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{
    "id": 1372220,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1372220/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 265,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Sifuna",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13599,
        "legal_name": "Sifuna Edwin Watenya",
        "slug": "sifuna-edwin-watenya"
    },
    "content": "I will start with the principle object of the Bill. I have a problem with the principle object of the Bill because it is stated to be perationalisation of PPP in the water sector. Mr. Temporary Speaker, us in Nairobi, have had the taste of perhaps the most famous PPP in the country today. That is the Expressway between Mlolongo and Westlands. Many people who can afford to use a toll road will tell you that it has improved their lives. However, for the many people in Nairobi who cannot afford to pay toll, I can tell you that, the feedback is that the Expressway has actually made commuting between Mlolongo and Westland on the old road, extremely difficult than it was before it was built. This is in addition to a debate we had last year where the public had to fork out extra money - I think it was about Kshs19 billion, for the rehabilitation of the old Mombasa Road. This is after the PPP was already in operational and the people with money, were enjoying the services of the Expressway because they could afford it. I am not against privatisation per se and privatisation is not bad in every instance. However, I honestly believe that there are some sectors and things that we should not privatize because of the negative effect it has on the public sector service delivery of those same services. I remember when privatisation of education began, many will argue for and against privatisation in the education sector. However, the general consensus, at least from my perspective is that, it has had a negative effect on service delivery in the public sector. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it is also arguable whether privatisation of healthcare has resulted in better services, especially in the public sector. Anytime you introduce commercial interests in essential services, the free public service always suffers. Here we are discussing privatisation in the water sector. According to me, privatisation in the water sector is undesirable for many reasons. Those who said water is life knew what they were talking about. If you cannot afford water, you basically cannot afford life. If we are going to be made to pay for life, which is essentially, what we are being told is going to happen with the privatisation of water, then we are making life itself more expensive and unbearable. I will give you the example of the water demand in Nairobi. As of March, 2022, our daily demand in Nairobi is 810 million litres per day. This is against the installed supply capacity of 550 million litres a day. We have a deficit of 260 million litres for the residents of Nairobi. Now, imagine a situation where at least these 550 million litres of water is there on paper for the people of Nairobi. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, now with the passage of the Bill, it is assured because it is in the hands of the public sector and the Nairobi City Water Sewerage Company (NCWSC), an entity owned by the County Government of Nairobi and which belongs to the people of the County of Nairobi. This Bill passes and it says that a private entity; people with capacity and money or muscle, can come and say that out of the 550 million litres of water that Nairobi gets in a day, we have the capacity to buy half of that amount of water like 200 million litres per day. It will go with a private entity because that is what we have empowered them to do"
}