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"id": 592976,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/592976/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. (Eng.) Gumbo",
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"speaker": {
"id": 24,
"legal_name": "Nicholas Gumbo",
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"content": "Parliament to the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2012. Historically, Nigeria and Algeria, two countries of Africa with almost the same name, discovered oil almost at the same time. But as we speak, Nigeria is being used more as an example of how not to exploit petroleum resources as opposed to Algeria, which is a study case in optimal use of petroleum resources. This should be a warning to us to get it right the first time. Exploitation of petroleum resources starts with upstream operations where you look at the multinational companies, which do exploration, mining and extraction of petroleum resources. Then you go to mainstream operations, the refineries, and the downstream where you look at the outlets and see if the people can afford the petroleum resources. If we cannot get that chain right, particularly at the upstream operations, then we will have started on a very wrong foundation. This is because the realm we are getting into where Kenya will be a petroleum producing country, the key issue is to get those who are concerned with the upstream operations to get it right. With that background, the proposal in the Bill, which is to develop a clear national upstream petroleum policy, is a key starting point in ensuring optimal and beneficial exploitation of petroleum resources of our country. The national upstream petroleum policy will include the upstream petroleum strategic plan and ways to monitor that plan, the conduct of upstream petroleum operations, and the promotion of upstream petroleum investment. I have looked at this Bill and, just like in most of the Bills we have done--- I do not mean to demean anybody, but I am talking from the point of view of the realities. I have looked at the way this Bill has been proposed and, the Cabinet Secretary has been given too many powers. If you look at this Bill at Clause 12, and see the powers that have been given, I think this is where we get it wrong. When you look at the appointment of the Petroleum Advisory Authority (PAA), you find the finger prints of the Cabinet Secretary (CS) in almost everything that will be happening here. In my view, this is not right. In our system now, the CSs are not the equivalents of Ministers we used to have before; those were elected leaders. You have for example heard it when we made an attempt to impeach a CS here. He said, for the entire world to hear, that he did not see why he should worry about impeachment by Parliament. As far as he was concerned, he was appointed by the President and, therefore, he was not answerable to Parliament. When we have people with that kind of attitude being given too many powers, people who in their hearts and minds ultimately think and see themselves as only reporting to an individual; people who are not the representatives of the people, we will have to look at the powers that this Bill donates to the CS. In my view, these powers are vast. If you look at Clause 10 and the powers given to the CS, it is like you are creating the President of oil in a country. If you look at what some oil ministers in other countries have done, the Umaru Dikkos of this world, these were powers unto themselves. In a space of one, two or three years, using these powers that are too many, they had amassed too much wealth at the expense of the rest of the citizenry. We do not want to go that route. If Kenya must learn something, it is that we must completely avoid the oil curse, starting from this legal framework. The oil curse will be avoided if we get our aptitude operations right. I have looked at this Bill. Look at Clause 12 on the National Upstream Petroleum Advisory Committee; it is a committee of civil servants, yet we know that some of the key players in oil and gas are non-state actors. Where is the role of people outside the Civil Service in this? We are just making this thing the topic and it is not even that. Look at even the composition of the Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority under Clauses 16 and 17. It has The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}