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{
    "id": 1292113,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1292113/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 231,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Mwaruma",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13223,
        "legal_name": "Johnes Mwashushe Mwaruma",
        "slug": "johnes-mwashushe-mwaruma"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. That is very refreshing news. Mining for us is almost what we rely on, to create wealth. If it is lifted, I would be extremely happy because our people can go back to mining and raise revenue for the Government. We can get more money in terms of grants that come from minerals. Since we have started getting royalties from minerals, we are also awaiting royalties from the vast land that is hosting the Tsavo conservation area. We are not getting anything yet Section 76 of the Wildlife Management Act, 2013 stipulates that 5 percent of the money that is raised from the conservation area should go to the community surrounding Tsavo. That has not been forthcoming. I am happy that when the President came to Taita-Taveta County for prayers, he made an edict that 50 percent of what is collected from the Tsavo conservation area should go to Taita/Taveta County. I came to the Senate and requested for a Statement. The Cabinet Secretary brought a response. It is very sad to note that in her response, she stated that we even collect less than what is available to run the Tsavo conservation area. What we are crying for, since we bear the highest brand of harm together with the loss of lives and livelihoods by the wild animals, is a way of sharing what is collected with our county. If we borrow money to supplement the running of the Tsavo conservation area, it should include that which can go to mitigate the human-wildlife conflict. When I hear people say that we are getting fertilisers so that we can produce more, for me, it does not make sense. Even if we get the fertiliser and farm, we cannot harvest because when you are almost harvesting the elephants come and eat all the crops. The idea of subsidized fertilisers to aid in bringing down the cost of living is a jargon we do not understand. More refreshing is that very soon, we are going to benefit in terms of royalties from carbon credits. We harvest a lot of carbon credit from the 1.4 million acres. If the legislation that we passed here is operationalised, we are going to benefit a lot from its royalties. Much as we are talking of the money going to counties, our concern has been the money left at the national Government. It is not benefitting us. In 2020, we started a project in Taita-Taveta County which I was given by former President Uhuru Kenyatta, worth Kshs2.2 billion. A road from Mubura, Mugange, Wundanyi and Mtoa Magoti. Up to today, it has only been given Kshs89 million. In this financial year, only Kshs 98 million has been allocated to it, yet the year of completion is next year, September 2024. You wonder, if other counties are getting a lot of money, why can we not get enough money to complete one project in four years costing Kshs2.2 billion from 2020 to 2023? We should come up with a framework to see how revenue left at the national Government is equitably shared so that some counties that have no shares or few people bringing votes into the President's basket are given the opportunity to benefit from the national cake. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard Services,Senate."
}