Hon. Speaker, Sir, I stand to move the following Procedural Motion:- THAT, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order No.97 (4) , this House orders that debate on the Motion on the Address of the President be limited to no more than five minutes for each Member speaking, 20 minutes for the Mover in moving and replying and 20 minutes for the Leader of the Minority Party. Hon. Speaker, Sir, this Motion is more of setting the rules of the House in debating the

Motion on the Presidential Address that was done yesterday. We want to have as many Members

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the following Procedural Motion:- THAT, notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order No.97

(4)

, this House orders that each speech in a debate on any Bill be limited as follows:- A maximum of 45 minutes for the Mover in moving and replying; a maximum of 20 minutes for the Chairperson of the relevant Committee

; and a maximum of 10 minutes for any other Member speaking, except the Leader of the Majority Party and the Leader of the Minority Party, who shall be limited to a maximum of 15 minutes each, and

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that the priority in speaking be accorded to the Leader of the Majority Party, the Leader of the Minority Party and the Chairperson of the relevant Departmental Committee, in that order. Hon. Speaker, Sir, again, this is more of a procedure setting the rules on how we will use our time when debate on any Bill comes up.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I call upon my colleague, the Leader of the Minority Party, to second the Motion.

Hon. Nyenze seconded.

Yes, hon. John Mbadi.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, even though this is just a Procedural Motion, which should really face minimum resistance, I have my reservations and I would like to oppose it.

Firstly, the quality of debate is not dependent on the number of people who contribute to debate but rather the quality of time that an individual speaker would have, or the kind of input that individual speaker would give. Some Bills are very detailed, technical and complex. Giving a member just ten minutes to debate on a Bill would not be sufficient for any reasonable debate on the Bill. Even though I know that the membership of the Eleventh Parliament is bigger than the membership of previous Parliaments, I would urge that each Bill be treated on a case by case basis, as we have had previously, where the House would determine on a particular day that we limit the time given to a Member contributing to debate.

I think each Member would be allowed 30 minutes to contribute to a Bill and we realized that at times the 30 minutes were not sufficient. If we reduce the time to ten minutes, one will barely say a word before one is told that his or her time is up. Therefore, I would urge that the Leader of Majority Party considers withdrawing this Motion, so that we can give it more thought with a view to rationalizing the time aspect. In the meantime, if there is need to limit the time for each Member speaking, there is nothing that will stop this House from making a resolution to do so.

With those remarks, I oppose and urge my colleagues to kindly oppose this Motion.

Yes, hon. Cecily Mbarire.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the Motion. The experience we had in the Tenth Parliament is that sometimes Members would sit in this House to contribute to a Bill but due to the time available for sitting, many would leave having not spoken. So, extending the time from ten minutes to 20 minutes or 30 minutes would mean that in one sitting, only five to ten Members will be able to speak. We need to give every Member a chance to contribute to all the debates that will come to this House.

I also want to say that in ten minutes, if you plan your presentation well, you will be able to make much contribution. If you look at the HANSARD of the Tenth Parliament, you will find that the same hon. Mbadi spoke very many times, and he spoke sense. So, I believe that he will still speak sense within ten minutes. Thirty minutes is so long.

With those remarks, I beg to support.

I have not yet mastered the names of everyone. This is a chance to even inform the rest of us your name and the constituency you represent, then you can make your contribution.

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The Member for Homa Bay Town (Hon. Kaluma): Hon. Speaker, Sir, I am hon. Peter Kaluma representing Homa Bay Town Constituency. I beg to oppose the Motion. This is a House mainly of professionals, looking at both sides of the House, and I do not believe that a Member would require a whole 45 minutes to move a Motion considering the extent of expertise that I am seeing in the House. I have looked at Standing Order No.117 on what a Bill ought to contain, particularly the memorandum of objects and reasons. Everything that is contemplated in a Bill would be summarized in the statement of memorandum and the reasons for the Motion. So, I oppose the Motion. It should be withdrawn, so that we can reduce the time for the Mover from 45 minutes to 30 minutes and the time for the chairpersons of committees to ten minutes. We should focus the debate on issues rather than addressing our constituencies on the Floor of Parliament.

I beg to oppose. The Member for Githunguri (Hon. Baiya): Hon. Speaker, Sir, I also wish to support this Motion. It is important for the Members to observe that the number of Members in the House is quite substantial. The only way we can accommodate as many Members as possible is by restricting the number of times any Member can speak. It is also important for the Members to observe that even if you have very fundamental issues that you want to put forward, you may not necessarily need to put them forward yourself. That is why we are also functioning through parties. You can utilize those minutes to deliver the issues that you think are the most important and relay those that you are not able to deliver to your colleagues. It will still add up to the same, but allowing any Member to contribute for too long will also mean blocking other Members. This Motion is, therefore, rational. It is meant to facilitate debate in the context of the current level of membership in this House. I would, therefore, urge the Members to support it.

The Member for Fafi (Hon. Shill): Hon. Speaker, Sir, I would like to support the Procedural Motion. Talking too much does not really change anything, but the number of Bills that we pass in this House will benefit Kenyans. I know this Parliament is televised and many Members would really want to show their expertise, but the reality is that we have a new Constitution and we want to pass as many Bills as possible. When going round during the campaigns, we were telling our people that we are going to make a change and a difference. Therefore, ten minutes that have been proposed are okay. I support that.

Homa Bay Women County Representative (Hon. (Ms) Nyasuna): Hon. Speaker, Sir, I rise to support this Motion. Considering that the number of Members in this House has increased substantially by 127 Members, if each Member takes half an hour to contribute, then it means that many Members will be left out of debate. We also must consider that one person does not have to raise all the issues in a Bill. The issues can be raised progressively by many other Members of a similar view. So, in view of that and particularly in view of the spirit of contribution by as many Members of this House as possible, I beg to support.

The Member for Teso South (Hon. (Ms.) Otucho): Hon. Speaker, Sir, I am hon. Mary Emaase, the Member for Teso South. I rise to support the Motion. I want to believe that we all understand the task that is ahead of us. Some of the Bills that we need to pass have to be passed within certain timelines. So, I support the Motion and I think ten minutes are sufficient for each Member.

The Member for Matungulu (Hon. Mule): Hon. Speaker, Sir, for those I might not have met, my name is hon. Stephen Mule, Member of Parliament for Matungulu. I wish to thank the people of Matungulu for according me this chance to represent them. I would like to oppose this

A certified version of this Report Motion and ask that it be withdrawn, so that it can be relooked at. My simple reason is that time is of essence for all of us. Time is also of essence for the country. We need to look at each Bill separately because there are Bills which we do not even require ten minutes to contribute to. There are Bills in which the Members require the maximum time to participate in. So, time limit should depend on the nature of the Bill which is coming to the House. I beg to oppose.

The Member for Tiaty (Hon. Abongotum): Hon. Speaker, Sir, first of all, I give total support to this Procedural Motion, of course, taking cognizance of the fact that the number of the Members that we have in the Eleventh Parliament is close to the double intake in our universities. I want to urge my colleagues that let us not filibuster on this Procedural Motion. Let us pass it, so that we can get to more serious business. I support.

Hon. Members, having been able to assess fully the mood of the House and this being a Procedural Motion, it is your Motion, really Members, I proceed to put the question.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the following Procedural Motion:- THAT, notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order 97 (4) , this House orders that on Wednesday morning, each speech in a debate on any Motion which is not sponsored by the Majority Party or the Minority Party or a Committee, including a Special Motion, be limited in the following manner:- A maximum of three hours with not more than 20 minutes for the Mover and ten minutes for each of the other Members speaking except the Leader of Majority Party and the Leader of Minority Party who shall be limited to a maximum of 15 minutes each and that ten minutes before the expiry of that time, the Mover be called upon to reply and that priority in speaking be accorded to the Leader of the Majority Party, the Leader of the Minority Party and the Chairperson of the relevant Departmental Committee in that order. Hon. Speaker, Sir, this is just procedural. The argument follows the same line. It is about setting a timeline for Wednesday morning. This is the day and time when hon. Members bring their own private Motions and Bills that are outside their political caucus. So, on Wednesday morning, when an hon. Member brings his own Private Members’ Motion, these are the timings. It will be three hours.

So, this is a procedural Motion to acquaint hon. Members with the timelines. I ask my colleague, the Leader of the Minority Party, to second.

Hon. Nyenze seconded.

On a point of order, Hon. Speaker, Sir.

Yes, hon. Olago Aluoch!

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I notice that on Order No. 9, the submissions of hon. Members were mostly repetitive. You must have noted that when the Leader of the Majority

A certified version of this Report Party stood to propose the Motion, the Leader of the Minority of Party, hon. Nyenze did not utter a word for both Order 9 and Order 10. He only bowed. The significance of that ought to be explained to the House. If you have nothing to add, simply bow and sit down. It is important so that we avoid wasting time.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, my view, what hon. Nyenze did should be explained to those who do not know.

Very well, Hon. Olago Aluoch. I think that is a good point. It is affirming that he is seconding and it is accepted. It is part of the traditions of the House both here in Kenya and several other jurisdictions. He does not have to say yes or no, “I support” or “I second”.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, the effect of this Motion, after going through it, is an attempt to relegate Motions by private Members. We have already given the Government, through the Leader of Majority Party, Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday afternoon and Thursday afternoon to transact business. That is enough favour. So, asking us to limit contribution to Motions by Private Members which are not sponsored by the Leader of the Majority Party and the Leader of Minority Party is demeaning to the Motions produced by hon. Members in this House. There is no difference between Motions brought by Members in this House. So, they should be treated equally. Reducing time for Private Members’ Motions is in effect telling us that those Motions that we bring as Private Members have less weight compared to those that come through the Leader of the Majority Party and the Leader of the Minority Party.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, therefore, this House owes it to itself to stop the Leader of the Majority Party and the Leader of the Minority Party from being authoritarian and also dictating to us how much we should contribute. We will be supporting this Motion at our own peril.

I oppose.

On a point of Order, hon. Speaker, Sir. My point of order is with regard to hon. Mbadi’s statement that we will be having the Leader of the Majority Party and the Leader of the Minority Party usurping the powers of the Members of the Back Bench. I have noticed since this morning that my good friend, hon. Mbadi seems to be suffering from some form of amnesia because this has been the tradition in this House and all other Commonwealth Parliaments. If as a Private Member you are not able to convince your party - either the Majority party or the Minority party - that your Bill is worth the support of your party, then that debate is relegated to Bills that are sponsored by individuals but are given party sponsorship.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, given that hon. Mbadi is misleading this House and yet he knows that in the past this has been the case, would I be in order to raise the fact that hon. Mbadi has continuously, since morning, been misleading the House?

Not a right of reply. I am sure you are an experienced hon. Member. It is not a right of reply. There is no Bill or Motion that you are replying to.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I also want to set the record straight that the Procedural Motion before the House is owned by the House Business Committee (HBC) that was constituted this morning. I do not want hon. John Mbadi, from the outset, to mislead the new hon. Members. The Procedural Motion is not owned by the Leader of the Minority Party or the Leader of the Majority Party. Rather, the ownership is to the HBC chaired by the Speaker. It is before the House for you to either approve it or reject it. So, it is not us who own it.

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That is the correct position. Therefore, hon. Mbadi is accordingly informed and advised.

The Member for Gatundu North (Hon. Njenga) : Hon. Speaker, Sir, I stand to support this Motion. The quality of a Bill and debate is not the subject of the amount of time that you are going to take on it. The quantity factor of time cannot give us what we are expected to give the people of Kenya. It is our performance that we will be judged on. I believe that the time given is good enough for someone who has prepared well. It is enough to present in an orderly and coherent manner and make us perform what we are expected to perform.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I support the Motion. The Member for Balambala (Hon. Aden) : Hon. Speaker, Sir, my names are Abdikadir Aden, Member of Parliament for Balambala Constituency. I rise to support this Motion on the basis that if an hon. Member is not able to have his party to sponsor a Motion, then he has a right to do so on a Private Members’ Motion. An issue debated for three hours by this House, in my view, is an issue that is adequately addressed.

In the interest of time and knowing that just like in the previous Procedural Motion, we are under extreme time constraints given the number of hon. Members in this House, I stand to support this Motion by saying that three hours will be adequate enough for a Motion to be exhaustively addressed.

The Member for Taveta (Dr. Shaban) : Ahsante sana Mhe. Spika. Ningependa kuchukua nafasi hii kukupongeza kwa kuchaguliwa kuwa Spika wa Bunge hili la Kumi na Moja. Vile vile, ninawapongeza wenzangu wote waliochaguliwa kama Wabunge. Hasa ninawapongeza watu wa eneo la Bunge la Taveta kwa kunichagua kuwa Mbunge wao tena. Huu ni muhula wangu wa tatu katika Bunge hili.

Ningependa tukumbuke kwamba ni siku ya Jumatano asubuhi ambayo Wabunge hawatakuwa na shughuli zinazotokana na chama na wanaweza kuzungumzia maswala au kufuatia kanuni ambazo zimebuniwa na Bunge hili.

Wabunge wa Bunge la Kumi na Moja ni wengi sana na ninaunga mkono Hoja hii kwamba Muda uliotengewa kila Mbunge ni sawa kabisa. Jambo hili linatokana na idadi ya Wabunge ambao wako katika Bunge hili la Kumi na Moja.

Ahsante sana, Bw. Spika.

If I do not remember your name for one reason or the other, kindly say it out.

The Member for Lugari (Mr. Angatia) : Hon. Speaker, Sir, I am hon. Ayub Savula, the Member of Parliament for Lugari.

A well known Member! The Member for Lugari (Mr. Angatia) : First, this is a Parliament that consists of young and professional hon. Members from diverse academic backgrounds. This House does not consist of majority old guards who should be given enough time to explain a point for too long. We have the expertise and we are still young. We can express facts and issues within the time set.

Secondly, we, the youth will not concentrate on side shows in this Parliament. So, this time limit is enough for us to debate a Private Member’s Motion effectively and pass it.

Thank you.

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Hon. Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the following Procedural Motion:- THAT, notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order 97 (4) , this House orders that, each speech in a debate on a Report of a Committee, including a Report of a Joint Committee of the Houses of Parliament, be limited as follows:

Hon. Speaker, Sir, my microphone is on.

It is not possible that your microphone could be on when mine is off. Yes, hon. Dalmus Otieno!

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, Sir. Some of us have a gift of attracting the microphone in our direction. In all these Procedural Motions, we are really trying to inculcate efficiency in the use of time. The nation is watching how the House uses its valuable time. Every hon. Member may have six or eight points he or she wants to put across in five minutes. Otherwise he or she could have wished to do so in ten minutes. It is not a competition on the number of minutes you have spoken, but it is on your value addition to the debate in the House.

A certified version of this Report So, all we are requesting, and that is why I support the House Business Committee for having reduced the number of minutes for most of these Procedural Motions, is that you rate yourself and give your top most valuable addition to the debate before the House. Pass those to the House and sit down. If you think the other points that you have not given still need to be contributions in the House, I am sure you will notice colleagues who have not contributed. Discuss the points with them and let them raise them and put them in their best way possible.

That way, we will have sent a message to the whole country that the kind of idleness we are seeing in market places throughout the country; the idle human resource that is not well managed--- Efficiency is output verses time. We are in competition with the rest of the world. Until the right work habits which will make the best use of our minutes and seconds is inculcated in all citizens, we will not take this country in the direction of Vision 2030.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I support this Procedural Motion.

Remind me your name? The Member for Baringo South (Hon. (Ms.) Kipchoim) : Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. My names are Grace Kipchoim, Member of Parliament for Baringo South. I thank the people of Baringo South for electing me to Parliament. I also want to congratulate you on your election.

I rise to support the Motion that the time of this House is of essence and the people out there are looking at us to see what we are doing with our time.

So, I support the Motion.

The lady at the black, not the one from Migori. Wajir County Women Representative

: Thank you, Hon. Speaker, Sir. I want to join others in congratulating you. My names are Fatuma Ibrahim Ali, Women Representative, Wajir County. I stand to support the Motion. When I calculated the hours required here, they are about a minimum of three hours and I think that is sufficient. What I love about this kind of Procedural Motion is that there is a time frame for discussion, which means it will create some discipline and it will provide for quality discussion.

Thank you.

The hon. Member closest to me here. The Member for Kipipiri (Hon. Gichigi) : Thank you, Hon. Speaker, Sir. My names are Samuel Gichigi, Member of Parliament for Kipipiri. I rise to support this Motion on two grounds. One is that we are introducing time limitations in debate. These are decisions that we are making; once we move on and find that probably we need to change one thing or the other, we can always come back to the House and do that.

Secondly, the world out there and our voters will rate us by the number of Motions we discuss and dispose of and not the number of people who talk during a particular Motion. So, I would suggest to the House Business Committee (HBC) to consider increasing our business depending on the type of Motions that will be brought to Parliament, so that we cover as much as possible rather than other hon. Members keeping on talking and talking and giving the public material that is not necessarily of quality.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, Sir.

Hon. Members, this Procedural Motion relates to reports of committees. I think it is important for us to also bear in mind that several of you are in committees that have as many as 19 members and others have 51 members. You will have really contributed to the making of a report so that what comes to the plenary is something to inform the world the

A certified version of this Report reasons for certain procedures and decisions and why you arrived at them. So, I think it is important to bear that in mind.

Be that as it may, I wish to put the question.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the following Procedural Motion:- THAT, notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order 97 (4) , this House orders that each speech in Committee of Supply on a Motion that “The Speaker do now leave the Chair” shall be limited to five minutes, excluding the Mover who shall be limited to a maximum of 20 minutes in moving and ten minutes in replying and the Chairperson of the Budget and Appropriations Committee, who shall be limited to a maximum of 15 minutes. Hon. Speaker, Sir, this one is the same as the other Procedural Motions. This is in relation to the Committee of Supply. I urge my colleague, the Leader of Minority Party to second.

Hon. Nyenze seconded.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, the effect of a Motion in Committee of Supply is to appropriate funds to various Government Ministries and departments. This is a cardinal responsibility of this House, to make sure that when we appropriate funds, the revenue of this country to various expenditure votes is allocated properly after thorough consideration. Giving hon. Member just five minutes to contribute to such an important matter, to me, would be negligence of duty.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I remember in the past we have had cases where this House has voted on mega scandals. The Goldenberg scandal was approved by this House. So, I would urge that hon. Members consider taking their time, especially in the Committee of Supply; we should take time and debate it thoroughly. I want to inform my colleagues that it is not the number of hon. Members who contribute to a Motion--- Not all of us can contribute to all Motions. Actually, if we want to utilise our time efficiently and effectively, as has been proposed, then we should leave various professionals to contribute to different Motions and Bills.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I listened to my friend, hon. Anyango, talking about efficiency and how we need to use time to avoid idleness, and I wondered because I was timing and found that on a Procedural Motion we spent close to seven minutes. If on a Procedural Motion we could be that inefficient, how then would you expect us to be more efficient when we are debating a substantive Motion – a Motion that has effects, especially on the Committee of Supply? This is a Motion that has the effect of giving a Ministry, money to run for 12 months.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I urge this House, especially on this matter, to reconsider the way we have been handling the other Motions; this time accept my line of argument and get some support from my colleagues. I beg my colleagues to oppose this Motion.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, Sir

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On a point of order, Hon. Speaker, Sir. Is the hon. Member in order to mislead the House by stating that this House passed the Motion on Goldenberg? To the best of my recollection, the House passed the Bill on the Export Compensation way back, I think we were still in high school at that time, but Goldenberg was a scam that took place outside this House. Some people exported air or gas purporting that it was gold, ruby or minerals. This House did not pass that kind of Motion. Is the hon. Member in order to mislead the House?

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I would like to remind the hon. Member that this House not only passed a Motion that led to the Goldenberg scandal but also exonerated the culprits of Goldenberg scandal.

Hon. Members, even as we debate this particular Procedural Motion bear in mind that, of course, you can speak for as many minutes as you may wish, as we have resolved to do, but remember that at the tail-end we will have to do guillotine to so many other votes. So we have to balance between the two, speaking for 30 minutes on one vote and being able to do only two votes. The choice is yours; let us hear Hon. Kabando wa Kabando.

The Member for Mukurweini

: Hon. Speaker, Sir, I congratulate you and hon. Deputy Speaker. I think it is also in order to congratulate the Speaker and Deputy of the Senate and all the officials in this Parliament, or Members of Parliament who have been given positions.

I observed in the last time that a lot of research and work by Members of Parliament on various Motions is lost because they rarely get opportunity because of the longevity of contributions by a few hon. Members. So, it will be in order that we support this Motion; it is possible to make your points in the five or ten minutes allocated. The other spirit that is encouraged here is networking. I remember we had a caucus where if one stood - Mr. ole Katoo was a member of that caucus and our Majority Party whip - and he remained with very important points, you could donate them to your colleagues across the Floor, so that they could also improve on the points they had and get where they had prepared to be.

Lastly, during our induction, one point that was raised, and which I believe this Chair is going to crack the whip very strongly on, is the misuse of time by way of frivolous points of order. People rise on points of order not because there is anything out of order but to disagree with their colleagues. I am in agreement with what Ms. Abdalla said; it is also important for us to recover; the party is gone. This is a new Parliament, a new dispensation; so Mr. Ng’ongo is welcome to walk the journey.

The Member for South Mugirango: (Hon. Nyamweya) : Thank you, Hon. Speaker, Sir, for giving me time to contribute. First, I want to congratulate you for being elected our Speaker. Personally, I did not vote for you but you are the Speaker of all of us, I am going to work with you and support you.

Secondly, I want hon. Members to know that we have an increased number and the time we will use to debate in Parliament will not be the same. Given that the number of hon. Members has increased and we shall have the same time and a lot of business in this House, I support the time limit that has been proposed for us to contribute to Bills.

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There is something that you talked a lot about earlier in the day, and I want to--- Let us hear the hon. Member who was sworn in this morning.

Baringo County Women Representative (Hon. (Ms.) Kiptui) : Hon. Speaker, Sir, thank you. I want to congratulate you on your election. I also congratulate the Deputy Speaker, the Leader of the Majority Party and the Leader of the Minority Party and all hon. Members seated in this House for their election.

I rise to support the Motion because it is going to help us manage time. It is an issue that will help instill discipline in hon. Members, and help us to prepare well before we bring Motions to the House. So, considering the number of people, I want to urge my colleagues not to fear the fact that time will be limited. When it is limited, the quality of debate is high. I support the Motion.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the following Procedural Motion:- THAT, notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order 97 (4) , this House orders that, the debate on any Motion for the Adjournment of the House to a day other than the next normal Sitting Day in accordance with the calendar of the House, shall be limited to a maximum of three hours with not more than five minutes for each Member speaking, except the Leader of the Majority Party and the Leader of the Minority Party, who shall be limited to a maximum of ten minutes each; and that priority be accorded to the Leader of the Majority Party and the Leader of the Minority Party, in that Order. Provided that, when the period of recess proposed by any such motion does not exceed nine days, the debate shall be limited to a maximum of 30 minutes, and shall be strictly confined to the question of the adjournment. This again is about when we want to go on recess; the Motion for adjournment will determine how hon. Members will contribute and the time allocated.

I will ask my colleague, the Leader of the Minority Party to second.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I second.

Nyandarua County Women Representative (Hon. (Ms) . Muhia) Hon. Speaker, Sir, I did not want to speak; I just wanted to support.

The Member for North Imenti (Hon. Dawood) : Hon. Speaker, Sir, first let me congratulate you and tell you that I voted for you.

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The Member for Kaloleni (Hon. Chea): Hon. Speaker, Sir, before I support the Motion, allow me to equally congratulate you for having been elected Speaker. I also thank the people of Kaloleni for giving me an opportunity to sit and contribute in this august House.

I wish to support the Motion. I believe a Motion for Adjournment is not a substantive issue that would require a Member to contribute for more than five minutes. Five minutes is basically enough for one to consolidate his views and say anything he wishes to say.

So, I support the Motion. The Member for Kabete (Hon. Muchai): Hon. Speaker, Sir, my name is Hon. George Muchai from Kabete Constituency. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate you very sincerely on your election as the Speaker of the National Assembly.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I appreciate that many of us who are in this House for the first time have something to learn, particularly from the old Members of this House but I would like to confess that, personally, I would like to learn the right things and not the wrong ones. I do not want to learn that I stand to oppose a Motion for the sake of opposing it. Looking at the composition of the Members of the House Business Committee, one will appreciate that these are hon. Members with tremendous experience. When we approved their appointments, in my view, we approved them to guide us and not mislead us.

In this context, I am going by the trend of the other Procedural Motions that have already been approved by this House. I am of the view that these Motions were well thought out by the House Business Committee, and that they deserve the support that they have earned, despite the attempt by some hon. Members to oppose them just for the sake of it. Therefore, support this Procedural Motion as moved by the Leader of the Majority Party.

With those remarks, I beg to support.

Hon. Richard Momono Onyonka, you are old enough in this House to know that you do not just rise and start talking.

The Member for Kitutu Chache South (Hon. Onyonka) : Hon. Speaker, Sir, I thought that it would be the best way for me to catch your eye.

No, no! The hon. Member who caught the Speaker’s eye is the lady behind you.

Kwale County Women Representative (Hon. (Ms.) Chizuga) : Ahsante, Bw. Spika. Kwa majina ninaitwa Zainab Chizuga, muwakilishi wa akina mama katika kaunti ya Kwale. Ningependa kukupongeza sana kwa kuchaguliwa kuwa Spika wetu, pamoja na naibu wako, akiwa mama.

Kwanza, nimesimama kuiunga mkono Hoja hii kama ilivyo, kwa sababu muhimu ni lile ambalo unalizungumza na uzito wake; siyo maneno matupu. Pili, ningependa kuwapongeza Wabunge wote walioteuliwa. Tatu, ninawaomba Wabunge wasichukulie kwamba sisi akina mama tulio hapa tumekuja kuteta. Tumekuja hapa kuungana na kushirikiana ili tulijenge taifa la Kenya.

Ahsante, Bw. Spika.

Hon. Members, let us close this debate with another lady. Yes, hon. Alice.

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What is your point of order, hon. Onyonka? The Member for Kitutu Chache South (Hon.Onyonka) --- (off-record)

Hon. Onyonka, I thought you wanted to say something, and you have said it. I am sure that you heard the Chair say that we close with a contribution from that hon. Member. She will be heard.

The Member for Kitutu Chache South (Hon. Onyonka) : Hon. Speaker, Sir, from where I am seated, it is not very easy to hear you. So, I did not hear you.

Proceed, hon. Wahome. The Member for Kandara (Hon. Wahome) : Thank you, Hon. Speaker, Sir. This is my third time to stand, trying to catch your eye. I think the interaction was unnecessary. I am the Member of Parliament for Kandara Constituency. May I also take this opportunity to congratulate you on your election to the seat of Hon. Speaker and thank the people of Murang’a County for producing the first woman Member of Parliament from that county! I am one of the 16 women elected to this Parliament. I believe that there are other 16 counties that have produced women Member of Parliament in terms of direct constituency election.

I rise to support this Motion and also congratulate the Mover of all the Procedural Motions because the operative word that he has used in limiting the time is “maximum”. If you look at all the Motions, you will appreciate that the word “maximum” has been used to ensure that hon. Members who exhaust their points do not continue repeating themselves just for the sake of exhausting the time allocated to them.

With those remarks, I beg to support.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the following Motion:- THAT, the thanks of the House be recorded for the exposition of public policy contained in the Address of the President delivered on Tuesday, 16th April,

Hon. Mbadi, are you sure that you are on a point of order? Do you not want any time donated to you?

Hon. Speaker, Sir, the rules of this House bar a Member from addressing another hon. Member directly. We need to be addressed through you. We should not allow this precedent. I have seen a precedent being set up this afternoon, of trying to stifle debate. You

A certified version of this Report need to help in advising this House. This is a debating Chamber. Allow free debate. You may not agree with me, but you do not have to be arrogant about it. You just need to continue with your line of argument and allow me to get along with my line of argument. So, it is wrong for hon. Duale to address me directly. He should have addressed me through the Chair.

Very well spoken, hon. Mbadi. Similarly, I would also want to restrain you from referring directly to hon. Dalmas Otieno, as you did. Other hon. Members are accordingly advised.

Yes, Member for Laikipia East. The Member for Laikipia East (Hon. Kimaru) : Hon. Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the point of order that hon. Mbadi has spoken on given that---

I am sorry, hon. Kimaru, you are out of order. Points of order do not require support. Just be seated. You rise claiming to be on a point of order to support a point of order? Leader of Majority, proceed.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, first and foremost, I want to congratulate all the 349 Members for the success of their elections. The elections are over. We have a heavy task ahead of us and we need to come together and achieve the aspirations of our people.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, before I substantially comment on the Presidential Speech, allow me to make the following statement from the outset. First, the Tenth Parliament, which I had the privilege of serving, was credited with the enactment of the highest number of legislation in the history of Kenya. I hope the Eleventh Parliament will surpass that record in the spirit of bi- partisan and consultation with all the Members regardless of our political divide. Secondly, the President’s Speech, for the first time in the history of this country, was anchored in the Jubilee manifesto. This is a remarkable departure and there is a link between party policies and Government programmes. What the President read is basically the agenda and the manifesto of the Jubilee Coalition that he led. History will bear me out that governments, political parties and leaders used to give manifestos, but when they formed governments, they forgot the manifestos. This is the first time we are seeing that party policies and Government programmes are linked together in order to bring service to our people and to build stronger political parties.

Thirdly, for the first time again, the President affirmed the commitment of his Government as an agenda in the implementation of the Constitution.

The Member for Tongaren (Hon. (Dr.) Eseli) : On a point of order, Hon. Speaker, Sir. With all due respect to the Leader of the Majority Party, it was not my wish to interrupt him that way, but I have noticed something which is of concern. When His Excellency the President was addressing this House yesterday, I noticed that all our disabled brothers and sisters were accommodated at the Front and, therefore, they were close to your view and it was also easier for them. Today as I walked in, I realized that my brother hon. Timothy Wetangula is right at the back there. That is where he has been since this House convened except yesterday. I believe that we are being unfair to our brothers who have any disability. It would be good if you could order the Serjeant-At-Arms and whoever is in charge of this House to ensure that our brothers and sisters are given a front seat here, so that they can easily catch your eye and eventually, it could be favourable for them. Where hon. Wetangula is sitting is really inconvenient. I am sorry to have interrupted the Leader of the Majority Party.

Hon. Eseli, the point you are making could have been useful when we were dealing with Procedural Motions. Moving forward, the Member will require to use his card and there is no place at the front where he can use a card. If for purposes of today’s debate, hon.

A certified version of this Report Timothy Wanyonyi would desire to be at a place where there is no microphone, because it is not that he is not visible to the Speaker, he is, but should he desire to be somewhere in front where there is no microphone, then that can be done. But moving forward, since we will have the cards, they will be the means by which they will catch the Speaker’s eye.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, my third point was that the President has affirmed in His Speech his Government’s commitment to the implementation of the Constitution. He has affirmed that devolution is not a choice, it is in the Constitution. He has also affirmed his Government’s support for the county governments.

This further affirms that he reinforces the Jubilee Coalition commitment to the realization of a full constitutional democracy in our country. Further again, the President’s Speech and the legislative agenda that he put to the House yesterday affirms that Kenya has now a pure presidential system. Days are gone when Parliamentary Bills used to be brought to this House by Ministries. Days are gone when the Government used to lobby here and Members of Parliament were also Ministers. The legislative agenda of this House will now come through the Speaker, the Leader of the Majority Party and the Leader of the Minority Party.

As we debate the President’s Speech, let me encourage Members to embrace a bipartisan approach and rise above party partisans for the sake of changing the lives of our people. I want to thank His Excellency the President for his official Speech during the State Opening of Parliament. This Speech has captured the aspirations of the people of Kenya as it sets out the agenda of development for the next five years. For the first time in the history of this country we have a young digital President, a President who has energy and time. We have a President and a Deputy President who want to work for the people unlike the old scenario.

The Member for Changamwe (Hon. Shimbwa) : On a point of order, Hon. Speaker, Sir. My name is hon. Omar Mwinyi Shimbwa, Member of Parliament for Changamwe, this being my first time to be in this august House. I wish to bring to the attention of the House that hon. Duale, the Leader of the Majority Party in this House, is insinuating that other presidential contestants were actually not ready to work for this country. I request you to ask him to withdrawn the statement and honour the dignity of the other presidential contestants in the just concluded elections.

Kindly, hon. Members, I have advised that let us not use the pretence that you are rising on a point of order to do some argument. There will be enough time for each of you to say what you have to say with regard to the Statement by the President. Therefore, please, raising points of argument for purposes only of being seen to have said something, you should refrain from doing that.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I want to laud the President for committing to reviewing the Public Procurement and Disposal Act. The gist of the President’s Speech is that this will open up more opportunities for the young people of this country and make our nation friendly to businesses and investors. That is a welcome move.

The President covered the following areas as a priority of His Government in the next 12 months and in the long-run, the next five years. He covered them as priority areas in transforming our country socially, economically and politically. These include the following:- The participation, for the first time, of the Diaspora in building our nation. We know that the Diaspora community remits billions of dollars to our nation. For the first time, the President has affirmed that, that network between our country and the Diaspora will be enhanced in order to make their participation relevant in nation building.

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Secondly, the President gave out his outline in the expansion of tourism activities and marketing, agriculture and food security, environment protection, maternal health care, sports, acting and lottery, the future of our State corporations and the regulation of the private security sector for the first time

Hon. Speaker, Sir, we must appreciate that there are rafts of regulations that are needed and are pending. The President said, and I am sure Members of this National Assembly through the website of the National Assembly will see that there are over 24 pieces of legislation that are at Second Reading. We have about 18 pieces of legislation pending from the last Parliament and which are queuing at the Committee Stage. We have Bills at the First Reading stage. All those pieces of legislation, more than 50 of them, are waiting for this august House to make them law.

There are several legislations that require further consideration and review by this House. These legislations are in different stages of the parliamentary calendar. I hope the HBC, as the President put it, will give them the priority that they deserve.

For me as the Leader of the Majority Party, I will work closely with the respective Parliamentary Committees to develop a robust Committee system to facilitate the business of this House. Under the Presidential system, the nerve centre or the central focus of parliamentary business is the committees that we are going to form before next Tuesday. Committees will be very important that Members of Parliament will not have the luxury that they used to have of asking Minister’s questions. Pertinent questions will be forwarded to the Committees which will act on behalf of the Cabinet Secretaries. It is the Committees and the respective chairpersons that will grill the Cabinet Secretaries. My office will facilitate the execution of Parliament’s oversight role. In our quest to ensure accountability to our people, they must get value for leadership. The Kenyans who brought all of us here, at the end of five years, must get value for their votes. They must get value for the long queues they formed. They must get value for the many campaign rallies they attended.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, recognizing the role played by citizens in governance, my office will provide an avenue for engagement with the citizens to bring the desired change. As I conclude, because I want each and every hon. Member to contribute to the Presidential Address, in the execution of our mandate as Members of Parliament, we shall constantly seek guidance and inspiration from our motto. For the new hon. Members, this is the motto: “For the welfare of society and the just government of men”. I call upon all hon. Members to play their role in achieving that welfare and the just government for our people. That is the motto that all of us must subscribe to.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I want to urge the Leader of the Minority Party to second and give chance to all hon. Members to contribute.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, there is somebody who is disorderly there. I think hon. Millie Odhiambo has not known that she is back to the august House and that she has left the campaigns.

On a point of order, Hon. Speaker, Sir.

Please, this is a House of rules. This is a House of the game. Hon. Speaker, Sir, I want you to instill that discipline. That the moment you enter the Chamber from that Bar, you have to go by the Standing Orders. If you want to do other things, you can do them outside the precincts of Parliament.

Hon. Nyenze!

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Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. I just want to contribute to the Presidential Address.

On a point of order, Hon. Speaker, Sir.

Hon. Leader of the Minority Party, let us hear the point of order from hon. Millie Odhiambo.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, Sir. I want to rise on two points of order, one under Standing Order No.80 that the Leader of the Majority Party who has been in this House before should be able to know that the Standing Orders say that he should not be reading speeches to this House. However, before I stood on that, the Leader of the Majority Party has also purported to take over the role of the Speaker. I would want you to rule him out of order. We are not on campaigns and we do not have a crowd here or a cheerleader. So, grandstanding is not allowed in our Standing Orders.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I call on you to rule him out of order so that we can move on with the serious business that brought us to this House.

The Leader of the Majority Party is advised not to make reference to hon. Odhiambo-Mabona or any other Member directly. Leader of the Minority Party, please, proceed!

Order, hon. Members! Let us not filibuster for no reason. The Member for Lagdera (Hon. Shidiye) : On a point of order, hon. Speaker, Sir. This is a serious point of order. I do not want this lady---

Now you are out of order. The Member for Lagdera (Hon. Shidiye) : Hon. Speaker, Sir, I am sorry. I find mheshimiwa Millie Odhiambo grossly out of order in the sense that she is misleading the House. When hon. Duale was making his speech, he never made reference--- He just made reference to his notes, but he was not reading the notes.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I think somebody just wants to be heard saying nothing and then she is misleading the House.

The hon. Leader of the Minority Party, please, continue.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, the Presidential Address was very ambitious. As Coalition for Reform and Democracy (CORD) , we will hold the Government to account because the promises that have been given are huge. While we are part of the Government though in the Opposition, we will make sure that what has been promised to Kenyans is delivered.

First, I want to say that the idea of giving Standard One children laptops is not achievable. The reason is that the cost is so high and yet there are other pressing issues that need to be addressed. First of all, there are the issues of facilities, the teacher to pupil ratio, books and trainers. We need to expand the facilities so that those children can get better education. If you

A certified version of this Report introduce children to free laptops, that is not sustainable. This was one of the campaign tools that I do not know whether it will be facilitated.

In the same breath, I want to thank the former Prime Minister for maintaining peace by recognizing the Supreme Court ruling and accepting the results though they have been contested. We will, as CORD, follow this matter to see whether or not we can reconstitute the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to ensure that there is fairness in future. Hon. Speaker, Sir, the Presidential Address said that we should respect, uphold and defend the Constitution. As CORD Members, we would like to see what the President will do with the County Commissioners because they are not within the provisions of our Constitution.

On a point of order, Hon. Speaker, Sir. Is it in order for the Leader of the Minority Party to mislead this House and Kenyans who are watching that we copied our manifesto from Vision 2030? We made it public because we had public hearings. Our manifesto was written by the people of Kenya, a thing that CORD did in a room where they closed themselves and this is normally their habit. Is it right for the Leader of the Minority Party, because of his status in this House, to mislead the House and to cast aspersions on the way we developed our manifesto that is now being implemented by the Government of the Republic of Kenya? Is he in order to do that?

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, Sir. I did a bit of research.

On a point of order, Hon. Speaker, Sir.

Hon. Midiwo, since the Chair does not want to be informed, we want to encourage debate. I think the best thing that should happen is to allow each party to say its bit and the rest will be judged by Kenyans.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, Sir. Hon. Shebesh was part of us and she used to tell us that every time.

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Hon. Speaker, Sir, again, is it in order for the Leader of the Minority Party who is holding on for somebody else as far as we are concerned, and what we are told---

Yes!

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, Sir, for coming to my defence. They are eating into my time and I am only contributing to the Presidential Address. Just to remind you, when everybody ran away from KANU, I was left with Moi to defend and campaign for the current President. So, I am only contributing what I know.

On a point of order, Hon. Speaker, Sir. Is the hon. Member in order to cast aspersions on the Jubilee Government when, in fact, the lack of seeds and fertilizer in this

A certified version of this Report country was under the management of a Minister from the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM)?

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, Sir. I do not want the Members of Jubilee to eat into my time. The truth is bitter. When the truth is told, it is always bitter. However, we will agree with the Government of the day as long as they do the right things. Where they do not deliver, we will be on their toes because we are the Government in waiting.

(Question proposed)

It is not possible! I want to give this guidance; I have received requests that certain hon. Members in contributing to this debate also want to take the chance to make their maiden speeches. That being the case, I would want to request other hon. Members to observe the usual non-interruption of any such hon. Member who will be making a maiden speech. I think it is important that I also appeal to you to know that it is only fair to give everyone a chance to say what they have to say in a manner that is clearly legible and audible. Thank you.

Yes,

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, Sir, for allowing me an opportunity to contribute to the Presidential Address. I want to thank you on your election as the Speaker of this House.

A certified version of this Report the item on CDF from Kshs141 billion to Kshs150 billion, because we want to spend this money on a quick fix basis on our women and the youth.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, the President talked about us being law keepers and being subject to the Constitution; he urged us to respect and defend the Constitution. He urged us to uphold vibrant opposition as essential to democracy. The President should walk the talk because if there is party discipline and political parties are an essential tool of enhancing democratic practices, the President and the Jubilee Coalition should be the first to show that they embrace multi-party democracy. There are acts, coalitions and agreements here and there that send signals of the fact that the Jubilee Coalition is intent on taking this country back to where we have come from. It is important to see whether the promises he has made to this nation are promises that he will be able to keep.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, the last one is about the implementation of the Constitution. If we are going to implement the Constitution, we must respect the same Constitution. The Jubilee Coalition understands the objections that members of this society and House have raised on the question of county governments. The Jubilee Coalition, therefore, should be the first to take away the County Commissioners and allow the Governors to operate as is envisaged in the devolution process. If he does that then we will know that this is a President who wants to implement the Constitution; otherwise, he came out as the person I knew was opposed to the implementation of the Constitution.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, Sir.

The hon. Tim Wanyonyi.

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The lady immediately behind there; kindly say your name; if you intend that what you will say be treated as your maiden speech, then I will administer the necessary regulations.

Turkana County Women Representative (Hon. (Ms) Emanikor) : Thank you, Hon. Speaker, Sir. I am Joyce Emanikor, Women Representative for Turkana County.

First and foremost, I would like to congratulate you and the Deputy Speaker on your election. I also want to thank the people of the six constituencies of Turkana for electing me as their Women Representative in this National Assembly.

Looking at the Presidential Address, I would want to appreciate the fact that he recognised the youth as being critical in the development of this country, whose talents, capacities and energies are critical in the economic growth and development agenda of Kenya. Looking at the different categories of the youth, I believe there are some categories that are not conspicuous; an example is the pastoralist youth, who still engage in crimes such as cattle rustling. When we talk of youth we usually think of the unemployed youth in urban centres, and maybe the urban poor. We also have the rural poor, who include the pastoralist youth. I believe that they will all benefit if measures are going to be designed and tailored to meet the needs of different categories of youth. So, I really appreciate this.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, you alluded to the fact that the promises we made during campaigns were just promises and now we should get to the real business. I think it is only fair that we keep our promises and this is what the Jubilee Government is doing. The promises we made to the people of Kenya are what was contained in the Presidential Address.

Thank you.

We are being guided by the Constitution as well as diversity, the face of Kenya and every corner of Kenya.

The Member for Gem (Hon. Midiwo) : Sir, thank you for recognizing that I am a face of Kenya. Let me join in making my contribution to the Presidential Address. I thought it was a good beginning; there are a few good things which the President said, and which I think if we implement, we will be a better country. He said that he would form a leaner Government and transform the Government because of the level of wastage in it. I want to agree that we in CORD

A certified version of this Report these funds. There is this attempt to kill the CDF and I want the President to step in. I saw today Hon.Nyachae, the Chairman of the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution (CIC), saying that the CDF is unconstitutional. Let me tell Hon.Nyachae this from the Floor of this House: If it is unconstitutional, we want to tell him that we will make it constitutional in one afternoon.

Your time is up; you do not have the sympathy of the Chair. The Member for Endebess (Hon. (Dr.) Pukose) : Hon. Speaker, Sir, first and foremost, may I thank you for being elected the Speaker and tell you that my vote helped put you there. I also want to thank my constituents of Endebess in Trans Nzoia County for having elected me as their Member of Parliament to represent them. I can assure them that I will ably represent them.

The President talked about health, about which I am passionate, as a doctor. During the campaigns, we assured Kenyans that we were going to give them free health care at the dispensary and health centre levels. We are also going to ensure that whenever Kenyan women go to deliver, it will be free at the public hospitals. This is crucial because in the field, we have seen women deliver and die before they get health care. Many Kenyans live below the poverty line and we have to assist them; we have to give them their rights as enshrined in the Constitution under the Bill of Rights. They are entitled to affordable health care; we must give our women free maternity services.

On the security situation in our country, I was happy on the aspect of equipping our policemen, so that they are able to discharge their duties. But I will also urge that we also look after the security of Kenyans, particularly Kenyans working in South Sudan. Many Kenyans have lost their lives there; they are not given adequate security. When the Government of South Sudan was fighting for their rights, we protected them in this country, we ensured that they were

A certified version of this Report living well and gave them security. They must also give our Kenyans who are working in South Sudan adequate security; Kenyans who have gone there to look for something to feed their families must be protected, so that they come back alive.

On police reforms, the other day we heard of a conflict; the Inspector-General (IG) of Police transferred members of the police force but some members of the Police Service Commission were saying that he has no authority to do so. I think in the Police Service, the authority of IG must be recognized all the way to the grassroots level. I think the IG and his team should bring a Bill to this House which we shall support to give him the sole authority of transferring police officers without any question.

On the issue of the road network, I want to join my colleagues, especially those who come from the western part of Kenya, in saying that transportation is a big problem because the road network is in a pathetic state. For instance, in my constituency of Endebess, there is a road from Endebess to Suam; it is an international road, which is about 50 kilometers long, but it takes you about five hours to drive through it because it is in a pathetic state, yet this area is the granary of Kenya. When the Government sits down to prioritize its roads, the road from Kitale to Endebess and right into Uganda and South Sudan should be a priority.

With those few remarks, I beg to support.

There is nothing out of order! Remember in the morning I advised against raising hands. It is not very healthy.

Busia County Women Representative (Hon. (Ms) F.M. Mutua): Hon. Speaker, Sir, I take this opportunity to congratulate you for having been elected. I also take this opportunity to thank my Busia people for voting for me overwhelmingly. I also take this opportunity to congratulate hon. Members for having been elected in their various counties and constituencies; specifically, my congratulations go to the women representatives who traversed large counties looking for votes. Some even had 16 constituencies; an example is Mrs. Shebesh. In Kakamega County, we have 12 large constituencies.

With regard to the Presidential Address, I think it was very good if it will be implemented in full. However, it should be noted that as women representatives, we came to Parliament only to realize that we did not have any funds. I appreciate the President’s Address; he said that he would be putting together the separate funds for the youth and women to create a powerful fund. My worry is that if this fund will be for both the youth and women--- After consultation with the youth in Parliament, they have said clearly that they want to run their show; so, it is worrying that the funds will be merged into one fund. The youth should also be given their time. We should let them go. We always feel that the youth cannot do their things on their own; it is time we let go of the youth and let them do their projects. We even have in the Eleventh Parliament representatives for the youth like Hon. Zuleikha who must be around; this will avoid conflict between the women and the youth when it comes to projects.

I also appreciate the President’s pledge that within 100 days there will be a framework for the youth and women to access interest-free loans at the grassroots. Given the fact that women do not have funds, 100 days is a long time. He is the President of Kenya and if he gives a directive this money can be accessed by women at any time, in less than the 100 days. Of

A certified version of this Report importance also is the issue of laptops which I feel is too ambitious. We should concentrate on the enrolment of our kids in primary schools because enrolment is still very low. So we should work on enrolment and if we really have to continue with the laptop project, the laptops should be given to Form One students. They will have more impact on the Form One students.

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Thank you!

A certified version of this Report individuals. You also have rights as individuals, notwithstanding the collective responsibilities that you carry out as Members of the Legislature.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, on the issue of infrastructure, I want to appreciate what His Excellency the former President, hon. Kibaki, has done for this country. Unfortunately, in the region I come from, tarmac only ends in Garissa. I cover 900 kilometres from my constituency before I see an element of tarmac. I hope that the Government of His Excellency the President Uhuru Kenyatta will put measures in place to ensure that all parts of the Republic of Kenya become accessible by road.

Another issue I felt was very good was that of harvesting rain water that we have seen causing havoc in many parts of Kenya. Construction of more dams and water pans will help this country a lot. Spain is almost arid but they harvest rain water---

Your time is up, hon. Keynan. Yes, hon. Tobiko.

Hon. Members, I appreciate that we are a very large House. So, we will do our best to try and give each of you a chance. When 100 of you stand up, it is not possible to give all of you the Floor. So, be patient. You still have tomorrow and the next day to debate this same Motion.

Proceed, hon. Tobiko. The Member for Kajiado East (Hon. (Ms.) Tobiko) : Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. Let me also begin by congratulating you and the Speaker for your election as Speaker and Deputy Speaker of this House. Let me also congratulate our President for being elected the Fourth President of the Republic of Kenya as well as all the hon. Members for making it to this House, particularly those of us who have done so for the first time.

The Presidential Address really sets the pace for the development of this country for the next five years. My attention was attracted to a number of things that are very important in the development of the respective areas we come from. I was excited when the President talked about improving and developing the infrastructure of this country, particularly roads because I come from a constituency which does not pride itself with having any tarmac road. Over the weekend, I had a chance of visiting Othaya, courtesy of an hon. Member. I just marvelled at the level of development in some parts of this country, where every road is tarmacked. I had a very smooth ride to Othaya.

Therefore, I look forward to my President giving Kajiado East some tarmac road in the next five years. I will appreciate the tarmacking of the road from Sultan Hamud, through Mashuru to Kajiado, which is a distance of only 100 kilometres; the road from Isinya to Konza, which is less than 20 kilometres; and the road from Kitengela, through Ngurung’a to Rongai, which is also less than 30 kilometres. The people of Kajiado East will be very happy with this Government if that is done.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, the President also talked about improving the facilities in the health sector. The other day I spoke to a Member of this House who told me that he had to turn his vehicle into an ambulance in my constituency. He really sympathised with the situation in my constituency, because we do not have such facilities. There are no ambulances or health centres. For the first time in the history of this country, my community elected a woman to represent

A certified version of this Report them in Parliament. I hope that I will get the support of this Government in terms of taking development to my people.

I was also excited with the President’s promise of issuing laptop computers to Standard One pupils in public schools. The problem is that we do not have electricity in my constituency. Therefore, we first need electricity and computer labs. We will, of course, appreciate the laptop computers. Our children will finally get to know that the global world has also reached Maasailand.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I was also excited about the issue of setting aside additional funds for women and youth. If we economically empower the Maasai woman out there, we will not have the issue of people coming to Nairobi to look for white collar jobs. We can improve our economy at our various counties.

I was also excited when the President talked about putting measures in place to improve the number of tourists coming into this country to 3 million. I just want to note that the portrait of the Maa woman has been used to market tourism in this country for very long without her benefiting at the grassroots level. I would, therefore, be looking forward to seeing women benefiting---

Your time is up, hon. Peris. Let me give a chance to that young man. Are you from Kabondo or Kasipul?

The Member for Kabondo Kasipul (Hon. Onyango) : Hon. Deputy Speaker, I am Silvance Osele Onyango, Member for Kabondo Kasipul Constituency. I wish to thank my electorates for giving me the opportunity to represent them here. While appreciating all the Members for being able representatives of their constituents, I appreciate the President’s Speech and I would like to state my interests in the following areas: I am, indeed, impressed by the President’s Speech with regard to mechanisms of modernizing agriculture and getting into commercial agriculture instead of subsistence agriculture. Notable and of interest to me is the youth fund. The President has indicated his willingness to get rid of the bureaucracies that surround this fund by taking it closer to the users.

However, I would like to note that it is not offering loans that will save our youth from the menace of unemployment. We have to address the issue of transition between secondary schools and institutions of higher learning. A majority of students are left down there. If we do not equip them with skills that will enable them to create jobs for themselves, then we are still sending them to the abuse of unemployment. On the same, we realize that offering loans to the youth may not be enough. I will give an analysis of that. If you give a youth a maximum of Kshs45,000 to start a business, a youth staying in Korogocho or Mathare slums will first spend Kshs15,000 on food because he has not even had food for some days. So, by the time he sets up the business, all the money is gone and he is supposed to repay the loan. I suggest a scenario where we should have a seed grant for the youth to establish themselves and train before they access the loans.

I commend the President for his attempt to ensure that we undergo an industrial revolution. But I would also like to see a scenario where we have put up mechanisms for dealing with perennial disasters in this country. We cannot have a country where every year, there are floods in Nyando and money is being minted from the responsible Ministries in the pretext of saving lives. We should invest in getting rid of the floods once and for all. I see a President who is determined, aggressive and who is committed to taking this country somewhere, but the same President is being held captive by certain inherent contractions impossible to resolve within our

A certified version of this Report system of governance in this country. For instance, on the day the President was delivering a Speech touching on human rights and telling us how he was going to offer security in the ratio of one policeman to 400 people, we still saw deployment of over 400 GSU officers in this town harassing wananchi including the Members of Parliament. That is not good. We must also prevent the recurrence of a scenario that we have witnessed in this country since the elections where whenever there is a national issue, systematic deployment of security agents targets certain areas.

I would like to see the deployment of security agents in Mathare and also at the Githurai roundabout. It should not only be in Homa Bay and Kisumu. This is going to provoke and not unite our country. I beg to support the Motion and confirm my commitment.

The Member for Sigowet/Soin (Hon. Kemei): Thank you hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. My name is hon. Justice Kemei, Member of Parliament for Sigowet/Soin in Kericho County. For purposes of positioning the constituency, it is in the northern part of Kericho County and it borders Nyanza. I had to change my position this afternoon for purposes of catching your eye and thank you for doing that.

I want to raise three issues on the President’s Speech. First of all, I have full confidence in President Uhuru Kenyatta and what he speaks, I am sure, is what he means and he will walk the talk. On the issue of transparency, I must say that in the previous Governments, we witnessed a situation where there was no transparency in our country. I believe the President will take the opportunity to reign in the Executive and make sure that the citizens of this country have access to information whenever they need it and at whatever cost as per the Constitution. Secondly, I must thank the President for the Statement on devolution. We were getting worried the other day that the County Commissioners and the Governors were in conflict. The Constitution recognizes devolution and we must give every support to the governors to run the counties as per the Constitution.

The third issue that I noted in the President’s Speech concerns local content in our television stations. I am a journalist by training and when we increase local content in our television stations and the media in general from 40 per cent to 60 per cent, we shall be stopping the current urge to get soap operas from South America, West Africa and Nigeria in particular.

On the issue that was raised by hon. Keynan, we must use the challenge posed by floods to create opportunities for irrigation and water supply. At the moment, four bridges in my constituency have been swept away by the current heavy rains. Four days ago, somebody was swept away and as at last night, he had not been found. The people are searching for him down to Sondu Miriu Dam. I hope, for the first time, we will harness rain water and floods in particular, for purposes of utilizing the water for improving our food production. The last one is stocking our health centres. If you go to any health centre in this country, you will find that there are no drugs. Our people go there and some of them die because of unavailability of drugs. The President should ensure that all the health centres and dispensaries in this country are stocked to the level that we will not witness unnecessary deaths.

Finally, I have to cross through two constituencies to get to the other side of my constituency. I have to cross through Nyando and Muhoroni to get to one side and Belgut and Ainamoi to get to another part of the constituency. I wish to request the Government to tarmac the road from Sigowet/Soin all the way to Kipsitet and Setuwet, so that our people have better means of communication.

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The Member for Kilome (Hon. (Ms.) Muia): Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. I also want to congratulate you and the Speaker on your election. I want to congratulate His Excellency the President for affirming his commitment to implement the Constitution. As he was sworn in on 9th April, 2013, he promised to scrap maternity fees. I was listening to Radio Citizen and Musii FM this morning and I learnt that some women are still being held at the Pumwani Maternity Hospital for non-payment of maternity fees. The Government should make arrangements to go and have those women released from hospital. When being interviewed, they said that His Excellency promised to scrap maternity fees and they were not going to pay. These young and innocent infants who are lying at the hospital need to be taken to their homes. Somebody should go to the Pumwani Maternity Hospital and make arrangements for the mothers to be released.

I also want to congratulate the President for talking about food security. Having come from Ukambani, during dry seasons, we live on relief food. I am sure this time round, our people will get water and there will be enough food. He also talked about agriculture. I appreciate the President’s promises. He said that he was going to take 100 days and we will see change. While we wait for him to implement that, I want to draw his attention to the fact that for the last ten years, the people of Ukambani have been receiving water from the Kilimanjaro Water Project, but from last year, and my neighbour, hon. Tobiko, will bear me witness, the water to Machakos and Makueni counties has been diverted to some green houses in Kajiado at the expense of human beings. If you remember, early last year, the former Minister for Water and Irrigation had to go round Ukambani with water tanks supplying water. While we are able to receive and access water, I am requesting the Government although I am aware that we do not have the Minister for Water--- We are relying on the promises that His Excellency the President has made and I am sure that there are systems in place. We are requesting for water which has been diverted to some areas in Kajiado District to be left to flow so that people from Makueni County and Machakos can access clean water.

Thank you.

On a point of order, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

What is out of order, hon. Tobiko?

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I just want to speak on the impression that my sister has created. I did not want to interrupt her maiden speech.

The point of order is supposed to be executed when a person is saying what is out of order.

We were advised not to interrupt a maiden speech.

That is also true. Then you are not on a point of order because if it was a point of order then it would be addressing--- What is it? Is it a point of information?

Hon. Deputy Speaker, she has misled the House. What my sister has said is not correct. There is a problem with Nol-Turesh Water Project. The line needs an overhaul. I am the former Chairperson of Tanathi Water Service Board and so I can tell you for sure that the line has problems. For that reason, there is no water going anywhere; it is going to waste. There is no water that has been diverted for Kajiado people to do irrigation.

Very well. I guess the hon. Member now stands informed. Hon. Joel Onyancha!

On a point of information, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

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What is your point of information? Who are you informing first of all?

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. The hon. Member who was on the Floor said that Kenyans who are at Pumwani Hospital are saying that they cannot pay fees because the President said they should not. In the President’s Address, what he said is that in the next 100 days, he is going to bring a Bill in the House which will propose free delivery for women in maternity hospitals. We do not want an impression to be formed out there by people that they cannot pay maternity fees because it is free. The Bill will come to the Floor for us to debate and then facilitate that within the next 100 days.

That is information for Kenyan women who are going to maternity.

On a point of information, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

Hon. Members, I have already given a chance to hon. Joel Onyancha. Please, allow him to make his contribution.

The Member for Bomachoge Borabu (Hon. Omagwa) : Hon. Deputy Speaker, I want to use this opportunity to thank the people of Bomachoge Borabu for electing me as their Member of the National Assembly. I want to thank them profusely for having elected me in 2002, 2007 and having confidence to re-elect me now in 2013.

I want to use the same opportunity to thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker, for having been elected Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly.

Now to address myself to the Motion, I would like to thank the President for giving us the way forward for the next five years. He told us what he wants to do and involve everybody in his Government. The issue of corruption that he addressed in his Speech is something that everybody who comes around and who is in this country is concerned about. But I am happy that he has a programme to tackle the issue of corruption. Matters of security are a big issue. I am happy to see that he has a programme for tackling that.

On education matters, he has a programme for laptops for Standard One pupils in public schools from next year. I know that the Jubilee Coalition made promises when it was campaigning. But I think we need to temper this with a bit of sobriety. That is because we have issues within our constituencies which really need to be addressed. We know we want to go digital, but it will be difficult for Standard One kids to handle computers. If you give a Standard One pupil a laptop--- A laptop costs about Kshs30,000 and given the number of pupils in the public primary schools, if you are to procure the laptops, then it would cost a lot of money. We have bigger problems within the primary schools that need to be addressed. In my view, it is important to go digital, but there is probably a better way to do it. We probably need to have a digital laboratory or just call it an office where you will have trained teacher in IT within the primary schools. You can then buy ten laptops for those Standard One kids.

Just imagine in the rural areas where there are no roads, kids walk to school on those muddy roads of ours. When it is raining like now, imagine a kid carrying a laptop! Surely I would imagine that there is a better way of doing this. Let us go digital, but make it in such a manner that we do not have to spend over Kshs30,000 to buy one laptop for each kid going to Standard One and mess up this programme. We want our kids to go digital, but there probably needs to be a better way of doing this.

I am happy that the Speech addressed itself to modernizing agriculture because it has for a long time been the backbone of our economy. Modernizing agriculture is welcome. We want to

A certified version of this Report support that. We want to support Bills that will come here with regard to modernizing agriculture. We want to support Bills that will modernize our economy in terms of working on our tourism and ways of encouraging trade and also ensuring that we have solutions to issues of land. We know land has been---

Your time is up, hon. Member. The Member for Kiminini (Hon.Wakhungu) : On a point of information, hon. Deputy Speaker.

Who are you informing?

Hon. Wamalwa, you know that will also act as your maiden speech if you have not spoken before.

The Member for Kiminini (Hon.Wakhungu) : That is fine, hon. Deputy Speaker. My name is Chris Wamalwa, the Member of Parliament for Kiminini, Trans Nzoia County. First, I congratulate you for being elected as the Deputy Speaker.

You are on a point of information, Hon.Wakhungu! The Member for Kiminini (Hon.Wakhungu) : Hon. Deputy Speaker, my point of information is that the President said in his Speech that he will abolish fees currently charged by public dispensaries and health centres for maternity cases. He put this in a very clever way. I am seated here with the former Director of Medical Services (DMS) . The President does not say that, that fee will be abolished in hospitals. He said that the fee will be abolished in dispensaries and health centres because in the medical fraternity, there is a way of classifying health facilities. So, when you talk about a dispensary, you are talking about health facilities in the villages or at the locational level. These facilities cannot manage to offer even maternity services. A facility like Pumwani is exempted from being a dispensary or a health centre. So, we were being misled hon. Members. This is because if you go to Kenyatta National Hospital, you will find that it is a referral hospital in Level 6. Moi Referral Hospital is also in Level 6. We also have county referral hospitals. So, there is a distinction between a dispensary and a health centre. The ones in the village cannot even offer cesarean services. At least, that is clarified. The Jubilee Government has misled us on this matter.

Order, hon. Wamalwa! You have made your point. Please allow another hon. Member to contribute.

On a point of information, hon. Deputy Speaker.

Hon. Members, we will not debate on what has been put in the Speech.

Hon. Alice, are you rising on a point of order or on a point of information?

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The Member for Kandara (Hon. (Ms) Wahome): On a point of information. I want to inform the hon. Member. Hon. Wakhungu has said that the President misled the country by saying that hospital charges for women giving birth will be abolished. The hon. Member did not look at the words below which say that there is abolishing of all charges for all women giving birth at public hospitals.

Thank you for that information. Can we now allow the hon. Member to contribute? Hon. Wakhungu, please note the information that has been presented. Hon. Members, allow the hon. Member to contribute.

The Member for Wajir East

: Hon. Deputy Speaker, first, I thank you for the opportunity that you have given me. My name is Abass Mohamed. I want to congratulate you, like other hon. Members have done, for being elected the Deputy Speaker. I also want to thank my constituents for giving me this opportunity to represent them in this House.

On the Presidential Address, I would like to say that it was based on The Vision 2030. Every Government that is in power has the onus to implement The Vision 2030. I have heard hon. Members say that the Jubilee manifesto was based on The Vision 2030 and I think that is right. That has made the Jubilee Government implement The Vision 2030 for this country. This is because that was done by the technocrats and it is based on this country’s development. Therefore, we have to follow the blueprint of The Vision 2030.

On job creation, as you are aware, this country is actually sitting on a time bomb. Almost 75 per cent of our youth are not employed. They have all gone to school, some have done their first and second degrees but they have not been employed. I want to thank the President for saying that job-creation is crucial and we must give it priority.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, with regard to food security, this is one of the countries that is food insecure. A country that is food insecure cannot claim to be independent. It is unfortunate if you cannot feed the population.

While I appreciate the President’s Speech with regard to increasing the acreage under crop to one million acres, this country is not only for crop production. Eighty percent of this country is arid and semi-arid but unfortunately, the President’s Address did not touch on the livestock sector which employs almost 7 per cent of this country’s population.

Hon. Mohamed Abass, your time is up! Yes, hon. Christine Ombaka! Siaya County Women Representative (Hon. (Ms.) Ombaka) : Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. My name is Christine Ombaka. I am a Women Representative, Siaya County. I would like to thank and congratulate you for your election to the position of Deputy Speaker. I would also like to congratulate the Speaker. I want to thank my people in Siaya for having elected me as the Women Representative.

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I want to make very short comments in two areas that the President spoke about very eloquently. That is on education and maternal health.

On education, the President made a statement that touched and made me love the Speech. But again, it has sent cold shivers down the spine. He said that the Government will not tolerate or allow a person who is under 18 years to drop out of school. I think that is a great thing because this is the youth whose education should be promoted. However, I am wondering, what if you are above 18 years? What happens? These are still young people. The age of youth start from 19 years to 35 years. These young people are in the universities. Does the President mean that he does not care about education of the young generation above 18 years who are university students?

The Higher Education Loans Board gives loans to university students, but the money is never enough. It is too little for the high number of students in the universities. So many students drop out of school. Will this Government not care about these students? So, this statement is worrying me. If you concentrate only on the youth who are 18 years and below and you forget about those who are 19 years and above, you will not make it. As a Government, we will still lose out on development and what we have set out to achieve will not be realised. So, that is a critical generation that must be considered in terms of education and we should not allow them to drop out of school. The policies that we will make here should capture their interests as well.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, the second comment is on maternal health care. The President talked about free maternal health care, which is good. But it is also important to look at the history of some of these problems that we have. Previous Governments have always said that education and health care are free and so on but that has never been realised. The Government has never achieved free education and free medical care. So, if you will give free maternal health care, which is a good idea, then you need to put in place certain things. What should be done right now before that service is made free is to ensure that there are services, doctors, nurses and drugs in those hospitals. The hospitals should also be clean and have beds where mothers will sleep. This is because if you go to public hospitals, you will find mothers sleeping on the floor.

During my campaign period, I went to a certain area and found a hospital nearby. I was told very clearly that when complications arise when a woman delivers, the family begins to dig the grave because they know that she will die. This means that there are no doctors, nurses or even medicine. The Government is making this service free before it sets up the place. I would like to see a Government that sets up the hospitals first. It should ensure that we have enough doctors, nurses, medicine and all that is required to look after a pregnant woman. After that is done, the Government should make the service free. You cannot make it free before you put in place these requirements. I feel that the intentions are good but there are many loopholes that we need to seal first before we make education or maternal health care free.

Still on education, people are asking: Is primary education still free in this country? This aspect was not clear because it was not stated. I have received three calls asking me to ask these questions. Is primary education still free because this was started by the previous Government? That education was never free as people were made to believe. How sure are we that this Government will make education and maternal health care free? Those are the questions.

Hon. Members, I am trying to do one side at a time. So, it is the time for that end. Please, I am sorry mheshimiwa. I have not known your name. Order, hon. Members! Please, let us give each other a chance. I have told you that you are a large House. Please, let us be patient with each other because all of you cannot speak at the same time; I have

A certified version of this Report said this will go on for three days. So, you will have your opportunity between tomorrow and Tuesday next week to make your contributions.

On a point of information, hon. Deputy Speaker, Sir.

Who do you want to inform, hon. Shebesh?

The information that I want to give, and that must be clear, so that we do not confuse the House, is that what has been offered free by the Jubilee Government is delivery and not maternal health care which is in the Reproductive Health Bill that we will be bringing to this House. What is free is child delivery and not maternal health care; she repeatedly talked of maternal health care. I just want that understood.

Okay. Be informed. Hon. Member, please introduce yourself. The Member for Bobasi (Hon. Manoti) : Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker, Sir. My name is Stephen Manoti, the Member of Parliament for Bobasi. I take this opportunity to congratulate you and hon. Speaker for being elected.

I stand here to say that what the President said in his Address is very good if only it can be achieved. He promised quite a number of things, but we do not know how they are going to be achieved, because it will need a lot of money to be raised for it to be achieved.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, when we talk of tourism, it is a very important sector if only we can improve our road network and security. When foreigners see what is happening in Kenya, most of them are not willing to come here. First and foremost, we have to improve our security for foreigners who want to visit us as tourists, so that they can be free to visit our country. When you visit countries like China, you find that most of the people do not know where Kenya is. We require some marketing to be done in those big countries, so that we can have big numbers of tourists. Through this, our income from foreign tourism will improve.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, we talk of agriculture. Agriculture can only be meaningful if we assist our farmers. It is very difficult for our farmers to transport their farm produce to the markets because of the ongoing rains. You find that our roads are very bad. So, as we start a new system, we hope that the road network in Kenya is going to be considered for tarmacking because murraming most of these roads is a waste of resources. This is because after murraming the roads, the rains come and it becomes a waste. It will be very important and economical for this nation to tarmack a few kilometers instead of murraming 1,000 kilometres and then within two months it is washed off. We want balanced development; in the past some areas were left behind.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, we have talked of health care. Health care is paramount and in order for it to work, we must have facilities. Most of our health care facilities are not equipped and staffed. You find a dispensary and health centre only managed by one person. So, even if we say that we are going to have free medical care, it will not work unless we increase the number of workers in those health facilities.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, on the issue of offering laptops to Standard One pupils next year, we have three types of classrooms in Kenya. There are those ones in urban areas. There are those ones in the “First Kenya” and there are those ones in the “Second Kenya”. The ones in “Second Kenya” are where lessons are conducted under trees. Are we going to have these laptops for those classes which are conducted under trees? As much as the idea is very bright, can we first build classrooms? Can we first cement the existing classrooms? Can we give them cemented floors?

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The Member for Bahati (Hon. Ngunjiri): On a point of information, hon. Deputy Speaker.

The Member for Bobasi (Hon. Manoti): Hon. Deputy Speaker, I do not need to be informed.

Order! We have allowed him to give his information. So, let him give it.

The Member for Bahati (Hon. Ngunjiri) : Hon. Deputy Speaker, the information I want to give him is that maybe the hon. Member does not understand that it is not a must that electricity should be used to operate laptops. We have solar energy. So, even if the children are under trees there is solar energy from the sun.

Please, give your name because this is your maiden speech and we want it to be recorded.

The Member for Bahati (Hon. Ngunjiri) : It is good, hon. Deputy Speaker because we come from Nakuru County and it seems we are not known by our names. I am Onesmus Kimani Ngunjiri from Bahati Constituency. This is in Nakuru County, but it is not known by new hon. Members. It is good to know the people of Nakuru County. We want to talk but not like the people who were there before.

Hon. Ngunjiri, the reason you are giving your name is not that we do not know you; it is because our debate is being recorded and we need your name for the record to show that you spoke.

The Member for Bahati (Hon. Ngunjiri) : Hon. Deputy Speaker, I have spoken. I am Onesmus Kimani Ngunjiri from Bahati Constituency.

Thank you, hon. Ngunjiri. Hon. Manoti, I think you still had a few seconds to go before the point of information was raised.

The Member for Bobasi (Hon. Manoti) : Thank you hon. Deputy Speaker. The hon. Member came up with an issue which is not important to any of us.

We require these laptops but we have to be very sincere. Most of our classrooms do not have cemented floors. If you go to most of our rural schools, there is nothing there. Most of them have jiggers.

The classrooms have jiggers or what?

Thank you. I will call the hon. Member at the back.

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The Member for Bura (Hon.Wario): Bi Naibu Spika, ningependa kumshukuru Mungu kwa kunijalia kuwa mwakilishi wa watu wa Bura. Nachukua nafasi niseme kongole kwako na pia kwa Spika wa Bunge, Rais na Naibu wa Rais mliochaguliwa katika nyadhifa mpya katika nchi ya Kenya.

Nikizungumzia juu ya Hotuba ya Rais inaotoa mwangaza juu ya sera ya Serikali yake, Rais amegusia swala la ufisadi na uwazi. Kama Bunge tuna furaha kumuunga mkono kumsaidia kupambana na ufisadi. Swali ni kwamba, vipi tutafaulu katika hivi vita? Mashirika ambayo si ya kiserikali na ya kiserikali yameungana mkono kudhalilisha waajibu wa Bunge katika nchi ya Kenya. Iwapo Bunge haliwezi kufanya kazi yake ya kuchunguza rasilimali ya Serikali inavyotumika, vipi tutapambana na kushinda ufisadi? Hili ni swali kwake.

Ninafuraha kwamba Rais amezungumzia ugatuzi. Ninajua kuna dukuduku juu ya magavana wanaotaka bendera, ofisi kubwa na pesa nyingi. Lakini watu wetu wako katika hali mbaya. Kumenyesha mvua ya gharika na magavana wetu hawana mikakati, sera, sheria ama maono juu ya vipi wataendeleza kazi na kuboresha hali ya maisha ya watu wetu. Kila kukicha ni bendera na wanataka ofisi kubwa kubwa. Tunazungumzia karakana kwa sababu katika Hotuba ya Rais alisema kwamba ataboresha karakana. Kati ya Bura na Garissa, zaidi ya magari 100 yamelala siku 20 njiani. Kama kweli mtaboresha karakana, halahala boresheni hali ya barabara inayounganisha Mombasa na Garissa.

Nina furaha wakati Rais anazungumzia nafasi ya kazi kwa vijana. Kwa nini nina furaha? Asilimia 70 ya watoto wa Kenya licha ya kufanya vizuri katika vyuo vikuu, ajira ndilo tatizo kubwa. Mazungumzo yale yananifurahisha sana. Namwambia Rais kwamba haya mazungumzo yakifika ofisini, utekelezaji utakuwa ni tatizo kubwa. Nitamuunga mkono lakini atupe hakikisho.

Katika Hotuba yake, Rais hakuzungumza juu ya janga linaloadhiri Wakenya; hili janga la kiasili likiwemo mvua ya gharika inayoendelea sasa. Ni lazima Serikali iwe na mikakati maalum. Ni lazima Serikali iwe na rasilimali maalum. Ni lazima Serikali iwe na mfuko ambao kutakapo tokea dharura itakimbia mara moja kuokoa watu. Angalia hali ya Mororo leo katika sehemu ninayowakilisha. Angalia hali ya Madogo na Bilbil. Ukame umefagia miji, watu hawana chakula na makao. Ukienda ofisini unaambiwa rudi siku nyingine maana wanalishughilikia tatizo lako. Hio siku itafika lini?

Rais pia alizungumzia kawi. Tangu Mungu aumbe dunia na akamleta mtume Adam, mji wa Bangal haujapata stima. Nina furaha kusikia kutaletwa kawi ya solar lakini tangu Mungu kuumba dunia mji wa Bangal haujakuwa na umeme hata siku moja. Hii ni habari nataka kumpa Rais wangu atembee Bangal ajionee mwenyewe kwamba tangu Mungu aumbe dunia hata siku moja stima haijawaka kule.

Nikimaliza, nina furaha kwamba Rais aligusia swala la elimu. Ningemwomba asome Omingo Report ya 1973 inayosema kuhusu watoto wa wafugaji. Ningemwomba asome Koech Report ya 1990s inayosema kuhusu watoto wa wafugaji. Ningemwomba asome Report ya UNDP. Mtoto wa mfugaji hali yake ya elimu---

Your time is up! You have made your point, but time is not on our side. I will give a chance to one old hon. Member because all speakers have been new hon. Members.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, thank you for this chance. In the morning I said congratulations to the Speaker and now I say it to you. I want to take this opportunity to thank the people of Vihiga for electing me for a third time to this Parliament.

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I just want to say that the Address was elaborate enough but maybe because of time he did not cover current issues. We have been talking about the issue of disaster management, as Hon.Wario has done. With the current floods, we are wasting a lot of water in this country and losing people at the same time; these are issues that we need to address very urgently at minimal cost. This is because what happens is that it rains and then they start doing things; it is sometimes a waste of time. We need to have a disaster management programme in the country, and be able to offer rapid response in times of disasters.

On the power generation, the President talked about industrialization but the cost of generating power in this country has been high. We do not have enough power; I believe that at the moment the resources we are putting in and the measures that are being put in to generate power are still very costly. So it is something that we need to address so that we produce power cost effectively.

There is an issue that has been raised on free primary and secondary education. It was never free and I believe this time the Government should put in place measures, so that we have enough money before we even talk about the issue of laptops; we need enough money. Where I come from in Vihiga, children are on the streets all the time going to look for activity fees and end up wasting a lot of time.

On security, we are talking about security in Kenya and even in the region. I think in our case, police reforms are talking too long. There is a lot of insecurity in the villages where we come from. In my own constituency, there is rampant insecurity and the police are very reluctant because maybe they are waiting for the reforms; because of job insecurity they are not working. We need to do something about this, particularly when we get the committees in place, so that we can take care of security.

The Kshs6 billion fund is a welcome idea, but all the time we are fond of talking about big money in this country, yet follow up action and feedback are poor. The way the money for the Women Enterprise Development Fund (WEDF) and the Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF) has been disbursed has been very expensive to the recipients. The intermediary banks have been very expensive. It is important that we put up, maybe, some kind of a fund or modernize the YEDF so that the money is cheaper and can be accessed by the youth. I know the President was talking about using the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) model; that has to be done in a way so that it can get to the youth meaningfully and at reasonable cost; all of them must benefit.

We should also encourage the youth to organise themselves into groups.

Your time is up; let us get a lady now. I will now take a lady from this side, the one next to hon. Bosire.

(Off-record)

Do not worry, hon. Bosire. Appreciate the difficulty of trying to accommodate everyone. We are now moving this way.

Nyamira County Women Representative (Hon. (Ms.) Chae) : Hon. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I stand to make some remarks as far as the Presidential Address is concerned.

Every woman in this House knows what our women are going through as far as delivery is concerned. The kind of reception pregnant women get in public hospitals is pathetic. So, we are supposed to begin from very far, if we are to make free maternity service successful. We have to care about what pregnant mothers are carrying in their bellies, the kind of antenatal care they get as well as the kind of reception they get from hospital when they go for such services.

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Hon. Deputy Speaker, let me talk on behalf of the Kisii community. You know how populated we are, and the kind of services that women render. We are also talking about firewood. We need to change the way we cook our food. Firewood is no longer available yet every day the children and the man of the house want to eat. That bit was not taken care of but we need to think about how to get alternative sources of fuel for our women to continue cooking in our homes.

Secondly, we are talking about sports and entertainment. Actually, most of these activities used to be there but they subsequently disappeared. So, I congratulate the President for his bold step towards rejuvenation of sporting activities in the country. As Parliament, we are going to give them the moral support that is required to ensure that all these things work. Even if the good things that the President talked about are going to be there, it will also depend on the kind of effort that we are going to put towards making sure that it works.

Going back to women and youth issues, we are talking about enhancement of the Women Enterprise Development Fund and the Youth Enterprise Development Fund but there is also need to empower women and the youth for them to know where they are going to invest this money. There are many activities going on out there but when you try to evaluate what one has been doing, you realize that he has done nothing. So, empowerment of these two categories of people is necessary. There should be mechanisms of ensuring that women put the resources they borrow from the fund into proper use that will change their lives. Our cry is for the woman to be able to sustain herself and also have a voice in her homestead, so that when the husband comes home he can feel that he has a woman. So, empowering women is the only way through which what the President said can be achieved. We should empower women so that when they get the money, they can invest it in the right places.

With those remarks, I beg to support.

Yes, Member for Mwala. The Member for Mwala (Hon. Musau) : Hon. Deputy Speaker, let me start by congratulating you and Hon. Speaker on your election. I actually voted for you and also campaigned for you. I actually paid some of your agents.

A certified version of this Report and over again. They have received questions from students over and over again. Why not record as the teacher teaches and upload the same in that small laptop computer and teach the child from that laptop? Let us look at the issue of laptops from a positive angle.

I also appreciate the President’s commitment to support devolution. Even if you are in the Opposition, you are sure that at 15 per cent of the national budget will be going to the counties. On disaster management, I would like to say that last week, a pit latrine collapsed as a child was using the facility. I was called and I rushed there. The child died as there was nothing we could do. Some time into the future, we are going to have rains. What rocket science is required to enable us know that the soils in my constituency are lose? What rocket science is required in understanding that the slabs used on pit latrines are heavier than lose soil, and that it will eventually sink if certain engineering aspects are not taken into consideration?

An

On a point of order,

Hon. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am making my maiden speech. The hon. Member has spoken very many times.

The Temporary Deputy Speaker (Hon. Ganya): Your time is up, Member for Mwala. Yes,

Thank you, Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity---

An

On a point of order, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. The Temporary Deputy Speaker (Hon. Ganya): He is making his maiden speech, please.

A certified version of this Report they want to investigate their own incidents. They want to investigate themselves, which is not possible. So, the commendable job that the President wants to do of increasing the number of police officers to protect Kenyans, we also need the reforms to take place. It seems that the National Police Service Commission has not done much since it was put in place. So, they need to pull up their socks, so that we can get proper policing in this country. I represent an area where people have a lot of problems with the police, especially during elections, my area normally is under police curfew. So, people are not very friendly to the police in the Migori area.

Secondly, there was the issue of agriculture. As you are aware, the President spoke about modernizing agriculture and putting one million acres more into agriculture. That is also commendable except that the country needs to move to other economic activities especially in terms of strengthening manufacturing, mining and other sectors. Agriculture alone cannot sustain this economy. The economy is growing big and we need to go into other areas that can sustain it together with agriculture.

The issue of laptops, is a commendable one. It is very ambitious, but I do not think it is going to be achievable in the near future for the reason that there are places where classes, like another Member said, are not cemented and there is no electricity. One Member has said that electricity is not an issue because the laptops will use solar and even if one is under a tree, they can still use them, but I do not know where the pupils will go when it rains. You can have your laptop under the tree but when it rains, you must move to a class and hide yourself from the rain. So, we need to improve the infrastructure as much as it is commendable to have laptops. I do not think that a pupil who is very hungry; who has not taken breakfast before going to school, requires a laptop. He needs basic things like food and classes first. However, it is a commendable proposal. Laptops are also a way of improving the lives of Kenyans.

[The Temporary Deputy Speaker (Hon. Ganya) left the Chair]

On a point of order, the Temporary Deputy Speaker. My point of order is with regard to Standing Order No.18. This is about presiding in the House. It says:-

“The Speaker shall preside at any sitting of the House but in absence of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker shall preside and in the absence of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, a

A certified version of this Report Member elected by the House for that purpose pursuant to Article 107 of the Constitution shall preside.”

Just a while ago, I saw my good friend, the Member for North Horr, presiding over the business of the House contrary to Standing Order No.18. These are new Standing Orders, but even though they are new, we must start practising them. This is a House of laws and rules. We need to observe our Standing Orders strictly.

Thank you. Indeed, it is good that you have noted and we now have the information. Hon. Mbadi, we shall stand guided. However, I am sure that you know that hon. Chachu is quite capable of presiding over the business of the House and you would probably have elected him if we had given you the opportunity to elect him for two minutes.

On a point of information, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I would like to inform the Member who was on the Floor a while ago and intimated to us that the governors have no vision for this country and they are only after their big offices and the flying of flags. I would like to inform the Member that all the governors in this Republic of Kenya have a vision. One Member has said that there has never been electricity in his constituency. I cannot remember the Member’s name---

Order! But you are coming with information so much after the Member has been there. No Member remembers the information. Continue, but I do not know whom you are informing because we do not seem to know who that Member is.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, let it go on the HANSARD that I stand to be corrected.

Order, Members! Only one Member can be up standing at a time. Hon. Shimbwa: Hon. Deputy Speaker, our governors have a vision for this country and for their respective counties. We know that they are actually working hard. It is only that they have issues to sort out with the National Government.

Thank you, Member for Changamwe. I am sure there is a reason those governors are there because they are in the Constitution. However, I do not think we want to come and load praises on the governors on the Floor of the National Assembly. There are other assemblies which can talk about the work of the governors, which are the county assemblies and we will concentrate on our activities and duties here.

Members, like I said, do not feel like it must be today that you will speak. We have three other days that we are going to continue with the Presidential Address. So, do not feel like it must happen this day.

Meru County Women Representative (Hon. (Ms.) Kajuju) : Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. My name is hon. Florence Kajuju, Women Representative for Meru County. I thank the people of Meru for electing me as their Women Representative. I congratulate you, hon. Deputy Speaker, on your election as the first woman Deputy Speaker in Kenya. I also congratulate the Speaker as well. We are proud of you as women and I am proud of all the women in this House.

I am elated by the President’s Speech. As a lawyer, I know that this Speech captures the letter and the spirit of the Constitution. This is the period in which we are expected to implement the Constitution. One of the things that make me happy about the President’s Speech is that it has addressed the issue of land adjudication and demarcation processes. We are aware that 50 years

A certified version of this Report down the line, there are Kenyans who have never been issued with title deeds. In Kenya, you cannot access credit if you do not have a title deed, which is used as collateral. Instead of the songa songa that we have been used to, this is a Government of kusema na kutenda. Time has come for us to take action and ensure that title deeds are issued to the people. About 80 per cent of the people in Meru do not have title deeds. I believe that this is going to happen during this current regime because previous regimes shied away from the issue of land. That is not going to happen with the Jubilee Government.

We have been speaking about commercial farming. You will find that there are products that we produce in Meru that are specifically commercial in nature. However, other jurisdictions have decided to ban them for no apparent reason. Take the example of miraa which is produced in my county. In Netherlands, it has been banned as a drug yet in those countries, bhang is consumed.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I want to believe that the Jubilee Government and this House will ensure that when we speak of commercial farming, we should take care of other products like miraa that we are producing. That is because it brings a lot of money to our economy.

Thank you,

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I want to congratulate you on your election as our Deputy Speaker. I also want to thank the good people of North Horr for electing me for the second time to serve them. It is a big honour. In addition, I really want to thank the people of North Horr for their unwavering resolve that enabled us give leadership to Marsabit County. I support the President’s Address.

A certified version of this Report to rule. We demand for the full realization of devolution. For those of us who come from counties which have lagged behind, this is our future and hope. We will fight for it to ensure that we realize it in totality.

On the issue of laptops, I think it is a big joke! Otherwise, I think the Jubilee Government is mistaking laptops for digital toys. We have schools in our constituencies which do not have classrooms and water. Children walk for almost five kilometers a day because there are no dormitories. For lack of permanent water supply, our kids only go to school for only half a term. That is because we have to get water 60 kilometres or 80 kilometres away. We will not allow, as the Opposition, the resources of the taxpayers to be wasted.

The Member for Turkana South (Hon. Ekomwa): Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. First and foremost, I want to congratulate you for your election. Secondly, I want to congratulate the honourable people of Turkana South for giving me this opportunity.

On the President’s Address, I am inspired. I come from the furthest corner of this nation; that is, Turkana South. In the President’s Address, he touched on the critical issue of cattle rustling. As I stand here, many innocent people, including children and women, lose lives in Turkana. I want to affirm to this hon. Members that 10,000 people in a location in Turkana do not have a single police officer. Can you imagine that? Those are Kenyan citizens and they deserve security. They deserve protection of their property. I am inspired because the President’s Address has taken seriously the issue of cattle rustling.

Secondly, this is why I am inspired by the President’s Address. Let us appreciate the fact that you cannot finish all the problems of this nation in one day. I was inspired by the President’s Address because he appreciated what the past leaders did. He appreciated what former President Kibaki and former Prime Minister did. He was very categorical in showing that he will continue from where they have left. For you to disapprove a promise, you need time. You need to be patient. So, I urge Kenyans and hon. Members to give the President time. He has a package to offer to Kenyans, but it is subject to time. If we give him time, he will offer.

On the issue of laptops, I am also impressed. He did not say that he will not construct classes. However, that one is ongoing and he will do it. However, one thing that we need to appreciate is that the President appreciated that the Kenyan child needs to be at the international level. He wants to ensure that the Kenyan child meets the international standards by appreciating e-learning through having computers. For me, that is inspiring. For a Turkana child to have a laptop, surely, it is something that I need to appreciate. I thank the President for ensuring that even the remotest part of this nation can receive a laptop.

In the past, some areas of this country were categorized as “others”, but as of now, I appreciate that Turkana which used to be in that category is now a very important part of Kenya. It can actually get its cake. That is why I said that I appreciate the fact that my constituents have been taken care of.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I urge the President to treat the issue of cattle rustling as a national disaster. It is a serious issue. I affirm to you, hon. Deputy Speaker that, most pastoralist communities live in constant fear. People kill the way they want and take property the way they want because no action is taken against them. This is a criminal offence! The Government needs to take seriously the issue of unnecessary killings of innocent wananchi.

I support the President and ask him to assure Kenyans that their lives and property will be protected. That is why the Government is there.

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Your time is up! Member for Bomet Central! The Member for Bomet Central (Hon.Tonui) : Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. I am hon. Ronald Kiprotich Tonui from Bomet Central. I want to thank the people of Bomet Central for according me this opportunity to come and represent them in the National Assembly. I assure them that I will represent them well.

On the Presidential Address during the opening of Parliament, I would like to say that His Excellency the President gave a very good Speech which touched on very many areas and in particular on education which I am really interested in having been a teacher, a principal and a unionist in the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) .

In education, the President mentioned that there is need to increase the number of institutes of technology. I think this is important. If this is done, we will create self-employment opportunities for our people. This will expand employment opportunities. We should not only expand opportunities in white collar jobs, but we should also expand opportunities in blue collar jobs.

On the issue of laptops, I support it only that I would have wished that we should also give students in Form One a chance to have these facilities. That is the direction we are taking. However, we should not forget the need to have adequate teachers in our schools. There are many schools which have been started but they do not have teachers. Many students go to school to play and then return home. Many of the schools which have been opened for the last two years do not have even a head teacher. We must prioritize employment of teachers in our schools because without adequate teachers we will not go anywhere. That is one of the key issues which I would like to see being implemented.

If we compare the performance of our public schools with the performance of private schools, we will find that the students in private schools are doing well because of the number of teachers they have. Private schools are adequately staffed unlike public schools. If you compare the public schools in the rural areas with those in the urban areas, you will find that they are not the same. The public schools in urban areas are doing very well while the public schools in the rural areas are performing miserably because of lack of adequate teachers. So, I urge the Government to prioritize employment of teachers.

We rely on farming in Bomet County and more so the tea sector. I was happy His Excellency took a lot of time to emphasize on the need to modernize agriculture. There is a maize disease in Bomet County which is destroying our crops and yet no attention is being paid to it. This disease started in Bomet in South Rift and it may extend throughout this country if no action is taken to contain it. I would like the Government to concentrate on finding ways of solving this problem before the disease extends to other parts of this country.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, tea farming is a major activity in Bomet Central Constituency. Tea farmers are really suffering because of bad roads. They are also suffering because of taxation. It is only in the tea sector where we have tax even on research. There is no tax on research for potatoes. However, when it comes to tea, there is even tax on tea farming. I would like this tax to be removed because tea is a foreign currency earner and farmers should be encouraged to grow it instead of being discouraged. I would like this Parliament to also consider, in future, when we are dealing with Bills to ensure that we remove taxes in the tea sector.

I was happy when the Head of State mentioned that---

Your time is up! Yes, the County Women Representative for Garissa!

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Garissa County Women Representative (Hon. (Ms). Gure): Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. I thank the people of Garissa County for electing me as their Women Representative. I congratulate you, hon. Deputy Speaker for being elected to that position.

The President’s Address was outstanding and motivating. I want to thank the President for recognizing the youth and women.

We have a big problem in Garissa County especially with infrastructure. We do not have tarmac roads in that county. The only tarmac road we have in that county is from Nairobi to Garissa. People sleep half-way on roads which measure 180 kilometres. Sometimes the people of Garissa feel as if they are not part of Kenya. We, the people of northern Kenya have been forgotten. We want to be counted as Kenyans because we are Kenyans. We want the President to take action and build our roads.

I would also like to talk about laptops. That is a fantastic idea and I support it. The other issue is that we have to consider the welfare of teachers. We do not have teachers in some of our rural areas and classes are not being conducted. Parents hire teachers and pay them from their pockets. We want Kenyans to know that there are some areas which do not have schools and children do not go to school. They just stay idle at home. It is very sad to see a Kenyan child being left behind. We want those children to be brought on board and being taken to school.

The other issue I want to talk about is on water. We have problems of water in some constituencies of Garissa County namely, Lagdera, Mbalambala and Ijara. We need dams.

As I speak right now, there are massive floods in Garissa County emanating from Tana River. We want the Government to build pans and dams to retain that water. We need help because some people have been displaced. There are also some people who have nowhere to sleep tonight. We need help and we want the Government to know that.

Thank you very much, hon. Deputy Speaker.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is becoming very difficult because all of you are standing. We have three Members. That is the hon. Member for Igembe North and two areas that have not been represented.

A certified version of this Report Republic. If somebody is interested in the development of the Republic, then he or she has to look at the broad roadmap for the development of the country.

I was very much impressed with the issues about food security. We have floods this month in the country, including my constituency. Sometimes we have drought. So, people suffer from a lot of water to lack of water. So, the idea of water harvesting is important. If we had dams, we would have practised irrigation and hence food security. If we manufacture our goods, we will add value to our agricultural products and this will increase our income.

Also on the idea of research and development, we are aware all these countries have been able to move forward in development. For example, in India there are many institutes of technology, which have been able to produce effective graduates who are now controlling many multinational companies in the world. So, I believe if we also put more emphasis on these institutes of technology and even education at the university level--- Instead of having massive production we can have highly technically qualified people who are able to drive the economy. Through research and development we can create knowledge-based economy. We can also have innovations, and by the end of the day we can, as a country, move forward instead of depending on primary products from agriculture. We can also have people in these institutes of technology involved in research and developing products that can bring income.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, there are also other things like tourism. As a country, we have never been able to take the advantage of being a country in the middle of the earth. The equator passes through here but because of poor marketing we are defeated by countries like Egypt, Israel and Palestine. There is no peace in these countries but there is a lot of tourism and they get a lot of money.

The President also spoke about job creation. I am glad also that in his Address he was very clear. He came up with some ideas about the youth fund, women fund, sports and arts. If we have these activities taken care of well, then I am sure, as a country, we are ready for take-off but this will require concerted efforts. However, Kenyans are very cynical. They are always looking at what will not work but not what will work. So, I think it is high time as the leaders in this august House we are able to come up with our ideas to complement other ideas, so that we can take our country forward; this is better than complaining and blaming. We should come up with visionary ideas and support what works and what does not work can be improved. The idea of the laptops is one that----

Your time is up. The Member of Parliament for Jomvu, please introduce yourself.

The Member for Jomvu (Hon. Bady) : Thank you very much, hon. Deputy Speaker. My name is Hon. Bady Twalib. I am the Member of Parliament for Jomvu Constituency.

Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity. First, I want to congratulate you for having been elected by this House. Secondly, I want to congratulate the people of Jomvu for having elected me to represent them in this House.

On the Motion of Address by the President, I will touch only on two things. First, the President said that the Government will establish a first class logistics hub covering transport, roads, ports and et cetera. I hope the Government will do something on the Mombasa-Nairobi Highway, especially in Jomvu which I represent. That road leads to the port. I want to say that due to congestion on that road women normally deliver babies along it. Children go to school late. Workers going to their work places get late due to congestion on that road. I hope that

A certified version of this Report taking into consideration these issues, the Government will do something to solve that problem as soon as possible.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, secondly, I will touch on the issue of laptops. I wonder how the Government is going to provide expertise to implement this new system for the children at this particular moment taking into account that children in this nation are used to another system. Taking them into a new system of education, I wonder how the Government will implement it in terms of providing expertise and how the teachers will be deployed to those schools to teach those children how to use laptops.

Thank you very much; I am happy and excited to be in this august House. I have come a long way. Being a Member of Parliament for a newly created constituency called Jomvu has not been---

Your time is up, hon. Bady. Hon. Sakuda, if we get a few minutes we will squeeze in the last lady there. We should give her a minute or two because she has been standing for a long time.

The Member for Kajiado West (Hon.ole Sakuda) : Thank you very much, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. At the outset, let me congratulate you for a well deserved seat. It also shows us that you can be in the Speaker’s Panel; you are the hon. Deputy Speaker. So, it is really a great honour even to the women of this country.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, secondly, let me take this opportunity also to thank the people of Kajiado West for having given me an opportunity to serve them. As you can well remember, I was one of the hon. Members who served in the Tenth Parliament and was the shortest serving hon. Member; I served for about three months. My promise to them is that I will be able to do what I can do given that Kajiado West, which was curved out of Kajiado North, is among the least developed constituencies.

As far as the President’s Address is concerned, let me start by saying that it was outstanding, in my own view. It was an Address that set the agenda for this nation. It was an Address that set the goal. It was also an Address that charted the way for all of us to get there. I know some of the issues still need to be deliberated on, planned and worked upon; it gave a very good indication that the people of this country will move to another level in terms of development.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I will just touch on one or two issues. Number one is the youth and women funds, which His Excellency the President listed and urged that they be modeled along the path of the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) . Where I come from in Kajiado, a lot of women have been asking how they can access the women fund; also, a lot of young people have been asking how to access the youth fund. I think that there has been bureaucracy that has been impeding them from doing so. We should think carefully on where some of this money can be really channeled to go all the way to the women at the grassroots. I think it will go a long way in uplifting the status of the youth and women; it will take their lives to the next level.

Abolishing maternity fees is a very welcome idea but I think it is good to remember, as some of my colleagues here have said, that some of us are pastoralists and come from very remote places that do not even have maternity facilities to start with. So, we are wondering. Maybe, the first thing would be to build maternity wings.

Your time is up. The hon. Lady can now start. Just one word. Vihiga County Women Representative (Hon. (Ms.) Kedogo) : Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I am Dorcas Kedogo from Vihiga County.

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Let me start by congratulating you for being elected the Deputy Speaker and how I wish you went for the Speaker’s seat! I also want to thank my electorate for electing me.

I support the President’s Address. It was superb but only if it is implemented. There are a few things to be put in place; when we talk of the laptops, I do not know if they are the real laptops or toys. I do not know because somebody has just told us that if they fall in water they will not be spoilt. I want to say this---

Order, hon. Member! Next time you will have the balance of three minutes. So, you will be the first one to speak when this business is put on the Order Paper.

Hon. Members, it is now time to adjourn the business of the House. The House is, therefore, adjourned until tomorrow, Thursday, 17th April, 2013 at 2.30 p.m.

The House rose at 6.30 p.m.