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{
    "id": 1383992,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1383992/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 824,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Marakwet West, Independent",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Timothy Kipchumba",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Under certain exceptional circumstances, the Senate may originate a money Bill depending on the circumstances. For the first time, we have a Bill that is bringing harmony to the various Acts of Parliament on natural resources that exist. I come from a county that is very rich in natural resources. We have water resources in our county and certain minerals like fluorspar. Over time, my county has never benefited from the resources that it has. For example, we have Chebara dam in my constituency, which supplies water to Eldoret Town. However, because of lack of a proper legal and institutional framework to manage that resource, my county has never benefited from it in any way. We have fluorspar in my county, but the County Government of Elgeyo Marakwet has never benefited from fluorspar mining. What has been happening is that investors have been mining and leaving the mining sites without rehabilitating them, which has made our people to end up suffering. I have read the proposed Bill. It is a comprehensive piece of legislation. For example, Section 26 proposes that the revenue sharing formula shall be as follows: 60 per cent shall go to the national Government and 40 per cent shall go to the county government. If you look at the various legislations that exist, they do not provide that percentage. In Section 26(c) of the Bill, out of the money allocated by the county government, 60 per cent shall be used to implement local community projects. We have never seen an existing legislation that recognises local communities. Under this Bill, it is clear that, out of the money allocated to the county governments, 60 per cent shall be used to implement local projects. We have investors who go to county governments to exploit natural resources, but the local communities do not benefit. This law is proposing a specific percentage that the local community shall benefit. The Bill goes further to propose that 40 per cent shall benefit the entire county. That means that if a resource is mined from a specific area, there is a specific benefit that will accrue to the area community. There is an issue of cross-border resources between two counties. The question is: How will that be resolved? The Committee misadvised the House that there is no provision in the Bill on how cross-border resources can be shared. I have read the Bill. In Section 26(c), the Bill provides that for a natural resource that bestrides two or more counties, the resource benefit authority shall determine a ratio of sharing it. Someone quoted an example in Geothermal where, for example, if a natural gas comes from one county and it is harvested in another county, how will that resource be shared? I have read the Bill and it provides very clearly that the authority that will be formed under the Act shall sit down to determine how the two counties shall share that cross-border resource. I am aware that there are certain legislations that exist, and that provide for how certain resources will be shared, for example, the Petroleum Act and the Mining Act. However, those legislations are implemented by various agencies. This Bill is bringing is harmony. It will establish an authority. Section 24(c) of the proposed Bill provides clearly that where a written law prescribes the royalty fees or payment in a particular natural resource sector, the relevant written law shall apply with respect to that sector. So, it has saved sectors that have specific legislations. However, it also says that the authority shall ensure compliance with the written law for the implementation of any benefit sharing agreement that is entered into, pursuant to this particular law. What happens if, for example, a particular law provides that a certain community is to benefit and it does not benefit? Who will oversight the realisation of that particular provision? This law has brought harmony. We should pass it as a House because it acts as a regulatory authority to other existing pieces of legislation. Counties that have natural resources have suffered. They have never realised any benefit from the resources that are in their counties. I support the Bill."
}