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{
    "id": 1179856,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1179856/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 262,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cherarkey",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13217,
        "legal_name": "Cherarkey K Samson",
        "slug": "cherarkey-k-samson"
    },
    "content": "Secondly, Turkana County has received Kshs120 billion for the last 10 years. Where is that money? The Senator for Turkana County should tell us where the money is. We should have approximately five irrigation schemes in Turkana to enhance food sustainability. These counties have become the bastions of corruption. We are disbursing a lot of cash to counties. Sen. (Prof.) Tom Ojienda, SC, can you believe it? In ten years, for example, over Kshs120 billion has been disbursed to the County Government of Turkana yet there is no irrigation scheme to assist the people of Turkana to have food on their table. It is the same in many other counties. What we have done because of endemic corruption in this country is a creation of 47 billionaires. It is as simple as that. In fact, we should just close these counties, give everybody his share and go home. How can you talk of Turkana having received Kshs120 billion in 10 years, yet they do not have a way of sustaining food supply to their people? I, therefore, appeal to the new Governor and a new Senator, Sen. Lomenen; that some of these emergency responses is the work of the counties. Agriculture is a devolved function. Drilling of water boreholes is done by agencies like Lake Victoria North Water Service Board, National Irrigation Board which are domicile within the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation. In Laisamis, the boreholes were drying around the months of June and July. How can people and animals survive? We should not have Kenyans feeling lesser because they come from dry areas like Northern Kenya or North Rift. They should feel equal to Kenyans coming from Nandi, Kisumu, Kiambu - where our retired President comes from - or anywhere else. Therefore, this Motion is very important. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, going in to the future, we need to have a conversation about Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). How can we work around it to enhance food production, but within a safe environment? We need rules, regulations and laws that allow biodiversity. If you visit abroad, organic foods is expensive whereas GMOs are cheaper. How do we go as a country in ensuring that we are food sustainable? The solution to this menace is to take care of the farmers the same way we do with religion. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I speak on behalf of the farmers. My colleagues who come from drought-stricken areas might think I am selfish. I am not. I can guarantee you that if you take care of the farmers, they will produce more and prices will come down. We need to develop a mechanism. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, transporting maize from Nandi to Turkana is cheaper than importing it form Mozambique. The World Food Programme (WFP) imported maize all the way form Mozambique. It is alleged that by the time the maize landed in Mombasa, it was contaminated. We have a superhighway between Nandi and"
}