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{
    "id": 1216538,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1216538/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 295,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cheptumo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13591,
        "legal_name": "Cheptumo William Kipkiror",
        "slug": "cheptumo-william-kipkiror"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I beg to second this Bill. First and foremost, I thank my colleague Sen. Mungatana, MGH, for this important Bill. Since Independence, there has been no framework for sharing of benefits for natural resources. Every community in Kenya is blessed with natural resources. Others have minerals, water and some areas such as north eastern, Baringo where I come from, and Elgeyo-Marakwet are blessed with sunshine. Some areas have geothermal and various other natural resources. Therefore, the lack of a framework for the sharing of the benefits arising from these natural resources has in a very big way disadvantaged the locals in those areas. This Bill is coming at the right time and I want to thank my colleague for taking this step. When we went the devolution way, it was one of the ways of ensuring that we get the benefits of our county governments and for the resources to be taken closer to the population. Those counties and county governments will then have a chance of looking into the resources that they have. This Bill is intended, as moved by my colleague here, to benefit the locals. Mr. Speaker, Sir, when you served as the Governor of Kilifi County, I am sure you took time to identify the various resources in your county. I am sure that perhaps you even took steps to see how your people would best benefit and especially now that we do not have enough resources. This year, the Council of Governors (CoG) were fighting for more than Kshs400 billion. The national Government is only able to provide Kshs385 billion or so. We do not have resources to develop our counties. If we maximize, invest and extract the benefits of our natural resources, our counties can be better. Those extractive resources are not benefiting the locals. The Bill is proposing a formula on the sharing of the benefits on the natural resources. The national Government has been benefitting from those resources and the locals have not been able to access even a portion. If, indeed, they do, it is very minimal. This Bill proposes that the national Government takes 60 percent while the county governments together with the locals take 40 per cent of the benefits from the natural resources. I submit that this ratio in my view is justifiable because the resources belong to the people and also because the Government of the day is entitled to part of it. I think 60"
}