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{
    "id": 774097,
    "url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/774097/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 228,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Prof.) Ongeri",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 124,
        "legal_name": "Samson Kegeo Ongeri",
        "slug": "samson-ongeri"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. I rise to support this Bill. Water is such an important ingredient in our everyday life. If you consider the fact that as human beings, 80 percent of our body mass is water, then you can see who the most endangered species on the planet earth is. The deprivation of water in any form or in any occasion will indeed lead to disastrous results. Before I go to the merits of the Bill, I have noted that this Bill has consistently said “in consultation with the county governments”. However, the Bill does not go to elaborate what nature of consultations would be carried out so that at the end of the day, we do not want to create an act of Parliament eventually which will then develop many disputes. We may end up spending more and endless times in the dispute resolution mechanisms. The drafters of the Bill should carefully look at that and, rather than create a major problem, see how we can alleviate those problems within the process of this Bill passing through the Committee stage. Having said that, on merit, I accept that this Bill is long overdue. Clause 3(2) says:- “Upon the commencement of this Act, no irrigation development may be carried out in Kenya other than this Act. We have county governments and they may have their programmes. So, let us not limit them in carrying out their responsibilities because that mandate is given to them by an Act of Parliament. I take consolation in Section 5 of this Bill. In discharging the functions of this Act, there are many provisions of the Constitution that have been brought on board such as Article 10 of the Constitution that deals with governance and devolution. Therefore, all those details must be taken into account. There is Article 43 of the Constitution which elaborately talks about the economic and social rights. These rights include and are not limited to only health, housing, freedom from hunger, clean water, social security and education. Article 60 of the Constitution is also there and it deals with land policy. It talks of how the land is to be managed in a given county and the relationship between the National Land Commission and the county governments. It also addresses the issue of how to discharge those responsibilities. This Section also takes into account Article 232 of the Constitution which talks of the efficient, effective and economic use of our The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate"
}