EXTRAVAGANCE YET KENYANS NEED JOBS. Members of the National Assembly on Friday criticised a planned trip to China by a parliamentary team next month to window-shop for furniture. Tharaka MP Mithika Linturi, who is also a member of the House Business Committee, said the Speaker of the National Assembly had not tabled the issue before Parliament. He said the Parliamentary Service Commission had also not raised the matter with legislators, but doubted such a trip would be sanctioned by the Speaker. The MPs made the remarks at a retreat for leaders of the National Assembly at the Serena Beach Hotel in Mombasa. Would be capital flight Mr Linturi said such a trip was not necessary as buying furniture from China would create employment for the youth of that country when locals needed jobs desperately. “I believe the Speaker knows the law and will not allow people to look for chairs in China. This would be capital flight,” he said. The MP said Kenyans should stop looking to foreign countries for something they could make. “If there was that need for furniture, the procedure would be to advertise and allow potential manufacturers to bid for the job,” he said. However, Cord Chief Whip Gideon Mung’aro said the issue was trivial and should not be treated like a matter of life and death. “If MPs go for such a tour, what does it matter? We had a similar situation last year when MPs went to Israel, but we later settled for Kenya Prisons furniture. What does it matter?” he said. Leader of the Majority Adan Duale opposed the trip, saying, it was not right to waste resources on furniture that could be made locally. Not a member Mr Duale, however, declined to dwell on the issue, saying he was not a member of the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) nor privy to the issue. “The issue does not affect my constituency and it is not happening within my jurisdiction. How does it concern me?” he asked. Speaker Justin Muturi, who is the PSC chairman, said he could not stop the MPs from making the trip as they had already made their decision. “I cannot stop them. Wengi wape (Let the majority prevail). But it is not prudent,” he said while Senate Clerk Jeremiah Nyengenye said he had no say in the decision. A return ticket to Beijing costs Sh85,000 ($985) while a hotel room goes for between Sh26,000 ($300) and Sh43,000 ($500). If the MPs decide to fly to Shanghai, the air ticket rises to Sh91,000 ($1,056). YET KENYANS NEED JOBS
Posted on: Sat, 13 Jul 2013 04:08:04 +0000
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