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{
    "id": 1009432,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1009432/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 129,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Ol Jorok, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Michael Muchira",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13461,
        "legal_name": "Michael Mwangi Muchira",
        "slug": "michael-mwangi-muchira"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me an opportunity to support the National Disaster Management Authority Bill, sponsored by Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah. Kenya is prone to natural disasters such as floods, fires, drought and collapsing buildings. We have observed over the years that our response to disasters are wanting because of lack of coordination. Currently, we have the National Disaster Management Unit at the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, but it lacks the legal framework since it was formed through a Presidential directive, and not a statute. It is important to have this Bill to establish an Authority with a legal backing to ensure we have a coordinated approach to disaster management and response. When a disaster happens, we have witnessed a lot of laxity, lack of preparedness and buck passing where one unit blames the other or waits for it to respond. It is my hope that once this Bill becomes an Act of Parliament, we will have one unit that will be charged with addressing and coordinating disaster response. It is also important to ensure that the unit coordinates the two levels of government, the national and county governments, so that there is no confusion, and there is a seamless approach to disaster response and management. We need to incorporate the community-based risk reduction management by training and empowering communities to be part of disaster response. We have seen in some instances where local divers are used to save people who have drowned. Unfortunately, those local divers are not facilitated; they are not empowered. We need to look for a way of incorporating the local communities in the Bill and empower them to ensure that they are part and parcel of disaster response and management. Most of the time, the local communities are aware of the terrain and they are readily available before you mobilise resources and personnel from the Government in the event of a disaster. With those few remarks, I support. I will be bringing several amendments during the Committee of the whole House stage on the composition of the board and the involvement of communities in disaster management and response. Thank you."
}