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{
"id": 1569432,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569432/?format=api",
"text_counter": 387,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kilifi North, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Owen Baya",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for this opportunity to support my brother, Hon. Bowen, who crafted his name from mine. 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": 1569433,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569433/?format=api",
"text_counter": 388,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kilifi North, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Owen Baya",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Anything to do with fisheries touches on the Coast. The coast of Kenya is one of the country’s major fish baskets. For many years, fishermen have been seen as poor. There is kind of a correlation between poverty and fishing. Fishing communities have never come out of the cocoons of poverty because of the fishing regime that exists in this country. A fisherman can be very rich if properly enabled. But without support, they remain artisanal, doing what you might call subsistence fishing. They go out to catch fish for the family and sell a few pieces. The cycle continues in the family: from the grandfather to the father; father to the son; and from son to the grandson. They cannot escape poverty unless they pursue another trade. As a country, we need to change this matrix. It is hurting families that could otherwise, be richer if we gave them proper fishing gear and a proper legal regime. It will shock you that when a fisherman leaves home with his nets and gets to the beach, he is asked by KWS officers, “Do you have a fishing licence from KWS?” This is because KWS has demarcated some places as marine parks. When he finishes answering the question, a person from Kenya Fisheries asks, “Do you have a licence for this net?” When he gets into his canoe to start fishing, somebody from the Kenya Maritime Authority asks, “Do you have a licence for this boat?” Before he goes into water, the Kenya Coast Guard asks, “Who allowed you to come into these waters?” After that, forestry officials ask, “Did you use wood to make this boat and did you have a licence for the tree?” There is a plethora of licences that a fisherman must have. Even the tourist police might come and say, “You are not allowed within these boundaries because there are tourists we must protect.” When he finishes fishing, fisheries officers ask, “Why did you catch this species? Is it illegal to catch it?” Fishermen in this country cannot make money. Fishermen are sleeping hungry yet the ocean is a few metres away. They eat ugali with salt and vegetables while fish is available. Fishing has become nearly impossible because of the existing legal regime. That is the where the problem is."
},
{
"id": 1569434,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569434/?format=api",
"text_counter": 389,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kilifi North, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Owen Baya",
"speaker": null,
"content": "As we ratify this Treaty, I want to be sure that Hon. Kangogo and his team have perused it to ensure we do not introduce foreign and unacceptable laws into our fishing sector. This Parliament passed the Fisheries Management Act, which was later declared unconstitutional. Hon. Kangogo asked, “How do we operate?” We were supposed to pass regulations but we could not. We adopted some Treaties and put them in---"
},
{
"id": 1569435,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569435/?format=api",
"text_counter": 390,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Martha Wangari",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " You have a minute to wind up."
},
{
"id": 1569436,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569436/?format=api",
"text_counter": 391,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kilifi North, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Owen Baya",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Hon. Kangogo was not in the 11th Parliament that passed the Fisheries Management Act."
},
{
"id": 1569437,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569437/?format=api",
"text_counter": 392,
"type": "scene",
"speaker_name": "",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "(Hon. Kangogo Bowen spoke off the record)"
},
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"id": 1569438,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569438/?format=api",
"text_counter": 393,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kilifi North, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Owen Baya",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Okay, you were here. The law banned the use of monofilament nets yet people have used them from time immemorial. They argued that the nets trap the seabed, and kill the fish. Fishermen are required to use bigger nets, but the government has not provided resources to replace monofilament nets with better ones. Many traditional fishing gears were outlawed. Fishermen have no nets, canoes nor equipment yet we say we want to invest in the blue economy. Before we think about big vessels and huge investments, let us empower the fisherman so that he can take his child to school, pay his bills and put food on the table. The Committee chaired by Hon. Kangogo Bowen should protect the fishing people. Give them resources and allow them to eke a good living from the sea. That is what I beg of this House. As we ratify this Treaty, I hope that we do not adopt foreign things which will hinder and hurt the common fishermen. I support."
},
{
"id": 1569439,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569439/?format=api",
"text_counter": 394,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Martha Wangari",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Hon. Murugara. 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": 1569440,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569440/?format=api",
"text_counter": 395,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Tharaka, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. George Murugara",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I rise to also support the adoption of the Report. Once we ratify this Treaty, it becomes part and parcel of our domestic laws and binds us as a country."
},
{
"id": 1569441,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569441/?format=api",
"text_counter": 396,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Tharaka, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. George Murugara",
"speaker": null,
"content": "There is a pending Treaty-Making and Ratification (Amendment) Bill. Its purpose is to compel the Executive to involve this House in treaty negotiations and international contracts. By so doing, we would not be caught unawares ratifying an agreement or a treaty whose contents or particulars we are not familiar with. Once the Bill comes to the House, we will be debating it and trying to pass it. On behalf of Tharaka Constituency, Tharaka-Nithi County, it is good to inform the country that we have a lot of interest in the Blue Economy. That is the reason we have donated to the Broad-Based Government an expert in Blue Economy, the Principal Secretary, Ms. Betsy Muthoni Njagi, who comes from Tharaka-Nithi. She is doing a fantastic job there. As the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Blue Economy, Water and Irrigation, Hon. Kangogo Bowen would confirm. We debate this with passion, knowing very well that we have an expert who is going to ensure that it is implemented the way it is supposed to be, for the benefit of the Republic of Kenya. The agreement talks about fishing in “Least developed countries.” I thought we had stopped using that term? But it shows that these people still believe that we are down there in terms of development and they have to come to our aid. The aid is acceptable, provided it has no conditionalities which make it untenable or unequitable. We have our territorial waters where we do a lot of fishing, but we are also at risk of being invaded by pirates from other countries who come to steal our fish because we are not able to guarantee security along those territorial waters. Agreements like these, including subsidising fishing, are of benefit to this country. As we diversify our food security strategy, fish comes in handy. We do not have to go to China to bring in fish whose source is unclear to us. Sometimes, we are given interesting stories about plastic fish coming from certain countries. There is also a lot of wealth in the high seas and the deep seas, but we do not have the resources to go into deep waters to mine. If this agreement is going to assist in fishing by giving subsidies, it is a welcome development. We should agree with it, ratify it, and then prepare our country to mine in the deep sea so that we are able to bring to the shore seafood, which is important and nutritious to our country. With those remarks, I beg to support."
}
]
}