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{
    "id": 1354588,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1354588/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 414,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mandera East, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Hussein Weytan",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. First, I want to take this opportunity to thank the Member who brought this critical Motion to this House. The issue we are discussing here is extremely timely. As we speak, people have been moved from their houses and are now Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in their own country. Roads are impassable. In the 21st century, vehicles from Nairobi cannot reach Mandera, Wajir, Dadaab and Ijara. It is extremely unfortunate. That is why we have been saying that the north eastern region is marginalised. We thought we would be out of this problem once a leader like His Excellency William Samoei arap Ruto takes over the leadership of this country. We expected inclusivity to start immediately after a pastoralist takes over power. It is unfortunate that our people may now starve to death because vehicles are stuck. As I speak, a bag of sugar is going for Ksh10,000 in Mandera Town for the very few shops that have stocks. Most shops are out of stock and some are even closing down. Those few who come from the other side of Ethiopia and Somalia are also suffering the same predicament. There are no roads. Students who are sitting for examinations are facing problems. We want to call upon the Government to declare El Nino a national disaster so that we can get help. Planes cannot land in Mandera because of the magnitude of the rain. For almost five days now, no plane has landed in Mandera. The situation is dire. We do not want the Government to move in and bury people when deaths occur. It is high time the leadership of this country moved fast and got planes that can carry tonnes of foodstuffs. I think the United Nations and other well-wishers have those kind of cargo planes that can drop food all over because ordinary planes cannot land. It is unfortunate that we are debating this kind of thing in the 21st Century. Once the President declares the El Nino a national disaster, donors from all over the world will move in and our people will get help. The Government should evacuate people out of risky places which flood during the night when they are asleep and take them to higher ground and treat them as IDPs. Once we do that, we will be better off. In Mandera Town, the Headquarters of Mandera County, for the past five days, there has been no power at all. No patient can be taken to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) because there is no oxygen. You can understand the risk once that happens. As we speak, there is no power at Mandera General Hospital. The whole town is in darkness. The problem is not the way our leadership is handling it, but the situation is extremely big and dire. We need our leadership to move fast, and the President to come out and clearly declare the El Nino a national disaster before it is too late."
}