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{
    "id": 1114821,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1114821/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 227,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mumias East, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Benjamin Washiali",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 151,
        "legal_name": "Benjamin Jomo Washiali",
        "slug": "benjamin-washiali"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. Allow me to join my colleagues who have supported Sessional Paper No.1 of 2021 on the National Water Policy. It is embarrassing that after 60 years of Independence, we are still talking about how to manage our natural resources including water. Yesterday, our colleague, Hon. Aden Duale, came up with an Adjournment Motion to address issues of drought in the Eastern and North Eastern parts of Kenya. This tells you that besides the number of sessional papers, frameworks and the policies we have had, we still have a big problem in this country in terms of implementation. If you had an opportunity to go to a country like Israel where the rainfall is too low compared to what we receive as a country, you will be embarrassed that it is a country that has enough food for its citizenry. Therefore, I think it is very important that we address this Sessional Paper, but as we do so, it is important that we implement whatever framework we are coming up with. I had an opportunity to go to Rwanda where we have the headquarters of an aquifer of the East African Community (EAC). We have the largest aquifer, underground water between the boundary of Kenya and Uganda. If we were to explore an underground aquifer which is like Lake Victoria, we can use that water many years without having to look for any other source of water. What is lacking in this country is the implementation part. God has favored us with resources, especially water. We should maximise it. We came up with a project in Kakamega, the Kakamega Bulk Water Project. This was a very unique project such that, a river would generate power that would pump the same water to a hill and that hill would then by gravity supply water to not less than 13 constituencies. Up to date, that project is still gathering dust in the Ministry of Water, yet the people down there are suffering from lack of clean water and the animals do not have enough water. The irrigation aspect of it has also gone down with it. Therefore, it is very important that as we support this Sessional Paper, we also go ahead and make sure that this Policy is implemented. As you may be aware, the supply of water is a role that is now shared. Part of it is also with the county governments and part of it is with the national government. I am sure this framework has addressed all that. I support."
}