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{
    "id": 1264401,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1264401/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 45,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kibwezi West, MCCP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Mwengi Mutuse",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "socio-economic drivers; acknowledging that with a population of nearly 53 million, about 28 million Kenyans lack access to safe water while 41 million lack access to improved sanitation; further acknowledging the rising water demand in the country and the growing water scarcity due to climate change, population growth, urbanisation, water pollution, and poor management of water resources; noting that lack of clean, safe and adequate water affects economic activities, food security, education, and health, and that the effects are especially evident in rural areas and urban slums; further noting that with recurring drought, the country experiences acute water shortage, resulting in loss of lives, livelihoods as well as environmental degradation with Arid and Semi-Arid (ASAL) areas being the most affected; recognizing that this has led to economic decline in these areas partly due to successive marginalisation and/or under-investment in water by successive governments; further recognising that during rainy seasons these areas experience destructive and immense surface water flow sometimes leading to flooding, and that with adequate water catchment these ASAL areas can greatly contribute to food security, employment and wealth creation hence reduce poverty and accelerate national economic growth; this House therefore urges the national government, through the State Department of Water and Irrigation, to: (i) institutionalise rainwater harvesting and storage in the country and particularly in the Arid and Semi-Arid areas; and, (ii) develop an affirmative action programme for investment in water harvesting, purification, storage and distribution in Arid and Semi-Arid areas."
}