HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 1382464,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1382464/?format=api",
"text_counter": 350,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Nakuru Town East, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. David Gikaria",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Permit me to highlight the important provisions in the Bill. First, the Bill is applicable to a number of natural resources. The first one is the sunlight. What resource? Of course, solar. If you are to undertake a solar project in Garissa, that is a resource you need. Second is underground water. Again, this comes between counties. Where is this bed of water underneath here? Maybe, it is a boundary between three or four counties. It talks about forests, biodiversity and genetic resources. Baobab trees from Kilifi have been an issue in our Committee. People are actually taking away the heritage of this country. They are going to plant those Baobab trees in their country. Imagine a farmer being paid only Ksh100,000 and yet, the cost of transportation of the same baobab tree from Kilifi to the Netherlands is almost Ksh10 million. What profit or benefit will a farmer who is paid only Ksh100,000 get? Yet, he spent so much money on transport. Some of the issues we are talking about include biodiversity, genetic resources, wildlife resources, industrial fishing in the lake region and Mombasa, wind power, thermal resources, minerals and petroleum. The Bill has introduced a benefit sharing provision. In as far as natural resources are concerned, it has proposed the establishment of a benefit sharing authority. This is, therefore, a money Bill because it is creating an authority which will draw money from the exchequer. Article 114 of the Constitution says that all money Bills must originate from the National Assembly. We need advice because it is pointless to debate a matter that is unconstitutional. This is because it will find its way to court and we will blame the judges for doing the right thing. If the Constitution says all money Bills must originate from the National Assembly, any money Bill originating from elsewhere is unconstitutional. Hon. Temporary Speaker, as a senior legal counsel, you know that there is nothing much we can do about an unconstitutional matter. So, the proposed benefit sharing authority will facilitate benefit sharing agreements among the affected counties, entities and local communities. It will determine the royalties and fees payable to certain sectors, where a written law does not prescribe. As I said, this is an unconstitutional legislation and it will remain so. The Bill provides for revenue collected to be shared in the ratio of 60 per cent to the national Government and 40 per cent to the respective county governments. Additionally, at least 60 per cent of the revenue assigned to the county governments shall be used for local community projects and 40 per cent for the benefit of the entire county. This Bill provides that county assemblies will sit to determine how the money will be spent. For example, Nakuru Town East Constituency, where I come from, has urban wards and rural wards. What happens? The urban wards collect a lot of revenue unlike the rural wards but, when sharing revenue in our respective wards, the urban wards are disadvantaged. Members of County Assembly (MCAs) from the rural wards gang up against the urban wards MCAs despite the fact that between 60 per cent and 70 per cent of the total county revenue comes from. This creates inequity. If we are giving so much, why should we get so little? Also, you find that one ward is very tiny while another ward is geographically big. This Bill proposes that the county assemblies decide on how to share resources. Whatever is discussed in the county assembly does not benefit the county because they disagree a lot since everybody sticks to their side. Where the natural resources are shared by two or more counties, the authority shall, in consultation with the affected counties, determine the benefit sharing ratio among themselves. This will create war between counties. For example, Turkana will never agree with West Pokot on resource sharing matters. This was an observation made by the Committee through public participation. The Bill proposes that each county with a natural resource shall establish a county benefit sharing committee. This creates other problems because it does indicate when they will sit or where they will draw their allowances from. Is it from the share going to the county, community or national Government? The proposed benefit sharing ratio is very confusing. For example, if three counties claim to share geothermal resources, which are underground, will The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor"
}