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{
    "id": 1216587,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1216587/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 344,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Maanzo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13589,
        "legal_name": "Maanzo Daniel Kitonga",
        "slug": "maanzo-daniel-kitonga"
    },
    "content": "I thank Sen. Mungatana for cleverly and wisely crafting this Bill to avoid conflict of law. There are quite a number of other issues, which intertwine with what he is trying to do to help Kenyans and devolution. He has done it very well. Firstly, he clearly states that it is not a money Bill. Therefore, it avoids the complications of a money Bill that needs to be taken to the National Assembly. The Bill concerns county governments because these resources are in the counties. The legislative powers and rights of the Senate concern county governments. Madam Temporary Speaker, the objects of the Bill are clear. I will concentrate on a few vital things that touch this Bill. One of it is the role of the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) and collection of royalties. The specific area we want to deal with is the sunlight, which we have a lot of in Ukambani. That is solar harvesting and it can be used for coolers to store mangoes and other fruits that we produce. We have water resources that include Thwake Dam in Makueni, High Grand Falls Dam coming up in Tana River and other many water resources, including the ground water in Turkana. We have forests, biodiversity and genetic resources. We have wildlife resources. This afternoon, I have talked about human-wildlife conflict. The wildlife near or neighbouring our counties should benefit them. This is because the biggest damage is done to county residents in those particular areas. There is industrial fishing in the coastal areas and wind, which we have a lot in Ukambani. Once all this is done and dealt with, then it becomes a serious matter of consideration and a big source of income. Madam Temporary Speaker, international companies could deal directly with local companies and exploit the resources there. Investors can also go directly to the counties and lot of money can be raised. It carefully avoids the issue of mining although there is some relationship. It makes sure that counties are able to deal with this on their own. Therefore, every county is going to benefit. We made a mistake when we were forming this nation in 1963, where some areas were thought not to be useful in the development papers, which were presented then in Parliament. The North is more useful and is the future of this country. America had the Wild West and Nevada Deserts, where Hoover Dam was done, just like the Thwake Dam. Today, Las Vegas is a huge town that does a lot of business. That is where we copied the idea of Thwake Dam. In future, our biggest industries should be in our deserts. That is where we should use solar. We have to do a lot of fishing in Lake Turkana and other places. Therefore, this Bill is for the future. We can create many jobs if we invest in those areas. All we need to do is make sure there is security in Northern Kenya and North Eastern, so that investors are not scared of these places and can team up with us to invest. In these areas we have big rivers where we can do a lot of irrigation. We can stop the clashes we see in the North involving stock theft and banditry, if we do irrigation."
}