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{
    "id": 1183924,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1183924/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 332,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Gataya Mo Fire",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I am extremely happy because of the rich contributions that have emanated from my fellow Senators. I am too passionate about food security in Kenya, having come from a humble background. I remember, at the age of 10, I was the one looking for food to feed my parents and myself. That is something that has lived with me for long and I find it very painful when I see people dying across the country. It is 60 years down the line and this country has suffered for lack of proper policies. We have seen people die and children drop out of school because of lack of food. We have seen animals die and people trek long distances in search of water and food. It is high time this country gets serious. We cannot be talking the same language of food security 60 years down the line. We have had droughts year in, year out. The first drought that I remember happened when I was eight years old; the 1976 drought. People suffered and died enmasse . There was no mitigation. The other was the 1994 drought where people really suffered across board, especially the ASALs. There is a misconception on some of us who come from Mt. Kenya Region. It is important to note that some parts of Mt. Kenya, especially where I come from, are ASAL areas and we are subjected to a lot of problems. We have seen these things and it is high time that the Government puts in place some strong policies like the ones I have highlighted. Therefore, we need serious coordination between the national Government and county governments to get more funding, especially for Arid and Semi-Arid Land (ASAL) areas. Recently, we have seen livestock die across the country. In Maasai land, you would even buy a cow at Kshs1,000, while in Mandera and Wajir, there is one livestock farmer who confessed that he was selling his goat at Kshs100. Mr Temporary Speaker Sir, what we lack in this country are serious programs and policies. I have heard some confessions that some people have nowhere to take their maize, whereas others are dying of hunger in the same country. We have people who have a lot of potatoes like in Nyandarua where Sen. Methu comes from, while people are dying of hunger in the neighbouring County of Laikipia. Therefore, I think that we need to harmonize some of these policies, so that we can have a united country where we have serious strategies, policies and discipline on what we do as a Senate. It would be a waste of time to come here and talk, yet these issues are not implemented. Mr Temporary Speaker Sir, I want to sincerely thank my fellow Senators for giving this Motion the very best attention and consideration because the contributions that have been made in this House have greatly enriched this Motion. Along the way, we are going to develop a Bill to compel the Government to put in place policies and strategies to address these underlying problems that we have had for quite some time."
}