Wilberforce Ojiambo Oundo

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Speaker, I also join my colleagues in supporting the allocation of Ksh415 billion to the counties, but with a lot of reservations. I do not wish to echo what my colleagues have said, but the intention of devolution was to foster successful development...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) I will do three minutes, and then give him two.

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I also join my colleagues in supporting this.

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I rise to support the Bill. I also wish to join my colleagues who have served since the 12th Parliament in commending the Senate. For the very first time, they have done something commendable. Indeed, this is exactly what...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Temporary Chairman, I sincerely thank and strongly support this amendment as moved by the Chairman of the Committee. All taxes are paid to KRA, despite the different accounts. It should therefore be a simple matter of entry, exit, and then the bottom line....

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Temporary Chairman, let me also join my colleagues in this debate of zero-rating and tax exempting. As for now, the purported proposal by the National Treasury to move from zero-rating to tax exempt would have automatically resulted in some minimal price increases. At...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Temporary Chairman, I strongly support this amendment. This is trying to enhance the amendments we did in December, in the Business Laws (Amendment) Bill, particularly to the Standards Act on the issuance of the certificate of origin. It also cures a very interesting...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Temporary Chairman, I see a practical challenge in implementing this clause. The Chairman and his technical team should take note of this. Assuming that an individual has taken a mortgage on a property, and in the event that one defaults, the Land Act...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Temporary Chairman, as much as the amendment to sub-clause 5 is timely and important, cabinet secretaries must also act in good faith, knowing the importance and urgency of the need to operationalise laws. We do not have to put for them specific timelines....

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Thank you, Hon. Temporary Chairman. I support the amendment 100 per cent as it was done before and as is being carried here. However, probably the failure to allow all deductions and relief could be out of ignorance, not knowing what was provided for....

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Temporary Chairman, I just want to sincerely thank the Chairman of the Committee. I raised this matter earlier in the House. He did not get the import of what I was saying. However, as we walked out of the chamber, I believe he...

Hon. (Prof.) Wilberforce Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. Let me also join my colleagues in supporting the Motion by Hon. Faith Gitau on the expansion of major roads in the country into dual carriageways. Transport is essential to industrialisation and economic growth. Its importance cannot be gainsaid....

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. Allow me also to join in supporting the Report of the Committee and their proposals to appoint the three Kenyans: Peris Muthoni Kimani, Benjamin Juma Imani, and Prof. Colette A. Suda. Regardless of the fact that the gender rule...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Okay, fine. Let us not lose focus. When we inaugurated the new Constitution, it gave us a very elaborate Bill of Rights, coming out of repressive regimes over the past years since independence. At the centre of any democracy, are law enforcement agencies. Our...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I stand here to support the Finance Bill, 2025. (Applause)(Laughter) 17th June 2025 NATIONAL ASSEMBLY DEBATES 51 Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM)listen. I hope whatever we have listened to, will find its way through the Committee of the...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM)Allow me to continue.

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Temporary Speaker, we need to be very clear at the opportune time. I also think the Chair will need to clarify. I need Kenyans to be very clear and listen clearly. Let us look at Clause 26 of the Bill that is published...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Temporary Speaker, that includes raw materials in Kenya for manufacturing medicaments, as approved from time to time by the Cabinet Secretary. I just hope and pray that the Committee of the whole House will carry the amendments that they propose, so that we...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) On a point of order, Hon. Speaker.

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Is it also possible, Hon. Speaker, if the chairman can get reassurance from the State Department that such shortage and lack of vaccine is not going to happen in this country in the foreseeable future to avoid putting our children under peril? Thank you,...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this Motion. I also rise to support the Report of the Select Committee on Public Debt and Privatisation on the Consolidated Fund Services expenditures for the Estimates for Financial Year 2025/2026....

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Temporary Chairman, I just want to make a plea to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) . A passionate plea on behalf of the teachers of Kenya who take care of our children. I hope the Budget and Appropriations 10th June 2025 NATIONAL ASSEMBLY...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) On a point of order, Hon. Chairlady.

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Chairlady, thank you for giving me this opportunity. Allow us to ask the Chairperson of the Budget and Appropriations Committee to explain to Kenyans why this Office has close to Ksh3 billion for recurrent expenditure and only Ksh100 million for development. He needs...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Chairlady, I find the programmes under this Vote extremely interesting. More so, they contravene the Constitution of Kenya. Article 95 of the Constitution provides that the work of Parliament belongs to Members of Parliament. What exercise are we doing here in this particular...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Chairlady, again, let us be very clear. Hon. Baya has misled the country. The Budget is being made now. The other time was just a committee report. Allow us to highlight what we think are areas or points of concern. While I accept...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Temporary Chairman, I want to draw the attention of the Chairman of the Budget Appropriation Committee and that of the Chairman of the relevant Committee, if he is around, that we have quite a substantial amount under recurrent expenditure under Programme 0714000, which...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Temporary Chairman, I would want to know from the Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Education, as well as the Chairman of the Budget and Appropriations Committee, whether there are sufficient funds that have been set aside to employ quality assurance and standards...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Temporary Chairman, it is commendable that a substantial amount of close to Ksh59 billion has been placed under capital expenditure. Can the Chairman of the Budget and Appropriations Committee give us an assurance that this is not just money on paper? That the...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Temporary Chairman, the issue of healthcare services and financing is an emotive issue at the moment. It is a matter that has been robustly discussed all over. For general knowledge and consumption, the Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Health should tell us...

Hon (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Temporary Chairman, we have a substantial allocation towards rail transport. Can those of us who do not sit in the Departmental Committee on Transport and Infrastructure be generally informed where this money is going to be expended so that we can be aware?...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Temporary Chairman, this is probably one of the issues that has elicited a raging debate regarding the mandate of the national Government and the county governments. There is nothing unconstitutional or illegal for the National Government to allocate or appropriate funds. Can the...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Temporary Chairman, this department oversees most of the value chain, and the so-called Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) ; whatever that means. I hope they have included sufficient funds for the textile value chain in terms of seeds for cotton, ginneries and the...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) On a point of order, Hon. Temporary Chairman. The Temporary Chairman (Hon. David Ochieng’) : Yes, Hon. Oundo. Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) I am not so sure whether the Chairman of the Budget and Appropriations Committee will apprise the country on the...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Ultimately, the final word lies with the Chairman of the Budget and Appropriations Committee. He must have been briefed. He is a diligent young man from my neighbourhood… The Temporary Chairman (Hon. David Ochieng’) : Hon. Oundo, last time I heard, you were a...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Temporary Chairman, if you sit with many prosecutors and the police, you will realise that they are so frustrated. Witnesses are no longer willing to go and testify. In the new Constitution, the accused persons are given bail and bonds and they roam...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Temporary Chairman, I sit in the Public Accounts Committee but since the question is directed to the Chairman and he has not paid me to answer on his behalf, I will let him ang’ang’ane na hali yake. I just want to make a...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Temporary Chairman, I am generally disappointed by the performance of the Authority. Unless they account for the time they have been in existence, it might be time to think of defunding it completely, especially if they cannot deliver. We lost about 70 young...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Temporary Chairman, sometimes, when I stand here to talk about Senators who are our colleagues, I feel very sad. Sad to the extent that the Constitution was clear under Article 96 on what they are supposed to do,. Yet, they cannot do what...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I am also happy and I must pay tribute to my young brother, Hon. Atandi, for going through this rigorous process. We might have been hard on him, but that is the only way he can get harder. That...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) I will not take two minutes. We need a logical flow to define the expenditure and then give the revenue-raising measures. Only then can we know the fiscal deficit. If the Finance Bill fails, will we need another Supplementary as we did last year?...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) On a point of order, Hon. Temporary Speaker.

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Indeed, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I want to add my voice to that prophesy. This is because I have seen the way your face has glared, and your soul has been lifted. I can see that it has truly touched the bottom of your heart....

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. This report is on the Floor of the House, pursuant to Article 221 of the Constitution. It requires the Budget and Appropriations Committee to deliberate, hold public participation and submit its report and recommendations to this House. So, it...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Temporary Speaker, I did not in any way say that Parliament does not have the power to make a Budget. I just said his hands are tied because of the fiscal and economic framework we are facing. If Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga were...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Temporary Speaker, I hope the time you have taken to speak will be given back to me, because you have taken five minutes. Yes, they can celebrate, but the people of Busia, who are of a lesser God, have nothing to celebrate. Hon....

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I take this opportunity to congratulate and sincerely thank the Committee for taking the time to review outstanding and past audit reports. I do not want to dwell on specific issues. Allow me to dwell on some basic issues....

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. It is important for a country to accept the truth, reality and live the talk. Democracy is a process; it is not an event. An election is not conducted on the day of the election; it is a process....

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Let me continue and answer my in-law later, as I conclude. We must learn from history. Henry Kissinger said that a nationalist leader who does not learn from history is in danger of spiraling into anarchy. It will be unfair. Believing what happened in...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Thank you, Temporary Speaker. I would request the Chairperson of the Committee, in responding to this matter, to be very deliberate in his answer. You have rightly distinguished between dumping excess labour and brain drain. Indeed, sending people to the Middle East is an...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I also thank the Chairperson for the effort he has made to present the response to the request for a Statement. However, honestly speaking, this is like a defence Statement written by KUDURA Power East Africa Ltd. It obviously...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Temporary Speaker, the Member for Gem is completely misinformed concerning this subject matter. KUDURA Power East Africa Ltd., produces power using solar panels, and thereafter, distributes and charges them. They do not sell to Kenya Power. He is completely misinformed. He should have...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Yes. They produce the power. They have signed agreements with the consumers directly. It is a pure monopoly that is exploitative. I expected the State department to clearly say they note Ksh83 per Kilowatt hour tariff is extremely exorbitant, and they would make efforts...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Temporary Speaker, ultimately, our country is very complicated. The better you leave things as they are, the better it is for posterity and a good life. We are not interested in the stakeholders or the exploiters. We all want the exploitation to come...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Precisely. My plea to the Chairperson is that in the review--- (Hon. Joseph Emathe rose on a point of order)

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Yes, that is on paper.

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Speaker, I come from a constituency that borders Uganda. It is a unique situation whereby three quarters of people from my ancestry are in Uganda. Of course, this also applies to the Maasai in Tanzania. I do not know what measures the ministry...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Speaker, I concur with the sentiments of Hon. Bowen. The truth of the matter is that our universities are limping. The 29th April 2025 NATIONAL ASSEMBLY DEBATES 18 Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM)Government or the Executive does not have the capacity to...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Speaker, what happened in Hon. Mugabe’s place, Likuyani, is a cultural practice amongst the Luhya community. Where I come from, it is called Osola, which when translated means to take revenge against a confirmed assailant who causes death. I had a similar crisis...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Temporary Chairlady, the amendment under (b) is not clear. Probably, the Chairlady can explain a little bit. What problem are they trying to cure by saying: (2) “Despite sub-section (1) , nothing in this Act confers upon 29th April 2025 NATIONAL ASSEMBLY DEBATES...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Hon. Temporary Chairlady, this amendment might be well-intentioned, but it has all the hallmarks of fraud being committed. We will have people who will become professional caregivers just to live and hang on vulnerable persons. They will be unpaid, deficient and unsupported caregivers. They...

Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo (Funyula, ODM) Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. Let me also stand here to support the Motion that has been moved by our good colleague, in respect of discharging the Public Transport (Motorcycle Regulation) Bill, (Senate Bill No. 38 of 2023) . Let me go on record...