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{
    "id": 1035302,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1035302/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 354,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Seme, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr.) James Nyikal",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 434,
        "legal_name": "James Nyikal",
        "slug": "james-nyikal"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this. As I stand to support, I want to say what everybody has said. The miscellaneous amendment process, to some extent, disadvantages Members except Members whose committees are involved. It is because the amendments are too many. If you want to look at it, you will have to read three documents at the same time if they are that many. We have said many times that we look at it so that we do not bring in substantive issues. Maybe, we will have to find a process of putting that in the Standing Orders. But having said that, I am in support of many of the amendments. But I want to weigh in on the one of coast guards. We have 11 beaches in my constituency. What the law on coast guards was meant to do has completely missed the point. It was actually supposed to guard local people against Uganda and Tanzania who are the biggest problem, but it has turned on local fishermen. That is what is happening. Now they are implementing some rules and regulations, maybe, from the Kenya Maritime Authority in a very illogical manner. For example, now there is the issue of coxswains. Fishermen who are just using simple boats with simple engines which they have been using for years or just oars are now required to have a coxswain certificate. In order to be trained to get the coxswain certificate, they have to pay Kshs70,000. It is as if they are going to pilot large ships. It is a problem. When they go and find out that they are using the wrong nets, that is okay. But it is really not in their area. They have come into that other area of fishing regulations. The way they treat those people is actually very crude. They beat them up and take bribes. So, I think they have to find out what exactly they are supposed to do. I think they are not properly resourced to do what they are supposed to do. We will have to look at it. I think the amendments would have been to see how they can be strengthened and get better resourced so that they can tackle the bigger enemy. You know when you get somebody to protect you from outside and then he turns around and starts harassing the children in the home, that is really not acceptable. I also do not see why we want to link it with the Wildlife Service and the Forest Service. This is an institution that should just recruit its own people directly to serve. So, I think we have expressed this. If it goes on, we will have to relook at the whole idea of the coast guard services. There are also other amendments that have come in that I support - like amendments on the Universities Act and on the Security Training Act. I think it is important that, if we are going to have people trained in security services, there has to be involvement of the National Security Council (NSC) and the involvement of the Chairman of the NSC and the University Commission that they work together. It is because you can see that when it gets to higher levels of security, even people and experts get killed. So, the information that will be used is not the information that can be open research and open data. I think that is something that I support. It is true on the Official Secrets Act. With the technology we have, it has to change from the little pink paper we have been signing and people now have mobile phones. People have those WhatsApp pages and so on. So, a lot of information can be passed there. Again, when you start to limit - as it has been noticed and said by the Committee, that you may limit individual freedom, we need to look at how that is managed within the constitutional requirement. That is important. I was also a bit concerned about the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act which is saying that, maybe, after 24 months, the officers that were restricted or were out of employment can apply back and that the commission has to appraise. I think we should be very strict when we 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."
}