. As politicians, we do not need to politicise it. We are saying in every baraza and forum that so and so are included and others are not included in the handshake. That is why it is taking the dimension that it is taking. I am telling Hon. Members that we are leaders and this is our nation. We do not have any other nation. We need to be focused and creative in trying to see what brings us together. Let us not subject ourselves to what would divide us, as a nation. Building Bridges Initiative is good and we need to support it. This is what His Excellency the President thought would bring together this nation, address cohesion among the people and include everybody. If we throw stones to the Building Bridges Initiative, then it will be a problem. Let us see how everybody who is aggrieved can come on board and participate in the Building Bridges Initiative. 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 writing on the wall about corruption is very clear. As a nation, we all support His Excellency the President in the fight against corruption. Let us give time to those civil servants who manage the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC). Let us see what they will bring on board. We have all the systems. As a nation that is a hub of the horn of Africa, if we do not appreciate and respect the institutions that we have, then it will be a problem. We cannot be a role model for this region. The civil servants cannot speak on this Floor of the House. We oversee them. If we have issues with them, let us summon them and deal with them categorically on the Floor of the House and we give recommendations to this House.

His Excellency the President did not touch on the climate change which is another disaster in the world. I am already suffering its effects in my constituency. I have several locations where people have shifted because we do not have water. Those are places that have never missed water previously but we have a problem because of the climate change. The drought is biting us. His Excellency the President did not touch anything on drought and pastoralists. When he was addressing the nation, he stressed on agriculture. When you do that, you are stressing on the Sessional Paper No. 10 of 1965. Honestly, you are leaving three quarters of this nation because pastoralism is the way we will go in the future. If we do not build the livestock industry, then we, as a country, will be doomed.

The education, health and security sectors are wanting in my constituency. We have a lot of problems. When I talk of identification cards, we have a number of our youth who have joined the…

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, add me one minute.

Before I get to the very far end of the Chamber, let us have Hon. Chepkut. Hon. Sophia, I am afraid your time is over. I can tell that Hon. Chepkut will also ask for an additional minute. Because I will not give him, I may also not give you. Hon. Chepkut, please.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to thank the fourth President of the Republic of Kenya for the State of the Nation Address. The speech was great. President Uhuru Kenyatta is one of the greatest statesmen in the world. He is in China now to negotiate for a loan for construction of the SGR from Naivasha, Bomet to Kisumu. I humbly appeal to him to extend the SGR from Naivasha, Nakuru and Eldoret to Malaba.

The President is a very serious person. I have heard a lot of complaints from the Members of Parliament about the State officers in the Republic of Kenya. If they have issues with them, I humbly appeal to the Members to summon them. We are the legitimate legislative arm of the Government. If we talk about them, they do not have the right of reply. Members have talked about more than 10 State officers today like Dr. (Eng.) Karanja Kibicho, Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government; Mr. Kinoti who is the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI); the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the officers at the EACC. They have talked about all of them. I can vote for Mr. Kinoti. He is top notch in investigations and forensics. This is a great civil servant. Let us not talk about civil servants. In the organisation and functions of the Government, there are ethics and integrity. Ethics are very important because they are all about culture and behaviour. The great Plato once said that behavioural change is all about desires, emotions and knowledge. So, the greatest philosophers we have at the moment are President Uhuru Kenyatta and Dr. William Ruto. There The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

is no vacuum. The leadership is fully elected. What is the worry for? I want all of us to deliver to our electorate. Period! We want to deliver quality services. When 2022 comes, God is great. His favour and grace are great. God is wonderful.

I ask Members of Parliament humbly that let us follow, be focused, be accommodative, tolerate to each other and let us support the President.

I beg to support. Thank you.

Let us have Hon. Kiai.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I stand to support the President's State of the Nation Address and his Big Four Agenda. But I want to add that besides what he said, I would have wanted to hear about the handshake whether by building new bridges, we are going to demolish the old ones. I would have wanted the President to address the issue of housing in the Big Four Agenda, whether we are going to base it on taxing the already heavily laden or burdened populace. We need to look for alternative ways of financing the housing agenda.

The President also should have talked about manufacturing in the country. We are at a situation whereby we find that the economy is dependent on importing than exporting and the balance of trade between the two is growing every day. We have a situation whereby the Government policies in place are killing the local industries through high power tariffs and expensive licences both by county and national Government and by extortion methods adopted by the national Government and the county governments. We also needed to hear about what the Government is doing to support local exporters to ensure that we grow our export economy.

On agriculture, being one of the Big Four Agenda, we needed to hear about what is going to be done to the policies that are in place that ban the use of farm manure, the dairy sector rules that seem to oppress the common mwananchi doing small-scale dairy farming. We needed to hear what is being done about coffee farming in this country. It is only in Kenya where you find a coffee farmer is the lowest paid person in the whole supply chain. We needed to be told why we continue to import sugar into the country yet we do produce enough local sugar and why the local sugar and coffee farmers remain unpaid for a very long time. Those are the things we needed to know before we realise the Big Four Agenda.

We also needed to hear about what the Government is doing to reduce the debt burden in the country. We cannot continue borrowing money especially from China to finance our infrastructure. We need to ask ourselves if the Standard Gauge Railway is the only thing that we can do. Can we not use that money to develop the road network which will reach far corners of this country? If at all the SGR is going to extend all the way to Kisumu, is it economically viable? If we are now going to have a debt burden of about Kshs1trillion on a single infrastructure which is almost a third of our national Budget, is it viable? Do we need it now or we need to have alternatives? Finally, corruption is going to kill this country. If we do not fight corruption right from the grassroots and from the bottom-up and from up-bottom, then the more we continue talking about corruption, the more it will become like a record that is stuck. We need to take serious action to prosecute corruption. Corruption is not going to be prosecuted through the media and rhetoric, it can only be prosecuted if we empower the national institutions and agencies that have been mandated to fight corruption by giving them motive to fight corruption. I support the President’s Speech. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support the State of the Nation Address by His Excellency the President. I have had the privilege to work as a civil servant in this country under the leadership of Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta and the former President Kibaki, and briefly under the second President of the Republic of Kenya. We are all privileged to serve as Members of Parliament. We sit here and we say we would need the President to do this or that. We also get asked the same things by our constituents, but until and unless there is an enabling environment for proper implementation of those things that we request, it is not possible for the President to do them. So, it is very important as a House because we are also leaders and we get asked those things where we come from. At times you struggle to want to do them but you are not enabled by certain parameters. The President goes through the same situation and frustration at times. I was just listening to a lot of our speakers here. They supported the President’s Speech. They talked about how he needs to, perhaps, promote export business. I had the privilege to serve as the head of international trade before I served as a Member of Parliament. The SGR that we have just been talking about has been built up to Naivasha. In the majority of the export business that the country enjoyed, 50 per cent of it was the corridor of Mombasa –Kampala –Kigali- Bujumbura. We have lost 95 per cent of that business just because there is the preferred corridor with is the Dar es Salaam Port. You may not understand the economics behind the SGR but unless it is completed, we will never harness even the little money that we spent of Kshs500 billion. We will never be able to recoup it if we cannot complete the SGR so that we are able to transit the goods and services to the Great Lakes Region. Majority of the things that the President wants to do in the manufacturing sector, for example – and I am speaking from a point of knowledge –cannot be sold elsewhere except in the East African Community and the Great Lakes Region. Even if we start manufacturing, we must allow and prepare the market where those things will go. I rise to support the President. I can only understand from where he sits what he goes through because I worked under him and I saw the strain he works under. This is a President that is humble, loves his country and is dependable. He has inspired hope against a lot of tragedies. Let us remember that when he was appointed President, there was the Westgate matter. Today, we have security. He has done a lot to promote the name of this country in the international arena and to allow peace to be in this country. I am one who believes in peace. But as scholars say, peace cannot be attained without unity, and unity cannot be attained without inclusivity. So, Mr. President I support you. We support you in the Building Bridges Initiatives. We do not want our members of the Civil Service to be intimidated by the Members of Parliament just because they have no privilege to respond. Let us not use politics to intimidate our Principal Secretaries and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations as they do their work just because from where you sit, you do not agree with what they are doing. We need a country that we can look up to. I support what my sister said. If we finish this country because of politics, where will we run to? So, let us lower our personal interest for the nation and for the future of this country. I beg to support.

Hon. Gure Mohamed, Member for Garissa.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity. I strongly support the President’s Speech. The President has strongly supported devolution and worked with county governments to better the lives of The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Kenyans. The President talked about Universal Health Care Programme which will help many Kenyans to access health care services particularly women, youth and persons with disability. I support the programme.

I also support the President’s commitment to fight corruption and ensure that taxpayers’ money is used well. This will promote development. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I support the President’s Address.

Hon. Yussuf Halima.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity to support His Excellency the President’s State of the Nation Address. The speech was well balanced, well thought out and I feel that it touched most of the issues that affect Kenyans on a day to day basis. I noted that on devolution, which I am very keen on because I worked with the county government, the national Government has so far transferred a total of Kshs1.7 trillion. This is noteworthy and laudable because in some areas, we have seen a lot of development. I want to say that Kenyans now seem to enjoy what was so difficult to find when we relied on the central Government. That is laudable and I want to thank His Excellency the President because he seems to support devolution. However, we also seem to have devolved corruption. We have seen a lot of misuse of public funds in the counties and this also needs to be checked. I come from Meru. Agriculture is the mainstay of Meru. In 2016, Meru farmers who grow miraa were promised Kshs1 billion and to date, they have not received that money. I would like to urge those responsible to take note and expedite the transfer of those funds to miraa farmers of Meru. I also appreciate the Building Bridges Initiative by His Excellency the President. It is quite laudable. However, I am a follower of the social media and I read what Kenyans are saying. On several occasions, I have seen Kenyans concerned that the Building Bridges Initiative was allocated a sum total of Kshs10 billion. Kenyans are wondering whether the BBI is more urgent than dealing with hunger, insecurity and disease and many other issues affecting Kenyans especially unemployment. On the fight against corruption, I fully support His Excellency the President. At the same time, I want to support his call to end vigilante justice. Some proponents of vigilante justice have really magnified corruption and they seem to double the amounts to the extent that some of us are left with questions: Is it the Big Four Agenda or legacy against corruption? Are our opponents sincere in their support for His Excellency the President and the Jubilee agenda or is their aim to portray Kenya, under the leadership of His Excellency the President, as a corrupt nation? One of the Members said that fish rots from the head. I wonder what his message is supposed to mean, but I know there is a lot. Many people are wondering and worried because we do not know how sincere some of our colleagues are to this agenda of the Jubilee Government. With those remarks, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I support.

Next shall we have Hon. Wambugu Ngunjiri?

Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support the President’s Speech. One of the things I want to point out is that what the President was doing is fulfilling Article 132 of the Constitution, which requires him to give a report to the House on the national values and what he is doing about them. What stood out for me specifically is his intention of uniting the country. As a country we have invested a lot of money in building our nation, in building our economy, in building our political establishment 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, in building our institutions. We have not invested as much in what is called building a national ethos: helping Kenyans to understand what it is to be Kenyan. One of the things that is astounding and which is discussed around the world is our ability to come back from the brink whenever we have gone there politically. One of the things that happened is now what we call the handshake or the BBI. I noted that the President has emphasised his commitment to building bridges. And I do not think that he is building bridges by destroying the ones that he had before. As far as I am concerned, from what I read, what I heard and what I have been hearing, the President is committed to taking this country forward, every Kenyan at a time. It is important for us, as we think about building bridges, to remember that this country is made up of more than just the political parties that are in this House. Sometimes we get carried away with ourselves, whether you are in ODM or Jubilee or any other party, and we imagine that the world or our country ends with our party. I was, therefore, very impressed to see the President discussing and committing himself to the handshake that he had with the Opposition leader, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga. Despite the challenges that he is facing and despite the fact that some of us politicians are unable to see beyond our desires and ambitions as we head towards the next elections, the President keeps emphasising that he intends to make BBI work. That stood out for me. The other thing that stood out for me is the fight against corruption and his commitment to make sure that it is done according to the rule of law and it is done by the institutions that have been established by the law to investigate. There have been moments when, again some of us including those of us who are leaders, have been carried away with ourselves and forgotten that when we give an institution a responsibility we need to allow it to bear that responsibility to the end. When I listened to the President, what he was reminding us is that we must allow the institutions that have been established by the law of our land, whether it is the EACC or the DCI, to conduct their work without being undermined, without being sabotaged and, without being attacked from political podiums. His commitment to support the institutions again was something that impressed me. That makes me want to support his speech this year with all that I have. As we get into this year, one of the things I am hoping and I am looking forward to seeing is an execution of the things that he committed in his Address. I am looking forward to seeing a situation where as he said, if you are a member of Government, you are a public servant and the Director of Criminal Investigations takes you to court and you get charged of corruption, you will not step aside, you will be fired.

That is what I understood him to say. That is one of the things that I am looking forward to seeing because Kenyans are looking at him to now walk the talk. They want to see actions; they want to see people in court and in jail. I am hoping that it is what we are going to see after this Address and therefore I support.

Let us have Hon. Ibrahim Sahal. Please ensure that the microphone is on. You may use the next one.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this important Presidential Address.

On the Big Four Agenda on health, the President reported success on the roll out of the pilot phase of the universal health care. The objective of the national Government to achieve the universal health carriage will never be overemphasised. The universal health initiative is expected to transform the country’s health sector that is marred by inequalities because of poverty and lack of medical insurance for wananchi by availing access to medical service at the minimal financial burden that is eliminating inequalities in access to health care. 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 success of the universal healthcare is predominantly dependent on the efficiency and effectiveness of the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF). The President’s Speech never provided a clear policy directive on how the initiative shall be modelled and financed to address the unprecedented challenges in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) region, in order not to disadvantage them in line with the Constitution and the Vision 2030.

Coming to devolution, I share the same sentiments and urge governors and County Executive Committee (CEC) Members to use prudently the resources entrusted to them to foster development, instead of selfish gain, for all the citizens to have value for money on every development project.

I, therefore, support the President’s Speech. Thank you.

Let us have Hon. Naomi Shaban.

Asante sana, Mheshimiwa Naibu Spika wa Muda kwa kunipa nafasi hii ili nami nijiunge na wenzangu kumpongeza Mheshimiwa Rais kwa Hotuba yake aliyotoa hivi jusi.

Ufisadi ni ugonjwa mgumu sana na mbovu kushinda saratani, kwa maana ni ugonjwa ambao utamaliza nchi yetu kama hatutasikiza vile Mheshimiwa Rais amesema. Amezungumzia sana kuwa kuna umuhimu wa kupigana na ufisadi maanake ni janga ambalo linatumaliza sisi sote na pia mwananchi.

Janga hili la ufisadi ni janga ambalo linahitaji Wakenya wote waungane na Mheshimiwa Rais tuwe kama jeshi lake kuweza kupigana na huu ufisadi. Kina mama wakienda kujifungua hospitalini wanakosa dawa, ama vifaa vya kuwasaidia na mama anapata dhiki ya kupata mtoto afariki au yeye apate matatizo na kufariki.

Mhe. Naibu Spika wa Muda, ufisadi unatumalizia wananchi wetu, na kutuletea balaa hapa nchini. Sio wote kule mashinani wanaweza kwenda kwa hospitali ambazo ni za kibinafsi. Watu wengi huenda hospitali za umma ili kuweza kuwezeshwa. Hata Mhe. Rais aliposema anazungumzia ajenda zake nne, moja ni kuhusu habari za kuwawezesha Wakenya kupata huduma ya afya kwa njia inayofaa na mwafaka.

Kule mashinani watu hutembea kilomita nyingi kutafuta maji. Pesa zinazofujwa kwenye ufisadi, zinafanya wananchi kuteseka, na kukosa maji ya kutumia. Kama inavyosemekana maji ni uhai. Maswala mengi na haswa sakata kubwa zilizoko ni kuhusu maswala ya kuhusiana na maji. Ufisadi hauwezi kuendeleza nchi na itakuwa sababu kubwa ya nchi hii kudidimia chini, kama hatutamsikiliza Mhe. Rais anavyosema.

Ningependa sana kumpongeza Raisi haswa kwenye maswala ya kimaendeleo, reli ya kisasa inavyotutoa Mombasa ikitufikisha hapa, sasa hivi inaelekea kumalizika kuelekea Naivasha halafu kuendelea mbele. Tunajua kwamba ameenda nchi ya Uchina kuhakikisha ya kwamba ameweza kumalizia maswala ya kupata fedha za kumalizia kazi hii. Wakenya wengi wana kilio, lakini dawa ya kilio chenyewe ni moja tu, kuhakikisha kuwa ajenda hizo nne za Raisi zinaweza kutimizwa na yeye kabla hajafika kustaafu mwaka wa 2022.

Kwa hivyo, ni lazima sisi wote tumuunga mkono, tumwombee afya nzuri na vile vile pia tumwombee hata Naibu wake afya nzuri, ili wote waweze kufanya kazi na kutekeleza majukumu walioambia Wakenya. Mhe. Naibu Spika wa Muda, naunga mkono Hotuba hii na wale wote ambao wanasimama kidete kuweza kuhakikisha kuwa Wakenya wataweza kupata maendeleo kulingana na vile Mhe. Rais alivyoitakia Serikali yake. 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.

Asante sana, Mhe. Naibu Spika wa Muda kwa kunipatia nafasi hii.

Hon. Jeremiah Kioni.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me an opportunity to speak to the President’s Speech. I want to start by saying that the President was fulfilling the constitutional requirement that he gives a State of the Nation Address every third month of the year.

I think it is important to put it on record that President Uhuru Kenyatta is the first President of the Republic of Kenya who is mandated to do so under the new Constitution. Therefore, we must commend him for the way he has continued to implement the articles of our Constitution. Of course, he has quite some responsibilities even going forward. The speech addressed many issues including corruption which has been spoken to by virtually every Member who has spoken before me.

I do not think there is much to add to it other than to say that we must all of us fight corruption and be committed to this war as it does not matter what your political affiliations are. But, perhaps maybe the fight against corruption would be better if at the formation of this Parliament we had more political parties than the two major political blocks. When they all merge and become one then we do not have an alternative voice. It is very dangerous to be in a situation where we do not have an alternative voice. The alternative voice does not have to be negative, but it gives us an opportunity to have an alternative view which always improves the general view. Even as we laud the President on this issue, I want to single out the political parties…

Order, Hon. Kioni, I am afraid it is 7.00 p.m. We will still preserve your space when this business resumes, certainly tomorrow afternoon. You shall have a remainder of three minutes to your space.

Hon. Members, the time being 7.00 p.m., this House stands adjourned until tomorrow Thursday, 25th April 2019, at 2.30 p.m.

The House rose at 7.00 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.