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{
    "id": 788947,
    "url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/788947/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 201,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Mariru",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13400,
        "legal_name": "Patrick Kariuki Mariru",
        "slug": "patrick-kariuki-mariru"
    },
    "content": "The second pretty noble provision in this law is around the local development plan. The law is very clear. When the contractor comes in place, that contractor is, under this Bill, obligated to develop a local development plan. What is interesting, important and critical for us to note is that Parliament has been put at the centre of that local development plan unlike what happens usually. So, when the contractor moots, crafts and develops the local development plan, that plan must be tabled in the House within a specific period. It is for Parliament to engage. That in itself is also a lesson from Norway; Parliament is at the centre of oil governance. A third issue critical to note in this Bill is about the decommissioning. When a contractor, an agent or whoever has been given a block… At the final conclusion of exploration, there always is a decommissioning phase. In many parts of Africa, after the exploration, contractors are not obligated in law to do a phased-out decommissioning of that block. What this law does is to obligate the contractor to set certain funds to be used for decommissioning. That is important. You do not want blocks that have been exploited and left open in the country. This law obligates the contractor to set some funds, at the outset. That is so that that money can be used when the exploration is done. The fourth critical aspect of this law, that is important, is considering the blocks as an aspect of the present and the future. What they have done in Norway is to only give out a certain percentage of the blocks so that it is not just the money that comes from the exploration and the oil that is kept for the future generation; it is also about the blocks. We do not want all the 16 blocks exploited or given to contractors at ago. We need to know, agree and commit to ourselves that certain blocks can be exploited now and others in the future. The other critical lesson from Norway is about the sovereign wealth and future generations. It is about realizing that this oil is not just for us today. It is for many generations to come. In any case, in the event this oil is exploited fully, there will be money for future generations to use. I learnt that Norway only uses four per cent of the sovereign wealth; the wealth they get from oil. It is so much that they, two or three years ago, reduced the amount they get from the sovereign wealth from four to three per cent. It is because of considering that future generation. It is important to get another lesson from Norway. We must put Government at the centre. The Government must be the owner and the regulator in the industry of oil. We must not The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}