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{
    "id": 1372162,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1372162/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 207,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Oketch Gicheru",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. This Bill seeks to make several amendments to the Water Act, 2016. I had raised this before that I had serious concerns with this Bill. If you look at Part Two of Schedule Four, Index 10, the counties have been given the power to look at policy angles on water matters by the national Government. Index (xi) on water and sanitation services are purely devolved as functions of the county. This is one the Bills that I wish all Senators were in the House to look at. The entire part of last year, we spent a lot of time as the Standing Committee on County Public Investments dealing with issues of water in counties. One of the things we knew was that a lot of structures put in place that tend to be national bodies have completely hampered the idea of making sure that water services are effective and efficient in county bodies. This is one of those Bills that seek to claw back on devolution. If you look at Section--- I might not mention all of them because I have no time. I have talked passionately about this Bill before. However, Section 30 introduces water regulatory authority, which is a national body with so much power and takes power out of the counties. Section 31 also introduces another water regulatory board, whose membership and composition are purely negating the idea of devolution and water. In Section 65, Water Work Agencies are given more power when dealing with bulk water. The Water Work Agencies have been at the core of making Water Service Providers (WSPs) ineffective. If you look at how they take big loans in the name of these WSPs and how they seat on a lot of assets of these WSPs in their own balance sheets, it is chaos. I believe our Committee on County Public Investments and Special Funds has been working tirelessly to deal with and remove. Lastly, in Section 119, there is introduction of the water tribunal. The membership does not in any way empower counties in a sense. It does not make any meaning. I invite Senators to pay a lot---"
}