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{
    "id": 1122802,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1122802/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 271,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mavoko, WDM-K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Patrick Makau",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2328,
        "legal_name": "Patrick Makau King'ola",
        "slug": "patrick-makau-kingola"
    },
    "content": " Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, the Member for Saku is always here complaining about bandits, about how his people are being killed and about how the administration does not take care of his people. Mavoko is about industries and factories. The reason I am standing here as a major stakeholder to this is that London Distillers is a major employer in Mavoko and if it were to be closed, very many people will suffer. That is why I have passion about this because I know the history and the genesis of this problem. As I was highlighting, the complaint came from a residential setup that came up just three or four years ago. We cannot punish a company that has been in existence for more than 50 years because of one apartment. I am a strong champion of the environment and I do not advocate for pollution. However, when we went to that factory with the Select Committee on Implementation, we saw the efforts that the company was making. It is on that basis that I support the Report of the Select Committee on Implementation to allow the London Distillers to keep on improving on their mechanisms to control pollution and effluent emissions to certain levels that are acceptable by the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) and environment agencies world over. I was coming from the background that we should not punish factories. In fact, we should punish the county governments that we have just been talking about, because planning is their sole responsibility. There is no way a county government can approve the construction of a residential building next to a factory that has been in existence because of something called zoning. The County Government of Machakos should have said that the location is in an industrial area and so they cannot approve the construction of a residential building. One hand should know what the other is doing. The national Government and county governments should be in sync. I defend the London Distillers. If the County Government of Machakos had adhered to planning, zoning, residential and industrial separation, this matter would not have arisen. In that Report, I saw the role that the Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA) played. The EPZA officials connected the London Distillers to their water supply and sewer system. I again saw them being compromised to come and pretend to complain that contaminated effluent was being emitted into their system. We should avoid double-speak. We should adopt this Report as it is. The six months that the Select Committee on Implementation has given to London Distillers is adequate. Because I trust and have faith in the management, I am sure that the London Distillers will be up again. They will employ Kenyans and help people recover from the COVID-19 pandemic effects. I support the Report and ask other Members to support it. Mavoko is cosmopolitan. Everybody lives in Mavoko. So, it is not about my people; it is about Kenyans. Please, Members, support the Report so that London Distillers can remain alive and kicking."
}