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{
"id": 1155049,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1155049/?format=api",
"text_counter": 491,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kipipiri, JP",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Amos Kimunya",
"speaker": {
"id": 174,
"legal_name": "Amos Muhinga Kimunya",
"slug": "amos-kimunya"
},
"content": "As you are aware, we have in the past faced several disasters as I have said. We faced terror attacks starting from the US Embassy and the Cooperative House attack some years back. We have had national emergencies and droughts. We are still having challenges of famine in some of our regions in the country. There are different approaches being used to tackle those challenges. We are just about to receive the rains. You can be sure there will be flooding in some areas. This has been witnessed in areas that are close to where you come from, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. Last year, or last year but one, several bounds of locusts invaded our country. Worse of all, we have had the COVID-19 Pandemic that has grounded progress in many fronts not just in Kenya, but globally. In all these, the regular issue that keeps coming up is that we need to work within a constructed framework to put our efforts together in dealing with these disasters and emergencies. One of the lessons we have learnt is that almost every report that has come as a result of the response has shown some poor coordination within the various teams that have been brought to respond to disasters, leading to loss of life and property that could have been saved if the coordination was improved. This Bill has been with us since May, 2021 in as much as it came up for debate towards the tail-end of this Parliament. At least, it has found itself into the House. We hope we will process it in both Houses so that we can have a legal and an elaborate framework for dealing with national disasters because we have been called upon to do just that. We have had to use both the Public Order Management Act and the Public Health Act as the two main legal frameworks for responding to COVID-19 related challenges. While these are in place, and helped in terms of the health related challenges and emergencies, these two pieces of legislation cannot help us in certain situations as they were not enacted in anticipation of the need to have these rather wider issues that tackle not just health related disasters, but all other disasters. We believe this Bill will lay down the legal foundation not just for what to do, but also the coordination and collaborative partnerships that would be needed so that we have all the various institutions involved in disaster working in together. Again, this is both at the national and county levels because disasters happen everywhere. The Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, the Ministry of Devolution and the National Treasury have all in the past, jointly, individually or separately, formulated and published disaster management policies, but again, all these exist in the different policy papers, and regulations. This Bill attempts to bring all of them together within a statute so that the methods and approaches for disaster management can be anchored in law. One of the policies already in place as a subsidiary legislation on disaster management recognises the fact that the Kenyan economy, and by extension its population, can be classified as highly vulnerable to both natural and man-made disasters. As I have mentioned, we are also prone to the vagaries of nature. If rains delay by even one week, there will be famine and livestock will be dying everywhere. If it rains beyond a certain level, there will be floods everywhere yet we do not have a comprehensive disaster management framework for mitigation against these situations. Fortunately, we have to manage each disaster. We have done well as a country despite the challenges we have had. We have not had a comprehensive system of dealing with such situations, but for some reasons, we are also resilient. We have learnt a few things by now. I believe we will not only be relying on the international community, but also on ourselves to deal with such issues. In getting closer in terms of the Bill, first, we are creating an inter-governmental council which will comprise of the various cabinet secretaries and the Chair of the Council of Governors. It is a joint responsibility between the national and county governments. The Council shall provide 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."
}