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{
    "id": 1263781,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1263781/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 542,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Tharaka, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. George Murugara",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I really doubt whether I am the most senior in this House. I am doing my second term yet we have other senior Members here, including the Member for Kwanza, Hon. Ferdinand Wanyonyi, who must be doing his fourth term. For sure, that is not a joke. Kindly, allow me to second this Motion. Let me begin by thanking the Departmental Committee on Environment, Forestry and Mining for a job excellently, done. This is exactly how the law is supposed to be made: That when our Government goes out there, it enters into a treaty, convention, or an agreement and it then brings it to the House and we conduct public participation to confirm that what we are about to do is acceptable by Kenyans. We have been told there were adverts in the newspapers despite the fact that maybe most people never understood what it was and there were no comments, but the law and the constitution were actually complied with. A convention is similar to a treaty and international agreement. Pursuant to the provisions of our Constitution, once this House ratifies that particular convention, treaty or international agreement, it becomes part and parcel of our laws. This is why we have to go back to 1985 where we had a convention which was not ratified and which has been lying with us. Pursuant to the new Constitution, we have to ratify it so that it becomes part and parcel of our legislation. It is vitally important that we protect our marine resources, especially from land activities. This is what this Convention is trying to do. Man is a destructive creature. What he does most of the time is to destroy the environment, whether it is land or marine environment, through his well-known activities like agriculture, industry and habitation. When we are doing farming, we are actually spraying land with chemicals that are injurious and dangerous to our marine life. When we are doing industries, we are polluting our seas and oceans such that marine life in this aquaculture environment is actually threatened and sometimes destroyed. When we are living in our habitations, we know very well that in some areas we do not have proper sanitation facilities. As a result of our own habitation, we pollute our seas, lakes, oceans and other water masses. So with such a law, it is important to emphasize that we are trying to protect our oceans especially the Indian Ocean, one of the biggest resources this country has. We thank God that Kenya has vast coastline bordering the Indian Ocean. The only thing we need to do is to exploit that ocean well and Kenya will definitely become richer than it is. Why do we have to conserve. We must protect our wealth in the seas. This is why we have the Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs, a very important ministry that was just created the other day. We also have in this House the Committee on Blue Economy The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}