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{
    "id": 1009414,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1009414/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 111,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Makueni, WDM-K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Daniel Maanzo",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2197,
        "legal_name": "Daniel Kitonga Maanzo",
        "slug": "daniel-kitonga-maanzo"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me an opportunity to contribute on this very important Bill on disaster management. The last time we had heavy rains in the country, efforts to coordinate rescues and food supplies were disastrous. There is a department somewhere in Nyayo House which is allegedly supposed to deal with disasters. When I had issues in Makueni Constituency in a certain ward where floods washed away homes, and in many other parts of Makueni Constituency where rivers over-flowed, it was very difficult to be assisted by the Government. The few officers who were in that office at Nyayo House were overwhelmed. So, this law is very important so that we have somebody we can definitely hold responsible in disaster management. We have so many organisations in the country which deal with disaster management by their own merit, like the Red Cross Society, among others, which have done a very good job. During a disaster, even the Red Cross is overwhelmed hence they call for volunteers. They have a number of branches in different constituencies in Kenya where people volunteer to work for them. When you look at the responsibility of the county governments, because this Bill touches them, as well as that of the national Government, we have emergency Funds. I also believe that under the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF), we have a small emergency Fund. The NG-CDF is not sufficient to do much. It can replace one or two classroom roofs that may have been swept away by floods in a school. However, when it comes to the total management of a disaster in the country, for example, when we have floods all over the country, by the time a decision is made to get the money budgeted for emergencies in the country, the disaster will have happened and damage caused. Sometimes bridges collapse, and various Government departments deal with them. So, if we have a system of dealing with disaster management in the country, I believe we will do much better than we have done in the past in terms of saving lives. This year floods killed more people than COVID-19 even at its peak. Now, the COVID-19 cases are rising again. 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."
}