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{
"id": 1384851,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1384851/?format=api",
"text_counter": 817,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sotik, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Francis Sigei",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker."
},
{
"id": 1384852,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1384852/?format=api",
"text_counter": 818,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Omboko Milemba",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": {
"id": 13328,
"legal_name": "Jeremiah Omboko Milemba",
"slug": "jeremiah-omboko-milemba"
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"content": " Hon. Andrew Okuome."
},
{
"id": 1384853,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1384853/?format=api",
"text_counter": 819,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Karachuonyo, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Adipo Okuome",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to contribute. I support the Bill because Regional Development Authorities affect me because I live close to Lake Victoria which is covered by the Lake Basin Development Authority."
},
{
"id": 1384854,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1384854/?format=api",
"text_counter": 820,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Karachuonyo, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Adipo Okuome",
"speaker": null,
"content": "I will speak the truth. The Regional Development Authorities were started for a purpose that included development of the areas they cover and beyond. They are useful tools of development. However, they also have their problems which must be taken care of, not only by, for example, the people living close to Lake Victoria, but also people from other regions. If I use Lake Victoria as a base of what I want to say, I realise that it is fed by rivers which come from farther areas than my county and counties around Lake Victoria."
},
{
"id": 1384855,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1384855/?format=api",
"text_counter": 821,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Karachuonyo, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Adipo Okuome",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Lake Victoria is being polluted. It is affected environmentally by human activities. These are basically through the rivers and lake itself. The people who live upstream have a lot to do with the water flowing into Lake Victoria. The Basin Development Authority covers a much bigger area than counties surrounding the lake. If they join us, under the Authority, they can control the kind of water that flows into Lake Victoria and what happens there. The regional development Authorities are very useful mainly because they cover many regions. I do not want to talk about air pollution which also affects the lake directly or indirectly. If we use the region, we can control what happens within the lake. I am saying this because I have realised that Lake Victoria has a lot to do with fish which covers the whole country. Therefore, we should come together as a region and ensure that the water and fish from Lake Victoria are fit for human consumption. Regional development authorities are useful in Kenya and beyond. For example, the East African Community (EAC) is a regional thing. That is why even in Bunge, we have the Departmental Committee on Regional Development to cover regional authorities like Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA) and Kerio Valley Development Authority (KVDA), among others. We should strengthen these regional development authorities by identifying their problems and eliminating them. This will make them useful to people who need development in various areas. Hon. Temporary Speaker, once again, I support the Bill. I am hopeful that we shall do the needful to ensure we benefit from it. Thank you."
},
{
"id": 1384856,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1384856/?format=api",
"text_counter": 822,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Omboko Milemba",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": {
"id": 13328,
"legal_name": "Jeremiah Omboko Milemba",
"slug": "jeremiah-omboko-milemba"
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"content": " Hon. Gitonga Murugara."
},
{
"id": 1384857,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1384857/?format=api",
"text_counter": 823,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Tharaka, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. George Murugara",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I rise to support the Bill in principle. Although, I think the very idea upon which it is formulated has been overtaken by events. 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"
},
{
"id": 1384858,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1384858/?format=api",
"text_counter": 824,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Tharaka, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. George Murugara",
"speaker": null,
"content": "First and foremost, I support it because we know for sure that we have more than six Acts of Parliament dealing with individual regional development authorities, which we refer to so as to know exactly what each authority does. Unfortunately, it is unclear to us, why we set up these authorities those years of yore. In spite of my good friend, Dr Oundo, heaping praises on our late President Daniel arap Moi, the idea at that time was to try and work on something similar to devolution. He came up with several strategies on how to move resources from Nairobi to rural areas, including the famous District Focus for Rural Development Strategy, then these regional development authorities, which were modeled along regions of Kenya at independence. Maybe there was also an element of job creation. He was trying to get employment for his friends and cronies at that time so as to create some regional balancing in what was being done. Are they useful today? That is what we must ask ourselves. Do we need several regional development authorities when we have 47 counties, supposed to be dealing with every aspect not dealt with by the national Government? We must ask ourselves. Are we not spreading the resources of the country too thin by allocating a small amount of money to many regional development authorities in every budget cycle? They are all under a ministry, whether it is the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation, Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, or whichever ministry. Do we really need them? In my estimation, this is a good idea whose time has come to an end. We should now be working towards folding all these authorities and vesting them in county governments. There are regional development authorities in the Eastern region dealing with water and irrigation. The same applies to Central, which has the Tana and Athi Rivers Development Authority (TARDA). Nyanza and Western Kenya have the Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA), and Ewaso Ng'iro North Development Authority (ENNDA), among others. It is high time we folded them and put all their responsibilities under county governments. Where they are unable to handle it, the ministries will assist since they have fewer responsibilities because counties eased them. I have gone through the Bill and for all intents and purposes, I agree we should bring them together. This will ensure that if a question is asked on which regime of law applies to regional development authorities, we shall have a Regional Development Authorities Act to refer to, as soon as this Bill is assented to. That way, we do not have to grapple and grope in darkness when looking for which law applies to which authority. I agree that it is also important to set out the authorities in the law which we have done. We have also tried to state the functions of each authority. As I conclude, we shall set up boards and we need to look into them. One is because their membership is too high. There are 11 board members, and they should not be more than seven, as required by our Constitution. There is no reason whatsoever why we should have more than seven board members. Two, do we really need these boards? As we consider and ponder on folding these organisations, this is an important question. Towards the end of the Bill, we have indicated how these authorities will be administered and the financial provisions to be made during budgeting. It is also important to note that we have delegated to the Cabinet Secretary in charge of Regional Development the authority to make delegated legislation, that is, subsidiary laws and rules required to actualise this Act of Parliament. I do not have a problem with all this. As I support, my view is that we must sit down as a country and examine ourselves on whether we require these authorities. As we put them under one statute, we want to see more of their work in the regions. It is not just a question of when I go to Nyeri to see Tana Water… It is also important to note that apart from these authorities, we have other smaller entities that resemble them, like TARDA has another entity known as Tana Water Works Development Agency based in Nyeri. I have no idea what they do differently. 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"
},
{
"id": 1384859,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1384859/?format=api",
"text_counter": 825,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Tharaka, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. George Murugara",
"speaker": null,
"content": "All this is a conglomeration of entities that may not be serving any useful purpose. They are bloating the Government and gobbling up money supposed to go to county governments on an increased level or money that should remain with the national Government to be properly utilised under ministries so that Kenyans can enjoy the fruits of the Government. This is important. Therefore, Hon. Peter, as we pass this Bill for you, also consider what we should do next regarding these six authorities. Including the other smaller water works or agencies, whatever they are called. Let us do something to ensure that we do not just split, multiply, or mutate this into something else. Then, at the end of the day, Kenyans get nothing out of it. With those remarks, I support the Bill."
},
{
"id": 1384860,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1384860/?format=api",
"text_counter": 826,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Omboko Milemba",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": {
"id": 13328,
"legal_name": "Jeremiah Omboko Milemba",
"slug": "jeremiah-omboko-milemba"
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"content": " Hon. Jackson Lekumontare."
}
]
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