Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1265375,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1265375/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 355,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kiambaa, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Njuguna Kawanjiku",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker for extending your hand and time to me so that I can contribute to this great Motion. I rise to support the Departmental Committee on Environment, Forestry and Mining, led by the able Chairman, Hon. Gikaria. This Motion is very important because it is all about taking care of our environment and also being responsible as a country. Sometimes, we take it for granted that we have a beautiful country and a beautiful Continent. We have very good marine systems and we border an ocean. Many western countries take advantage of our innocence and ignorance and sometimes the help that they provide us. I, therefore, commend the five countries that came up with the Bamako Convention. I also commend the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs. As a country, we have witnessed western countries and the Asian tigers come to experiment and make our ocean a dumping site. Some of the effects of the dumping may not be realised now but in days to come, it will be a great problem for our country. Even the taxpayers will continue to incur a lot of losses because of the hazards and sicknesses that are brought about by the waste. The Ministry of Environment and Forestry needs to take a step further once we ratify this convention and put in place systems to make sure that western countries do not make our oceans, our countryside and our Continent a dumping site. Some of the effects of the dumping are the diseases that people neighbouring the oceans contract such as cancer. We have a very high rate of cancer in our country, but we do not know how to tame it. Cancer affects every household in our Republic. The Government spends a lot of money to buy medicines to treat people who are suffering from cancer. The genesis of this disease is because we ignored some of the signs and some advice by scientists. Many western countries have not adopted the Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO), but they want us to adopt them. Had we prevented the dumping, probably, today we would not be dealing with the diseases that are ravaging our people. I, therefore, support this Motion. Even if we ratify this convention, we must put to task the ministries involved to make sure that they monitor whatever is happening within our oceans. People at the Coast earn their living from the fishing industry. They go there to fish. When they fish, they can feed their families. When they feed their families, they can educate their children. We must, therefore, protect our marine life. We must monitor whatever the western and Asian countries are doing within the ocean. We must protect the wealth that God has given us as a country, by hook or by crook, and make sure that we protect our environment because it is what we have. We do not know what will happen tomorrow, but we must take care of it. I, therefore, rise to support. 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."
}