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{
    "id": 1165706,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1165706/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 112,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Nyamunga",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 738,
        "legal_name": "Rose Nyamunga Ogendo",
        "slug": "rose-nyamunga-ogendo"
    },
    "content": "What happens if the wife or husband is not there? What happens if the family grows to the extent that the same individual cannot take care of the family effectively? I believe that we must economically empower everybody. We must empower the men and women equally. If we enlarge the space for getting resources in the family, our counties and national level, then we will realise the development we yearn for. Devolution remains a good idea. Nevertheless, if we do not utilize it well and think outside the box and overburden one source of income, it may derail us and we may not realize the objects of devolution. The Bill further enables the formation of economic blocs. So far, there are economic blocs in place. For example, we have the Lake Region Economic Bloc (LREB). We are almost 14 counties that can share, bring ideas and the technocrats together. They were thinking of forming a bank to have regional banks. I do not disagree with the formation of regional banks but this is a discussion for another day. For this purpose, forming regional blocs will bring strength from each and every county put in one basket and as a result this, the country will improve. We should bring the whole of Western region, parts of Rift Valley and Nyanza with their resources; the lake, land, sugar and rice, together. Right now, 85 per cent of rice we eat in the country is imported. Why would we be importing rice yet we have Mwea Irrigation Scheme in Kirinyaga County and the Ahero Irrigation Scheme? Why should we not expand because land and water are there? We would rather do quick business, whereby instead of developing our own, we are ready to import and support other economies. We should not be importing sugar. If we bring parts of coastal region and Nyanza region together, we can have enough sugar for this country and excess for sale. As a people, we do not realize that we are killing our own when developing and supporting other people. We are a consuming country but we do not produce. Most of our industries died. When I was growing up, we had many industries like cotton and sugar. Right now, we have killed our own industries. We now want to support other economies without thinking about where we are. We are sitting on gold mines but we would rather support gold mines from other countries. This Bill has also gained a lot of interest from governors. I have had meetings with several governors and they say this is a good Bill because it will help everybody. Therefore, there is a breather. This is because the national Government will have enough time to collect taxes which we always wait for. We will develop our own counties by tapping into all the resources. The Bill also proposes certain broad obligations of county governments, including assessment of resources. Once a governor is in office, he should asses the natural resources in the county. I like giving examples that I am familiar with. If I am the Governor of Kisumu County, I should know the natural resources that are there. I should assess and identify those resources in the county and make the infrastructural requirements."
}