Hon. Deputy Speaker.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to move the following Motion: THAT, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 30(3)(a) (Hours of meeting), this House resolves to sit up to 8.00 p.m. with respect to the Afternoon sittings of Wednesday, 5th October 2022, Thursday, 6th October 2022 and Tuesday, 11th October 2022.

Hon. Speaker, you will recall when moving the Motion on Limitation of Debate on the President’s Address, I indicated that the time is limited even though we have four days. So, at the end of the four sitting days, not all Members will get an opportunity to speak. Therefore, this has necessitated the need to extend the time of House sitting. I am also cognisant of the fact that the newly elected Members need to make their Maiden Speeches. This can only be possible if sufficient time in form of extended sitting is availed on Wednesday, 5th October 2022, Thursday, 6th October 2022 and Tuesday, 11th October 2022. Hon. Speaker, it is against this context that I am seeking an extension of sitting time through this Procedural Motion to afford more Members to debate for, at least, three more hours. I urge Members to support this Procedural Motion on the extension of the sitting time to have more time to debate the President’s Speech. Hon. Speaker, I beg to move and request Hon. Owen Baya to second.

Hon. Baya, you have the microphone.

Hon. Speaker, I second this Procedural Motion.

Next Order!

Hon. Members, we will continue with the debate like we advised in the morning. All Members who are new in the House, this is an opportunity to make Maiden Speeches. When you make your Maiden Speech, nobody will interrupt you with any point of order. It is an opportunity for you to put your footprint on the debate of the House and also acknowledge your voters for giving you the privilege to serve them in this House. You have 10 minutes for each Member as we had advised earlier. The Member for Soy was on the Floor. Records show that he had six minutes to go.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me this time to proceed from where I left. I request the Chair to recount because of the interruptions of thought that I experienced. So, you can add me an extra minute. Before we took a break, I was thanking the President for that address. The Speech covered most of the areas that need to be covered for the economy to prosper. I had talked of Uasin-Gishu being an agricultural county; therefore, the subsidy on fertilizer is really welcome by the citizens of that county. In future, when the economy improves, we will call upon the Government to reduce the subsidy further to Ksh2,500. There is also need to streamline the Ministry of Agriculture. There are many cartels and brokers who make it hard for farmers to make a profit at the end of the day. I call upon the Ministry and this House to make legislation that will assist our farmers to get rid of those cartels and brokers. About three years ago, there was victimisation of farmers from Uasin-Gishu. I want to inform this House that, up to today, those farmers are still suffering. They were taken through prosecutions and their money is being held by the Government. We are calling upon the new Government to release those monies to those farmers because they were victimised and yet, they were not importers from Mexico. They were real farmers and their farms can be confirmed. They have also sent me to ensure that, that money amounting to Kshs1 billion is released. That money will improve their conditions of farming. Thirdly, there is the issue of energy. I know the Speech did not cover a lot in terms of energy but, that is a very critical component and it contributes to the challenges that our people are facing. You know very well that the Government had tried on the issue of the Last Mile Connectivity, where there was supposed to be maximisation on all the transformers that were already in place. I want to call upon this House to set up policies and regulations that are going to ensure that every transformer that has been installed is maximised within 100 days. It will assist to jump-start the process of alleviating the suffering that our people are going through. On the issue of the economy and debt, I support the President. We need to have austerity measures so that we can get money that is going to jump-start this economy. We can get the Kshs300 billion within our current Budget by ensuring that we do away with things like travels, flowers and tea that are not important to the people of Kenya and the economic development of this country. Part of the money should be injected into the Hustlers Fund and other funds that are necessary to jump-start this economy. At the end of the day, we cannot continue digging a hole to fill another one. We cannot continue borrowing to sustain our economy. We were being told that currently, the ordinary revenue is about Kshs2 trillion and the current debt that we are paying is about Kshs1.4 trillion. If you do your simple mathematics, it follows that you remain with around Kshs600 billion. That is not enough and this means that this economy is being run on debts. It is important that we cut it and we support the President so that, within three years, at least, we are in a sustainable level that we can develop our country without huge debts. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

On the issue of education, I know currently we have a taskforce in place to review the education sector, especially on the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC). There is a lot of confusion and we will support the President to make sure that, at least, the CBC is reviewed. I was reading another story that was illustrating an experiment where, for example, chicken is needed. All the children have to go with chicken. You can imagine a teacher will have around 30 chicken for just one experiment. He will put all the chicken in the fridge. We have to induct our teachers well so that if we are going forward with this CBC, at least, we go with a curriculum that everyone understands. All the stakeholders including parents, children and the teachers need to understand. For that, we as the people of Soy are looking up to the Government to make sure that the challenges that we have, especially in electricity, roads and the bottom up, that is the Hustlers Fund, are implemented so that our people can benefit. I would like to donate my time to my colleagues so that they can proceed. I do not want to take a lot of time.

You are donating nothing. You have finished your time.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. First and foremost, I want to congratulate you for having being elected as the Speaker of the National Assembly. Let me also take this opportunity to thank my electorate who have elected me for the third term without tiring. It is an honour and for sure it is not easy in this City to be elected three times consecutively. As a Nairobian, this City has many issues that can be tackled with the measures the Head of State highlighted during his Address to the public. I would like to take note of hustlers. This city is the hub of hustlers. We have very serious effects of COVID-19, which made most of our Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) bankrupt. I think an urgent measure has to be taken to ensure SMEs are back on track with their businesses. I also want to state that I support the Hustlers Fund. I am very much aware that will go a long way to boost our SMEs because in Nairobi, we depend on our pockets. We do not grow anything here. We are not farmers; we just rely on our pockets. Therefore, we require such a support so that hustlers can put food on their table. I would also want to thank the Head of State for taking a lot of concern about the banking sector. You will realise that our people have become bankrupt. Most of them are listed on Credit Reference Bureau (CRB). Therefore, they cannot access lending from the various banks. It is a very good step that the Head of State has taken to make sure that the hustlers can be lifted from where they have been hanged by the CRB. This is a very serious matter that will give our SMEs and hustlers an opportunity to access funding from various financial institutions. We also have acute shortage of housing. The housing sector is in serious problems. Most Nairobians settle in the informal sector. It is high time we made inroads to make sure that informal sectors are converted to formal sectors. The housing agenda is a very serious one, especially to the hustlers of this City who are in the informal sector. I would like to congratulate the Head of State for coming up with a strategy on how both the formal and informal sectors can be incorporated into the housing programme.

Hon. Speaker, I would also like to thank the Head of State for taking very serious measures to incorporate informal hustlers into the saving programmes. It is important because while formal sectors are able to save, informal sectors are forgotten. But the Head of State has come up with an incentive. Once these informal sectors save two shillings, the Government tops up with a shilling. This is a big step that will take our informal sector to a higher level. In this case, I support that the programme continues. For us to rebuild this country and build our economy, the Head of State tackled various sectors of importance. Agriculture has been a key driver of the economy of this country. The Head of State was very clear on how we can come out of subsidies and support production in our sectors. I support the highlighted measures by the Head of State to aid farmers, including The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

those who farm green groceries, maize, tea, coffee and horticulture. All these areas are important to drive our economy. We need to make sure that we give them an enabling environment so that our farmers can earn and save something at the end of the day. The higher the cost of farming inputs, the higher the cost of food. Therefore, serious measures need to be taken so that the Government eases the prices of commodities. We should all support this area because once farmers are given incentives to lower production costs, the people of Nairobi will enjoy a lower cost of food. When food prices increase, people who reside in capital cities and other big towns suffer the most because they even pay for sukuma wiki from their pockets. I urge Members to support this drive to make sure that prices of those commodities reduce as we support the agricultural sector.

I still believe in bringing back this economy. There was a proposal by the Head of State on how to seal loopholes and wastage to make sure that, at the end of the day, we can save from our current budget going forward. I urge that, that area is also supported so that sectors that are sometimes not well-monitored and where there is wastage are overseen. We should take our role as Parliament seriously so that we can save a lot for this country. This morning, one of the speakers was very categorical and critical on the area of corruption. If we put a stamp on this area so that we zero-rate corruption, we can save and have enough for our economy. We are almost at the red flag in terms of borrowing. Serious measures need to be taken to make sure that we are within our levels of survival without borrowing every other day. I am sure we can arrive at this dream if we make sure that our country zero-rates corruption. I am also of the opinion that the jua kali sector, especially in this City, is an area of serious concern. Those who live here without proper arrangement will be in a very bad position. That is why I urge that, as we consider other areas, we should not forget about the City. This City generates over 60 per cent of contributions to our revenue. It is important that, as we share resources, we should not forget that the City contributes a hefty amount of money. We would also like to enjoy what we generate within this City. Let the hustlers of this City also enjoy. This is a capital City and yet, you will find that we still have murram roads. This City must be able to compete with other cities of the world. As we share revenue, let us consider that the capital City of the country should be given enough so that, as it flourishes, Kenya does too.

Let us have the Nominated Member, Dorothy Ikiara.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Like everyone else, let me take this early opportunity to congratulate you on your election as the Hon. Speaker of this House. I also wish to congratulate the President and his Deputy for being duly elected to serve Kenyans for the next five years. Today is a very special day for us as teachers of this nation because we are celebrating the World Teachers’ Day. It is important to note the very important role that teachers of this country play. When I look around this House, I can proudly say that if 68 per cent of the legislators sitting here were in my village, I would have taught them some two years ago. The theme of today’s World Teachers’ Day is: ‘The Transformation of Education Begins with Teachers’. This is one reason why I would want every Member who can read and write to thank our teachers in a very special and small way. I know we are all agonising because of the looming hunger in our country today. Teachers bear the biggest brunt of watching and seeing the suffering of young ones. Young children report to school every morning and it is the responsibility of the teacher at that level to ensure that learning takes place. Today, the messages I am getting from across the country are that teachers are only doing the tender care of ensuring that children who come to school without any meal are given glucose to, at least, keep them in class. I want to thank His Excellency the President for ensuring that relief food that was flagged off has reached the hard- hit areas. I want to implore those entrusted with the distribution of the food to ensure that it reaches schools. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

I want to join other legislators in thanking His Excellency the President. The Meru community from where I come has been assigned a Cabinet Secretary (CS) in the name of Hon. Mithika Linturi. He has been given a very important docket, that is, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development. It is my belief that this docket will directly benefit the Meru community, an agriculture-rich community and a pocket for food security. At the same time, this Ministry will also take care of the President’s agenda on agriculture. He has said productivity in agriculture is not an option.

On a point of order, Hon. Speaker.

What is the point of order? She is making her Maiden Speech. We had said that we resist the temptation to raise points of order.

She cannot be interrupted. She is making her Maiden Speech.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for ensuring that I am not interrupted. This is my first day to speak in this House. I have taught you, my son.

Food productivity will take this country to greater heights. A country without food security will always be prone to what we are experiencing now. For this reason, I want to say a very big thank you to His Excellency the President.

On the President’s Speech, I would wish to talk about the culture of saving. I know it is very difficult for people to inculcate a culture of saving because of the experience people have had with savings. They are told to save to get returns. The NSSF has been in place for many years since its inception in 1965. It was meant to take care of people in formal and informal sectors but today, it takes care of a paltry 5 million Kenyans who are in the formal sector. Therefore, the pronouncement by His Excellency the President that mama mboga and

people can be included in the saving culture is very much welcome and, more so, the promise that for every Kshs2 that you save, you will get an additional Kshs1. This will make our people feel that they are saving for themselves and not for anyone. It is well known that the most difficult phase in everyone’s life is the age when one is not able to take care of himself or herself. Today, many parents are a burden to their children. In most cases, we assume that old people should always be confined in hospitals. It is important to know that old people sometimes do not need drugs as much as they need proper nutrition. It is for this reason that I want to support His Excellency the President in ensuring that every person, even in old age, is able to realise their full potential and ensure that they can live quality life. Countries like Italy have an aged population. This population is able to take care of itself because they have very good social security pension schemes. The situation is completely different in our country because when you get old, you are left at the mercy of your children. They may give you support or not. When they do not give you support, you get sick and end up in hospital. The President was very categorical that the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) programme must work for us Kenyans. The NHIF is a scheme that has been in Kenya for quite a while. More often than not, it does not provide the quality healthcare that you would expect it to offer. It is my prayer that with the unveiling of UHC, we should be able to ensure that every sick person gets access to quality medical care.

Member for Kabuchai.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I join the rest of the legislators to congratulate you on being elected our Speaker, leading these honourable professionals called Members of Parliament. I also want to seriously thank you, The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

even as I thank the people of Kabuchai for electing me by 90 per cent of votes, because you were the first one to vote for me. I want to thank you because you woke up very early in the morning with your family and went to Namakhele Primary School where you voted for Majimbo and now I am here. Thank you very much. I would not have said it any better than that. You have also mentored me. You remember where you raised some us from. We came from far to be where we are now, courtesy of your tutorage and training. I will forever remember you for the upbringing. On the Speech of His Excellency, I thank him for taking cognisance of the fact that in this country, there are people who barely have anything to eat every morning and in the evening. The best way they can get money is through Fuliza . His Excellency the President recently had a meeting and Fuliza charges were reduced by 40 per cent. As we talk today, there are people who are benefiting from that reduction. I would not have done better than that. For this nation to grow, we cannot borrow funds to pay salaries. We must borrow for development expenditure. We have to move in that direction. The President will bring to this House proposals on Budget cuts so that we can have less borrowing of funds so that this nation can grow. When he does that, this House will expedite it.

Hon. Speaker, I have not forgotten the fertilizer. If you do not plant food and the country has no food, it will spend money buying tear gas and building prisons. Without food, anybody will go and steal anything and that will lead to a jail term. I cannot forget that His Excellency the President made a very noble statement. He said that all Cabinet Secretaries (CSs) would come to the Floor of the House to answer questions. In the last Parliament, we posed questions to a CS who did not know how we run constituencies and he responded the way he wanted, without any seriousness. If the proposal of CSs coming to answer questions on the Floor of this House will be implemented, we shall now have the time to use the hammer that we have to show them that we really work. Therefore, they will perform in their fields. When it comes to this House, we shall do proper legislation to make sure it comes to fruition.

I cannot forget the Judiciary. When the President saw the backlog of cases in this country, he decided to increase the staff of Judiciary on day one in his office. He also looked at how to give them the finances and run the Judiciary properly, so that we can avoid case backlogs. The best way to treat the pandemic of lack of completion of corruption cases in this country is to do what he did.

His Excellency the President congratulated the House and the maturity of democracy in Kenya. A total of 29 women were elected in single constituencies in this country, which is notable. This is the best thing. The country is maturing but, Hon. Speaker, the much I know you and from where we come from, we should not try this at home. If we do it, some of us will lose jobs.

Which one?

When the President congratulated this country, Hon. Speaker was very happy. The democracy is maturing. We have improved the election of women in single constituencies to 29 Members. That is very good and notable. Well done, but, do not try this in Bungoma County. Do not try this at home. Some of us will lose jobs.

The Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) lists people in this country and it is punitive. When we move in that direction, we want them to correct and give advice, but not to the level of making Kenyans look like they are slaves in their country. The President talked candidly well about peace after elections. He was happy. We believe that Kenya’s democracy is maturing to the level that we can have general elections, The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

and whoever is not satisfied with the results moves to court and respects the institutions. The President’s Speech was well put and presented properly before us. Hon. Speaker, I am not forgetting something about the National Government- Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF). The President said that he was a Member of Parliament before and during that time there was NG-CDF. He is the President during the time there is NG-CDF. He knows the enormous extent which NG-CDF supports the children in this country. Therefore, we will move together to see that we not only entrench NG-CDF, but also the affirmative action. That money is not adequate. We have to increase it so that our women representatives in this country can get more money. This will lessen the burden that we carry as single constituencies. If we move in that direction, we shall empower this country. Finally, he talked well about how to empower our Senate and give it power to oversee the counties. You cannot go to the farm without a jembe or a hoe. If that is the case, we should also look for ways to empower the Senate through funding to do proper oversight. We have a lot of money that goes to the counties, but it is not overseen well. If we do that, we shall make this country a better home to govern. Thank you, Hon. Speaker for giving me this time to contribute. If I have one minute left, I donate it.

Member for Migori County.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. First, I would like to thank the Almighty God for this day. I am very grateful because we are here today. I thank God too for your life. As the Member for Migori County, I want to thank the people of Migori County for having the courage to vote for me as an independent candidate. They had faith in me that, as a young and single mother, I can represent the men, women and children.

This journey took me approximately 15 years. I thank God that all the tears that I have shed have turned to a beautiful laughter with a dimple. I would like to inform you and the House that I am a feminist. Hon. Speaker, I invite you with a beautiful rose flower to join the Feminism Club. All handsome men are feminists. I am starting to think that you are one.

Welcome to the feminism club. I want to elaborate further that feminism is not about women having power over men, but having power over themselves. Welcome to the club. Migori County is beautiful. We mine gold. We have fish. We grow sugar-cane. All beautiful women come from Migori County. Welcome to Migori County as investors and friends.

I am grateful because I had an opportunity to see the President at close range. I watched his lips. Every time he opened his mouth, I expected to hear the word, “corruption”. I watched with very big eyes. His mouth opened once and I said that he would spill it. I looked at the judges here and said that day he would breathe fire into their ears. On a soft note, he gave a soft moment on it. I got disappointed. Please let him know that Hon. Fatuma and her network are disappointed. I expect him to speak more on corruption. The moment we do not mention it all the time, then we start thinking that it is the norm to live with it; which is not. As much as the Bible mentions Jesus, when any Member or leader in country opens his mouth, he should mention the word “corruption”, even if he has nothing to talk about it. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

I am glad that he mentioned the Hustler Fund. He again mentioned that he was glad because there are more women who were elected to this House from a single constituency. Most of them came in and started as County Women Representatives. Through their hard work and faithfulness, they made it as single constituency members and a Governor. Congratulations to Hon. Gladys Wanga as the first Luo woman Governor. On this note, I think we have shown the country and the world that, honestly, women’s’ hands do come clean most of the time. I am not saying our men’s hands are dirty, but I am saying that given the small opportunity that we have and a small Fund which is as little as Kshs6.8 million per financial year per sub-county, we have shown a good report. On this note, I request the President to hand over the Hustler Fund to the hands of the women who are the County MPs. The reason being that we are the people who in our docket serve the disabled, women and the youth who are in a nice word called the hustlers. Therefore, we are closer to hustlers. Kindly, put this Fund in our hands and we promise that you will see transformation with that Fund. If we are not careful, hustlers will be hustled down and the rich will pocket this money as if they are the hustlers. Please take a great note on this. I believe you have a daughter or a youth who is hustling somewhere in your backyard.

Hon. Speaker, a lot has been said about the President’s Speech and I will not dwell much on it. We will continue talking about it for the next three days. I am here urging you, Hon. Speaker, that if you see anything touching on women, give it a smile, put your pen down, put your signature and Allah will give you more days to live.

My fellow Members, some of us are new here. We might sometimes step on your toes. Please, just tap on our backs and tell us: “It is not done like that, sister! Do not embarrass us. Our constituents are watching!”

Hon. Speaker, I do not have much to say. I thank all the voters who voted for women candidates and gave them the opportunity to serve the great people of Kenya. To Mr. President, I come from a county called Migori County, Nyatike Sub-County. In Nyatike, we have an island called Migingo. It has been our island for quite a long time but we have a problem. Some of our neighbours are claiming that the land belongs to them. Kindly, ask the President of Uganda to give us our land back because it has our fish. As the Luo community, that is our staple food.

We do mining in Migori County at large. Most of our miners who are the jua kali people and the real hustlers are really being exploited through the prices they are given by the rich and those who buy from them. In most cases, those buyers are outsiders. Since we want to reduce borrowing, I request the President to see that gold is great. I am wearing some because I come from Nyatike. I humbly request him to protect the gold miners. They work under very difficult situations. Mostly, it is the women who dig and wash the gold. Then the men give the price on it. Therefore, I beg you to talk to the President to look at our diggers of gold and give them an opportunity. Support them with the Hustler Fund so that they can do it in a better area and place that is safe for their lives.

Hon. Speaker, we are also sugar-cane growers. We have the beautiful Sony Sugar Company in Migori County, with very sweet sugar, but our company is not doing so well. Since the President talked about farmers, I request him to look into Migori County. I know he knows that we did not vote for him in large numbers. He got very few votes there but, he should just blink his eye and support the people of Migori. After all, we are all Kenyans. I will donate the few minutes remaining so that I show that newcomers are very good people. That women are very good people and they can also donate power. Men, kindly donate some power to us.

God bless you all. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Member for Kuresoi South.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to pass some messages. First and foremost, I congratulate you and your Deputy, Hon. Gladys Boss, for having been elected Speaker and Deputy Speaker. With your leadership and your Deputy’s, these Members are very secure. From your track record and even your recent remarks, you are better placed, even than the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), to assess and evaluate these Members. I also take this opportunity to congratulate the great people of Kuresoi South for voting for me a second time. They gave me almost more than 99 per cent of the total votes cast. I assure them that I will use extra energy and extra time to deliver services to them. I take this opportunity to congratulate the 5th President of this country together with his Deputy. They were voted into office not because they come from a certain region of this country, but because of their impressive track record. The President has been a Minister for Education, a Minister for Agriculture and the Deputy President of this country. His track record speaks for itself.

On the President’s Speech, I commend him. It is a clear indication that he understands this country. From his Speech, there is a very clear indication that he will take this country to greater heights. I commend him for the powerful speech he gave recently. He talked about the Hustler Fund that will give hustlers affordable credit. He also mentioned that he respects the rule of law and democracy. That is also a very clear indication that Parliament and the Judiciary will be independent. He talked about facilitating Cabinet Secretaries to come to the Floor of the House. Those of us who were around during the 12th Parliament, you agree with me that there has been a challenge in meeting those Cabinet Secretaries. But the fifth President of the Republic of Kenya has assured us that he will facilitate all Cabinet Secretaries to be coming to the Floor of the House.

Hon. Speaker, fertiliser prices had shot up. We are happy to note that the President mentioned that the prices will be reduced from Kshs6,500 to Kshs3,500. We have seen that happen. I commend him for that. He also talked about the NG-CDF. This is one of the Funds that are ensuring equal distribution of resources all over the country. It is a Fund that is touching all corners of this country. We are seeing its impact. I commend the President for assuring us that the NG-CDF will be sustained. Hon. Speaker, I do not intend to make a very long speech. I just want to appeal to all leaders and Kenyans to give our President support. Thank you.

The Member for Isiolo North, Hon. Samal.

Isiolo North, JP): Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I take this opportunity to thank the Almighty God for abundance of grace. Secondly, I thank the people of Isiolo North for having confidence in me to represent them in the 13th Parliament. I first represented them diligently in the 11th Parliament. I also wish to congratulate you and your Deputy on your election as the Speaker and Deputy Speaker in the 13th Parliament. Further, I congratulate all other Members who have been elected or nominated to this august House. Hon. Speaker, the President’s Address was inspiring. It touched on a number of areas including reminding us on the just concluded elections, the supremacy of the people and the decisions on the leadership. I will address four key intentions that he raised in the Speech; 1. Accountability and justice. 2. Agricultural productivity. 3. Infrastructure and development. 4. National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF). The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

As a representative of the people of Isiolo North, I believe Cabinet Secretaries (CS) ought to be directly answerable to Parliament. I welcome the idea of the CSs to appear before the House to respond to issues raised by the representatives of the people, so that whatever assurances they give can be followed up and implemented by the people in Parliamentary Committees. This will enhance parliamentary oversight. I will support amendments of the Standing Order of this House to that effect. Fairness and transparency in Government and access to justice is important to my people of Isiolo North. The intentions to increase funding to the Judiciary means more courts will be established in the far-flung areas of Isiolo North and, thereafter, my people will easily access justice. The unavailability of courts in the far-flung areas of this country delays and denies millions of Kenyans the justice they so much require and deserve. The desire to have fairness in governance is most welcome for the marginalised communities. It rekindles hope for the ones that will be represented in Government and enjoy development and basic government services like many other Kenyans. His Excellency the President addressed the issue of raising access to water from 60 per cent to 80 per cent in the arid areas, including the constituency that I represent. Accessibility to water is as low as less than 20 per cent. The promise to increase accessibility to water is most welcome. So, it should be focused on the arid and semi-arid areas and not just major urban areas as the case has been for the last 59 years of Independence where major investments in the water sector has targeted the urban and most populous areas. Public private partnerships (PPPs) in the water sector will no doubt greatly accelerate water access in the rural areas. However, there is need to regulate the investment or else it will further exacerbate water scarcity through pursuit of profits. The county governments should be involved in the process and the Government should protect the users from predators.

Is his time up? Hon. Rindikiri Mugambi.

I thank you Hon. Speaker for giving me this opportunity to contribute to the Speech by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Kenya, Dr. William Samoei Ruto. But before I comment on his Speech, I congratulate you and your Deputy for being elected to the position of Speaker and Deputy Speaker, respectively. I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate my President and mentor, together with his Deputy President, a friend and a mentor too, for their election as the President and the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya. I also take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the great of people of Buuri, the Constituency that has brought me back for the second time. I want to tell them that I join His Excellency the President in nation building and I shall ensure that I serve them with dedication like I did for the first five years to ensure that my people of Buuri benefit from the Government that they elected.

When I heard the Speech from our President, it gave me an impression and a stamp of confirmation of a man who understands where Kenya has been, where Kenya is and where Kenya is going. The President spoke with confidence because he moved around this country during the electioneering period, sat with many professionals in every county to understand their economic, political and social requirements. As we move forward, I am sure that, through that interaction, His Excellency the President created or gave us an impression that he is the best choice to lead this country and, indeed, on 9th of August 2022, it was confirmed by the citizens of this country that he is the best man to lead this Country. I, therefore, congratulate him and have no doubt in my mind that His Excellency the President will steer this country to greater heights. Hon. Speaker, I am sure this Speech was written to make commitments. His Excellency the President started by talking about governance. I thank him because he suffered under a regime that did not honour governance in this country. He has committed himself to the rule of law, to respect the independence of the Judiciary and Parliament. The Executive in the 12th The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Parliament “put a string around the Legislature”. This has come to an end because His Excellency the President said he will respect the autonomy and authority of this House together with the Senate, which is very important as we advance governance and democracy in our country. Someone has said that the President did not speak about corruption. He captured the element of corruption in his Speech. He argued that we need to support the Judiciary so that it can help to fight corruption. We cannot spend the whole day talking about corruption in a Speech like this. He, however, took time to give a summary that if we offer support to the Judiciary, then we are very confident that the fight against corruption will be successful.

On a point of order!

What is your point of order, Member for Konoin?

Is it in order for Hon. Didmus Baraza to walk with a naked head?

In the last Parliament, it was ruled that he should wear his official hat.

(Buuri, UDA: I think his hat was stolen by Hon. Junet Mohamed. We have to fundraise for him to buy a new one.

Before the interruption, I was alluding to the fact that the President has given us a guarantee to the rule of law. I am sure the element of corruption has been captured in his Speech. I come from a constituency that practices agriculture. I thank you for coming to my constituency during the campaign time. You are the second Speaker to come to my constituency. Food security is a key aspect in our community. I want to bring to the attention of this House that it has not rained for the last four years after the handshake was held between the two brothers. It is like they brought a curse to the rain. When the President was giving his Speech, that is the day it started raining. Imagine four years without rain and now we have no food! I thank the President for ensuring that the theme of his hustler movement in the agricultural sector is to increase productivity. I am so happy to see the prices of fertilizer being reduced to an affordable rate. The amount of fertilizer is however not enough. I ask the President to ensure that he increases the volumes because my constituency alone requires 100,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer. I thank the President because he has committed himself to ensure farming advisory services are extended to our farmers. Agriculture cannot be what it is and if we want to reach the level that he wants us to be, we should have water. I thank the President because of his effort to bring in and encourage public private partnership in mobilization of resources such as water. That is because the country at large needs water. I thank the President for thinking in that direction. If private investors are encouraged to join hands with the Government, we will have companies coming up to dig dams and boreholes which would help in supplementing the input of water in agriculture. I grew up in the insurance sector. It is my area of business. I kept saying that the NHIF needs to be restructured. I am so happy because the President said so to the effect that it becomes a universal healthcare. The President said that the tax regime is very discriminative. Indeed, it is. Through his administration, I am sure that the tax regime would be brought back to where Kenyans can afford and it should not be discriminative. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker; and thank you to my people of Buuri Constituency. We will continue working together and enjoying the freedom that has come after the hustler nation has become a reality. Thank you.

Mbunge wa Jomvu.

Ahsante sana Mheshimiwa Spika. Nachukua fursa hii kukupongeza kwa kuchaguliwa kama Spika wa Bunge na vile vile Mhe. Gladys Boss kama Naibu wako. Vile vile, nachukua fursa hii kuwashukuru sana watu wangu wa Jomvu kwa kunichagua niwe katika Bunge hili kwa muhula wa tatu. Haikua kazi rahisi; na kama wanavyoniita kule mtaani, “Kijana mwepesi, Garang Di Mabior na Mzee Fula Ngenge”, nawaambia kuwa niko hapa kwa nguvu za Mungu. Nitawahudumia kama vile nilivyowahudumia vipindi viwili vilivyopita. Vile vile, natoa pongezi kubwa sana kwa watu wa Mombasa kwa kumchagua mwenzetu tuliyekuwa naye hapa Bungeni, Mhe. Abdullswamad Sheriff Nassir, kuwa Gavana wa Jiji la Mombasa. Wakati wa Bunge la Kumi na Mbili, nilimweleza Mhe. Muturi aliyekuwa Spika wetu kuwa kama Mbunge wa Jomvu, sikuwa na wazimu nikisema Mhe. Abdullswamad angekuwa Gavana. Kwa hivyo leo, juu ya uongozi wako, twashukuru Mungu kwa kuwa Gavana wa Mombasa ni Mhe. Abdullswamad Nassir. Nikirejea Hotuba ya Rais, ilikuwa nzuri, fupi na haikuwa ya kuchosha. Alisema mambo mengi, mojawapo ikiwa ni jambo la CDF. Katika Hotuba yake katika kipengele cha 49, alizungumzia maneno ya CDF. Alisema kuwa imeweza kuleta mabadiliko makubwa. Ninavyofahamu, CDF ina kitengo cha mazingira, bursary, michezo na vilevile miradi. Hivi sasa, wazazi wote katika maeneo bunge yetu, wote wanatusumbua kwa kauli ya karo. Ni muhimu sana Serikali iangalie hili jambo la CDF ione kama tutasubiri lipitishwe kikatiba. Tunaposubiri kuipitisha kikatiba, ni muhimu kama Serikali ingepatia mambo ya

kipaumbele ili tuweze kuwapatia watu wetu. La sivyo, tumeona Rais ameondoa maneno ya fuliza kwa Safaricom lakini tusipochunga, tutakuwa na fuliza ya elimu ikiwa hatutaweza kupata hizi pesa kwa haraka.

Rais katika kipengele cha 29 ya Hotuba yake amezungumzia juu ya mambo ya makaazi ama affordable housing na vile vile, watu kupata haki ya kuona namna gani wataweza kupata makao. Hili ni jambo muhimu kwa sababu tukiangalia jambo la hatimiliki, ni muhimu kuliangazia. Na tunamshukuru Rais ameweza kuliangalia. Kwa maana hiyo, watu wangu walioko Aladina, Bangladesh, Owino Uhuru, Vikobani na sehemu mbalimbali wataweza, ikiwa Serikali itatia maanani mambo haya yaliyosemwa, kupata hatimiliki za ardhi na waweze kujiendeleza kwa maisha yao. Katika kipengele cha 48 cha Hotuba, Rais amezungumzia juu ya mambo ya janga la ukame. Hili ni jambo muhimu lakini pia tunasema mara nyingi Serikali ikiangalia jambo hili la ukame katika kuwapatia watu vyakula na usaidizi mwingine, huangalia maeneo kadhaa na wakatuacha sisi watu wa Mombasa kuonekana kuwa tunajiweza. Lakini yafaa ieleweke kuwa ndani ya mji wa Mombasa, kuna watu katika vitongoji ambao hawajiwezi. Ni muhimu Serikali ikitangaza majanga kama haya pia waangazie sehemu hizo.

Mhe. Spika, katika kipengele cha 33, Rais amezungumzia mambo ya huduma za afya. Jambo hili ni muhimu kuwa Serikali itoe huduma za afya kwa wote. Saa hii tuna karibu takribani Kshs9 million ama Kshs10 million ya CDF ambayo tunapelekaa kwa National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF). Vile vile, tunaangalia pesa hizi zinatumika kwa kaunti. Ni muhimu Serikali iangalie kama haya mambo yabaki katika kaunti zetu ili kuwahudumia watu wetu.

Rais amesema atahakikisha kwamba huduma imepata pesa ili iweze kulipa madeni. Leo nimesimama mbele yako hapa na deni moja ambalo mimi Mjumbe wa Jomvu niko nalo kwa Serikali ya Kenya. Hili ni kwa watu wangu wa Owino Uhuru ambao Serikali ilisema walipwe The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

baada ya ile sumu ya Lead ambayo iliweza kuwapata watu hao. Waliambiwa walipwe pesa hizo. Katika Bunge ya 12, tuliyaleta maneno pale ambapo Mhe. Justin Muturi aliyekuwa Spika alituma Hoja hii kwa Mwanasheria Mkuu. Nakusihi Mhe. Spika, katika Bunge la 13, litume tena jambo hili kwa Mwanasheria Mkuu ambaye ni yule yule Justin Muturi. Itakuwa rahisi kwake yeye kuwalipa watu wangu wa Jomvu na hapo itaonekana “Fula Ngenge” kweli ameweza kufanya kazi kwa watu wake. Leo tuna matatizo mengi sana. Nikiangalia hali ya fidia, watu wengi walifutwa kazi katika Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) na jambo hili Gavana wetu wa Mombasa alipokuwa hapa akiwa Mjumbe wa Mvita, aliweza kulileta na tukaweza kuliunga mkono. Watu wale tungependa Serikali ione kuwa wamerejelea kazi katika sehemu ile ili waweze kukimu maisha yao. Vile vile, twampongeza Rais kwa kurudisha utendakazi wa Bandari katika mji wa Mombasa. Hili ni jambo ambalo tulikuwa tukilitamani kwa muda mrefu na leo tunampongeza kwa kufanya jambo hilo. Nataka kusema katika miji yote ambayo inaongozwa na iko na bandari, kwa mfano Antwerp, Long Beach kule Marekani, Durban kule Afrika Kusini kwenye Manispaa inayoitwa eThekwini, hao watu hupata pesa kutokana na hizo bandari. Kwa hivyo, ni hamu yetu tukiwa watu wa Mombasa kuona kuwa maadamu Bandari hii iko ndani ya Mombasa, tutaweza vile vile kuwa na kipato katika Bandari ya Mombasa. Lakini la zaidi, namshukuru Rais kwa yale ambayo ameweza kuyaangazia; kukupongeza na pia kuwapongeza watu wa Jomvu kwa kutuchagua, na wenzangu wote, kwa mara ya tatu. Ahsante Mheshimiwa Spika na Mwenyezi Mungu atubariki.

Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Let me also have my take on the President’s Speech. I will begin by first congratulating His Excellency the President as I also take this opportunity to welcome him again to Parliament. I think those of us who were around at lunch time were glad to welcome His Excellency the President as he joined Members of Parliament and Senators for lunch. As you witnessed during his Speech, he promises an administration that will be dedicated to the just and fair governance of all Kenyans. When he visits the precincts of Parliament, he does so not just as a former Member of Parliament, but also as the Head of State and a friend to this House. He is clearly showing his intention to work in a bipartisan manner for the best interest of the people of Kenya as he said during his Speech and address to the nation. From his Speech, other than appreciating the difficult elections which we have just come from, there is the beauty of our democracy and how well it is evolving. For the first time in close to 20 years, we have gone for elections and emerged without losing lives because of post-election or pre-election violence. Kenyans being able to get back to their places of work, businesses and continuing with life after voting and having their leaders in place, is something we commend his Excellency the President and his administration for steering us through. I remember when we were going around the country campaigning, His Excellency the President was emphatic that there will be no people throwing stones, no rigging of elections, nobody swearing themselves in and we shall have a peaceful country after the elections. I think by God’s grace and the gracious people of Kenya, we were able to attain that. I must commend the people of Kenya in that we have set in Motion a new trajectory. We go for elections, vote in our leaders and continue with our lives and also expect that those who lose elections accept the results, move on with life, and help those that have won not only to govern, but to act in the best interest of Kenya. That is why even in his Address to this House, His Excellency the President was quite clear that he intends to bring legislative agendas that will require a bipartisan approach because there is nothing in the plan by mistake. When I talk about the plan, I talk about the Manifesto of the Kenya Kwanza Coalition. There was nothing that we put in the plan that was in the interest of anybody within the Kenya Kwanza Coalition. Everything is in the plan and manifesto. Whichever legislative agenda will come to this House from that manifesto is in the best interest of the people of Kenya. We are The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

here in the 13th Assembly as representatives of the people of Kenya. I want to ask each and every one of us to support the legislative agenda that will comes here. If you have listened and have been watching the actions of the President over the last few days, you can tell that he is very passionate about the housing agenda. He is extremely passionate about the Universal Health Coverage agenda and the Social Protection and upscaling the savings culture in this country. He spoke very much about that. He also spoke to the decriminalization of enterprise and supporting the enterprising young Kenyans and the business community through the Hustlers’ Fund. I am glad that the President was also very bold. I remember he was quite dramatic in his Speech when he said: “I have news and it is not very good news. Our financial situation is not very good.” It is true that this administration has inherited a country whose economy is not working for the interest of Kenyans. The President’s administration has inherited an economy that was only working for a few people. This administration has huge responsibility to make, not just the Hustler Economy, but the economy of the Kenyan people; the millions of the Kenyan people rather than for a few. Hon. Speaker, during the campaign period, those of us who campaigned with the Kenya Kwanza Coalition spoke at length about State capture. State capture in this country has been so real and that is what has bedevilled the management of our economy and its affairs. It is State capture that captured our economy, and it stopped working for Kenyans and started working for a few people who wielded their instruments of power. It is my prayer and I am confident that part of the legislative agenda that will be transacted on this Floor will be to reverse that State capture of our economy and make it work for the millions of Kenyans who voted for each one of us and those who voted for and against the President. We must act in a manner that will help our people. If not to do anything else, Members, but to uplift our people from the poverty that millions of our people are living in today Today, people in close to 15 of our counties are going without food. There is a drought that is ravaging our country and we cannot feed our people if we do not review our budgetary estimates for this year. I know the President mentioned a figure of Kshs300 billion and it sounded humongous that we could institute budget cuts of up to Kshs300 billion. But I want to persuade and convince you that it is possible. You know the padding that is usually done in budgets especially in the run up to general elections. You will be shocked that a week before elections and a week after elections, the former regime was still padding the budget and making commitments. By the third week after elections, they had made commitments of close to Kshs300 billion over and above what had been approved by this House at the beginning of June this year. You wonder what had to be done outside the Budget, under Article 223, by those who served us in the National Treasury, that could not be done during the annual Estimates in April, which is only four months ago. Hon. Speaker, if you go through many of the things that they had committed to are things that emanate from State capture. Therefore, as His Excellency the President calls on us in this House to help him because we are the budget making House, to rationalize our Budget for this financial year to make it work for Kenyans, we are not going to rationalize it to make it work for a section of Kenyans. We will rationalize the budget to make it work for the majority and millions of Kenyans across the board. That is why the President said he wants an economy that will work and a Government and administration that will serve Kenyans in all constituencies, wards and counties in the Republic of Kenya. We have no obligation other than to support His Excellency the President. I have heard Members question the President’s Speech on the issue of corruption. Hon. Fatuma from Migori said she was disappointed because he did not talk about corruption. President William Ruto does not need to speak about corruption. He needs to act on corruption. He has started acting. He has ensured that we are resourcing the Office of the Inspector General (IG). He has given financial independence to our criminal justice system to make sure that we The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

do not become like the previous regime that talked about corruption from the first day in office to the last day in office, but did nothing about it.

Your time is up. Member for Westlands.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me a chance to also talk about the President’s Speech. First, I wish to thank the people of Westlands for electing me for the third time in a row. It was not easy because I had gone to contest for the gubernatorial position and when I came back, they still had trust in me. I do not take it for granted. For the first time, I also won in all the polling stations in Westlands. That is no mean feat. Secondly, I want to congratulate you together with Hon. Gladys Boss, who was my Chair in the last Parliament, for being elected Speaker and Deputy Speaker, respectively. I will now talk about the Address by the President. He spoke about Members amending Standing Orders to allow the Cabinet Secretaries to come to the Floor of the House and articulate the Government policies and answer to questions from Members. When the People of Kenya decided to have a new Constitution, they wanted to have a pure presidential system. This was to ensure that the Executive does not belong to this House. I believe that Cabinet Secretaries can continue to come and articulate the government policies in the committees but not on the Floor of the House. That is because, as the Deputy President has coined the word “State capture”, it will amount to the “executive capture” in Parliament. We would like Parliament to operate without arm-twisting or intimidation by the Executive being part of this House. We believe the Government can still function without the Cabinet Secretaries having to come here. The idea was in the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), but it was rejected. It is not yet time for us to allow that because this is not a hybrid system. I also want to highlight what the President said about the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). It was the first devolved fund in this country. Hon. Speaker, I am sure that when you were a Member of Parliament, you experienced the benefits of CDF. It has done so much work and it has reached the furthest corner of this country and the lowest unit of our economy. The impact is out there, and it is known. We have seen what the NG-CDF has done. Parents have no problem with children going to school because it pays school fees. It has developed school infrastructure and many other things. For those who are hell-bent on killing the NG- CDF, I believe that with the support of the President and all of us, we will make sure that the NG-CDF stays alive. It will continue to exist so that we can use it to support our people in development, schools, security and many other things that it has done. Hon. Speaker, the President also spoke about affordable housing. This is one of the things that I wanted to do as governor of Nairobi because Nairobi City County is the owner of most of the land in Nairobi. We thought of partnering with the private sector to build affordable housing for our people, a replica of Soweto in South Africa, where we would have affordable and decent houses with all amenities available to the people. The Government can come in and continue the programme that was started by former President Uhuru. I am very sure that we shall do away with those informal settlements in Nairobi and make the residents home-owners by creating cheap credit facilities and providing affordable land. The developers can now construct much cheaper houses. People can then use mortgages to purchase houses. With that, many people would own homes in Nairobi. At the moment, 80 per cent of the people who live in Nairobi do not own homes. They are owned by just a few people. As a representative of the people of Nairobi, we know the kind of life that people live in informal settlements. When we have this kind of arrangement of affordable housing, it will bring decency and dignity to the people who live in informal settlements, as well as ownership of…

Yes. There is a point of order. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I rise under Standing Order No.97. If you look at the interest that Members have in this discussion, you realize that the amount of time allocated to each Member is 10 minutes. Therefore, in one hour, only six Members can contribute. I want to move a Motion under Standing Order No.97(2) to limit the amount of time allocated to each Member to at least six minutes so that we can have 10 Members speaking every hour. In one hour, we will have 10 Members and in the remaining four hours, we can have 40 Members contributing.

Let me finish and submit to the Speaker and then you can contribute to the Motion. Hon. Speaker, I beg to move that Motion because it does not require any prior notice. I move that we reduce the amount of time allocated to each Member to six minutes. I submit.

So far, I think we are doing quite well. I encourage Members that if you have made a point that has been clearly understood, you can always surrender a few of your 10 minutes to others.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I would also like to talk about the Hustler Fund. We already have three or more existing funds namely, the Youth Enterprise Development Fund, the Women Enterprise Fund and the Uwezo Fund. We should allocate more resources to these funds because they are more accessible and have done so much. I am sure Kshs50 billion Hustler Fund that the President is proposing can go a long way to improve those funds. We have been using them to reach out to smaller business enterprises and others. Building a credit facility for people in small businesses is something that we need to improve because economies are developed by those small enterprises. I have already spoken on the issue of housing and the Hustler Fund. That is all I would like to speak about on this Motion. Thank you very much and God bless you.

Let us have the Member for Lungalunga Constituency.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Now that I subscribe to Christianity, let me first of all thank God for this chance. Secondly, I would like to congratulate you for your election as our Speaker together with your Deputy. Lungalunga is the home of your party. I assure you that we are doing well. We still have a few challenges which I will put across before I proceed to talk about the President’s Speech. One, is about the elephants that are terrorizing wananchi, and, more so, in Mwereni Ward and to be precise, in Kwa Nyanje or Kasemeni Village. Ramisi Sugar Factory has become a menace. It is not paying the out-growers and we do not know where the sugar is being taken to. Today, being the World Teachers’ Day, I wish to also mention that teachers in Lungalunga Constituency expect to get a hardship allowance. I assure them that through this chance they have given me, I will push for it so that it is available to them. Land grabbing is the song, and it has already been mentioned by my colleagues. Water is also very scarce, but we still have a chance to make sure that we address those issues. Thirdly, I thank the President and congratulate him at the same time for appointing my former boss, Hon. Salim Mvurya. God-willing, if this House so wishes, he will be the Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Authority. This is a very good gesture for the people of Kwale. When Hon. Mvurya was Governor, he did a good job in the education sector. He has educated so many children up to the university level. Hon. Speaker, going forward, I applaud what His Excellency the President said in his Speech in paragraph 14. He confirmed to the nation that he will be just and fair to the people of Kenya. He assured us he will make sure that the Judiciary is well-financed. I congratulate The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

him for that. I personally congratulate him. I also want to comment on the issue of affordable housing. I personally visited Pangani and the project is amazing. If this project was in Lungalunga Town, the people would be happy seeing it, leave alone staying in the houses. I want to mention something about NG-CDF. My colleagues have said that parents are calling them requesting for school fees. Surely, students have hope. We are the people to conclude this issue. I urge my colleagues to expedite the process so that we put the matter to rest for the people of Kenya to enjoy. Education in Kenya is very expensive. Apart from crying about bursaries, we need to do something about the cost of education in Kenya. Taking a student to Form One is a nightmare. The requirements are so enormous that even school fees is lower. I do not see a correlation between a school uniform and the content taught by teachers. These are some of the issues that we should look at. I applause the resumption of port services in Mombasa. I cannot avoid mentioning this. The economy of the Coast region has come back to life. The region has the potential to have as many ports as possible. There is also Lamu Port. There is another port to be established in Shimoni. I wish to request concerned parties to make sure that the process is started to make sure that we have a third port for our people to enjoy, have employment and run businesses. I will follow up the process. On the issue of agriculture, the President already acted with respect to fertiliser subsidies. In Lungalunga, we do mango farming. It also needs to be considered. If we invest in the mango farming, I want to assure this honourable House that the economy of that area will grow and we will have very sweet mangoes from that part of the world. Lungalunga is a constituency with all characteristics. We have seashores. Around Zombo Ward, we practise agriculture – that is where mangoes are in plenty. On the other side where elephants terrorise residents is semi-arid and getting water is a problem. I thank His Excellency the President for saying that he will use all means possible to ensure that water is provided to our people. Electricity connection is another issue that needs to be addressed by this Government. There are so many transformers that do not work. As we talk about all these issues, relevant authorities need to up their game so that we provide power to the people. Infrastructure in terms of roads is also an issue. We thank His Excellency the President. He has supported us. Three roads have been constructed, but a bigger part of Lungalunga needs to be considered for good roads network. We assure His Excellency the President that we will present a memo to him, if he so allows, so that he can support us in this venture. Without much ado, I wish to thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Woman Representative for Laikipia.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Let me start by congratulating you on your election as Speaker and your deputy, Hon. Gladys Shollei. Secondly, let me thank the great people of Laikipia County, who believed in me and overwhelmingly gave me their votes to become their woman representative. It would be unfair for me to end my story at that. It is good to mention that my journey with Laikipia County did not begin at the ballot. When I was admitted to university many years ago, the great people of Laikipia County contributed their hard-earned resources and gave me education. That is how I was able to attend university. I will forever remain grateful. I appreciate that they also gave me an opportunity to serve them. Being a daughter of retired teachers, it is important to wish all teachers in this country and the whole world a happy teachers’ day. On the President’s Speech, I noted four issues. The first issue is with regard to unity. In the morning, I listened to one of my colleagues saying that His Excellency the President did not put a lot of emphasis on unity. Having read the Speech carefully, it is not once or twice or thrice but seven times that the President placed a rallying call for unity. The first instance is when he reminded us that the closeness of the election result is an indication that what unites us is greater than what divides us. He later says that he will be a hardworking and committed President to every Kenyan in this country. Thirdly, he says that his administration will be of The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

service to every person. He also says his Government will be just and fair to everyone. He says he will serve every ward, every constituency and every county in this country. That shows a lot of commitment to serve this country as a whole. The second point I took home is his request to this House to amend the Standing Orders to allow CSs to come to the House and explain government policy and agenda. Most importantly, CSs will have an opportunity to answer questions by Members of this House. This would be the most important thing that would happen in my tenure in this House. Every 2.00 a.m. I receive a call from one of my constituents based in Kamwenje telling me cattle rustlers are outside his house, about to drive away his cattle. On other occasions I receive phone calls from my constituents telling me they have to sleep under their beds because the rustlers know how to aim their guns at the level of their beds. Having a CS come to this House will enable me to provide answers to these people and will ensure that we restore security to the great people of Laikipia. Our issues do not end there. Having a CS come to Parliament will also enable me to end the human-wildlife conflict in my county. We live in a situation where our people plant, but it is elephants that harvest the produce. I will be able to engage the CS for Tourism and Wildlife to find an end to the problems that my people face. Last week, I received a call from one of the chiefs informing me that there was a leopard roaming around in Muthengera Village. I do not know what I would do with a leopard. Having the Cabinet Secretary here will enable me ensure full security for my people and safety in all that they do. I also appreciate the CSs coming to the House. We have villages like Kabiru, Likii, Majengo, Manguo and Kwa Maina Estate in my county where our people live without title deeds. This is a Government that is committed to empowering our people economically. I believe that when our people receive their title deeds, it will be a way forward for them and they will grow economically. I will also talk about infrastructure issues in my county, and I believe the responsible CS will answer me. We have promises over the years of our road between Nanyuki and Rumuruti being tarmacked. I believe this is a new dawn for my county and all these projects will be implemented. We have promises of construction of mega dams in my county. We all know that we can no longer rely on rainfed agriculture. So, our people look forward to the construction of mega dams. I know that this will eventually happen in this tenure. Allow me to go to my third point, which is affordable credit. It is important to mention that prior to joining the Executive, I worked in the private sector. Having been an entrepreneur, I know the three challenges are access to information, markets and finance. Accessing finance was the most difficult challenge. His Excellency the President mentioned that we will have affordable credit through the hustler fund, and that is a very welcome gesture. I know that it will support most of these small businesses. Finally, I will speak on agriculture. I am very glad because the prices of farm inputs have gone down, starting with fertilisers. I believe our people will produce better. With those remarks, allow me to conclude by borrowing words from the President’s Speech. Let us all work together to ensure that every Kenyan is proud to call Kenya their home. I will participate actively in this House in legislation, representation and oversight. Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Peter Orero, Member for Kibra.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

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The Hon. Members are saying that it is Teachers’ Day. I am Mwalimu Peter Orero Kibra. When you were not here in the morning, some of my colleagues kept on referring to Hon. Deputy Speaker as “Madam Speaker Sir”. I think that seat is synonymous with you. I hope we will not continue saying that.

First of all, I want to thank the people of Kibra for having confidence in me and electing me overwhelmingly. They gave me their votes. They put their aspirations, trust and faith in me to come to this august House to articulate their issues. I would like to let those who are here with us to know that I represent the biggest slum not only in this country but also almost in the world. Looking at our Standing Orders, I see that you have overwhelming powers. You have the power to rule on any issue that is not provided for in the Constitution and the Standing Orders. I want you to declare today that Kibra should be a hardship area. When you give food relief, you start with Kibra. I have residents who live not only on a Dollar a day but also others who cannot afford all the meals in a day. I know that some of my colleagues have never gone to slums. One day, I will take you to see how they look like. Some of you have not seen poverty. I wish the Speaker can take this matter very seriously. When His Excellency the President pronounced that he would create a hustlers’ fund, I thought the only constituency he had in mind was Kibra. That is why I stand here today. It touched my heart because my people will be taken care of this time round. Kibra is a slum. We lack healthcare facilities that we are talking about. If you cannot have three meals in a day, it means that the immunity level of your body goes down. Within no time, you are susceptible to diseases and your lives are normally shortened. So, we need to hasten this idea of healthcare because it will benefit my people more than others. I really support the President’s Speech because it talks about healthcare. When we speak for the first time, we are told that it is our maiden speech. I listened to the President. There is something he said in his shortest paragraph in his short speech, which I think is paragraph 37. He said that he had news which are not good because our financial status is bad. When you look at his Speech in almost all the paragraphs, we are just talking about the state of the economy in this country. When the Governor of Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) came to talk to us, he said that the debts that we service in this country are about Ksh8.5 trillion. He projected that within the next one financial year, it might move to Ksh9.2 trillion. The President said that 65 per cent of our revenue pays our debts. We must look for ways and means of reducing our debts. We will have Ksh300 billion Budget cuts. I want to concur with one of our Members who said that the first priority should be to look at each State Department and see how much was not spent. That is called the absorption rate. Which State Department did not absorb its budgetary provision in the last financial year? I have realised that some State Departments only absorb 60 per cent of their budget. Instead of having budget cuts across the board, we should look at the absorption rate of the State Departments and from there we can raise Ksh300 billion. Our recurrent expenditure is more than our revenue. We were told that within the next three years, we will have more revenue than the recurrent expenditure. This requires a lot of strict measures. I urge the technocrats who are concerned to take this matter very seriously. I wish to talk about education. I am an educationist. That is why I am called Mwalimu . The President’s Speech should have put a lot of emphasis on education. Education equalises people, whether you are poor or rich. The education system in our country is at a balance. I have seen that we have a Committee that will look at reforms which are required in the education sector. I do not think that it is a taskforce. I believe those reforms will not affect the real stakeholders in the education system. The major stakeholders are the teachers, parents and students. Most of the parents have been talking about the burden in this Competency-Based The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Curriculum (CBC). However, when you talk to them very keenly, they are only complaining about being required to help their children do their homework. It is also expensive. I would rather ask those who have been charged with this duty of looking at the reforms required in education to consult widely, especially with the head teachers’ association and its major stakeholders. That is to say that if you bring reforms, it will not take us less than 20 years to review the education system. I also urge Members of Parliament to ensure that the reform matter is only brought to this House when there is need to do so. That is so that we debate it properly before we enact it into law. When the President talked about the hustlers’ fund, I went and looked at the various funds that we already have. Today I saw the Member of Parliament for Matungulu, Hon. Mutinda, has already brought a Bill to look at some of these funds so that we ground them in law. I think he has written to the Speaker. I have seen that he has written about the NG-CDF, the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) for women, the Uwezo Fund, the Youth Enterprise Development Fund and the hustlers’ fund. The hustlers’ fund should not be merged with Uwezo Fund. Uwezo Fund has been used especially in slum areas. This is what has helped people to start their small and micro businesses. The hustlers’ fund will receive around Kshs50 billion. When we spread this to all the constituencies it will have a big impact, especially to the young entrepreneurs. When we look at legislation, let us not combine the Uwezo Fund, the Youth Enterprise Development Fund, the NGAFF and the hustlers’ fund. Let them be treated differently so that we have more avenues for our young businessmen to grow.

I would also want to look at the separation of the funds.

Your time is up. Let us have the Member for Turkana North.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. First, I thank the people of Turkana North for giving me a chance to represent them in the 13th Parliament. Most of you might not know where exactly Turkana North is. Turkana North borders two international borders, Ethiopia and South Sudan. The community in Turkana North is purely a pastoralist community. When you hear about drought and the long dry spells, most of the people in Turkana North are affected because of the pastoral arrangement. The people of Turkana North placed their hopes and aspirations on me, having worked with them in previous assignments. They believe I can represent them and ensure their hopes and aspirations are taken care of.

Moving to the President’s Speech, I want to pick out a few things that concern the people of Turkana North and Turkana in general. The Government needs to develop policies that support the mainstay of the Turkana people. Their mainstay is in their pastoral economy. Looking at the Speech and what has always happened, we have many initiatives that look into strengthening the pastoral economy. The problem has been implementation. Many strategy papers have collected dust in Government offices. This time round, we urge the Government to look into the pastoral economy. We do not want to always make noise on the drought situation and provision of relief food to our people. In essence, if the Government takes interest in what we are calling the “pastoral economy”, the people of Turkana and northern Kenya in general will have drought and relief food provision as a thing of the past.

One thing I really want to bring out in terms of intervention on the pastoral economy is that we realise we have the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) in Nairobi, which is way far away from northern Kenya where pastoralism is practised. What subsequent governments have been doing and expecting is pastoralists who have engaged in business. I want Hon. Members to know that our people have begun engaging in business with their livestock. It is not as it used to be. Going forward, we want abattoirs established in each of the pastoral counties so that our people do not have to move their livestock like cows and goats all the way from, say, Lokitaung or Todonyang or Kibish to Nairobi, where the only KMC abattoir is located. The Government should be proactive and look into the needs of our pastoral communities. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

There is also need to engage in climate change initiatives. That is presently what is being discussed all over the world. We all know what is causing drought and the long dry spells, especially in those areas. It is climate change that is affecting our rain periods. The Government should consider this. When I was watching the President give his Speech in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), he mentioned that Kenya will be proactive on interventions on climate change. We will look into this and continue reminding the Government that northern Kenya, and Turkana in particular, will look forward to these initiatives.

The other thing I want to bring out from the President’s Speech is that there is no mention of insecurity in our county. When the President was sworn in, there was an attack in Turkana East after a few days in office. It was happening within the boundaries of Kenya. A number of police officers and civilians were killed. This issue of insecurity should be taken seriously because we know that for a long time, security operations have been conducted in those areas but the results have been the same. There is need. I thank the Deputy President because he was able to meet and engage us. However, we want results. That was a boardroom meeting where we agreed on a number of issues. We are yet to see what comes out of that operation. We know very well that we cannot have development without a secure environment. The areas under attack have never developed. These areas are no man’s land and they are grasslands. In essence, this has contributed to the loss of livelihoods and the economic mainstay of the community. The Government should be proactive in bringing these attacks to an end within the borders and in the country. I am not saying that the attacks only happen in Turkana but also in Kerio Valley. There is hue and cry over the insecurity situation in these areas. The Government should come out very strongly in taking care of this matter.

Lastly, so that I can also donate part of my time to my first-timer colleagues, in the international border where my constituency is located, this is a community that has protected this country for a long time. We will continue to engage the Government on this matter so that we can have more National Police Reservists (NPRs) in that area. The intervention by NPRs has paid off. We border hostile communities from the other side. For example, in Ethiopia we border the Merille/Dassenech and Nyangatom who are very hostile to our community. There is little presence of Government in those areas. The only thing we can do is to protect ourselves. We only want to protect ourselves in a legal way. We want the Government to strengthen the NPR initiative so that our…

Thank you, Hon. Member. Let us now have the Member for Nyaribari Chache.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. My name is Zaheer Jhanda, the Member of Parliament for Nyaribari Chache Constituency. First and foremost, I would like to congratulate you together with your able deputy, Hon. Gladys Boss for your election. It is also my singular honour to thank the people of Nyaribari Chache Constituency who voted for me. It has never happened in the history of Kisii to get that number of votes since Independence.

Hon. Speaker, I want to touch on the President’s Speech. I support his Speech because he talked about having fruitful discussions with Fuliza and M-Shwari operators to reduce the cost of credit by about 40 per cent. He also promised that his administration will allocate Kshs50 billion to the hustlers’ fund so that the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) can access credit and leverage on it.

The issue of low-cost housing is a very good initiative because we have issues of shortage of land in Kisii County. I hope we will not be locked out of being beneficiaries of the low-cost housing.

I also wish to remind my fellow Kenyans, especially those from Nyanza where I come from; that the presidency is a symbol of national unity. The presidency should be respected. We have come from an electioneering period and the election is behind us. As a country, we The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

have to come together and support the Government. I am not happy with my people in Nyanza where His Excellency President William Ruto visited last week. The leadership from Nyanza deliberately refused to attend the function for political reason. It is very sad, uncouth and barbaric for such leaders to do that. I also want to encourage other leaders to work with the current Government. We have an elected Government that they should not discriminate against. These leaders earn a salary but their people are going to suffer. That is not correct. We will not agree to that. We encourage fellow leaders to support our Kenya Kwanza Government.

Lastly, the people of Kisii County, especially Nyaribari Chache Constituency where I come from, have entrusted me with the responsibility of representing them in this House and are looking forward to me to legislate their agenda and fulfil the promises that I made to them in the next five years.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I wish to donate part of my time probably to my brother Mohammed Ali, who is next to me.

You can surrender your time but you cannot choose the next speaker. The Member for Manyatta is next.

Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker. I would like to take this opportunity…

If you all can be like the Member for Nyaribari Chache, we will have many of you speaking.

I take this opportunity to thank you for allowing me to make my maiden speech.

First, I thank God and the people of Manyatta Constituency for giving me this opportunity to share with my fellow Members of Parliament this “premium platform of the chosen few” as the President referred to it. I am privileged to be one of them. I want to assure the people of Manyatta that I will try my best to fully represent them and ensure that their voice is heard. I also join my brother from Mumias East to request that the newcomers be given a good share of the time in this House so that we can air our views and those of our constituents.

I am also looking forward to working with my fellow Members to solve various issues affecting this country, especially joblessness amongst our young people. We have a lot of crises in this country but that of unemployment is one that requires serious attention. I am looking forward to bringing Motions to this House that are going to solve this menace. In his Speech, the President was able to say a few things that would solve this issue and have our jobless youth get an opportunity to work and continue with their lives. The President spoke of the hustlers’ fund which he promised to give Kshs50 billion at first so that it can help our young people. I hope this money will be given good legislation by this House so that it gets into the right hands. As it has been mentioned by my fellow Members, we have had the issue of funds not getting to the intended persons and, therefore, not having an impact on the right people. I am looking forward to being part of that team. We had a good role on the issue of procurement of Government equipment and tenders that can help solve the issue of joblessness. There was a promise of 30 per cent procurement. We would like to ensure that this House legislates that if people do not follow such rules, they should be brought to book. Hon. Speaker, the issue of Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) is one that has affected many young people. We have had more than 19 million Kenyans listed as not credit worthy. I am happy with the presidential direction. It is a step in the right direction. We are hoping to improve on that and ensure that we legislate to ensure that CRBs will be ranking our people instead of blacklisting them. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

We are also hoping that Uwezo Fund, Youth Enterprise Development Fund, Women Enterprise Development Fund and the hustlers’ fund will be disbursed through a digital platform so that it gets to the people in remote areas of this country, and to those who cannot reach the towns of our constituencies or counties. His Excellency the President spoke a lot to the issue of agriculture. I come from Manyatta Constituency, which is an agricultural area. We farm a lot of coffee, tea, horticultural crops and maize. I am very happy with the issue of fertilizer. Fertilizer has reached Manyatta Constituency but there is need, as my fellow Members have said, to improve and ensure that we have more people getting it. We also want to ensure that we provide good seedlings to our farmers so that we do not give them fertilizer but in turn are left with a loss of Kshs3,500 per bag because they do not have good seeds. I appeal to the Government to ensure that fertilizer and good seedlings get to our people so that we can farm. We need to feed ourselves as a country. We are currently not able to feed ourselves. From what I have heard from our neighbours in Uganda, we might be attacked and hence we should be ready in case such a thing happens so that we do not rely on eggs from Uganda, maize from Tanzania and other things from other countries. Kenya has enough land. All we need is to improve on our agriculture and ensure that irrigation is done in the semi-arid areas. The issue of corruption has been mentioned a few times. I want to correct my fellow Members who are saying the President did not touch on the issue of corruption. The fact that he talked about empowerment of our institutions, he clearly and vehemently talked about corruption. Corruption has gotten where it is today because most of the institutions that are supposed to handle it have not been able to do so well. The increase of funds to the Judiciary is a step in the right direction. If that happens, you will see corruption cases being solved better. The autonomy of the Police Service Commission is also important, and that His Excellency the President has done very well. We need to empower institutions such as the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission ( EACC) so that the issue of corruption can be solved. We are not supposed to be talking about corruption every now and then, as one of the Members said. Hon. Speaker, if we do that we will be able to protect the agenda or the plan that the President has given. The only way we can have these projects and dreams coming true is if we solve the issue of corruption once and for all. Hon. Speaker, the issue of the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) is one that is very passionate to the people of Manyatta. What the NG-CDF has done for our people should not be understated. As a matter of fact, we need to increase the allocation to the NG-CDF. We need to have more money to ensure that our people school well by giving bursaries to those who are not able to pay school fees, improve the condition of our schools because they are in bad conditions, and improve the standards of living. We need to realize that the future of education in this country lies in the day schools that were started by the late Hon. Mwai Kibaki. The day schools of this country depend solely on NG-CDF. I hope these Members will fight for the said fund so that it does not go anywhere. I still do not understand why the law of 2013 is said to be illegal but…

Member for Bumula.

Hon. Speaker, my name is Hon. Wanami Wamboka from Bumula Constituency. I will start by thanking God, my family and the great people of Bumula for giving me an opportunity to serve. I want to promise my people that I will serve them with dignity, honour and total humility. I have been in this journey for quite some time. I started this journey with the late Hon. Wamalwa Kijana as a defender of the people’s rights. I moved on with Hon. Musikari Kombo and as you know, I am a student of both Hon. Moses Masika Wetangula and Hon. Eugene Wamalwa. That gives me enough experience to serve my people and to fulfil the dreams and aspirations of my people. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Hon. Speaker, on point No.14, the President promised to lead an administration dedicated to the just and fair Government of all Kenyans in order to deliver a Kenya for everyone. That is where I will start. I am sure every Kenyan is aware that going into the election and after the election, the President got 50 per cent plus one vote, which is about a third of Kenya. His competitor, Raila Amollo Odinga, got less than 50 per cent of the votes, which is about a third of Kenya while the other Kenyans did not vote. Mathematically speaking, we have a Government that is a minority government going by the votes delivered after the elections. I want to appeal to the President that he must embrace all Kenyans by ensuring equal distribution of resources and positions in Government, starting from the Cabinet Secretary positions to Principal Secretary, Ambassadors and all the senior positions in this Government.

Hon. Speaker every Kenyan must feel that he is part of this Government. The President must navigate as much as he can to make us all feel like Kenyans. I am also aware about a naked truth that very many people would not like to talk about. We have a Kenya of 43 tribes which has only had Presidents from two regions of this country. I want to now address the President that there is some volcano brewing in this country that we want him to come and stop or else it will erupt. I come from a region that has been neglected in terms of Government projects and resource distribution. I yearn for a day a Samburu will have a chance to be the President of this country. I yearn for a day a Kamba, Luhya, Luo or Turkana can get a chance to be the President of this country. On the day that such a thing happens we can start talking. I know very many people will be uncomfortable with that but that is the reality of the matter. We want a clear and fair distribution of resources. The region I come from is marginalized and we have very many projects that have been started but have stalled. I have in mind the Musikoma-Mungasti Road Project, which has been going on for 10 years. A road project which hardly costs Kshs350 million has been going on for 10 years without being completed. The Mungatsi-Kimaeti-Lwakhakha Road is a nightmare and yet it is supposed to offload heavy traffic from the northern corridor that feeds this country. The Misikhu-Brigadier Road has taken almost 10 years to complete. A road from Dorofu that links Kakamega County and Bungoma County, the Dorofu-Musikoma Road, has also taken years without completion. On the other hand, we have seen new roads coming up, dual carriages from Nairobi to Nyeri which started the other day and are almost being completed. We have seen a road in the outskirts of Nairobi, the bypass, the dual carriageway which started the other day is now getting into completion.

Hon. Speaker, it is incumbent on the President to ensure that a Nekesa, Otieno and anybody sitting anywhere in this country starts feeling like a Kenyan. At this point, it is not necessary to send presidential ballot papers to other parts of this country. I will be proposing that, maybe, presidential ballot papers be taken to the two regions of Central and Rift Valley.

My attention also goes to the economic situation of my region, which is largely agricultural. I have seen Government interventions trying to address the problems of tea and coffee farmers. I want to plead with the President and his Government. I come from Nzoia, which is a sugar belt. That industry is collapsing and we need urgent measures to mitigate the situation so that farmers can continue earning a living. We need urgent interventions for Mumias Sugar Company. We need cooperation from the Government to complete the gold mining factory, same as the granite factory in Vihiga. My heart still bleeds when I imagine how the mighty Pan African Paper Mills was sold off, leading to the collapse of the economy and aspirations of the great people of Webuye. Very soon, we are going to revisit that affair and Mr. Rai must be brought to book. He must be brought to account because there is no way we could have sold Pan African Paper Mills for less than one billion shillings whereas it has property in Muthaiga and the outskirts of Nairobi that cost 1.4 billion.

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Thank you, Members. I am sorry for that. Before I call the Member for Kisii County, I just want to confirm to Members that you do not have to come and appeal to me in person right here. Once you do that I will have to skip you so that I do not create the impression that if you come here in person, I will give you priority. Just hold your horses and your time will come. We have plenty of time till 8.00 p.m. I now call the Member for Kisii County.

Thank you very much, Hon. Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity. Allow me to, first, pass warm regards from the people of Kisii and the top leadership of Hon. Paul Simba Arati and Senator Richard Onyonka, who were Members of this hallowed House. I would also like to thank the Almighty Father for blessing me because it is indeed a blessing. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I also want to congratulate you and all the elected leaders in this hallowed House. I am very delighted because we are sharing experiences. The challenges that our people face are still fresh in our minds. During the campaigns, as I moved around the entire Kisii County, I noticed that our people are facing real challenges. When I visited most of our health facilities, I realised that patients still shared beds. In some instances, up to three patients shared one bed. I also noticed the kind of food they were served. When you slaughter a cow there are inspectors who inspect that exercise. I wonder if health officers move around and inspect the kind of food our patients are served. We all agree that fruits are essential in order to give patients appetite. Unfortunately, when I moved around the hospitals, I noticed the kind of food being served was pathetic.

There are other cases that are looked down upon. For example, if you are watching television and there is a rape case, most of us always ask for the remote so as to watch a different story. This is because in rape cases victims are treated as suspects. They are asked why they wore a short dress, walked alone late at night or why they were in the company of men. This is how rape cases are treated and it is worrying. I watched news last night about a young girl who was raped but unfortunately, she lost her life.

As I proceed with the cases that are looked down upon, I am going to dedicate my maiden speech to the plight of the young girls out there. Rarely, do we see orphans, the elderly or even teenage mothers getting justice. The rate at which teenage pregnancies are rising is alarming. Let me project how cases of teenage mothers happen in Kisii. This is because we have not stopped practising Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). During the olden days of our grandfathers, they used to mutilate everything but as time progressed, the operation became partial so that young girls always know that they have graduated from childhood to womanhood. So, they start practising early sex resulting to teenage mothers. These teenage mothers lack the courage to go back home because they fear being laughed at. So, they end up on the streets as sex workers.

On Gender Based Violence (GBV), if you went to a police station to report a fight with your husband, you are told: “Madam, you are lucky you are not dead because last week we had a case of a woman who died. Police stations do not solve love matters. Go home and make peace with your husband.” That is how GBV cases are looked down upon. As I proceed with GBV, rape cases and teenage mothers, you will find in our society the political class, religious leaders and even parents are not in support of this. As I stand here today, I pray we make laws on this. In fact, I want to sponsor a Bill on teenage pregnancies or reviving the already existing laws and strengthen them so that, once and for all, we can deal with this issue by either putting punitive measures or sensitisation programmes among others to clearly address these problems. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Let me discuss the issue of good roads. In this era, we should not be talking of having good road networks or water in our social places. Surely, to dignify the lives of our mothers, maybe in the next two years we should consider having piped water in all homesteads so that our mothers and school-going children can be relieved from trekking long distances in search of water.

Moving to the President’s Speech, I want to congratulate him because it was good. The issue of affordable fertiliser was a good long-term move. He would have made short-term measures like lowering prices of basic commodities like milk, cooking oil and flour bearing in mind that our people are wallowing in abject poverty. The President said he had instructed the National Treasury to work together with ministries so as to make savings of around Kshs300 billion. In my view, he could also have thought of ways of sealing the revenue leakages. Lastly, let me make a plea to the Members in this House; that, attending presidential functions is not betraying your people who did not vote for him but a show of democracy. Thank you, very much, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Kisii County. I now call the Member for Tetu.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker for giving me an opportunity to make my maiden speech on the Floor of this House. First, I want to start by congratulating His Excellency the President and his Deputy for their well-deserved victory. Secondly, I congratulate the Speaker and you Deputy Speaker for your successful election. I wish you Godspeed as you execute your mandate. Allow me to start by thanking, very sincerely, the people of Tetu for bestowing their faith in me as their eighth Member of Parliament, although I believe my constituency holds an absurd or awkward record of never having re-elected any of its Members of Parliament for the last 35 years. I am not blaming them because we have an overabundance of good leaders, which makes our local politics hypercompetitive. This is the constituency that produced Dedan Kimathi, the most celebrated freedom hero; and Noble Prize winner the late Prof. Wangari Maathai, who was also our fourth Member of Parliament. As such, I do not take this mandate lightly. Therefore, I want to promise the people of Tetu from the Floor of this House that I will execute my triple duties of legislation, oversight and representation to the best of my knowledge and ability. My constituency is largely rural and agricultural. Our land holding is, on average, one acre per household. My people practise subsistence farming. We grow tea in the upper part of Tetu neighbouring the Aberdares Forest and we have coffee in the lower areas. We do small-scale dairy farming and we have emerging crops such as macadamia and avocado. When I sought the mandate to represent the people of Tetu, I made certain pledges and promises to them, and when I listened to the President in this House, I was very happy to note that most of the President’s priorities neatly ticks the boxes of the most pressing needs of my constituency. I will start by agricultural productivity. Food insecurity is now a real threat in my constituency. This is because of climate change and also the high cost of input of agricultural products. As such, the move by the President to lower the cost of fertiliser has come as a welcome move. However, you notice that there is no National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) storage facility in my constituency and my people have to spend in upwards of Kshs1000 to travel to Kiganjo, where the nearest NCPB Depot is located. Also, the registration process to access the fertiliser is cumbersome. It is important that going forward we utilise some permanent database of farmers which then will easily be used to allocate the subsidised fertiliser to the farmers. For our cash crops, and in view of the President’s promise to use agriculture to increase incomes, I am hoping that the Motion on guaranteed minimum returns will see the light of the day in this House. I also intend to bring legislation to guide marketing The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

of our emerging cash crops – Macadamia and Avocado – in the same way we do for tea and coffee today. I call upon the Government to support my people in agriculture, and particularly ongoing irrigation projects such as Kaigonji, Mutoigo, Huhoini, Hubuini and others to ensure that our people reduce dependence on rain-fed agriculture. On education, the President has set up a committee to review the CBC, and this is very welcome. Last week, I had a chance to move around my constituency assessing CBC transition readiness and I noted that there were more questions than answers. Still, there is no clarity as to whether the junior secondary school students will be domiciled in secondary or primary schools, and whether they will be borders or day scholars. As such, the request by the President in His Speech, that the Cabinet Secretaries come to the Floor of this House would offer us a very good opportunity to have such issues clarified. I have about 10,000 unemployed and underemployed youth in my constituency. While we are working hard to organize them into groups so that they can engage in viable economic activities, we eagerly wait for the hustlers’ fund. We hope that the Kshs50 billion will come up quickly so that it can boost these groups as we support our micro entrepreneurs.

Again, Tetu has a sad distinction as a constituency without a bank or a petrol station. There is nothing to blame because we are very close to Nyeri Town but, again, I would like to work with the national Government institutions to ensure that we move more offices to Tetu so that they can be a catalyst for urban growth. Specifically, we welcome the President’s move to increase the Judiciary Fund. This gives us an opportunity to bring the first magistrates court to Tetu.

On electricity, we hope to increase from the current 87 per cent to 100 per cent in the next five years. On our road network, we have the ongoing Mau Mau Road which stalled. The President’s announcement, in his address to this House, that he will prioritise ongoing projects is a welcome relief to ensure that those projects are completed. Specifically, I would like to draw your attention, Hon. Deputy Speaker, to the Ihithe-Ndunyu-Njeru Road, which is supposed to link the counties of Nyeri and Nyandarua through Tetu and through the Aberdares Forest. The construction of this road has been frustrated by some Government agencies that have falsified environmental impact assessment report sponsored by foreign conservationists. The people of Tetu have waited for this road for 19 years. Today I had a chance to mention this to His Excellency the President and I was very glad to know that he is very well apprised and seized of the matters of this road. He promised to help us seek a solution at the soonest possible time.

To improve on availability of water, I would like the Government to consider the proposed Muhoya Dam so that we have sufficient water for our people for both domestic and irrigation use. As highlighted by the President in his Speech, we welcome the use of public private partnerships for water and I would like to volunteer that Muhoya Dam become a pilot project for this great initiative.

We also welcome the alignment of the NG-CDF to the Constitution. It is only fair to mention that this is causing anxiety among my people because they are not sure which way forward. As I conclude, I really look forward to making my mark and my contribution in this House as a great debater, informed contributor and diligent committee member. Hopefully, I can break the one term jinx in Tetu. God bless Tetu, God bless Kenya.

Thank you Member for Tetu. I now call the Member for Narok North.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity that you have given me. Before I go on, I would like to congratulate the Speaker and you, the deputy, for the opportunity that you have to serve us in this House. Allow me to The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

also thank the people of Narok North for having elected me to come and represent them in this great House. I want to promise them that I will represent them well. I will also make sure that I articulate the issues that are affecting them. It was not easy for me to be elected first woman in Narok as a Member of Parliament. I come from a constituency that holds on culture. It is a conservative constituency that does not see women as leaders, especially when vying for a position that was once held by the famous Hon. Ole Ntimama. So, when I was going on with my campaigns, the constituents were wondering how this woman would come here and represent them without a rungu. I kept telling them that I do not see rungus in Parliament. Today I want to tell them that I am here and I have not seen any rungu . That means this will give hope to our women. I have a background of going to all villages telling our people not to practise female genital mutilation. I am on record having even taken some people to court to make sure that I fight for the right of our young girls. When I was going on with my campaigns, they were all referring to me as the woman who goes around carrying a wooden model that shows all parts of a woman and the effects of female genital mutilation. Therefore, nobody was sure that I was going to be elected. Even the political parties did not want to associate with me. I happen to come from a constituency that supported the Azimio la Umoja One-Kenya Coalition Party. Unfortunately, its leaders did not want to associate with me. I want to thank the Jubilee Party, which gave me a nomination ticket that has led me here. There are challenges that my constituency is experiencing at the moment. They include the roads, which are in a pathetic state. Farmers rely on these roads for transportation of food commodities to Nairobi. Unfortunately, it is eventually the middlemen who reap the benefits instead of the farmers. There is also lack of clean water and hospitals are in a bad state. The decision to devolve the heath system may not have been right because health concerns people and I think the county government lacks the capacity to run the hospitals. Public hospitals lack water and electricity, and nothing really goes on there. This is an issue that the Members of this House need to relook and find out whether we did justice to our people. Women and children are suffering due to these challenges. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I wish to comment on the Address by the President, which was brief and articulate. It highlighted issues that are affecting Kenyans. As I listened to the issues, I remembered what I promised my people. They include water, roads and good hospitals. We need to look at areas that are really affected by the problem of not having proper infrastructure. The NG-CDF, which is a fund known by everyone, including children and women, women want to know whether it is still operational. We need to come out clearly and defend NG-CDF and make sure that it is constitutionally valid and available to our people. In case there is need for an oversight, we need to come up with laws to ensure prudent use of these funds. The NG- CDF is important in the constituency because, in order to achieve the plan that we have for the people, of easing congestion in secondary schools, we need to construct additional dormitories and dining halls. In matters of education, Kenyans are still lagging behind, more so the girlchild. The society needs to appreciate the importance of education. Most girls have gone to school and some are even trained teachers but unemployment is a challenge. The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) needs to give priority to the local people, including those who have not necessarily stayed out for long after graduation, when it comes to employment. I would urge the TSC to employ the locals so that they can also agree to go to the schools that are in remote areas. In most cases, the teachers who get employed from far are unable to work in remote areas like Narok. They want to work around towns and areas closer to the roads. The President’s Speech also raised issues of affordable housing, which I think should not only be implemented in towns but also in the counties so that people can also have access to decent housing and comfort. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

The President also talked about the CRBs, which affect our people, like the farmers in my constituency, who may be unable to settle their loans hence unable to facilitate their businesses when they are blacklisted. I was impressed with the solution that he offered, which will enable farmers to resume their work. Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

Thank you Member for Narok North. Your accomplishments are well known by many women in Kenya. I now call the Member for Kiambaa Constituency.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. Let me take this opportunity to congratulate Hon. Speaker and yourself for being elected as the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly. I also want to take this opportunity to thank and congratulate His Excellency the President Dr. William Samoei Ruto and his able Deputy President Hon. Rigathi Gachagua. We are coming to terms with the new title of the President. May I take this opportunity to appreciate the great people of Kiambaa Constituency for electing me again as their Member of Parliament. I first served them for a year and now they have elected me for a five-year term so that I can continue to implement development of our constituency. The President’s Speech touched on the issue of Cabinet Secretaries coming to the House to reply to Questions. In the 12th Parliament, I had a lot of challenges due to delayed responses to Questions which took about a year. The Questions were about roads and insecurity in my constituency. We are now going to support the President’s agenda to make sure that the Cabinet Secretaries will be coming to the House so that they can be asked Questions and give us direct answers in order for us to report back to our people. That is a milestone.

Another issue is criminalising enterprises. My constituency has so many SMEs and as we know the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is not friendly. I think that is why the President thought it best to change its name to ‘Kenya Revenue Services’. This is because he realised that they criminalise small enterprises. Instead, they should come up with modalities and ways on how people will pay taxes and ensure that they offer friendly services to the people of this great Republic. On the establishment of the hustlers’ fund, the Uwezo Fund, the Women Enterprise Development Fund and the Youth Enterprise Development Fund are of great importance to our people. Once the hustlers’ fund is introduced, we will legislate and implement it. This is because it will empower millions of hustlers who elected us to this 13th Parliament. Also, it formed the basis of our campaign in 2022. It will empower the mama mbogas in my village and wauzaji wa miwa in my constituency to access credit. That way, they will have better lives, provide food for their families and educate their children. I urge the House to support the Hustlers’ Fund Bill because it is important. We should all join hands without caring which side of the political divide we are in, so that we can better the lives of our people. The President also mentioned the NG-CDF. He categorically said he was a Member of Parliament before NG-CDF was introduced and after its introduction. So, he knows its importance because majority of the children are going to school through this fund. As you will realise, there are those students who perform very well and cannot continue with their education. The NG-CDF has enabled us to give bursaries to millions of Kenyans. Many children have joined high schools or universities because of it. Therefore, when this matter comes up, we should join hands in support of it. This is because it has nothing to do with a Member of Parliament, but has everything to do with poor Kenyans during low moments. Right now, we are receiving messages from people asking if they can get bursaries. We are yet to form committees. So, we can continue doing the great work we have been doing. In my constituency, we are renovating schools and building classrooms. In Kawaida Primary The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

School a classroom hosts 120 students. So, without the help of the NG-CDF, the number of classrooms cannot be increased to ensure that students get good education. Therefore, the NG- CDF is here to stay. We will do all we can to support it not because of our own interests, but because of what it has enabled us to do in our constituencies.

The President also spoke about private-public partnerships and water. There is a place in my constituency called Ruaka, which is densely populated. This is because of ongoing developments like construction of apartments. It lacks water. Since I became a Member of Parliament, I have been requesting Athi Water Works Development Agency and the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation to provide us with water. This has not been achieved because of lack of funds. I believe PPPs will come in handy and help us get water and proper storage in our constituencies. This will make the lives of our farmers and constituents easier. We will support this agenda when it is brought to this House. I will be the first to support it even if we are asked to pay. There are so many people who are willing to pay any fees levied by the Government so that at the end of the day we have tapped water in our homes.

He also spoke about housing projects. We are willing and ready to support this legislative agenda once brought to this House. We need this kind of development in villages like Ndenderu and Kibarage in my area so that we can build decent homes for the people. They have small pieces of land and decent housing will improve their lives and enable them to take care of their children. The President also spoke about the saving culture. He said upon employment up to retirement, one can save Kshs200 every month and at the end of his working life, he will have about Kshs74000. It is high time we looked into this model and grouped our people, especially those in the informal sector. If they save Kshs2 the Government will add them Kshs1 and at the end of the month they will see how much they have saved and this will help them become better savers. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I support the President’s Speech and his agenda. When he brings all these matters to the House for us to legislate, we promise to fully support him. Thank Hon, Deputy Speaker.

Thank you. Let us have the Member for Kirinyaga County, who will be followed by Member for Mandera East.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I am grateful to be in this House. This being my first time, I would like to give my maiden speech. I am Jane Njeri Maina, the County Woman Representative (CWR) for Kirinyaga County.

. I commit to serve them diligently for the next five years.

( Loud consultations )

You cannot mix languages.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I believe you were directed to give us leeway to learn.

Member for Kirinyaga County, according to the Standing Orders, if you start in Kiswahili, you will speak it the whole time. If you start with English then you will follow through with it. This is for the purposes of the Hansard .

Admittedly, I profoundly miss breaking into dance with my constituents from which they gave me an affectionate moniker ‘ GacheriGaitu’ . To the young people of this nation, you have a role to play in the social, political and economic empowerment of this nation. You must no longer stay in the shadows but step forward and take charge for as they say, power is taken and not given. To my father who was The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

tragically taken from me before the elections and before he could see this child become great, his name shall echo beyond the walls of Parliament. To my family, my best friend, Andrew, who was there every day after I lost my father at the height of the campaigns, you are an invaluable addition in my life. It would be a disservice if I do not forewarn my colleagues that where I come from, we milk lions while seated on porcupines. As appertains to the President’s Speech, it gave home to a bedridden nation, was short and succinct. Of great importance was the rollout of subsidised fertiliser because my people are farmers. Therefore, it deeply concerns me because there are some farmers in Mwea and across Kirinyaga who are unable to access fertiliser because they do not own land. I implore upon the relevant authority to ensure that all farmers enjoy the subsidized fertiliser. Moreover, I implore upon the 13th Parliament and the Executive to cater for the young people of this nation. We must address the pressing needs of our young people, which include unemployment, mental health, and drug and substance abuse so that their future is secured by all means necessary. I wish to congratulate the President and his deputy for having shown the goodwill to engage, mentor and consult young leaders culminating to the signing of the Youth Charter. I assure them that the young people will hold them accountable to their promises. I further want to thank the President for taking the bold step of ensuring that we no longer have subsidies. It would have been the easier way having come from campaigns where we promised our people that we will lower the cost of living. Lastly, I want to give thanks to the Almighty God for seeing it fit to have me in this House. I will commit to serve diligently and pray that as new Members, we are able to learn from you who have walked before us in the next five years. May God bless the 13th Parliament. May God bless this nation. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Kirinyaga County

Thank you very much, Hon. Deputy Speaker. May I take this opportunity to, first and foremost, thank the people of Mandera East for electing me and having faith in me. I thank the Almighty Allah Subhanahu wata'ala for giving me health and this opportunity to be in this august House. May I also take this opportunity to congratulate you and the Speaker of this honourable House. I came from the furthest place from this Parliament; that is Mandera. I come from Border Point One, where Kenya’s first beacon is. Mandera has a lot of problems, including insecurity, poor roads and lack of essential commodities. This is a place where we lost two senior chiefs and two assistant chiefs within a span of few months through terror activities. Two chiefs were killed on the Arabia-Mandera Road. The two Senior Chiefs of Arabia and Omar Jillaow were killed by Al Shabaab just a few months before the election. The two Assistant Chiefs were also killed just a few months before the election. This is as a result of the poor roads in Mandera. In the 21st Century we have no tarmac road in Mandera East other than Mandera Town which was started after devolution. That has really helped the terror team to plant Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) on the roads. When we were campaigning, we could not move freely for fear of the IEDs. You can easily be blown up any time. Sometimes we were forced to use helicopters to campaign within our constituency. I therefore request this honourable House to assist us in pushing the Government to tarmac the Lafey-Arabia-Mandera Road and the Rhamu-Khalalio-Mandera road within the shortest time possible because one life is more expensive than billions of shillings that can be used to tarmac those roads. In Mandera, we have Kenya Police Reservists (KPR) and National Police Reservists (NPR) who normally man our borders in addition to our gallant forces. These KPRs and NPRs The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

are poorly paid to the tune of Kshs10,000. You may not know the difference between KPR and NPR but people from the borders like Turkana know them very well. The KPRs are locally employed by the counties and NPRs are employed by the national Government. That is our national security. If you investigate and get to know the amount of money that is paid to those people, you will be shocked. Those people normally lose their lives following these terror activities. Just recently, we lost eight of our gallant KPRs without compensation despite earning about Kshs10,000. Their families are now living in abject poverty. I want to appeal to the Government to take this matter very seriously and pay these people at least the level of the Kenya Police and other forces so that they can be motivated and do their work. They understand all the routes and the area very well and can do better than the other forces only if they are paid very well. In Mandera, we lack basic needs including food, shelter and clothing. Other than a few of the people who belong to the middle class, and a few others who have been very successful in business, the majority of the people live in abject poverty. They live through the relief food and cash transfers that are now being given by the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). We really thank the World Food Programme and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for helping our people through cash transfers and water trucking. We have a problem of shelter because during the rainy seasons and even other times, our people live in huts or hoorios, as we call them. We want the Government to help us build low-cost houses for these people. The Housing Ministry concentrate on the city and other high range areas and not constituencies. We want to translate this to the local people so that our people can now graduate from the huts to permanent buildings. The other issue is water. Our people normally take water from boreholes – water that is salty and untreated. This has led to so many of them having cancer. The salty water may not be fit for human consumption. However, they have to use it because they have no otherwise. They have no other way to live other than using that salty water. We want the Government to use experts to make sure that fresh water is provided for the people of Mandera East and the entire Mandera County. Unemployment is also extremely high in Mandera East Constituency and Mandera County in general. Other than a few employment opportunities provided by the county government and a few in the national Government, most graduates live in abject poverty. We want the Government to give us opportunities and provide employment for our people. Somalis, who are normally the majority in Mandera, are very aggressive in business. If you provide funds, they can easily extend, start businesses and even provide employment opportunities for other Kenyans, which they are already doing. A few of them are already doing so, because other Kenyans from down-Kenya are now moving to Mandera to seek employment. We expect the Government to provide interest-free loans to the people of Mandera. I cannot take money with even less than 0.00 per cent interest because of my religion. I expect the Government to provide interest-free loans. I also request Parliament to consider providing interest-free mortgages for parliamentarians, because I cannot take a mortgage right now as other Members are doing because of my religion. We have the Dawa River in Mandera, yet our people are crying due to lack of water. Areas that are a bit far from the river do not have water. If the Government can pump in some money and...

Member for Mandera East, I thought you would take your cue from the brevity and impact of the speech by the Member for Kirinyaga County. At this rate, I think she is the only one who matches the President’s Speech. If I knew that anyone else would match that record, they would probably get priority. It is now time for the Member for Wajir County. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I would like to congratulate you and the Speaker for your recent election. My name is Fatuma Jehow from Wajir County. I want to make my maiden speech, and I would like to dedicate it to the women of Kenya and the mothers of Wajir. I would like to thank the good people of Wajir County for their overwhelming support and for giving me this opportunity to serve them in the 13th Parliament. I do not take their trust and confidence for granted. As such, I will endeavour to champion their rights, bring unity, equity, equality, transparency and accountability; and to ensure peaceful co-existence among ourselves across Kenya and beyond our borders. Today, I am sure the good people of Wajir County are fixated on their televisions or phones to watch how their daughter will participate in the first sitting. I assure them that as humanly possible, I will serve them and the county diligently with the last ounce of courage, strength and blood left in my body. I am here for a reason, and it is an interesting story. I want to tell you about pressing social issues. It is not about climate change or our path to attaining nuclear energy or power. It is not about party politics. I would like to talk about our respective roles and responsibilities as we fulfil our campaign manifestos. Hon. Members, we must deliver on our mandate to the millions of Kenyans who put their trust in us. We must give them hope and reassure them that bei ya unga na mafutaitashuka . It is about time that we, as Members of this 13th noble House, rise to the occasion and work together in a bid to attain unity, equity, equality, transparency, accountability and bring progressive-oriented programmes to the communities that we represent. Why do I tell you this? My objective is to highlight the plight of our mothers, single mothers, widows, sisters and daughters, some who were raised as orphans and others who are taking care of orphans right now. Some of us were lucky to be brought up by single mothers who are strong, hardworking and resilient. To all our mothers, I cannot thank you enough. In Wajir County, a majority of breadwinners for their respective families are our mothers, who toil day and night to ensure that their children have something on the table. They pay keen interest in their progress in school and madrassas . They give their all to make sure that our children are happy. I am sure that, that is what an ordinary mother in Kenya does. Despite the trials and tribulations that our mothers face, they are our mothers, and they all represent the women of this country. My story is a testament to inspire orphans, single mothers and widows who are currently struggling with their daily activities. Today, the young orphan from Bulla Jogoo in Wajir East is all grown up and she fought all odds to be here. It was not easy. This is by the grace of Allah and the sheer hard work of our mothers. I encourage them to never give up. Your efforts and patience shall yield fruits. My prayers and best wishes are with you. Owing to the above, I challenge this House to wipe away the tears of pain our mothers have endured over the years. Let us work together to bring joy and prosperity to women, youth and Persons living with Disabilities (PWDs). We should empower them through actions or policies to cushion them during these trying times, necessitated by the ongoing drought and inflation that have resulted in the skyrocketing prices of basic daily commodities. As such, as a matter of priority, we should be deeply concerned about these vulnerable Kenyans. We should work on how we can reduce taxes and prices of day-to-day assorted food items and fuel prices. My fellow Hon. Members, we should ask ourselves whether we are a gift to this world and our respective constituents or a burden. I strongly believe that we are a gift. As such, we should also pay attention to malnutrition, Gender-Based Violence (GBV), status of women empowerment and their rights, among others. Allow me to update you on the current drought situation in Wajir County. This is where I ask our President that, just like the Hustler Fund, we would like to consider a drought fund. The Arid and Semi-Arid areas (ASALs) of this country are currently facing severe drought. As The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

pastoralists, we are going through difficult times. Scarcity of water due to ongoing drought has greatly affected our livestock production and markets. This is our source of livelihood. As a result, scarcity of milk has also affected our children due to increased cases of malnutrition. The recent data that we have in the latest drought report indicates that Wajir County is currently at an alarming and worsening trend. Wajir County received depressed rains in four consecutive seasons, and the rains are likely to fail for the fifth consecutive season.

On health and nutrition, there are increased cases of malnourished children aged between ages six months to 59 months. The number of malnourished children requiring treatment rose from 62,283 in February 2022 to 80,968 in June this year. Outbreaks of opportunistic infections related to drought such as kala-azar have so far killed more than 477 people. Access to water is a problem in Wajir County. Water sources in the county include boreholes, shallow wells and water pans. The current water condition is below normal compared to the previous four seasons, which has increased distances to water sources for both human and livestock. For us, we hear about education when we come here. Where I come from, people think education is not a priority. There is low pupil admission for early learning. Migration has increased absenteeism and school drop outs, as pastoralist parents shift with their children to areas with better pastures and water. Security is a problem in Wajir. Just like my brother from Mandera East said, a day to elections we were also burying more than four people from Hadado in Wajir West. We ask the Government to help us to bring sanity along the Wajir-Isiolo border. Finally, I earnestly implore the relevant ministries to scale up their short and long-term interventions and cushion all vulnerable Kenyans during these trying times. May God bless Wajir County. May God bless this House and all of us. Thank you.

r: Thank you. I call upon the Member for Kajiado North Constituency.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. I also take this chance to congratulate you and the Speaker on your election. I wish to begin by thanking the Almighty God for giving me an opportunity to serve in this 13th Parliament. I thank the great people of Kajiado North for not only electing me on the 9th of August 2022, but for also upgrading me from a Member of County Assembly (MCA) to a Member of Parliament (MP), having served them for two terms. This is the real meaning of ‘bottom up’.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I sit in the shoes of the first Member of Parliament, the late Oloitiptip, the late John Keen, the late Philip Odupoy and, of course, the gentleman who said ‘there comes a time when the nation is more important than an individual’ the great Prof. George Saitoti. I am humbled and honoured to serve in this Assembly, and I can only assure the great voters and this Parliament that I will give my best with the help of God. Hon. Deputy Speaker, on the Presidential Speech, first of all I want to congratulate His Excellency the President on being elected. It is only God who made him the President and the people of Kenya. He comes in at a very defining time. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and outstanding leaders. When you read a book by Lee Kuan Yew, From ThirdWorld to First : The Singapore Story: 1965-2000, you see a leader who comes in at a time when Singapore was about to sink and get back to be joined with Malaysia. But they put in measures The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

to make sure that the country stood out. When you look at the country today, Singapore remains a country that has made steps because of decisions made by great leaders that have served the country. The President made a short and sweet speech, just like Sauti Soul would sing ‘short and sweet’. There are several issues that he raised. One was the issue on transparency. You realise that the Westminster Parliament is what it is because of the Prime Minister’s Hour, where one is able to query government on any issue. The nature of Parliament is that you raise issues and get answers on the Floor of the House. This Parliament was once very alive when Ministers would come to this House. Therefore, the President’s intention to have Cabinet Secretaries (CSs) answer to this Parliament is such a great honour. It is also a trust that is given to this House, and not only that, he also wants to address the issue of transparency. He leads the Government and he wants to put it on check. Nothing would be greater than that, especially at such times when you hear that decisions that were made in the previous Government were not appropriate and have exposed this country to the issues we are dealing with at present. On the issue of environment, the President is very clear that he wants to do something about it, being a global issue. It is an issue that some of us are sensitive to and believe in the environment. I am an environmental impact assessment analyst. They say nature is very unforgiving. The late hon. Wangari Maathai said that if you do not take care of nature, nature does not take care of you. Therefore, as an MP, I would want to see my Government take care of the environment during my time as an MP. On the issue of CDF, it does not need emphasising that it has had an impact, more so the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF). The President said that he believes it can work. I also believe it can work without undermining the Constitution or declaration of the courts. On the issue of affordable housing, the best example that every one of us should look at is what Singapore has done. Eighty-five per cent of Singaporeans own their houses. It is part of the reasons why their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew. Most importantly, the affordable housing programme provided all Singaporeans an opportunity to own houses. Therefore, part of what they call decency and giving people homes is provided by the government. The first and current Prime Ministers of Singapore made efforts towards making affordable housing a reality to everyone. As I wind up, Hon. Deputy Speaker, having worked in a county government as an MCA, there is nothing that has affected our society as the issue of health. The reason county governments cannot manage health is because some of the issues they handle cannot be handled by county governments alone. We did a pilot programme in Kajiado County and His Excellency the Deputy President then was one of our guests. We tried to ensure that every home has an NHIF card, and the result was amazing. Just imagine the impact if everyone is treated in hospital using NHIF cards. This is one of the issues that I would personally want to see achieved while serving this Parliament. The UHC affects all of us. We are members of one fundraising group or another because of health. I am sure with right linkages, we will be able to leverage on UHC. Hon. Deputy Speaker, following your advice, I do not want to belabour the point. The people of Kajiado North believed in me to be here. I am also grateful to my colleagues who are here. I look forward to fruitful and constructive engagements. I believe in learning which begins when you decide. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

God bless you all and thank you very much.

Thank you. Member for Bahati Constituency.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker for giving me this great opportunity as a first-timer. Let me start by congratulating our Excellency the President and Deputy President for being elected. I will also not forget to congratulate the Speaker and yourself as the Deputy Speaker, as a woman. When women are in power, I am very proud. I will also not forget to congratulate all elected and nominated MPs. I thank the people of Bahati Constituency for believing in me and for electing me to represent them in this House. I know that I promised to ensure that I deliver in the education, road, security and many other sectors. The speech that was given by our Excellency the President quite resonates with the people of Bahati. As the current Government reviews the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC), it is my humble request that they also look at feeding programmes. As I was campaigning, I saw how children were suffering in terms of food. Some of them were missing school because of lack of the feeding programme. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I come from Nakuru County, and as an MP, I am one of those girls who had been chosen as “Nakuru Girls”. I want to talk about our road network. The Government has to hasten the process of the Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) project of Mau Summit Road. We know that many people have had nightmares, sleeping on that Road because of the heavy traffic. I want to express a key highlight on the President’s address. I came to this House to represent the people of Bahati because we do not have water. I urge and encourage the Government to continue taking up the PPPs projects or the Water Purchase Agreements, because that is the saviour of many. Many Members have said that we have a food shortage, but you can imagine if we have water, what can happen even to the other semi-arid areas. I want to congratulate the Government on the Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Let it not be the usual way where we keep saying that we are taking it up. Let it be implemented in this new Government because it will save many people. Many people have been saved, especially those who have chronic diseases. I also want to encourage and congratulate the President for coming up with the Hustlers Fund. The Government should create an enabling environment where our micro and small or medium traders will access it. We have seen success in Gikomba where traders borrow money from banks in the morning and refund it in the evening and they make at least something out of that amount. I thank the President for talking about a friendly tax system. We know very well that many have suffered in the hands of the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA). We tell the KRA to please give our traders an environment where they can trade instead of killing the businesses that have been created. I also thank the President for bringing the fertiliser prices down. I come from Bahati, where we rely on agriculture. As the new Cabinet Secretary (CS) gets into office, I ask him to ensure that he brings back the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) loans and co-operatives. I was brought up by a farmer who used to do dairy farming. I want to encourage the CS to ensure that AFC loans are back. In a nutshell, the President’s Speech quite resonated with the people of Bahati. I thank them for electing me despite the stiff competition. They chose to wear the yellow suit, but they decided that the tie would be red. That is why I am in this House. God bless the people of Bahati and all of you. Thank you.

Thank you. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Member for Ndhiwa Constituency. He will be followed by Member for Dagoretti North.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I am grateful for the opportunity that you have given me to contribute. First of all, I thank the Almighty God for the grace and mercies that we are all here together. I also congratulate you, the Hon. Speaker and all Members on your election. I thank the people of Ndhiwa people for re-electing me. I will not let you down in this second term. There are projects which we did not finish, like Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC), Raila Amolo Odinga College for Agriculture, Gor Mahia Ring Road, South Kabuoch and Nyokal Technical Training Institutes (TTIs). By God’s grace, I pray that these projects will come to fruition. The President’s Speech was very short, precise but loaded, and I thank him for that.

He talked about unifying Kenyans, but he cannot do it alone, Members. We too must do it by the language we speak here, how we speak it and to who. I restrained myself when the Member for Nyaribari was lashing out at the people of Nyanza, without even knowing what happened. We should respect each other. He should have even asked me why I did not attend the President’s function, and I would have told him. We know better and we are planning where to meet the President on development issues. From where I sit or stand, the objective of debating the Presidential Speech is to enrich it, so that when he retreats to write a framework for policy and regulation, he can add what has come from the House. So, I have few points to add. I was happy to hear this; he said that his administration would be fair, just, impartial and transparent. I wish all of us in this House could also adopt that so that we can also help the President – that we can also be fair. That is why even the Majority in this House will be Azimio.

On a serious note, remember us on that. I hope the Hon. Speaker will make a good ruling. Point two is on domestic saving. It is very hard to save; especially where basic necessities are not met in a family situation. There are households in Ndhiwa that do not even know where Kshs100 will come from. Therefore, this is a good thing to do, and I thank the President for his promise that he will add one shilling for every two. There are things to ask the presidency to do so that people can save, especially in the informal sector. Number one is food security. Another is tuition. There is a revolving door in schools. Children go in and come out because there is no school fees. We should also look into medicine and poverty. People are living on under one dollar a day, as a Member said here.

On austerity, I congratulate the President. Many economies have been stabilised by budget cuts. It works. However, it does not work alone. I urge the President to also look into corruption. In the past administration, Kshs720 billion per year went to theft; that is Kshs2 billion per day. So even if we look at a budget cut of Kshs300 billion, we still will not manage the economy. Let us address this. This is not for the President alone. Even in this House, when the Budget comes and when we do oversight, let us be tough on the implementers. We need to have a national conversation on debt because most of the debts went to infrastructure, but it was not equitable across the country. For example, a farmer in Ndhiwa cannot ferry their farm produce to the market because there are no roads, yet they are paying the same debts. So, even if we reduce our debts by not borrowing, then we should also have an alternative from local revenues to channel funds to areas that have no roads and other infrastructure. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

The President talked about the CSs coming here; it is a good idea and we had it in the parliamentary system. It ceased when we adapted the presidential system because most work is done in Committees. If we think of changing the Standing Orders, we might also have to look into amending the Constitution. The reason is that we have over 40 Committees. It cannot not be implementable in a House where each Committee wants their Questions answered. How will it work? Will you bring all the CSs here on one day? How many days will that take? In a presidential system, Committees work best because it is a smaller set up. There are many committees, even ten can meet in one day, and we invite all those CSs. Even as we embrace that it will be effective, we also need to look at the logistics of implementing it.

Lastly, I want to talk passionately about health. As a public health specialist, I feel pain when the health of a people is in jeopardy, and simple diseases are driving families to poverty. They are preventable situations and some achievable by promoting health through the UHC. This UHC has been discussed in Kenya for a long time. When we went to Malaysia, the same books that we developed here have made the Malaysian healthcare system robust and an example to the whole world. To the presidency, the UHC is different from Primary Health Care (PHC) because the UHC looks at the promotion of health through prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care; while the PHC looks beyond medical. For example, if you have a very well-equipped health facility somewhere, and there is no road to get there or if there is no electricity, and women come to deliver, our women still die on the road and you cannot, as a health practitioner help. So, we have to combine these two and fund it well. I thank the President for this, because he said he will invest in PHC. That will save Kenyans a lot of money.

In closing, Hon. Members, the ballgame of politics in this country changed with the 2010 Constitution. There is no longer opposition politics. It is not there. We only have a Government, and this Government has three Arms. One of them is ours, the legislative Arm, whose responsibility is to oversee the Executive and the other Arms. So, let us take our role. It does not mean we do not like the Government when we have to keep them in check and make sure they implement what we approve here in the Budget.

Thank you. May God bless the people of Ndhiwa as well. Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

Thank you. Let us have the Member for Dagoretti North, after which we shall have the Member for Moiben Constituency. Then we will have the Member for Nyali and thereafter the Member for Lang’ata Constituency as we go ahead. We still have plenty of time.

Thank you so much, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I wish to first thank the Almighty God, and the people of Dagoretti North for giving me the privilege to serve them in the 13th Parliament. I also thank you for being bold to stand and for being our Deputy Speaker, bringing back the memories of our sister, the late Hon. (Dr.) Joyce Laboso. We say thank you for that. We also thank our Speaker, Papa wa Roma, Hon . Wetang’ula, for also getting that opportunity to serve this 13th Parliament.

Having said that, one of the things I will start with is to appreciate that Nairobi is a unique county. It is a county that serves nearly seven million people; four million of them come in in the morning and in the evening return to the environs of the metropolitan that we have. Indeed, those who remain in Nairobi are Nairobians, and they deserve better. They deserve services like in any other county. When you look at Nairobi today, we are talking about drought and famine. One of the things we need to say is that we have many families that are sleeping hungry in Nairobi today. We have children who are unable to go to school because of lack of school fees, and others for lack of food. I really thank our leader from Dagoretti South, the Hon. K.J., for bringing in a feeding programme. I also thank the Hon. Member for Nyali and all those Hon. Members who are feeding their children within their constituencies. They have given us a role model that we The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

will embark on and see how this House can also amend the NG-CDF Act or come up with a policy to ensure each constituency is able to give lunch to its children.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, coming to the speech of His Excellency the President, one of the things I want to say is that yes it was a short speech but when you look at the 52 paragraphs, he outlined his policies and more importantly food security, which is in agriculture. He outlined education, the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) within trade, health, which is important, and the NHIF. He also outlined issues of youth and women. Today, I want to speak to a few things.

First, I congratulate our teachers as they celebrate their day today. I also appreciate the Presidents’ will in terms of bringing in the taskforce. I request that we re-look at everything and ensure our children who go to public schools do not become guinea pigs to be used to test an education system in this country. As Kenya within East Africa, we should have an education system that is universal, where a child from Kenya can go to Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and have the same opportunity the way these other children have. But that does not mean that we scrap off completely the CBC because it brings back the intention of a parent taking part in the growth of the child. If I am asked my opinion, it will be that from nursery to Grade Three, we agree CBC has to be there. However, from Grade Four going up, we give our children the universal education that is there for them to enjoy the way every other Kenyan, Tanzanian and Ugandan are enjoying education. Hon. Deputy Speaker, on the national debt, I stand with the President. It is important to look at different proposals. We have natural resources. This House has to first look at the loans that we have taken. We might find ourselves with loans that we took but we have not started using, maybe because of the guidelines that were given. Those are loans we can agree, as a country, to return. We can also ask whether we have natural resources and whether there is a way the Government can tap into some of them. This is to ensure we are able to pay the national debt then start a new formula in Kenya to take care of ourselves and not rely on borrowing as we continue to do, and as we continue to support the President in looking for Ksh300 billion. But we must remember that we have Kenyans who are looking upon us, whom we have their pending bills: monies that they used and monies that they took from banks. We have also to ask ourselves how we will ensure these Kenyans are paid their resources and are able to pay the banks they got loans from. We need to ask ourselves, as a House, how we are going to assist Kenyans who come from the airport. When one arrives at the airport, you get the taxman waiting for you. If you are carrying one laptop, the taxman tells you that it is above U$500 and, therefore, you must pay tax. Those are some of the barriers that have made Kenyans go below. We must come up with a solution. If a Kenyan is coming back to his or her country and is carrying his or her goods, and they are not for sale, they should pass through the airport and even get that hospitality of being welcomed back home. Kenyans travelling from Europe are required to remove everything from their boxes when they arrive at the airport to check if they are carrying new stuff. This House has an opportunity to reverse some of the barriers that were erected by the previous administration. It will help many Kenyans who have gone out of the country, especially students and all those who come back to this country. Health is for all of us, and we know very well that NHIF is going to support many of our families and those who are unable to afford. I know that every Hon. Member here has a patient in Kenyatta National Hospital, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and everywhere; each of them requesting for assistance to clear a bill. In Nairobi, we are even more vulnerable because every time we have different burials and funerals. These are our people and we must look for solutions on how to ensure that families are able to afford.

Hon. Speaker, when I look at what the President has requested this House, he has not told us to bend our rules and not fight corruption. He is very clear on matters corruption. It is The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

a culture that has eaten all of us. We blame each other, yet all of us have something in our closets. We need to ask ourselves how we are going to change that before we look forward. I thank him for the team that he has given us: The CSs, whom I appreciate, because I have worked with him when we were Senators and Members. I really, thank him for giving Sen. Murkomen, Sen. (Prof.) Kithure Kindiki, and Hon. Soypan those opportunities. These are people we will stand with; we have all walked the journey since the Year 2013; and my Chair and mentor, Hon. Alice Wahome whom I worked with as a CEO when she was my Chair. These are people who will understand the politics that are there. Kenyans want to see us change the style of how we do things; and I appreciate that they have moved on. I want us to move on and start changing the lives of people. Lastly, I want to speak about the Presidential Music Academy, which has been helping many of our children in talent. I think it is for this House to see; and I plead with the President that it remains with the Cabinet so that we are able to see many other young talents. These are the children you find acting during national events like Mashujaa and Madaraka Day.

Member for Moiben Constituency.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I take this opportunity to congratulate you and the Speaker for being elected to serve in this 13th Parliament. Members believed in you, and we are sure that you are going to take this 13th House to the greatest heights. I also want to take this opportunity to thank the people of Moiben Constituency for giving me an opportunity to serve them as an MP for the First Time. I appreciate the people from the following Wards: Karuna/ Moibeki, Moiben, Tembelio, Kimumu and Sergoit. These are the wards that form Moiben Constituency. I believe that I am up to the task, and I am going to serve them diligently. I want to pay tribute to my predecessors, particularly the women who have been elected to serve in Moiben Constituency. I would like to start with Hon. Chelagat Mutai posthumously, and also Hon. (Prof.) Kamar, who have given service to the people of Moiben Constituency. Moiben is a very interesting constituency. It sets a very high bar for women. It is almost becoming difficult in that for one to qualify as an MP, you must be a Professor. I hope they will set the same for our male counterparts. I also take this opportunity to thank the women who prayed for me, who tied the traditional Kalenjin legetio for the entire season I was campaigning. I want to thank the men, and in particular the old men, who gave me the traditional saliva as a blessing. I want to thank the young children who gave me the long string of saliva – the one that is unending – as a blessing as they cheered me during the campaign season. I am telling them that I am going to serve them very well.

I want to take this opportunity to comment on the President’s Speech. I want to congratulate his Excellency (Dr.) William Samoei Ruto and his deputy, Hon. Rigathi Gachagua, for being elected to serve Kenya. When the President made his speech, he gave us the current scenario in the country – that we are carrying a burden. He gave a very sad situation, but what is very interesting is that his speech was full of hope. He did not behave like we are about to close shop in Kenya and go elsewhere. He promised that in as much as the situation is as it is, there is still hope and we can still take Kenya to the next level. He touched on so many issues like electricity, water, health, education and so on, which are issues that are very key and very dear to Kenyans, particularly to my people of Moiben. For example, in agriculture, Moiben used to be the agricultural food basket of Kenya. People of Moiben plant wheat and maize, which is their cash crop; and keep cows. They used to do very well but unfortunately today, we are having such a sad situation in Moiben. I was a product of maize and milk; that is how I managed to go to school. But now the farmers in Moiben can hardly even pay for fare to go and buy fertiliser in Eldoret Town. So, the situation is very sad. I can see that the President vividly captured that in his speech. We already started receiving the The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

low hanging fruits; that is the subsidised fertiliser. We are hoping that come January, February and March, when it is the major planting season for the people of Moiben, we shall have sufficient fertiliser.

He also touched on education. In as much as we now have a taskforce to look at the CBC, which has become the talk of every homestead, in social media, we have all stories about what is happening in schools, which I do not think some scenarios are true; like a situation where it was said that teachers were telling children to bring chicken. Already, there are people working on the future of CBC. I would also encourage that we look further, not just at primary education, but that we also go further and deal with education in totality. We have our Kenyan institutions of higher learning which are grappling with debt. When institutions of higher learning are having issues, and that is where international ranking is done, then it becomes problematic. When we have no credibility in our institutions of higher learning, then education in Kenya will be questionable. When the education of a country is questioned by the world, it will not be in very good taste. I also agree with the President that this is the time to implement the UHC. In Moiben, our hospitals have huge bills and so many patients who have been held in hospitals. We have bodies in mortuaries. People cannot bury their loved ones because they cannot afford. The poverty index is so high. With the promise and agenda that the President has set, we just need to support him as legislators. He promised that his administration will be fair, and he hopes that he will not legislate issues which could be bottlenecks to this very great agenda. Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker for the opportunity. Let me also use the chance to again thank the people of Moiben. Thank you very much.

Member for Nyali.

Shukrani sana, Mheshimiwa Naibu Spika, kwa kunipa fursa hii. Ningependa kwanza kutangulia kwa kutoa shukrani zangu zote za dhati kwa Mwenyezi Mungu kwa kuweza kunipatia fursa ya siku hii ya leo; na vile vile kuweza kutoa shukrani zangu kwa wakaazi wa Nyali kwa kunichagua kwa mara ya pili licha ya changamoto ambazo tuliweza kuzipitia wakati wa uchaguzi mkuu uliopita. Wakati huo, asasi za usalama hususan viongozi wa asasi za usalama, walitumika vibaya sana katika Kaunti ya Mombasa kujaribu kubadilisha maamuzi ya wakaazi wa kaunti hiyo. Nataka kusema kuwa ushindi huu ni ushindi mara tatu kwangu binafsi. Ushindi wa kwanza ni ule wa kuchaguliwa kama Mbunge wa UDA nikiwa peke yangu katika Kaunti ya Mombasa. Ushindi wa pili ni kwa mara ya kwanza katika historia ya Kenya kwa wana Mombasa kuweza kutoa asilimia arobaini na nne na kumchagua Rais wa wananchi, William Samoei Ruto. Ushindi wa tatu, ni ushindi wa Rais kuregeshea watu wa Pwani Bandari ya Pwani.

Nikirejelea katika Hotuba ya Rais, ni kwamba, kilele cha hotuba yake kilikuwa ni maswala ya uchumi, ambalo limekuwa donda sugu tangu serikali iliyokuwa mamlakani kuondoka, na serikali ya sasa ya wananchi ambayo inataka kutatua maswala ya uchumi kuipatia kipauumbele na kuhakikisha kwamba bei ya bidhaa, hususan chakula, zitaweza kutafutiwa mbinu mahususi na kuweza kuziregesha katika hali yake ya zamani. Rais aliguzia maswala ya deni, ushuru, uwekezaji na kutoa mfano, si katika Bunge la Taifa peke yake, bali hata hapo nje katika shughuli zake za ujenzi wa Taifa. Rais alisema kwamba angependa kuona nchi hii ikiekeza ili Wakenya wasiweze tena kuenda kuomba pesa The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

nje bali tuwe tunafuata mfano wa nchi kama Uchina ambapo serikali inakopa katika asasi za serikali ndani ya taifa hilo. Pia, Rais alizungumzia Bunge la kazi. Alitaka Bunge hili lishirikiane na Serikali kuu ili tulete mabadiliko kwa mpigo na kuwahudumia Wakenya, hususan baada ya kupewa taifa lililobakwa, demokrasia kuharibiwa, mali kufujwa na waliofanya hivyo kuondoka kama wamemwachia Rais nchi uchi. Vile ambavyo amewachiwa nchi hii kwa hakika ni vile ambavyo hayati Emilio Mwai Kibaki aliwachiwa nchi hapo awali, kabla ya kuwaomba Wakenya wampe muda ile aweze kuboresha uchumi wa taifa hili. Alipopewa muda huo, bila shaka aliweza kufanya hivyo. Rais William Ruto amejipata katika mwanya huo huo, lakini kutokana na utendakazi wake, bidii, kutolala na kutopumzika, ameonyesha ishara tosha kwamba anaweza kuleta mabadiliko ya haraka na kuikwamua taifa hili. Kuna baadhi ya Wabunge ambao wamezungumzia Hotuba ya Rais, and kusema kwamba haikutaja maswala ya ufisadi. Tunataka kuwakumbusha kwamba hatuna wakati wa kutaja ufisadi kwa sababu tunajua wafisadi ni kina nani. Kazi ya Rais wa Jamhuri ya Kenya ni kuhakikisha kwamba wale wote waliofuja pesa za wananchi watashughulikiwa, na kuhakikisha kwamba pesa hizo zimeregeshwa kwa Wakenya. Ningelipenda pia kuzungumzia suala ya Hustler’s Fund – kile kitita cha pesa kilichowekwa. Hilo ni jambo ambalo amekuwa akitembea nchi nzima na kulizungumzia. Ni jambo ambalo litawafikia kina mama mboga, watu wa bodaboda na watu wa mkokoteni ili kuwasaidia, kwa sababu ile ya National Government – Constituencies Development Fund (NG- CDF) haitoshi na ina mipaka ya utumizi. Hotuba ya Rais iligusia pia maswala ya Mawaziri kufika katika Bunge hili la Taifa, na kuulizwa maswala nyeti kuhusiana na sehemu zao na Wabunge ambao ni waakilishi wa wananchi. Ni wazo zuri zaidi, na mapendekezo hayo ya kubadilisha na kuhakikisha kwamba Mawaziri hao wamefika yatakuwa mambo ya muhimu sana. Ikilinganishwa na Bunge la Kumi na Mbili, Mawaziri walikuwa wanajipiga kifua sana, na kujiona kama mungu-binadamu ambao hawawezi kuulizwa maswali wakati wanafanya makosa au wakati kuna dhulma katika taifa hili. Tunataka hadhi na heshima ya Bunge hili irejee kama zamani ili tuweze kuuliza maswali. Pia suala la NG-CDF limekuwa likizungumuziwa. Kama Mbunge wa Nyali, nimerudi hapa katika Bunge hili kwa sababu wa utumizi bora wa pesa za NG-CDF. Kuna hata magavana ambao wako na mabilioni ya pesa, lakini yale ambayo Wabunge wanafanya ni makubwa hata kushinda yale ambao hao magavana wanafanya. Pendekezo la kutoa pesa kwa Bunge la Seneti ni jambo zuri zaidi ili wapate nguvu za kusimamia na kuchunguza utumizi wa fedha katika kaunti mbalimbali. Mwisho, maswala ya makaazi aliyoyazungumzia ni bora zaidi, na bei ambayo imetolewa hakika mwananchi ataweza kulipa. Katika kipindi cha miaka fulani, mwananchi atakuwa na nyumba na sio kuishi katika mabanda kama mkimbizi wa ndani kwa ndani. Hatimaye, nina ujumbe kwa Wabunge wenzangu na wananchi pale nje wanaosubiri kwa hamu na ghamu kuona yale ambayo Rais atafanya. Nataka kuwaambia kwamba mtoto hazaliwi na akaanza kula chapati. Mtoto anazaliwa, ananyonya, anatambaa, anatembea kisha anaanza kula. Kwa hivyo, tuko katika sehemu ambayo Rais anapaswa apewe muda wake aanze kufanya kazi taratibu, akishirikiana na Bunge la Taifa, Bunge la Seneti na serikali za kaunti ili tuhakikishe kwamba tumekwamua taifa hili mahali ambapo tumewachwa. Yangu ni hayo tu, Mheshimiwa Naibu Spika. Pia nataka kutoa kongole na kukupongeza wewe binafsi na Mheshimiwa Spika kwa kuchaguliwa. Tunatumai mtatuongoza katika njia salama, na kuhakikisha kwamba sheria zinazotungwa ni za wananchi wa Jamhuri ya Kenya. Asante sana na Mungu awabariki Wakenya wote.

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Thank you. I now call upon the Member for Kangema Constituency, who will be followed by the Member for Embu County.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. First of all, I thank God, who has made me to come to this House. Second, I thank the Kangema people who elected me as their MP. I also thank His Excellency the President, who has been a good friend of us, and a supporter. I also thank the Speaker of the House for being supportive. I thank you, too, Hon. Deputy Speaker, on being elected. The speech of His Excellency the President was excellent. As it has been said, the speech was short but had the right content. As the President put it, the campaigns were about ideas. I want to put the record straight, that for us from central Kenya, the campaigns were not about tribe or ethnicity. The campaigns were about the ideologies that the UDA party and Kenya Kwanza Alliance came up with. I was in politics at the lower level. From 2007 to 2013, I was a councillor. Between 2013 and 2017, I was an MCA. The aspect of bottom-up and the hustler ideology resonated with our people. During Kibaki’s term from 2007 to 2013, the aspect of Vision 2030 was very critical. The management and budgets of every department, including our local authority institutions were based on Vision 2030. We walked along the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which we had to achieve by 2015. The Jubilee Government then picked up from where Hon. Kibaki left. There is nothing to do with two tribes. Vision 2030’s political pillar is a democratic political system that is issue-based, people-centred, result- oriented and accountable to the public. Therefore, as political parties, we must separate this from the tribal aspect. That way, nobody will lie to you that they will develop your tribe. Let people come up with ideologies to change the economy of this country. The President spoke a lot about agriculture. My county and constituency are about agriculture. I want to thank the President because today he acted on an issue to do with agriculture by flagging off a tea container headed to Ghana under the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA). These are the ideologies that made our people to support the agenda that was sold by Kenya Kwanza. The issue of tea marketing is very critical to a tea farmer. Whenever a government says that it will walk the talk and see how tea farmers can make a kill in their business, everybody will run on that ideology. I thank His Excellency the President, because today our tea is headed to Ghana. He said that he is going to work on the issue of value addition and move it from 5 per cent to 50 per cent and we have seen him doing it. We are going to support him on the issue of agriculture. We will support him on value addition. When the President will bring issues on value addition, we will support him because tea is a very great foreign income earner. He said that he would add value mostly in orthodox tea. When the Government allocates money in it, it will improve its foreign earnings. Hon. Deputy Speaker, the President said that he would work on how our recurrent expenditure would be less than the revenue. That is a move which we support. We have many projects which are ongoing like Mau Mau Road, that everybody wants to see done. Therefore, as the President put it, we will support him 100 per cent to see that the recurrent expenditure does not supersede that of development. I want to talk about the issue of PPPs in water, which is well thought out. We cannot say that we will not allocate money for water in the Budget. Whenever we have big dams – we have Karimenu and Thwake Dams whose construction is ongoing; the construction of Aror and Kimwarer Dams was stopped politically. However, everybody wants it to be done. When we allocate Ksh10 billion or Ksh20 billion for those projects, the most important thing for the country is distribution. PPPs will be doing major projects like dams. We need Maragua Dam in Murang’a County, where we can supply the residents of Murang’a and Nairobi with water. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

We also need to work on the water treatment in Dandora and Ruai. The water that comes to Nairobi is around 140 cubic litres. 50 per cent of it has to be treated as it joins Thwake Dam. I support the President’s Speech. It was well thought out. We support him 100 per cent. We will walk with him to see how we will develop our country. We will also see how Kenya Kwanza Coalition will implement its ideologies. Kenyans must move from the politics of ethnicity to ideologies. We will be one Kenya and build our country. Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I thank the people of Kangema again, and I will serve them with all my effort and diligence. Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

Thank you. Member for Embu County.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to address this House for the first time as an elected Member, the County Women Representative of Embu County. I also want to thank you for this opportunity to give my maiden speech. I also want to congratulate our Speaker in absentia, and say that indeed, this was overwhelming to us. We congratulate you and him on being elected. We know that you will take us very far. Let me also take this opportunity to congratulate our President and the Deputy President on being elected during the elections on 9th August. We have the confidence that they will, indeed, deliver on their promises they made to Kenyans. We are here to support him fully in all his agenda. I also want to thank God for what he has done in my life. I thank him for his faithfulness thus far, and for giving me the opportunity to be here as elected by the Embu community. It has taken the hand of God. Allow me to also thank the people of the cloth, that is the church ministers, who stood with me throughout the campaign period. They prayed for me and gave me an opportunity even to be with them in their churches. As I continue, it also feels good to remember to thank my family members who stood and supported me during the campaign period. I thank my campaign teams and coordinators in all the four sub-counties in Embu. They supported me fully. We are talking about the sub- counties of Manyatta, Runyenjes, Mbeere North and Mbeere South. I can only say thank you to them. I can only wish that my parents were alive to enjoy the victory that I got. But I know that wherever they are, I know they are cheering me on and saying “well done my daughter”. I thank the people of Embu for electing me to serve them in the capacity of a County Women Member of Parliament with overwhelming votes. Indeed, when they said “ Double N mapemamapema ”, they truly meant it. They woke up early in the morning and gave me over 141,000 votes, being the person with the highest number of votes in Embu. I really thank them from the bottom of my heart. May God bless them, keep them and give them the energy to continue with the same spirit. Hon. Deputy Speaker, also allow me to congratulate the President for his wonderful speech which was brief, credible and well-articulated. Regarding the speech, the reduction of the cost of fertiliser from Kshs.6,500 to Kshs.3,500, this was a dream come true for our farmers. We can only thank him for what he did. Though the process of acquiring the same is a bit cumbersome, in Embu we have only two depots in Embu Town and in Iciara, we can only have good manners to say thank you when good things are done to us. We appreciate and hope for the best. As I continue with the President’s Speech and the reactions, I support him for what he said about the Hustler Fund. About Kshs50 billion will be given to the Hustler Fund so that indeed the common mwananchi, the bodabodas, and the mama mbogas can access that Fund. Micro, small and medium enterprises will access affordable credit to start and expand their business. I thank him for that and I fully support him. Due to the drought currently existing in the country and in Embu, I plead with the Government; even as they distribute food relief to other counties, Embu should not be left out The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

because some parts of Mbeere North and Mbeere South are in real need of relief food. I am praying that the people of Embu County will not be forgotten. As I conclude, the elderly people in Embu County and across the country are an issue. The Kshs.2,000 that they are paid monthly sometimes takes so long. Secondly, they go for long distances to collect this money. When it comes to registration, they travel long distances to register. In the past, we experienced over 15 people from the same village who perished in a road accident when they were travelling from Mumenje in Mbeere North all the way to Siakago for registration. We are pleading that this exercise be made easier for the elderly so that they access these services without many problems. Otherwise, I thank all of you. I also thank the people of Embu and promise them that matters registration and representation will be done thoroughly in this House. I will represent them fully, without fear and malice. May God bless Kenya. May God bless all of us. May God bless the people of Embu County. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Member for Embu. I think you are the silver medallist for brevity and impact. Let us have the Member for Voi Constituency, followed by the Member for Kajiado County.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I take this opportunity to thank Almighty God and the great people of Voi for electing me to serve them as their Member of Parliament in this House. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I thank the electorate in Kaloleni, Mbololo, Ngolia, Sagala, Maungu and Kasigau Wards in Voi Constituency. This has been a long journey for me. I first attempted to come into this House to serve the people of Voi a quarter a century ago, 25 years amounting to four failed attempts. By the grace of God, I managed to get elected to serve them in this 13th Parliament. I take that responsibility with a lot of humility and the seriousness it deserves.

I also take this opportunity to congratulate you and the able Speaker for being elected in those positions. Being very experienced legislators and leaders, we look forward to you to provide leadership so that the 13th Parliament, especially the National Assembly, can serve the great people of Kenya.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I have joined this Parliament at a time of very many challenges in Voi Constituency, and I believe that is the case in many other parts of this great country. The challenges include a long period of drought and attendant problems, notably the wildlife menace, lack of water and pasture and food insecurity. The effects of this drought, if not addressed in good time, will lead to conflict and insecurity. In Voi Constituency, like in many parts of the Coast Region, land remains an emotive issue. The squatter problem is enormous. Lack of title deeds persists in many areas of Voi like Maweni, Mwakingali, Birikani, Tanzania, Msambweni and Kariokor villages. After 59 years of Independence, this situation is unacceptable. The continued harassment of “squatters” living in their ancestral land in Mnaoni, Ndovuni and Msambweni cannot be allowed to continue. I intend to follow up on these issues.

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), through the Tsavo National Park, occupies 62 per cent of Taita Taveta County. That is a great contribution by the people of Taita Taveta to the nation and humanity, but we do not see the return value. The KWS needs and is required to be innovative. The ranchers and conservancies around get paid millions of shillings in carbon credits. We are not aware whether the KWS is paid or not. If they are, then they are short- changing the people of Voi and Taita Taveta County. If they are not paid, we should ask what they are doing. We expect them to get paid so that compensation from animal and wildlife menace can be paid in a timely manner. At the same time, I take this opportunity to thank them The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

for releasing around Ksh200 million yesterday after a number of leaders visited the headquarters. We believe that this is a sign from the incoming administration. In my opinion, the President’s Speech was short, precise and gave a lot of hope. What is now required is the modalities for its implementation, which we believe will be brought to the House for deliberation and approval or otherwise. The promised allocation of Hustlers Fund worth Kshs.50 billion is being waited for with a lot of anxiety and hope. The expectation is that it will complement the good work of other devolved Funds like the Uwezo Fund, Youth Fund and the Women Enterprise Fund, but not to replace them in one form or the other. The people out there are expecting additional funds in the forms of the Hustlers Fund. Hon. Deputy Speaker, there is a great concern at the grassroots on the status of the NG- CDF. There appears to be a lack of clarity on its status following pronouncements by the courts. This is a matter that requires to be resolved; and I fully support the Petition that has been brought by other colleagues so that this matter can be resolved in a timely manner to enable us work and support activities in the field, especially the children who are still out of school due to lack of school fees. The commitment by the President in Paragraphs 49 and 50 of his Speech gives a lot of hope that the CDF will continue. I believe it will get the necessary support from Members of the National Assembly. Finally, I affirm from the Floor of this House that I will diligently serve the people of Voi, which is cosmopolitan and, by extension, this great nation without fear or favour to the benefit of all Kenyans at large through my deliberations in the National Assembly. Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

Member for Kajiado County.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

Just to mention, you will be followed by the Member for Tongaren and then the Member for Sotik. If there will still be time, the Member for Bureti would then have the Floor.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. My name is Hon. Leah Sankaire, County Woman Representative of the National Assembly for Kajiado. Before I make my contribution to the President’s Speech, I would like to make my Maiden Speech, since it is my first time to speak on the Floor of this House. I will make it short, precise and to the point, just like the President’s Speech. First and foremost, I would like to thank the Almighty God for the gift of life, family and more so, the gift to represent the great people of Kajiado County in the 13th Parliament. Like my colleague from Kajiado North, I was also a nominated Member of the County Assembly, the First Assembly of Kajiado; and that makes me a true model of the bottom-up model. Secondly, I would like to thank my family, friends and the people of Kajiado County from the five constituencies, namely Kajiado West, Kajiado North, Kajiado East, Kajiado South and Kajiado Central, for greatly trusting and enabling me to come and represent them here. I am humbled by the trust that you have bestowed upon me amidst other worthy competitors to represent you in this 13th Parliament. I am forever indebted and I promise that I will do my best in representing you by always raising and taking solutions to the issues that affect us directly or indirectly as a community in this House. I promise that I will do my best with the help of God. I am happy that all the promises we made to the great people of Kajiado County during the gruelling campaigns are all captured in the President’s Speech, and today I stand tall contented with the administration that I wholeheartedly and passionately supported. As the good book, the Bible, puts it, truly our expectations have not been cut off. I therefore want to kindly request you that we walk this journey together, patiently knowing that you are my business and the reason for me being here, and this I will not forget. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Finally, fondly remembering our campaign slogan, Kule Tutafika (we shall reach there); by the grace of God, we have made it here and today I embark on a new slogan that we will deliver. This will act as a constant reminder every morning that I have an obligation and a duty to perform for the great people of Kajiado County. With this, I thank you so much and I look forward to five years of proper representation, engagement, and the enhancement of livelihoods through various projects that I will embark on. I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate you, Hon. Deputy Speaker and the Hon. Speaker of this House for being duly elected to lead us in this 13th Parliament. I would like to make my contribution to the Presidential Address. First, I would like to comment on point No. 4 that says it is another milestone in the election of women legislators elected into single Member constituencies. It is in this spirit that I have seen the highest number of nominees to Cabinet positions, noting with pride that most of them if not all, served as County Woman Representatives (CWRs) in the previous Parliament. On my behalf and on behalf of the people of Kajiado County, I take this opportunity to congratulate all women nominees and more so our very own, Hon. Soipan Tuya. This will be the first Maasai woman nominee to ever hold office of the CS from our community since Independence. This is a milestone not only to the Maa Girl child, but to the entire community. This has elevated our spirit and confidence in this administration, and we are happy that our girls have role models to look up to. As the women of Kenya, we are glad that ceilings are being broken every day. Congratulations to the women. Point No. 24 says that we have an obligation to redeem our plea to the small traders, hawkers, those in grocery businesses, barbers and touts as we commonly call them back at home. This was our campaign selling line, and it did us a great deal in being elected to these current positions that we hold. I am happy that it was not just a narrative, but that His Excellency the President is committed to walking the talk. This will see our youth, the women and all the people greatly gaining from this initiative. In addition, I am grateful that point No. 28, which is the allocation of the Hustlers Fund, is captured in His Excellency’s Speech. I look forward that the 13th Parliament will support the President by enacting legislation on the administration of the fund, giving consideration to the County Woman MPs in administering the fund since the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) is so minimal, yet the Hustlers Fund targets similar groups of people. We hope that our male counterparts in this House will join hands with us because we are not competing. As His Excellency the President put it, since they get a big share of NG-CDF, I hope they will be kind enough to hold our hands and complement our job by ensuring that part of this Fund is administered through the women representatives’ kitty.

Point No. 48, which will be my last point, is on the ongoing drought. We are grateful for the relief supplies, but we need to look for a lasting solution on mitigation and adaptation of climate change. I am happy that Hon. Soipan Tuya has been nominated to this docket upon approval. Our hopes are high that she will deliver on the lasting solutions. This is something that has affected our community greatly, and we look forward to lasting solutions.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, with that I thank you so much. I look forward to a robust Assembly, with good engagements in this House, and also protection from senior Members so that we can have equal opportunities in contributing and distribution of Committees, since we are all representatives of the people. I know that the men will be kind enough to hold our hands and teach us the way. Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker for your kind counsel. We look up to you because you are an inspiration to the women of this country and the women parliamentarians.

Thank you, Member for Kajiado for those very kind words. I am humbled. I call upon Member for Tongaren. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I take this opportunity to thank the people of Tongaren for electing me overwhelmingly and giving me an opportunity to serve in this House. I am so grateful to them for this occasion. I would like to go straight to the President’s Address. His Excellency, the President alluded to the national housing plan as a remedy to affordable housing in our country. As you know, affordable housing will contribute to the image and dignity of our people as captured in Article 28 of our Constitution. I would like to link the national housing plan to the role of Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) institutions. Records from the TVET Department indicate that last year alone, 86,000 students graduated from various TVETs in this country. This is a huge number of students, out of which 95 per cent of these graduates did not get employment. In Tongaren alone, last year there were 600 students who graduated from different TVETs; and in the last three years, we have had about 3,500 graduates from TVETs. Most of them have not had access to employment. Therefore, for many years, we have had a delink between the trainees in the TVET sector and the industry. I think the proposal by His Excellency the President will be the answer we have been waiting for so that TVET trainees will provide the manpower required in the national housing program. This will solve the unemployment we are seeing in the entire country. There are over one million young people in the country who trained themselves with various skills without having gone to class, like masonry, carpentry, plumbing, electrical works and others. The TVET Department has come up with a program called prior learning program for the students who are self-taught so they can get certificates and become competitive. These are students who did not pass through school, but trained themselves to get certificates so that they can be competitive in terms of competing for tenders and earn something so that they can support their families. Therefore, the housing programme is going to solve a very big problem in as far as TVET is concerned. Most of the TVET institutes in Kenya have a lot of machines that are lying idle. I have been the secretary in charge of TVET in the Office of Deputy President, who is the current President, and we did a lot of statistics. There are so many machines lying idle in so many of these institutions. Therefore, if this housing programme will take off, I am sure it will solve one of the biggest problems that we have been experiencing. In the area of education, which His Excellency also touched on, in my constituency we have 130 primary and 53 secondary schools with total number of students at around 80,000. Half of these students do not have access to education in a proper manner, because each day they are on the road having been sent to look for fees. The Ministry of Education is supposed to be releasing Kshs.22,000 per student per year in terms of capitation. This money has been split so much by the Ministry of Education in terms of capitation so that by the time the money is sent to the school, each student gets less than Kshs.10,000 from the Kshs.22,000. The incoming Minister for Education must address this. The second aspect of this issue is that this money is not released on time. The schools take up to even four or five months before getting this money. For example, for the last three months, it is only last week that funding in terms of capitation was released to schools, and this is affecting education. Therefore, the NG-CDF has a complementary role to play in the area of education in terms of complementing capitation from the national Government. As you may be aware, 35 per cent of the NG-CDF goes directly to bursaries, and then the remaining goes into construction and other activities. As we are seated here, students are not going to school because they do not have fees. I am appealing to my colleagues and, of course, to His Excellency the President to help us so that the NG-CDF will go back to the normal continuity of programmes, so that students can go back to school. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

There has been a misrepresentation of this NG-CDF issue, for many people think that it goes into the pockets of MPs. The NG-CDF goes directly to education, because it is a conditional grant from the Government of Kenya.

Finally, His Excellency also touched on the UHC. In Tongaren Constituency, each day we lose between two and four people. This should be classified as a high-mortality constituency. Every week in the entire constituency, we are burying about five to ten people. I think that the UHC, as touched by the President, is a solution to providing affordable medical and preventive medical programme to our people I want to stop there because quite a number of my colleagues have not spoken, and they are first-time MPs like myself. But I want to support the proposals by the President, especially on education, NG-CDF, programme of health and on the National Housing Program. Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker, and congratulations for your election and that of the Speaker. Asante sana .

Member for Sotik.

(Sotik, UDA)

Thank you, Hon. Members for those very fruitful and exciting deliberations, discussions and ideas.

The time being 8.00 p.m., this House stands adjourned until Thursday, 6th October 2022 at 2.30 p.m.

The House rose at 8.00 p.m.

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Clerk of the National Assembly Parliament Buildings Nairobi The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.