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{
    "id": 1223689,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1223689/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 206,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Okiya Omtatah",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, thank you for this opportunity. I will be very brief. I will speak on enforcement of the law, concerning matters climate and the environment. We have very many beautiful laws in this country, but hardly are they enforced. For example, the law governing riparian land and rivers states that you are not allowed ploughing up to between a minimum of six to 30 meters from the center of a river. When we were growing up, that law used to be enforced by agricultural extension officers, whom we hardly see anymore. Today, you will find people are ploughing right in to the waters of the river. People buy pieces of land and settle right into the river. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the law on wetlands is just sitting on paper; it is not enforced. Our wetlands have been drained. Wetlands were designed by God to work like a sponge, where, when there is a lot of rain, they suck in the water and then release it quietly and slowly in to the river or lakes. However, our wetlands have been destroyed by farming habits, which are not scientifically sound. This has resulted into massive erosion and floods. During the dry seasons, we hardly have water in the river. They just trickle. Rivers have become drainage systems and not natural features, which God placed on this planet to manage and control environmental issues. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I urge organizations concerned in enforcement of this law, such as Water Resources Management Authority (WRMA), National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and the likes. If those entities took up their mandate and enforced laws across the country, reforest liberated land with the kind of species that are conducive to wetlands and river banks, then we will increase the tree"
}