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{
    "id": 1371764,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1371764/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 131,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Sifuna",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13599,
        "legal_name": "Sifuna Edwin Watenya",
        "slug": "sifuna-edwin-watenya"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to second the Bill. I am privileged to serve in three powerful committees of this House. One of them is the Committee on Energy. Following the incident at Mradi in Embakasi East a few days ago, the Committee Members determined that we needed to speak to those responsible for licensing of installations such as those that caused the tragedy in Embakasi East. We started by inviting the Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum, Hon. Davis Chirchir, to appear before our committee this morning. Needless to say, I arrived at the venue of the meeting on time, together with my colleagues and the Chairperson, Sen. Wamatinga, who represents Nyeri, as well as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Embakasi East, Hon. Babu Owino. We were shocked to be notified that a letter was dispatched to the Committee last night, 13th February, 2024, that the Cabinet Secretary was out of the country. That is all we were told. Even though invitations were extended to the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), there was no mention of whether they were in the country or whether they even received our communication or anything. There was no one from the EPRA or the County Government of Nairobi City. So, we were seated there looking like people who do not have work to do, with no witnesses to appear before us. I also serve in the Committee on Roads, Transportation and Housing chaired by the Senator for Kiambu. This thing called affordable housing is all the rage in the country right now. Currently, there is no county in Kenya where there are more proposed housing developments than in Nairobi. In this county, we have earmarked 13 county government estates for re-development. These are the old City Council estates. You would expect in this county where projects of such magnitude are happening, robust conversation is had with the County Government of Nairobi City and citizens or residents of the affected areas, so that when a project is done, I do not have to come here and seek a Statement similar to the one that our committee read on the Buxton Project in Mombasa. Would you believe that even after writing invitations and summons to the County Governor of Nairobi City, Hon. Sakaja on five different instances, he has refused, failed and or neglected to appear before the Committee on Roads, Transportation and Housing? The residents of these estates come early to our committees because the committees offer hope and a channel for them to be heard. If you listen to the leadership of Ofafa Jericho, one of the estates, you will know that they have never been listened to by the county government."
}