Wednesday, 26th November, 2025

Clerk, confirm whether we have quorum?

Serjeant-at-Arms, ring the Quorum Bell for 10 minutes.

Serjeant-at-Arms, ring the Quorum Bell for a further 10 minutes.

Order, Senators. We now have quorum. Clerk, read out the first Order.

Services, Senate.

realization of National Values and Principles of Governance; and

ii. The Annual Report to Parliament on the state of National Security, 2025.

Sen. Daniel Maanzo, you have a balance of 11 minutes. If you so wish, you can utilise them.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. On the Presidential Address, there is what we call sovereign investment. The biggest investment the country can make is on the people of Kenya. The lives of the people of Kenya are very important. That is why health comes in very handy by making sure that when people get sick, they get treated in good time.

To reduce diseases, you need plenty of clean water supplied to Kenyans as required by the Constitution. When there is clean water, it is easier to deal with diseases. In fact, presence of clean water reduces diseases by half.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, what has been disturbing of this regime lately following the demonstrations, is that many young people were killed and quite a number injured. Some of them are still in hospital up to today. However, the Government did very little to assist them recover from bullet wounds and any other injuries inflicted by security forces.

Although a commission was set up to investigate and see possible compensation to those who died, the court has now stopped the commission. However, nothing would have stopped the Government from having other mechanisms such as identifying the extreme cases and dealing with them. For example, the story of Rex Masai; a very sad one because he was not part of the demonstrators. He was on his way to work when somebody, not uniformed, shot him and then stood there and watched him bleed to death. When a family loses a very prospective young person, the trajectory and future of that family changes entirely.

When we were at the University of Nairobi (UoN) in the 1990s, there were quite a number of riots that led to the closure of the University yet we were never killed for participating in mandamano or even for just being around. A lot of times, the students who were arrested were unaware that there were demonstrations around the university.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, during the Moi Regime, we did not see killings as we have seen now. I think Moi would restrain and there would only be arrests. I remember, even up to the year 2000, there were quite a number of students in Makadara or Kibera law courts charged with participating in demonstrations who were later acquitted. We did not have killings as it is. For example, if I was caught up in such a demonstration and somebody shot me dead, the future of my family would have changed completely.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, if all the 47 Senators here were shot in a university demonstration, then the Senate would be different today. Therefore, there must be a way of making sure that there are no more killings of our young people for participating in constitutionally approved demonstrations or any form of demonstration.

Services, Senate.

It is really not in good faith for somebody who is not armed to be shot dead. At least, there must be another way, but not killing when dealing with demonstrators. I believe even from those days when we would see demonstrations at the university, if you do not bother them, they do not bother you. However, the moment you provoke a demonstrator with a gunshot or a teargas, then the whole matter changes and becomes chaotic.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the law is very clear on what should happen. There should be proclamation; people should be given time to clear. Should they fail to do so and the same proclamation having been made loud and clear, then you can go on to safely disperse demonstrators or make sure that property is not interfered with.

What we have seen recently is unprecedented and many people have suffered; innocent, well-meaning young people like Rex Masai died. There have been some court proceedings on the establishment of those who could have actually killed him. That is not sufficient. In my opinion, the killer of Rex Masai is cursed forever. The best way to deal with this is; if one knows there was a misadventure, they should have come forward and said sorry so that reconciliation can go on. This is because once a life is lost, it is gone.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in the future, we must make sure that we do not lose hundreds of young people. They are the future of the country. If we really do not preserve lives, any other plan we have for the nation does not matter because we only plan and make good plans for lives. We must first preserve the lives of Kenyans, so that we can go on and invest.

If you are to help with the so-called selling of state properties such as the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) to raise money for development, just know it is a fixed asset that is generating a lot of money for the country. The pipeline generates Kshs7 billion every year. Unless you expand the pipeline to Uganda, it is a public company fully owned by the Ministry of National Treasury and Economic Planning.

It is working 24 hours a day and unless you increase fuel prices, it cannot make more profits as such. If you sell it to private people, they are the ones who will be pocketing the profits. Unless you are expanding it to the border, to Uganda and to other countries, selling that investment is not going to help the country at all. I think any other State corporations being sold for this particular matter is totally misguided. We just need to lower the cost of living in the country; make sure investors come to our country to invest and the local investors' cost of power is reduced. If we invest around, we will have created enough jobs for our people. They will pay taxes and our country will prosper.

Selling every single asset of the country to raise money without stopping corruption in the country, is a waste of time. A lot of money in billions is lost to corruption daily unless we make sure that the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is strengthened and those who have stolen from the state return whatever they stole or face jail. For countries like China to prosper, there is a death sentence for a corrupt person. There are many cases pending at the EACC with very few having been prosecuted by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The DPP has its role while the EACC investigates. If the investigation is not up to standard, any corrupt person will be acquitted and the monies will never be recovered for the benefit of the state.

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Our biggest problem and even what Singapore and Malaysia dealt with first, was corruption. Unless we deal with corruption, whatever sweeteners we put about development of this country will never happen. Even the said development should be done with the Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) and countries who want to partner with us. The dual carriage to Mombasa from Nairobi was meant to be done four or five years ago by the American companies. It is a pity that after some time, things seemed to be changing. Up to today, the American companies are ready. However, the Government started shifting to China where they can get contractors who will probably collude with one or two people who will do this dual carrigage. We want this dual carriage to begin because we have a ready partner. If we allow the Americans to do it and also go into the PPPs, I am sure we will do the highways.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, you cannot do 50 dams, meaning a dam per county, a big one, and also maybe another one to supplement the water for supply to Nairobi in one of the neighbouring counties. If Thwake Dam has never been completed, it is really ridiculous for there not to be a budget for it. Therefore, the Government funding component would not to have been taken to Thwake Dam. We keep borrowing and having contractors who steal the borrowed money. It is shared between senior Government officials, then you expect that we do 50 dams in this country. Let us complete Thwake Dam which is at 96 per cent.

On road tarmacking, many of the proposed roads are only 20 kilometres. In the case of Ukia-Emali Road in Makueni, 20 kilometres gets to a place called Matiliku. The remaining journey, which connects to the other tarmac road and to Wote Town has not been done at all. The road has no bridges and it is always damaged duing the rainy season.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I propose that the country be---

Yes, Sen. Mo Fire Gataya Mwenda.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. The Presidential Address cut across very many aspects of life. It imbued a lot of hope to Kenyans. If you read through this Address, you realise that Kenya is heading towards a great future. If you look at the resolve that the President has for agriculture, infrastructure and the economy of this country, you realise that Kenya will never be the same again.

If you look at infrastructure, which is a critical element, in as far as the growth of the economy is concerned, the President has captured very deeply on various critical roads that he wants to expand, including the Mwea-Meru-Embu Road. This is meant to open up areas in Meru and some parts of Isiolo and Embu counties. Many other roads have been mentioned, including the road that he promised to launch, the Rironi-Mau Summit Road, which is going to open areas in some parts of the western part of this country. That is the only way this country can benefit from this kind of arrangement.

I would urge Kenyans to be patient because I have heard a lot of sentiments expressed by quite a number of people regarding the economy and so forth. However, let us be very sincere. We are not where we were in 2022 when this Government took over. We have seen some very serious changes and drastic moves, especially in the housing sector. We have also seen changes in the Social Health Authority (SHA) arrangements and so forth.

Services, Senate.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is important for this country to realise that it takes a bold decision, some courage and serious decisions for leadership to shape this country. We cannot shape the country through rhetoric. I am happy that the President has realised this. That is why he has made some very hard decisions to make sure that some of the projects that have been abandoned by the previous regimes have been initiated, however, painful. I am very sure in the future, Kenyans will realise that what the President was doing for this country was for the benefit of the generations to come. I am happy.

On agriculture, I think there are quite a number of issues, including the expanded irrigation projects across the country.

On education, it is also important that we realise that the country is heading towards elections. So, in this arrangement, I wish to support the President and the Government. I am happy that Kenyans will realise the fruits of these decisions that the Government is taking.

I thank you and I support.

Sen. Wakili Hillary, please proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to comment on the Presidential Address that was delivered the previous week. I have taken time to read the address. I listened through the address on the day the President gave us this constitutional requirement. It reminded me of the Holy Book; Proverbs 29:18 that says where there is no vision, the people perish.

In this Address, the President indeed gave a vision to the people of Kenya. He started by saying that he had a story to tell and the story began by highlighting the journey that we have begun as a country. It started by giving us the promises he made when he campaigned to be the President of this country. It went ahead to explain the items that have been done and gave us a number of statistics in the form of what he called hard evidence of the achievements the Government has made in the period that it has been in power.

I believe that is the beginning of what he called the direction that we would want to take this Kenya forward. Without that vision, I believe you and I and the rest of the Kenyans who definitely had hopes of growth, development, improvement and also taking Kenya to the next level, have for the longest been looking forward to. It is given that it is not possible to say that whatever the President on that particular day spoke of has an element of clean, unchallenged issues that come with it.

It is one of the places where we all look at as a basis of improvement in terms of the economy of the country and the sectors that the President spoke about. As a Kenyan, as a leader sitting in this House, it challenged me, especially in the specific areas that he highlighted where he has a vision as a leader and sought for the support, not only of those leaders who are in office, but the rest of the Kenyans, to make sure that is achieved. Granted, we will always have the naysayers. We will always have those who can pose challenges, but the idea behind the Address by the President was an inspiration.

He gave us examples of the first world countries. He gave us examples of the Western Tigers, where they were before and where they are now. I believe that history and the example he picked on not one, two, but many countries that were similar to Kenya, but are at a different place now. They have progressed. They have grown not

Services, Senate. because of anything, but the vision that the leaders of those countries have carried. For them to be where they are, they have also benefitted from the support that they have achieved from reaching out to the rest of the residents of those countries. When he said it can be done, it is possible that it can be done. It cannot be done by one person. It cannot be done by himself alone. It can be done by the rest of us, as Kenyans and as leaders in this House. I think he posed to us a challenge, which I believe those who have spoken to this Address, have said it.

Some have said this was an Address which did not have implementation-specific programmes, but I listened to it. I have looked at it and I know it is an address that inspires many to ask of themselves what is it that we can do at our level to support this vision and the programmes that have been started, so that those which are ongoing are implemented conclusively. Those which are yet to start can be started without necessarily getting obstacles that will derail their implementation and, ultimately, the benefit that we are looking at as Kenyans. To be very specific in a number of the areas that the President highlighted, it would be prudent of me to also pick them because he told us that he was convinced that we were at the beginning of most of the ideas that he had.

Having said that, he had a story to tell. He also gave us a progress report on a number of issues. One of the areas where we have progressed was on inflation which was at 9.6 per cent in 2022 when he got into office. We are now at 4.6 percent. I believe that every Kenyan appreciates the fact that we are not where we were at the time the President and Kenya Kwanza Government took office. This is an improvement that is supported and that everyone acknowledges.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, even if we are not agreeing with this Address, we are speaking about an improvement. Whether it is 4.6 per cent as he laid out in his speech or

grow. The President said that was the report card he was asking Kenyans to support. Whatever programmes he has laid out need the support and implementation of Kenyans to make sure that we improve and sustain them.

He also highlighted three specific things; that is, agriculture, education and infrastructure. It is a fact that implementation of the subsidy programme on agriculture has improved food production. It has improved cash payments to farmers, whether in the coffee or sugar sector. It has largely grown from where it was to where it is now, courtesy of this programme that was implemented by the Government of President William Ruto.

I come from a tea growing zone. The statistics he gave us in paragraph 49 of his Address speak about an improvement of from Kshs138 billion in 2022 to Kshs215 billion in 2024. This, according to his Address, is a 56 per cent improvement.

Services, Senate.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am aware last week you were hosting the Committee in your county, that is seeking to establish the discrepancy and the differences in terms of earnings to the farmers in the tea sector. The improvement the President is referring to in this paragraph does not, in some areas, reflect what the farmer down there is earning from the tea sector. The Committee is looking to an improvement programme and inquiring into the discrepancy in the earnings.

The people from Kericho, Bomet and your area that are directly benefitting from these statistics will say it is not true. This is largely attributed to, not only the growth that the President spoke about, but to the management style and the governance that we have had in those institutions that are managing the tea sector in the west and east of the Rift. I believe that once that Committee concludes its investigations and inquiry, we shall be able to directly appreciate the fact that the 56 per cent improvement that the President referred to in his Address is in the larger tea sector.

There are silos in specific regions that have challenges. It is not explainable why a farmer doing tea in the east of the Rift is paid Kshs57 plus per kilogramme while the other one is getting even less than 50 per cent of that. The Committee will give us an appropriate explanation as to the discrepancy in terms of an alleged improvement of 56 per cent when the farmers are saying they are not directly benefiting from this particular sector.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the reforms that the President spoke about in agriculture, as I said, led to improvement in food security and definitely raised the income to the farmer. I believe that as a consequence, we have improved on our export earnings, not only limited to the agriculture sector, but related areas, including industrialisation. If we were to go by the vision and get the support that it is asking for, we will largely improve and Kenyans will develop out of this programme.

The President also spoke about development, improvement and governance in the health sector. He gave us statistics about the Community Health Promoters (CHPs) and those who have directly benefited from the Government programme to pay those who are unable to pay for themselves at a premium being paid to 2.3 million vulnerable Kenyans who benefited.

Health is wealth. Where one member of a family is unhealthy, the rest of the family members are deemed in most cases to be indirectly sick. This is because all the time they will be thinking about what is going to happen next in terms of hospital bills, homecare and every other obligation that comes to a relative when taking care of the sick.

The improvement has been done through changes in universal health through the introduction of SHA. Despite the bottlenecks and teething problems, it has transformed the health sector. Personally, I have experienced reduction in the amount of the requisitions that we receive for purposes of support. This programme has its challenges. However, going forward and over time, we will definitely improve.

Most importantly - and where I was very happy about - is the proposal that the Government at the beginning of December 2025 will have an increase in SHA cancer benefits package from Kshs550,000 to Kshs800,000. If anything, this is one area that I must say we should support to ensure that we improve and implement on this proposal.

Services, Senate.

Bomet County, for example, is one area that has rampant cases of cancer. Very many fundraisers that we are called upon every day are towards supporting families with patients who are continuously undergoing chemotherapy sessions. This enhancement will go a long way in supporting those families as well as those who are generally called upon to support in form of fundraisers.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this is one of those scorecards where the President said we were improving. We began by changing the law. It is one thing to appreciate the fact that the law has come into place and another thing to make sure the law is implemented.

It goes a long way because there is goodwill. If this goodwill spills over to the county governments where we are having a number of our health institutions, because health is a devolved function, it will improve the lives of Kenyans and take Kenya to the next level. I applaud the President for taking the next step in ensuring that despite the challenges that we have, we have enrolled over 27 million Kenyans in this SHA Programme. Out of this---

Sen. Wakili, you are not observant on your timing. Let me give him 30 seconds to put a full stop.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. This is one of the speeches that the President, by conclusion, asked Kenyans to support the vision that he is carrying for the people of Kenya so that Kenya can move to the next level. It is in this presidency that it can be done. It is possible. It requires of us to play the role and the mandates that we are given as Members of this House.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir.

Next is Sen. Omtatah.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise to comment on this very important governance tool that is stated in the Constitution of Kenya, 2010. The tool is the annual presidential address of the nation by the President in a joint sitting of the Houses by the President.

In the Address for this year, President Ruto paints a very visionary picture of Kenya's transformation through massive investments in irrigation, transport and innovative financing mechanisms. He quotes great leaders and he frames these as non- negotiable steps towards food security, industrial growth and economic empowerment or economic independence. Unfortunately, the rhetoric glosses over a troubling pattern of promising an infrastructure while under-delivering amid corruption scandals, fiscal recklessness and deepening inequality.

With Kenya's public debt exceeding Kshs11 trillion, with a huge component of which is odious, cannot be traced or tied to any project, youth unemployment reaching levels that could not even be imagined, above 35 per cent; the priorities the President presents will make the situation worse and not resolve them. So, the vivid picture of mega-dams, boundless energy and fabulous infrastructure must not blind us. The grandeur of vision must subject itself to critical blueprints. Where is the blueprint to

Services, Senate. achieve what the President promises? Having listened to His Excellency, having read his speech, I have been struggling to see the blueprint. There is no blueprint in that speech.

The speech is largely a case of wishful thinking. It ignores the present. It does not address the socio-economic and environmental costs, under the mirage of financing, a debt trap by another name is being given to us as a promise of a bright future.

The look at privatisation as the panacea has no basis. We have had privatisation in this country. I come from western Kenya. We had Mumias Sugar Company, thriving, a blue-chip company, fully owned by the Kenyan state, privately managed by Booker Tate. Then what happened? We were told to privatise. It was privatised. Go to Mumias today, see what is there. The company was ripped apart. We must distinguish between ownership and management. Is the problem management or is the problem ownership by the state?

You have been told that KPC will be privatized and it is in the process of being privatized. When it is finally privatized, more Kenyans will have an opportunity to own it. That is nonsense. I thought that right now all Kenyans own KPC. When it is owned by the state, it is owned by every Kenyan. Where does the narrative come out that KPC, when being privatised, will now result in more Kenyans owning it? Unless we are talking about privileged and well-connected Kenyans capturing it; state capture, capturing those assets. So, I think His Excellency should have done better and given us a blueprint on exactly how he achieves what.

The other thing is a debate we must address between the primacy of political action versus the determinism of the market. His Excellency cannot present the determinism of the market as a solution to a developing economy like ours. Primary action must be political action. Political action must be fashioned around the laws of the country.

I did not hear thim address the question of odious debt and how he will deal with it. How he will recover the monies that have been stolen from the public and are stashed out. Well, I did not expect him to address odious debt because just in the recent past, through something called National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA), an arrangement between himself and the World Bank has added Kshs13 billion to debt that has been acquired outside the constitutional procedure for incurring debt.

He is bribing the population with handouts, no formula, no blueprint, no marking scheme, no way of monitoring and evaluating what is going on. It is total chaos. Chaos cannot be the crucible from which you can fashion development. If we want to develop, we must imitate the developed. We must look at the critical sectors of the economy. We must look at governance, what are we spending money on? We are one of the largest governments since Independence; bloated, obese, unhealthy and too many Principal Secretaries, duplicitous doing nothing.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, when you look at the statement on actual revenue and net expenditure issues that is released by the National Treasury every 21 days after the end of every month, you will see a litany of abuse of our public finances. That tells you there is no intention to develop this country. On the Floor of this House, I have raised a

Services, Senate. statement about Kshs19.6 billion which was siphoned out of the Consolidated Fund using a vote head for Consolidated Finance Services.

It was a very sad day for me sitting and listening to that speech. Look at a concept like the various funds that are being talked about; the UWEZO Fund, Women Fund and whatever funds. When you look at Article 206 of the Constitution, it tells you how to establish a fund. It must be established by an Act of Parliament. Where is an Act of Parliament establishing the Women's Fund or whatever all these funny funds that we have?

Secondly, when these funds are set up, they cannot take money from the Consolidated Fund. Funds must be financed by money excluded from the Consolidated Fund. So, we celebrate and believe that we shall break the law to achieve progress. There is no choice between the law and development in this country. There is no choice. If we want to develop, we must follow the law. If we do not want to develop, then we will break the law. There is no choice. The law and development are not mutually exclusive. The law and development are two legs upon which this nation must walk. Assuming the nation is a human being, we have four legs with a four-legged animal.

To me, His Excellency's speech, was simply a public relations exercise. It was simply for him to demonstrate his skills at public speaking. He speaks very well in the public and he did well. It was devoid of substance, a blueprint, a marking scheme and it ignores the real economy.

It talks nothing about the crisis in the education and health sectors. It appraises the Social Health Authority (SHA). Yes, SHA is premium funded and you pay premiums to belong to SHA. We are not discussing its pros and cons. You have to pay a premium to access SHA. On the other hand, it is masquerading as the Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

Across the world, beginning with the United Kingdom and most of Europe and even in this country, when you and I were children, there was Universal Health Care. Those days when you could get aspirin tablets branded GOK and you walked to any clinic, got treated and you went home.

Universal Health Care can only be funded by direct taxes. Just like a road built by taxes and nobody can walk on it. Once you introduce premiums, it ceases being universal. It is only available to those who can pay. So, continuing to fool Kenyans that we have it in this country is not acceptable.

When you go to education, Article 53 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010, is very clear. Every child is entitled to free and compulsory basic education. A child is anybody under 18. His Excellency the President, runs a Government that gives us fee structures. What is a fee structure? For primary schools and secondary schools? We see our children on the roads, every day, being sent home for school fees. Who is imposing these fees? Is it constitutional?

His Excellency---

Sen. Catherine Mumma, you have the Floor.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for an opportunity to comment on the State of the Nation Address by His Exellency, Hon. (Dr.) William

Services, Senate. Samoei Ruto. First, I thank Kenyans for creating the tool of the State of the Nation Address because this is an accountability tool that provides for an opportunity for the Head of State to address Kenyans, not just Parliament, address Kenyans through the House in which they are represented. He inform Kenyans about what he has done and where he will do for them. I would like to congratulate him for sticking to this mandate and following it to the letter.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have read through the Address. I congratulate the Head of State and his Government for the accomplishments that they have had and the projects they have so far delivered. I hope that they can relook where they have not done well in order to move forward.

As an accountability tool, the President spoke to the various projects that he has done in different sectors. I would urge all Kenyans, the best way to determine whether these projects are there or not, is to just check. If there is a road that has been claimed to have been done in county X or in place X. I believe it is a physical feature that can actually be identified. So, I urge Kenyans and their representatives, ourselves, to cross- check what is in this statement and what is actually on the ground.

Now there is a number of policy decisions that this President spoke to. I would want to speak to a few of them noting the kind of time we have. He spoke about what he is doing or how he is guiding the nation to deliver on healthcare and on the UHC as a matter of fact. The Azimio Coalition team and the Kenya Kwanza Coalition teams both promised Kenyans that if they joined Government, they would deliver UHC.

The right to health as provided in Article 43 of the Constitution is perhaps one of the most important rights in the sense that a human being who does not have health care is unlikely to be able to enjoy the other rights. So, the promise of UHC is a promise that every country must plan to have it because every manifesto in this country promised it.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this Government moved us from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to the SHA arrangement in terms of the financing of health care in the country. The number of registered members in the SHA are more than triple the number of people who had registered under the NHIF. The President spoke to this issue and we congratulate the Government because we have more people signed to the SHA. However, I did not hear him speak about the challenges that have emerged with the implementation of the SHA. I want him keenly listen to the complaints being raised on the implementation of it in different locations. He should get his team to come together and find out how they can correct whatever looks bad.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, sometimes when we, politicians, speak, we make it look as if NHIF was operating well. If you look at the audit reports around NHIF, you will note that we had a lot of issues in it. I want the President to filter the key issues that were negative about NHIF, listen to what is being said that is not working in SHA and get his team to respond to that. That way, the ambitious programme, to get every household covered in healthcare, will be achieved.

We must not kid ourselves. For us to handhold each household on healthcare, we will require exponential amounts of monies. The truth is that the people of Kenya will collectively bear that burden whether we get it from taxes or whatever innovation we

Services, Senate. come up with. So, I urge all of us to innovatively look at this issue. I also urge the Government to listen for us to move on.

The other issue that the President spoke about was education. This Government has done well by employing more teachers, but we still need more to be employed. The students are receiving capitation. However, the bulk of students who complete O-levels are not able to find their way into tertiary institutions to get the skills that we need for enterprise. My take would be that the Head of State should again find out the innovative way in which we can invest better for education to truly be an equitable asset for every Kenyan.

In his four points, the Head of State talked about establishing a state department that will deal with matters science and research. I congratulate him for this because the world is now being driven by digital technology. Right now, we require science to operationalise the industrial parks that we have been speaking about.

It is good to note that this Government has seen the huge gap of the previous governments. Those governments did not invest enough in our universities, science and technology. I hope that promise, which is the first among his four points next steps, will be taken seriously.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I represent the Senate in the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) where I serve on the Science and Technology Committee. What is emerging as the world develops digitally and technologically is a big gap in equity among the poor nations or the poor persons and those who have it. This is also happening in Kenya.

In an age where universities have made virtual learning to be the bulk of the methodology of learning, we have learners from poor families who are not able to learn at par. There are students who have very basic phones. Those students type on those phones and latch around areas with internet to participate while their colleagues who come from able families, have top of the state laptops hence their studies are enabled better.

I, therefore, urge the President to back up his number one next step. He must invest in the public digital infrastructure. As he speaks about the physical infrastructure in terms of roads, he should also enable the public digital infrastructure enabled in all places such as the markets in the rural areas. If that is done, the children of the poor will equally participate in the digital economy and digital learning hence get the skills to participate in the future of this country.

We want to grow agriculture to bring value addition. That value addition cannot happen unless we have science and technology around the tools we need to use for our small-scale farmers to participate in what we are talking about. I see the yellow light is on, but I want to move to something that I felt the President should have commented on which he did not.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, as a Senator, I would have wanted to see the President's pronouncement on how we will improve the intergovernmental relations between the national Government and the county governments in order to better service delivery. I would have also wanted to see how we can have better multi-sectoral cooperation among the different sectors in order to deliver services better.

I want to inform the President, if he is listening, that it is better for this country not to have departments acting in silos when they go to Cabinet. Instead, we should have

Services, Senate. departments supporting each other for the resources that we have to be stretched enough to deliver on all that we need to deliver.

On the point of science and technology, I urge that the Senate and the National Assembly set up science and technology committees to oversight the department keen on science and technology. This is because that department will be the key driver of where we are going next. As you can see, it is the number one next step for the President. So, I urge that we all consider this.

We should readjust ourselves because we are the monitoring and evaluation mechanism. We are the oversight mechanism that hold the President accountable to what he has said. I urge that we, as Parliament, should readjust and organise ourselves to create the relevant committees that will deliver on this issue.

On interconnectivity, I would want to see better interconnectivity or interrelations between the agriculture and the health sector. I want the President to take a keen interest in the dumping of poison used in the agricultural sector in this country by Europe. That poison is making our produce not to be competitive out there as well as harmful to the health of our people.

I want to see him champion a regulatory scheme noting that the national Government is the one in charge of regulations to ensure that we put in place standards that are not poisoning our people or harming our health and also making the produce that we export to other countries less competitive. I want to see the President pick up the issues that are harming us. He should encourage regulation that will enable us work on this.

Finally, I was disappointed because I did not hear the President talk broadly about the issue of security, particularly excesses within the police. I make reference to the 10- point agenda that we have as the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) with the Kenya Kwanza Government. Being a rights-based party, we are keen on ensuring that we get justice for those who have been harmed where excessive force was used. It would have been kind for the President to speak to the issue of security in the country. He should have assured the people of Kenya, particularly the youth, that as we move forward, we are creating the necessary discipline within our forces to ensure that we exercise our democracy in a manner that befits the Constitution of our country, and at the same time, that we are training our officers to do their work without the excesses.

As I finalise, I look forward to greater oversight mechanism, which I believe starts with this House. It is not an oversight that is established by the President, but one that must be established by this House, to hold the Head of the State accountable next year, that he said he would do this, did he---

Next is Sen. Mundigi Alexander Munyi.

Asante, Bw. Naibu Spika, kwa kunipa nafasi ya kuchangia Hotuba ya Mhe. Rais alitoa siku ya Alhamisi katika Bunge la Kitaifa. Nashukuru sana kwa sababu ya Serikali ya Kenya Kwanza ya William Ruto na pia Serikali ya muungano, na kazi aliyoifanya kwa kipindi cha miaka mitatu iliyopita. Yeye ni shujaa. Isingekuwa uwezo wa Mwenyezi Mungu, hatungekuwa tumefika mahali tulipo. Tulipochaguliwa na kukatokea vita hapa na pale, alijaribu sana. Hatimaye, alikubali viongozi wa opposition, ODM, waungane na Serikali. Hata kama watu wengine walikasirika, saa hii tunaendelea

Services, Senate. vizuri sana kwa sababu ya Serikali ya muungano ya William Ruto, Waziri, na pia Makamu wake, Prof. Abraham Kithure Kindiki.

Kwa muda huu wa miaka miwili, tumeendelea vizuri. Pongezi kwa Mhe. Rais wa Kenya kwa kukubali kufanya kazi na kila mtu, kaunti zote 47 na vilevile magavana wote. Ingekuwa ni watu wengine, hatungekuwa tumefika mahali tulipo kwa sababu hawangekubali watu wa opposition wafanye kazi na Serikali. Kwa hivyo, naunga mkono kazi anayoendelea kufanya.

Vilevile, nawakosoa watu wanaoipinga hii Serikali kwa sababu ya bajeti. Ni lazima bajeti ingekuwa kubwa sana kwa sababu anafanya na kaunti zote. Hafanyi na waliomchagua tu. Anafanya na waliomchagua na ambao hawakumchagua. Kwa hivyo, naunga mkono Hotuba hii wa Mhe. Rais.

Bw. Naibu Spika, Mhe. Rais aligusia masuala ya agriculture ambayo kwa wakati huu yanaendelea vizuri. Naongea kuhusu agriculture kwa sababu mimi ni Naibu Mwenyekiti wa the Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries. Serikali hii ilipoingia katika uongozi, bei ya kahawa, majani, makadamia, maziwa na mazao mengine ilipanda juu. Vile, tunajua Serikali hii imeyapa masuala ya agriculture kipaumbele. Mambo ya agriculture yamekuwa sawa kwa kila mtu - yule ambaye ameenda nyumbani na yule hajaenda, anayefanya kazi na asiyefanya. Kwa mfano, kahawa ilikuwa bei ya chini lakini sasa hivi kilo moja ni Shilingi 150. Majani chai yalikuwa Shilingi 40 na saa hizi ni Shilingi 70. Bei ya maziwa ilikuwa Shilingi 35 na saa hii ni Shilingi 45, na tungependa iendelee mpaka ifike Shilingi 50.

Bw. Naibu Spika, Mhe. Rais aliongea mambo mengi sana mazuri ya agriculture. Kwa mfano, fertilizer ilikuwa Shilingi 7,000 na saa hii subsidized fertilizer inafikia mwananchi mashinani kwa gharama ya Shilingi 2,500. Vile, mbegu za mahindi zimefika mashinani. Kwa hivyo, sekta ya agriculture inafanya vizuri.

Walakini, hakugusia masuala ya miraa au muguka. Tunaomba asaidie wakulima wa miraa au muguka wapate value addition na pia kuwatafutia soko huko nje kama vile majani chai, kahawa na mazao mengine. Mhe. Rais amejaribu sana kushughulikia sekta ya agriculture.

Bw. Naibu Spika, Mhe. Rais pia aliguzia masuala ya afya. Alisema kuhusu SHA, ambayo imewasaidia watu wengi sana. Zamani, vijana wetu wanaondesha boda boda wakigongwa na gari walikuwa wanachangiwa pesa. Walipokosa kuchangiwa walikuwa wanaumia na kufa tu. Walakini, siku hizi, waendeshaji wa bodaboda au mtu yeyote akipata ajali na kuvunjika mguu, kifua au mgongo, akienda hospitali, kama amejisajili, anahudumiwa bila malipo na kurudi nyumbani vizuri. Kwa hivyo, SHA imesaidia sana. Kama waheshimiwa Wabunge, mara nyingi tulikuwa tunachanga na kuhudhuria harambee sana. Pesa yetu haikuwa inatosha, lakini wakati huu, harambee kwa waheshimiwa zimepungua. Hii inaonyesha kuwa Mhe. Rais anajaribu kurekebisha masuala ya afya.

Vilevile, Mhe. Rais aliguzia masuala ya barabara. Katika kaunti 47, baadhi ya barabara zile ndogo za mashinani zinaenda kuwekwa lami kwa sababu alisema atafanya hivyo katika kaunti zote 47.

Kuhusu dual carriage, angekuwa ni Mhe. Rais mwingine, kungekuwa na masuala ya kugawanya kaunti. Lakini, alipoongea kuhusu dual carriage, mmojawapo wa

Services, Senate. watakaofaidika nayo ni watu wa Mt. Kenya, haswa Embu, Tharaka-Nithi na Meru kwa sababu dual carriage imetoka Nairobi mpaka Makutano na kwenda Nyeri. Alisema ataongezea dual carriage nyingine ambayo itatoka Makutano-Embu-Tharaka Nithi-Meru na ipite. Kwa hivyo, barabara ndogo zimewekwa lami. Kaunti ya Embu ni mojawapo ya kaunti zilizofaidika na barabara ndogo za lami. Kama amefanya hivyo katika kaunti zote, watu wote wamefaidika. Ningependa kumshawishi aendelee kuifanya kazi hiyo huku akitangaza kupitia magazeti ili vile sisi watu wa Embu, watafaidikia na barabara hii kutoka Makutano-Embu-Tharaka Nthi-Meru.

Bw. Naibu Spika, Mhe. Rais aligusia kuhusu Daraja ya Tharaka-Nithi ambayo inasababisha vifo vya watu wengi sana. Ninamuunga mkono kwa sababu hiyo itawasaida watu wa kaunti za Meru na Embu.

Namuunga mkono kwa sababu aliongea mambo ya nyumba. Wakati huu, katika kila kaunti, kuna industrial parks. Kwa mfano, ya Embu imefikia taslimu 95. Kwa masuala ya Affordable Housing, katika kaunti nyingi, nyumba zinaendelea kujengwa. Ametoa mama mboga na watu wasio na pesa kutoka kwa makazi duni na kuwapatia nyumba. Hapo awali, matajiri walikuwa wanajipiga kifua lakini wakati huu, vijana wetu, mama mboga na watu wengine wanajivunia kulala kwa nyumba za mawe na gorofa kama matajiri. Watu wengine wanasikia vibaya kwa sababu najua miaka inapoendelea na tukimalizia, kila mtu atakuwa na nyumba yake. Watu ambao wana nyumba za kukodisha wana shida kwa sababu wanajua wamekuwa wakiwanyanyasa watu.

Bw. Naibu Spika, Mhe. Rais pia aligusia masuala ya elimu. Hapo awali, hatujakuwa na Mhe. Rais aliyeajiri walimu kama Serikali ya William Ruto imefanya. Kwa muda wa miaka mitatu tangu achukue ushukani, ameajiri walimu 70,000. Hayo ni maajabu. Vilevile, ametangaza ataajiri walimu zaidi 20,000. Isitoshe, kila kaunti ina TVET na walimu wengi sana wa TVET wameajiriwa. Kwa hivyo, amejaribu kuinua mambo ya elimu hata kama kuna changamoto ya pesa ya kupeleka watoto shule. Ili kutatua tatizo hili, inabidi aongee na Hazina ya Taifa itoe pesa za kuwasidia wanafunzi mapema badala ya kuwachelewesha.

Pia, aligusia mambo ya mabwawa ya maji. Kaunti nyingi zimefaidika na mabwawa haya. Kwa mfano, kuna bwawa katika Kaunti ya Kitui. Pia Kaunti ya Embu ina mabwawa matatu. Kuna Bwawa la Thuci ambalo litafaidi watu wa Runyenjes na Mbeere kusini. Hii itasaidia kuimarisha kilimo katika sehemu hiyo. Naomba bwawa hilo lijengwe kwa haraka iwezekanavyo ili kilimo cha miraa na muguka kiendelee vizuri.

Kwa hiyo, Serikali ya Mhe. Rais Dk. William Ruto inaendelea kufanya kazi vizuri katika broadbased. Kuna watu wanapinga haya mambo, lakini nawaelimisha kwamba hata Roma haikujengwa kwa siku moja. Tumpe Mhe. Rais nafasi katika huu muda wa miaka miwili iliyobaki ili tuone jinsi atatufanyia kazi. Pia, tumuombe Mungu baada ya miaka miwili kuisha, tuone kama tutawaogezea miaka mingine mitano pamoja na Makamu wa Rais, Prof. Kithure Kindiki.

Pia aligusia mambo ya kazi. Ingawaje aliajiri walimu, kuna mradi mwingine wa kazi za ng’ambo aliouanzisha ingawaje una changamoto. Tunaomba Serikali itatue changamoto hizo kwani vijana wetu ambao hawana kazi hapa wanasaidika na kazi hizo. Tunaomba Waziri wa Leba na Ustawi wa Jamii pamoja na balozi waone vile watatatua shida hiyo ili vijana wetu wasiumizwe na mpango wa Kazi Majuu.

Services, Senate.

Bw. Naibu Spika, kama Seneta wa Kaunti ya Embu, naunga mkono Serikali ya muungano kwa kazi wanayoifanya. Pia namuunga mkono Mhe. Rais Dk. William Ruto na Makamu Rais, Prof. Kithure Kindiki, pamoja na Mawaziri wote. Kitu naomba ni kwamba wale waliozembea kazini watimuliwe ili vijana wetu waweze kupata kazi. Naunga mkono Hoja hii

Asante.

Asante, Sen. Mundigi. Sasa nampa nafasi Sen. Consolata Nabwire.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for this opportunity to contribute towards the State of the Nation Address by His Excellency, Hon. (Dr.) William Samoei Ruto on 20th November, 2025. I support what many Senators have presented in lauding the policy decisions that are value-loaded, as presented by him. I have tried to summarise them and I realise they are pegged on social amenities. They all revolve around health, education, infrastructure, irrigation, food security and technology.

I am encouraged by the deliberate measures the Government has taken to secure equity, social justice and dignity for all. I come from a county that has various categories of citizens: women, youths, the elderly and People With Disabilities (PWDs) , who are normally encompassed in a bracket known as the vulnerable groups. These groups keenly listened to the Presidential Address. Over the weekend when I went home, I received positive comments about the President’s Address for the first time, despite a few whispers about uncompleted projects, though some are underway. Three-quarters of the comments were positive and I laud that.

I affirm the support for the transformational agenda that encompasses the transformative projects highlighted in the President’s Address. I break them down into the following elements. First, protection and empowerment of the vulnerable groups. I welcome the clear Government commitment to vulnerable Kenyans under SHA. We now have 27 million members registered under SHA. This is more than triple the number of the previous National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) . That is a plus. I encourage them to enhance cancer coverage, diabetes screening, hypertension screening and inclusion of other communicable and non-communicable diseases.

The presidential directive states that 2.3 million vulnerable Kenyans, including widows, will have their health insurance paid by the state. Most Senators have said that there are still some whispers about SHA. The relevant authorities must take responsibility, as we cannot keep directing everything to the President. He has delegated some of these duties to the Cabinet Secretaries, Principal Secretaries and other members representing various ministries and departments. It is a clarion call that these members roll up their sleeves in overseeing the work in their departments.

There is also need to call for prioritised registration, follow-ups and monitoring to ensure vulnerable groups, especially widows, youths, PWDs and rural communities, benefit fully from these initiatives. We also want to advocate for targeted economic programmes for widows, including access to Hustler Fund, credit repair and Micro and Small Enterprise (MSE) support.

Widows, women and other vulnerable groups normally face challenges. Therefore, this Address pointed out the need to encourage the rollout of legal support

Services, Senate. structures for widows, especially those facing land disputes, inheritance issues or economic exclusion. As a leader, I also advocate the same for widowers, because we have both widows and widowers. Although in the community where I come from widows outweigh widowers, we still have to support them, as some are very vulnerable.

Healthcare is a lifeline for vulnerable-headed households. I applaud the nationwide deployment of 107 Community Health Promoters (CHPs). They are the primary healthcare workforce in history, as they are trained and equipped. Healthcare is the foundation of human dignity under the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number three and under our Constitution. Article 43 (1) (a) to (f), 43 (2) and 43 (3) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 highlight the economic and social rights. Normally we say that health is wealth. It is also said that a healthy nation boosts production, thereby enhancing our economic status.

I also want to comment on food security and agriculture. The President gave a raft of revitalised value chains. I remember when he came into office, people were scampering around with sufurias on their heads. I come from a community that embraces food in all aspects. Food is not just for eating, but also as an income-generating activity. We grow many agricultural products such as sugarcane, coffee, tea and maize. Maize is our staple food in Bungoma County. I thank the Government for that.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I encourage the relevant department to enhance an integrated digital platform to register farmers. The established Kenya Integrated Agricultural Management Information System (KIAMIS) should have complete data of all the farmers and their categories the crops that they plant. Agriculture is the backbone of our economy in Kenya. Therefore, I laud the President for having a keener eye on it.

I would also like to comment about the Affordable Housing Programme and markets. I come from a community that embraces good housing and entrepreneurship. They are very much into business. Therefore, we should support 230 affordable houses and 276 new markets that will ensure dignity and provide safety and income for women in Bungoma County, especially the widows and other entrepreneurs.

We have several market stalls in Chwele, Chepkube, Kanduyi, Mt. Elgon, Kamukuywa, Webuye, Tongaren and Bumula. We want to emphasise on housing and market infrastructure as tools for real social protection.

We also have Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), the Hustler Fund and youth opportunities. The other week, we saw the President launching the Nyota Programme in Mumias.

A total of Kshs8 billion has been disbursed through the Hustler Fund, with millions removed from the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) list. Most of them had been blacklisted, but the President has made an effort to ensure that they are removed from the CRB list to enable them to access credit facilities in order to boost their businesses. In line with that, I encourage the creation of widows’ economic empowerment window within the Hustler Fund.

I also want to comment about education. Having been a teacher, I really support the value of education in all aspects. We laud the President for the efforts he has put in place to boost education despite whispers that the funding model has hitches. I am sure that our President is keen on it. He will remind the relevant Ministry to look into the

Services, Senate. hiccups and make improvements. That will relieve the pressure on single mothers and other vulnerable groups that have got school-going children or tertiary colleges or university students.

I also support the massive teacher recruitment and student-centred funding model. I encourage that the teachers’ welfare be improved right from Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) up to the other levels of education. Otherwise, it is a good move.

About water, dams, irrigation and all that, I think that is a backbone for rural women to boost their agricultural production. It also enhances our environment as we look at the tree cover and environmental protection and conservation.

Lastly, let me not forget about digital transformation. We are in a techno-savvy space. I applaud the expansion of fibre networks, digital hubs and e-Citizen services which have gone to an extent of benefiting every rural business woman by lowering compliance costs. However, there is need to have capacity building since most of them are not Artificial Intelligent (AI) compliant. Therefore, there is need to have capacity building and awareness programmes to enable them advance to this level.

Concerning the relevance to Bungoma County, Bungoma farmers have benefitted from subsidised fertiliser, improving maize harvests and dairy sector reforms. The expanded Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) centres and digital hubs directly support the counties’ youth, including orphans and children raised by widows.

Bungoma’s MSMEs and cross-border traders, especially widows and women in markets like Chwele, Webuye, Sirisia, Kimilili, Tongaren, Kanduyi, Kamukuywa and Kapsokwony, stand to gain significantly from modern markets and the Hustler Fund.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, as I wrap up my presentation, I would like to say that as we implement these milestones, we should give special priority to mapping, registering and supporting women, especially widows, the youth, PWDs and the elderly, so that they fully benefit from these historic reforms.

I thank you.

Next is Sen. William Kisang.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would also like to make comments on the President’s State of the Nation Address that we had last week in the National Assembly for both Houses.

It is good to note that for the past three years when the Kenya Kwanza Government came in, and the President took over as the fifth President of the Republic of Kenya, the state of the economy was very bad. It was in a deplorable state. In fact, if you can remember, during the campaigns, we had a shortage of fuel. It was by the grace of God that we got petrol or diesel to do campaigns during that particular time because there was a shortage of fuel across the country.

It was not because we were unable to import fuel, but because the country had a shortage of dollars. The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) had run out of dollars. The exchange rate of the dollar to the shilling skyrocketed to Kshs165. Therefore, it was difficult for the petroleum sector players to import fuel because, firstly, there were no

Services, Senate. dollars. Secondly, it was difficult because there was a shortage of fuel in the international market.

Three years later, as the President reported last week, the Kenya Kwanza Government entered into a Government-to-Government (G2G) agreement with Saudi Arabia to stabilise the market where Kenya was given a period of 180 days to pay for the supply of fuel. For three years now, we have not had any shortage of fuel in the country and the shilling has stabilised from Kshs165 to now Kshs129 to the dollar for some time. We believe it will come down to around Kshs120 or 125. This is a sign of a stable economy.

When the Kenya Kwanza Government took over in September 2022, that is three years ago, the inflation rate was about 9 per cent. Currently, we are at 4.6 per cent. This is a sign of an economy that has stabilized and is growing.

Three years ago, as it was reported by the CBK and the National Treasury and the President also gave us a report, our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at that time stood at US$115 billion. As at now, we are at US$136 billion. I do not know why people are complaining that the economy is not doing well or that we do not get proper reports. However, the naysayers have to say something. For more than one year, we have not seen people on the streets with sufurias on their heads as it used to be.

In 2022 and early 2023, it was very difficult. People were talking about the cost of food being very high. A kilo of unga has come down and it is now retailing at less than Kshs100. When the Kenya Kwanza Government was taking over, it was over Kshs300.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, my pet subject is Information and Communication Technology (ICT). When the Kenya Kwanza Government took over, the number of kilometres of fibre optic in the country was less than 70,000. Now we have surpassed 100,000 kilometres of fibre optic across the country.

When you go to the main highways such as the one towards Isiolo all the way to Moyale, fiber optic cables have already been laid. Basically, what the Ministry of ICT and the Digital Economy needs is to do the last mile of fibre connectivity to all our facilities in both subcounty headquarters, district hospitals and health centres. We need all the facilities to be ready so that they can use the internet.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, one of the issues that this Government and the State of the Nation Address is what has been rolled out. All the 1,450 wards across the country have what we call digital hubs. These digital hubs will assist our youth to get digital skills and secondly, to get online jobs.

For these online jobs, you do not even have to sleep. In most of the countries like the United States of America (USA), when it is daytime here, it is night there. When it is night here, it is daytime there. What our youth need to do is to go to near the digital hubs in the wards, look for online jobs and do those jobs at night. They can do research. There are many youths getting paid in dollars because of the digital jobs they are getting under Jitume or the Ajira programme.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, what we are asking our counterparts in the National Assembly because they have the National Government-Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) money is to ensure all these digital hubs are completed because the Cabinet Secretary of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy (MICDE) is

Services, Senate. equipping them with free internet. The Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, and I am the Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Energy is providing them with power so that we move as a country to a 24-hour economy.

I would like to touch on education. For a long time, most of our teachers, especially primary school teachers who completed their education in 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2015 have been at home unemployed. In fact, if you go to your county, they are the ones who are complaining. They are about to retire before they are hired. They are turning 45, 44 or 46 years before they are employed.

We thank the President because in three years, he has employed a record of 76,000 teachers. In this financial year, they are also employing another 24,000. There was an advert yesterday in the papers to recruit over 9,000 P1 teachers. We should ask the TSC to give priority to those teachers above 40 years as they recruit the 9,000, even if they graduated recently. They need to be given priority so that they do not retire before being employed as an affirmative action. Then we will get rid of those who are of age and then those who graduated earlier, but are below 30 will still have the opportunity when opportunities for replacement come.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I know there are challenges and people have made noise about the new model of funding in the universities. What the Ministry of Education, the universities and students need to do is to form a team in order to harmonize and have any differences because we are told this is a very good model. There are those who are praising it and there are those who are critiquing.

It means that there must be some misunderstanding that needs to be ironed out. The Cabinet Secretary in charge of the Ministry of Education, especially the higher education needs to do that. We have had so many strikes. I remember during our days, there were no strikes. The only strike we used to do those days is when we missed the “dialogue”. You know, people did not know what dialogue was at that time. Chapati was called ‘dialogue’ those days.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, there are a number of strikes these days because of non- payment of salaries or not honouring the Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) that the universities’ dons have discussed with the Ministry. They need to come out of this thing. It is embarrassing and it is exposing the country. People are looking for education elsewhere, either in private universities or out of the country. We are losing resources and yet, Kenya is known for quality education. They need to sort out this problem of strikes in the universities.

What also excited me was infrastructure, especially roads. I would like to state that last year, I was going home for Christmas on 22nd. I left my house at 5.30 a.m. I took four hours from Karen to the Kijabe turn-off. That was very difficult. In fact, I made a mistake and said; let me turn back so that I can leave the following day at around 2.00

will commission and launch the dualing of Rironi-Naivasha Road-Mau Summit. This will save the country a lot of resources. We are wasting a lot of money and time in that gridlock. Even during this weekend on Friday when we overflew there, there were people

Services, Senate. who got stuck there for over five hours. This was long overdue. I thank the President for coming to our aid to ensure that road and other roads are dualed.

Then there is the one to Karen, Galleria, all the way to Ngong and Rongai. If you ask those who live in Rongai, they leave their houses at 5.00 a.m. in the morning to come and work in Nairobi. Instead of spending 15 minutes from Rongai to Nairobi, they spent more hours on traffic jam. Therefore, this will really help.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, on agriculture, there is the issue on pesticides. There are those that have been banned and they are still getting imported into the country. I do not know what the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KeBS) and the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) are doing. They need to save us. Maybe, this is the reason why there is a lot of cancer in the country. We need to stop these imports so that we can save our people from dying unnecessarily.

I also want to speak on health. I am happy that it is being reported across everywhere that SHA is working, but there is an issue that needs tweaking. People are registering to SHA. They have reported that those who have registered are 27 million. However, we need to find a way where when they register, they pay. They need to look at this testing issue that they have.

Imagine an old mama in the village who does not have any income being told to pay Kshs550 and yet, we promised that it will come down to Kshs300. They need to re- look at this and see how they can tweak it. We can have a flat rate for those who do not have any income like Kshs300 or the Ministry of Health as has been promised will pay for them. This is because there are those who go to the hospital and they do not get services because they have not paid.

Some are forced to pay for 12 months. If you cannot afford Kshs300, how can you afford to pay Kshs3,600 before you get services? This is where the Ministry needs to sit down and see how they can streamline so that our people get universal health coverage as we have been promised.

Finally, I wish to thank the President because of the markets that are being built using Affordable Housing funds. I also thank him because of our stadiums. We have a stadium in Elgeyo-Marakwet County that we have talked for a long time, Kamariny Stadium. I, therefore, urge the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sport to fast-track the completion of that stadium because of our athletes in Iten, which is an international hub of training, need a place to train.

Kamariny Stadium has overstayed. We should be completing this stadium within the shortest time possible to assist our athletes. Athletes are the ones who market the country. They are our ambassadors and they make us proud. Both Kipchoge Keino Stadium and this stadium have taken long. I am happy Kipchoge Keino Stadium is progressing very well. For Kamariny, I am told that the contractor reported recently, but he is not on site now. I do not know what ails this project.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I wish to urge the Ministry to move with speed so that our athletes can move back from Kipsoen Secondary School where they are currently training. We want them to to go to Kamariny where we will have proper sanitation and proper facilities to even test if there are any athletes who are doping.

Services, Senate.

Finally, I would like to talk about the issue of debt. We need to allow the Executive to look for resources to develop the country. Even us here, we cannot grow if we do not borrow. You cannot grow without a loan. So, loans must be taken and they must be paid. So, we allow the country to borrow and give us services and we pay taxes.

Next is Sen. Faki.

Bw. Naibu Spika, asante sana kwa kunipa fursa hii kuchangia Hotuba ya Mhe. Rais aliyotoa wiki iliopita. Kabla Sen. Kisang hajaondoka, ningependa kumjulisha kwamba amezungumzia digital hubs katika kila ward. Lakini kule Mombasa, niko na ward thelathini na asilimia 60 ya hizo ward hazina hizo digital hubs. Kwa hivyo, anapozungumzia ward 1,550 katika Kenya zilizo na digital hubs, za Mombasa ambazo ni ishirini na saba hazina hubs alizozungumzia.

Hotuba ya Mhe. Rais ilitoa matumaini na vile vile, ikaleta biwi la giza kwa sababu, kuna mambo mengi aliyozungumzia lakini yana changamoto nyingi. Hotuba ile ilitowa taswira kwamba mambo ni shwari katika nchi ya Kenya, kwamba tuko kwenye barabara ya kuelekea Singapore, kwamba tutakutana na Singapore hapo mbele siku za usoni. Lakini ukiangalia kwa undani, maisha ya Mkenya hivi sasa, changamoto wanazopitia, utaona kwamba safari ya Singapore iko mbali sana.

Bw. Naibu Spika, kweli barabara na miundo mbinu ndio jambo linaloweza kuleta maendeleo katika nchi yetu. Vilevile, elimu, afya kwa wananchi wetu na hali ya uchumi ni vitu muhimu sana ambavyo ni lazima tuzingatie ile tufikie upeo wa maendeleo.

Maelezo kwamba atajenga barabara ni mambo ya kutia moyo kwa sababu mara nyingi, usafiri unakuwa shida kwa wakulima kuleta bidhaa zao katika masoko. Vilevile, usafiri wa biashara umekuwa shida kwa sehemu fulani. Kwa mfano, safari ya gari ya basi kutoka Nairobi kuelekea Mombasa inagharimu takriban masaa kumi, ambapo SGR wanakupeleka kwa masaa manne na ndege ni dakika arubaini na tano. Iwapo ile barabara ingejengwa kuwa mbili, ya kuenda na kurudi, ingekuwa rahisi watu kusafiri Mombasa kwa biashara kwa muda usiopungua masaa manne.

Tumeona kweli nyumba za kisasa zinajengwa. Lakini, nyumba hizi nyingi hazijakuwa katika uwezo wa wananchi wa Kenya. Wengi wao bado ukiangalia payslips zao, haziwaruhusu kuchukua nyumba hizo kwa sababu bei za nyumba bado ziko ghali. Vilevile, tukitazama uchumi, leo asubuhi nilikuwa nasoma gazeti, nikaona mkurugenzi mkuu wa Benki Kuu ya Kenya, Dr. Kamau Thugge, akisema kwamba deni linalodaiwa Kenya hivi sasa limefikia Shilingi trilioni 11.8.

Deni hili liko katika sehemu ya nyumbani (domestic debt) na pia foreign debt. Kwa sababu uchumi wetu haufanyi vizuri. Kuna shida ya fedha katika uchumi, inakuwa shida kwa serikali kulipa madeni yake. Hiyo itapelekea kwamba iwapo hatutakuwa waangalifu, siku za usoni, tutashindwa kulipa madeni haya na nchi yetu itaweza kuwekwa katika orodha ya zile nchi ambazo zimeshindwa kulipa madeni. Hivyo basi, hali ya uchumi itakuwa inazidi kudidimia.

Bw. Naibu Spika, tukiangalia hivi sasa ni kwamba tunachukuwa pesa za wafanyajikazi kupitia kwa housing levy, zinakusanywa kisha pesa zile zinanunua Treasury bills kwa Central Bank. Tunachukua pesa, tunakopesha Central Bank kisha Central Bank inatukopesha sisi ili tuweze kufanya miradi. Kwa hivyo, tunazidi kujibandikiza madeni na riba ambayo mara nyingi inakuwa zaidi ya ile deni

Services, Senate. imechukuliwa. Kwa sababu, zile pesa ambazo tunalipa, tunalipwa kama riba kutoka Central Bank hazilingani na zile pesa Central Bank inatulipiza sisi wanapotupa mkopo ya kinyumbani. Kwa hivyo, suala hilo la uchumi ni lazima liangaliwe kwa undani. Rais hawezikutupa sura kwamba mambo ni shwari wakati mkurugenzi mkuu wa Central Bank anasema kwamba tuko katika hali mbaya ya madeni.

Jambo la pili ni kwamba tunajenga viwanda. Utaona kwamba kuna kaunti takriban ishirini na tano zilizopewa pesa katika muhula wa mwaka jana, 2024/2025, kujenga zile vituo vya viwanda (industrial parks) katika maeneo yao. Tulitarajia kwamba kwa mwaka huu wa fedha wa 2025/2026, wataweza kuongeza kaunti nyingine ili tuweze kumaliza kaunti zote arubaini na saba. Jambo hilo halikuweza kufanyika kwa sababu pesa hazikutimia. Hivyo basi, waliweza kutoa pesa kwa zile kaunti ambazo zilipata fedha hizo mwaka jana, ili waweze kumaliza vile vituo. Kwa hivyo, tunaona kwamba hata ikiwa ni kimaendeleo, kaunti haziendi sasa sawa. Kuna nyingine zinapata nafasi zaidi kuliko nyingine. Kwa hivyo, kujenga nchi ya Kenya ili iwe sawa sawa na nchi ya Singapore itakuwa ni ndoto.

Vilevile, tukiangalia kaunti zetu nyingi, nikizungumzia kaunti za pwani, hazina maji. Tutajenga viwanda vipi ikiwa hakuna maji hata ya kunywa. Tutajenga majumba vipi za affordable housing, ilhali watu watakaoishi mle hawana maji? Ukija Mombasa hivi sasa, utaona magari ya kuuza maji, water bowsers, imekuwa ni biashara nzuri. Kila mtu ananunua water bowser aweze kuuza maji. Kwa mfano, katikati ya mji wa Mombasa hivi sasa, utapata watu wa mikokoteni wakizungusha maji. Maji haya hatujui yametoka wapi, labda sio safi kwa mwananchi kunywa. Kwa hivyo, hatuwezi kuendelea ikiwa kuna shida na mambo madogo madogo ambayo ni ya kimsingi kama ukosefu wa maji.

Amezungumzia afya na kusema kwamba takriban ya Wakenya milioni 27 wamejiandikisha kwa Social Health Authority (SHA). Lakini tukiangalia huduma za SHA, kuna malalamiko kila sehemu. Wale wanaotibiwa cancer, therapy inapofanywa kwa nafasi ya kwanza, anaporudi kwa nafasi ya pili anaambiwa hakuna tena, subiri mpaka mwaka ujao ama ulipe malipo ya mwaka utakaofuata. Hii haioneshi kwamba SHA inafanya kazi. Ni ndoto na hata katika sheria, imeelezwa kwamba malengo ya SHA ni kutoa huduma ya afya kwa kila Mkenya. Ndio maana, sisi kama Wabunge, tunalipishwa karibu Shillingi 30,000 kila mwezi na yule Mkenya anayefanya biashara ya jua kali ama hana kazi, analipa Shilingi 500 kwa mwezi.

Bw. Naibu Spika, haiwezekani kwamba wananchi waliojiunga na Social Health Authority (SHA) ni milioni 27 lakini, wale ambao wanapata huduma hizi ni wachache sana kwa sababu ya utepetevu na ukosefu wa mwongozo kuhusiana na suala hili la huduma.

Ukienda katika hospitali mingi, wananchi wamebaki huko kwa sababu SHA inalipa asilimia fulani pekee ya lile deni lako. Zamani, National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) ilikuwa inalipa deni lote katika hospitali za serikali kinyume na SHA inayolipa asilimia fulani pekee.

Tukiguzia mambo ya Usalama, bado tunaona watu wanapotea katika nchi yetu ya Kenya. Kifo cha Mwalimu na Mwana Blogger Ojwang’ kwenye mikono ya polisi ni jambo ambalo halijatatuliwa.

Services, Senate.

Bw. Naibu Spika, tumeona pia ufisadi bado unaendelea katika nchi yetu ya Kenya ilhali wakati hii Serikali ya Kenya Kwanza ilipochaguliwa, waliapa kupambana na ufisadi.

Jambo lingine ni la ajira. Serikali imetambua kwamba haiwezi ajiri kila mtu ndio maana sasa kuna mpango wa ajira katika nchi za nje. Huwezi tarajia kuku wako azae mayai wakati humuangalii vizuri. Tukiangalia wale wanaoenda kufanya kazi nchi za nje, jambo la kwanza ni kuwa; hawana uzoefu wa yale mazingira watakayopata katika maeneo yale. Utapata kwamba wengi wakifika kule, wanapata mazingira magumu kisha wanakimbia zile kazi.

Services, Senate. katika nchi yetu. Ikiwa tunaongeza bei ya umeme, na tayari bei yetu iko juu kuliko nchi jirani kama vile Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda na Misri, tunaopambana nao katika Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)---

Give Sen. Faki a minute to conclude.

Bw. Spika wa Muda, hizi ndizo nchi ambazo tunafaa tushindane nazo ili tuwe na nafasi nzuri katika COMESA. Ikiwa bei yetu ya umeme itakuwa juu hapa nchini, ina maana kwamba bidhaa zetu zinazotengenezwa kwa viwanda vyetu, zitakuwa bei ya juu. Hivyo basi, hazitakuwa nzuri katika soko na tutashindwa na zile nchi zingine kiuchumi kwa sababu bidhaa zao zitakuwa na nafasi nzuri ya kununuliwa kwa sababu bei yake ni chini kutokana na gharama ndogo ya uchumi.

Bw. Spika wa Muda, asante kwa kunipa fursa hii.

Sen. Muthama Agnes Kavindu, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to state my points on the State of Nation Address by the President.

I will only touch on a few things that are completely not working in this country. I will start with SHA. Every day, I receive so many calls from my people of Machakos County complaining about SHA. First of all, when we had the NHIF, people could pay quarterly or bi-annually, then finish later. These days, they are asked to pay Kshs7,000 for a whole year. After paying for that, they go see a doctor who prescribes medication for them to buy after they have already spent all the money that they had. That is a big challenge.

When we had NHIF, cancer patients were being treated free of charge. When we also had the Linda Mama, our mothers used to go to the hospital, deliver their babies and even be given diapers to go back home free of charge. It is a shame because once most of the mothers deliver these days and have not paid for these other system, they are retained in hospitals together with those babies. Imagine an innocent infant being detained in a hospital for lack of payment.

This is something that the President should talk to the concerned people. Since health is devolved, more money should be devolved so that our health systems can work properly because there are a lot of problems in health.

Another issue is education. There are no capitation funds in schools. I have brought a statement here complaining about schools which have closed down because the Government owes them a lot of capitation money. The situation is still the same. That is an issue that should be checked on so that we can say that education is working.

When you go to the Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) , the governors are having problems of even employing teachers because they are claiming that they do not have enough money. There are not even enough classes. When you go there on your oversight mission, they tell you that there is no money. Go and defend us. Release more money to the counties. That is the complaint. I do not know if the people who are in these ministries are telling the President exactly what is happening in their ministries. That they may devolve more monies because every function follows money. Once a function is devolved, money must follow the function.

Services, Senate.

The other thing is about security. Security is a big issue in our country. I know safety and security begins with us. However, when we talk of Gen-Zs who are being killed left, right and center, and abductions, something must be done. Some time back, the President promised that they were going to compensate the Gen-Zs who were killed. To date, they have not been compensated because I have one Rex Maasai who the mother still calls me about compensation and many others. These are issues that the President should address so that Kenyans can move forward.

Another thing is about affordable housing. Everyone working with a payslip is deducted money for building these affordable houses. The same houses are built on the land which belongs to the Government of Kenya. The people who are building their houses still sell their houses. The houses are built with our own money and then sold to us. The right people who should be receiving those houses do not even get them. These houses are owned by very rich people, not the poor. The poor who get them are very few, but the majority of them are owned by very rich people. This is something that the President should look into. I do not think the people who are concerned are telling him the truth about this. The President must know the truth about the affordable housing.

The other thing is that I have seen demolitions going on in this country in the name of building affordable houses. Like right now here in Nairobi, there are demolitions that are going on and those people are sleeping out yet it is raining. Before the demolition, so that the affordable houses can be built, these people should be moved into a safe place. Then the demolition can go on. Once the affordable houses are built, I expect the same people to be the first ones who should own those houses. However, it is not like that. These houses are being owned by very rich people and the President should look into this.

The other thing is corruption that is going on in this country, especially where land is concerned. Mr. President should look into this and I do not think the Cabinet Secretary for Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development is telling the President the truth. I have had issues of land in Machakos. Mabwenyenye come and buy those parcels of land from the poor. The poor are being kicked out on the ground that they are squatters. Even squatters in this country have a right to own a land and to live in a safe place.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the other thing I want to address is about employment. I thank God there are many people who are being taken out of this country for employment. However, majority of them are suffering wherever they go, especially those who are in Arab countries, they really suffer. Our girls there are suffering. They even have children. Some of them are raped by their employers. As a result, they give birth to children. Those children are in the streets outside the country.

I challenge the President and the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs to bring those children back home because they belong here. By birth, they are Kenyans and they should not be left outside there to suffer or to continue suffering. We want to hear the good and bad side of Kenya. Since my work is oversight, I will only deal with the bad side of it.

I also want to talk about the 1998 bomb blast which was not addressed in this Address. These people have been suffering for the last 27 good years waiting for

Services, Senate. compensation. What is remaining for them to be compensated is just an amendment of a law in the Senate of the U.S.A and the Congress so that these people can be compensated. We are not demanding for American money. We are demanding for the money that is there to compensate these people. I wonder why every President of this country is quiet about it.

I challenge the President of today to take up this issue because I am sure it has been given to him. I am going to meet with the Liaison Committee again so that they can give me more days to continue pushing on this. I will not stop as long as I am in this Senate until these people are compensated. I challenge the President and the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs to take up this issue because our people died. They must be compensated.

Al-Qaeda was not fighting with Kenya. They were fighting with America, and we took the bullets of America. I will continue pushing, and I call upon the President, the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, and everybody who is concerned, these people are dying. They are dying in poverty. The Kenyan Ministry of Health does not even supply them with medication. Some of them are totally blind. Some of them are lame that they cannot work. Again, the Government of Kenya is doing nothing about it. I can go on and on, but let me stop there with my complaints. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Sen. Kavindu. Now, Hon. Senators, from my dashboard, there is no other member interested in contributing to the debate. In the absence of the Majority Leader who is supposed to reply to this Motion, I will defer reply to the next sitting of this House.

Clerk, could you please call the next order?

(Motion deferred)

This is a Motion by Sen. M. Kajwang’ who is also absent in the Chamber. That Motion is deferred.

Services, Senate.

(Motion deferred)

This Motion is by Sen. Fatuma Dullo MP. She is not in the Chamber. That Motion is deferred. Let us call the next order, Clerk.

Services, Senate. transparency, in order to strengthen their constitutional oversight and promote good governance in the management of public finances.

(Motion deferred)

Sen. Andrew Omtatah Okoiti who is supposed to be the mover of this Motion is absent. That Motion is deferred. Next Order.

Services, Senate. and County Assembly Service Boards to build capacity for gender analysis among technical and legislative staff;

comprehensive biannual report detailing actions taken by Ministries, Departments and Agencies to promote gender mainstreaming, key achievements, emerging challenges, and proposed interventions; and

continuously monitor the implementation of these resolutions and tables biannual report on the status of implementation.

(Motion deferred)

Sen. Veronica Maina is not in the Chamber. That Motion is hereby deferred. Next Order.

Services, Senate.

budgets that mainstream clean cooking into devolved energy and health functions;

and Ministry of Energy prioritize clean cooking in

financing frameworks, including results-based financing and blended finance models to de-risk private investment;

incorporate clean cooking targets in their County

Integrated Development Plans (CIDPs) and ensure public institutions such as schools, health facilities, and prisons adopt clean cooking solutions;

and County Governments to fast-track letters of

authorization to unlock carbon finance markets (Article 6.2 and CORSIA) for clean cooking projects;

engage the private sector actors, and community

organizations to expand clean cooking access, create local jobs, and reduce pressure on forest resources.

(Motion deferred)

Similarly, Senator Hamida Kibwana, who is supposed to move this Motion, is not in the Chamber. Therefore, it is deferred to the next sitting. With that, Hon. Members, you may rise.