Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 1354567,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1354567/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 393,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": ". We have just come out of a severe drought which has not been witnessed in the last 40 years. We are now dealing with the super El Nino . Communities are at pain. The situation is very critical such that citizens are fighting for their lives and searching for things that might mitigate the disaster. Food is one of them. The road infrastructure has been cut off to the extent that no vehicle can pass. We are looking at a situation whereby the vehicles that are leaving Nairobi to supply food to parts of Wajir, Mandera, Isiolo, and other areas cannot reach their destinations. Thereafter, there will be extreme food insecurity in those places. Prices of commodities in shops have been hiked. The borders of Mandera County with both Ethiopia and Somalia are closed and food from Nairobi cannot reach there. Commodities that can be bought from across the border cannot reach the population because the borders are officially closed. What are we supposed to do? Should we watch as those communities starve? It is very critical. We ask the Government to declare the floods a national disaster so that donor countries and agencies can come in. That should be a whole Government approach. Power stations have been submerged and some towns do not have power. In other towns, power may soon go out because there is no fuel. We will watch from Nairobi, unable to offer help or support, if there is no whole Government approach to attend to this matter. What plans does the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum and the Kenya Power have to ensure that there is power in those stations? What plans does the Ministry of Health have to ensure that essential drugs reach those populations? That is critical. Relief food is currently the most essential commodity. We do not know who is most or least deserving. Every single person in those areas is deserving because there is nowhere to buy food. I ask the Government and donors to move with speed in order to save Kenyans from the super El Nino . Some infrastructure has been swept away by the floods. An example is the road from Garissa to Modogashe, which was constructed in 2019 at a whopping cost of several billion shillings. Part of it was swept away because it was not properly constructed. It is high time that people started paying for those kinds of crimes. Engineers who were supposed to monitor and maintain the roads; contractors who constructed the roads; and, the Director of the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) then should answer some of these questions. Poor infrastructure in parts of North Eastern Kenya has contributed to the situation we are currently in. We could mitigate some of the effects of the super El Nino if we had good roads. Unfortunately, we do not have good roads and infrastructure. The population is dying. We want a whole Government approach to salvage the situation in northern Kenya, especially in North Eastern Kenya. The population is living in pain. We are watching from Nairobi and asking ourselves what we can do. As I conclude, I urge the President to declare El Nino a national disaster so that every part of this country can receive help. The situation is dire and people will starve. El Nino rains will continue until March 2024. What will we do? We sympathise with those who were submerged and lost their lives. 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."
}