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{
    "id": 1376516,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1376516/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 401,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cheruiyot",
    "speaker_title": "The Senate Majority Leader",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13165,
        "legal_name": "Aaron Kipkirui Cheruiyot",
        "slug": "aaron-cheruiyot"
    },
    "content": "The contractual agreement that the Government of Kenya enters with any private player under the PPP agreement details how you arrive at the price. Taking care of the concerns of many Kenyans such as what Sen. Okiya Omtatah has carefully brought out; that this is a commodity that many Kenyans cannot even, first of all, find it, forget about purchasing. Subsequently, it is on that premise, my good friend, Sen. Okiya Omtatah, that the thinking has been that we wait for a time that we believe Government, using our own taxes, living in a country with such a crowded fiscal space, will provide water for all citizens, then there are fellow compatriots who will have to wait until Jesus comes back before they drink piped water and have access to clean water as expected under Article 43 of the Constitution. It is under that premise and the realization that we do not have sufficient resources to pipe water to every home in this Republic, that there is now a thinking that we can amend the Water Act, 2016, and make it possible through certain private players and entities. They can enter into a chaperoned and well guided contractual framework with the water works agencies and the various State corporations to provide water at a price that is affordable, in the right quantity and health standards as expected by our health bodies, unlike the prevailing situation today in this country, where anybody walks around with water bowsers without even any certification to show where they have got that water from. There are people who are siphoning water out of public water agencies and coming to sell within informal settlements and various parts of the city. We want to make that a thing of the past. How do you make it? You bring in the efficiencies of the private sector and ensure that you agree with them before their rolling out of the particular project, and tell them the determined price for the particular area so that they can go out and agree. I know there have been very serious concerns, and on that, I agree on how some of the provisions on this Bill roll back the gains of devolution. That much, I concede. I am happy I have seen the report of our Standing Committee on Lands and Natural Resources that has proposed amendments that will ensure that our county governments play a key and instrumental role in this Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements so that it is not just by the determination of the national Government alone. The county governments also have a place in this agreement because constitutionally, they are mandated to reticulate water and ensure that it gets to all the citizens of the Republic. I am happy and pleased with the amendments that have been provided by the Standing Committee on Lands and Natural Resources because they have appreciated the concerns that many Senators had. That is the essence of debate, dear colleagues. When a Bill is proposed before the Parliament, it is our duty---"
}