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{
    "id": 1384768,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1384768/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 734,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Siaya County, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) Christine Ombaka",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for this opportunity. I would like to add my voice to this debate. Time has come for us to share natural resources. This is because the various conflicts that we have in this country arise due to resources not being properly shared. One example is Migingo Island in Lake Victoria, which has been a thorn in the flesh of Kenyans for a long time. It has been an ongoing battle between Kenyan and Ugandan fisherfolk. The Lake Victoria conflict has never been resolved because nobody is ready to sort it out. More often than not, you will find that the fishermen are thrown out of Migingo Island, and their fish is taken away. Sometimes the fish that the fishermen have caught on that particular day is taken away, they are arrested, and some of them are even killed. That conflict needs resolution. I believe that this Bill can go a long way in sorting out local and international challenges because Lake Victoria covers many countries. Kenya and Uganda need to restore peace in that area and allow their citizens to adequately share that resource without violation. That is where the Bill comes in very handy. I come from Siaya County. It is rumoured that there is a lot of gold in Gem Constituency. That has raised many issues. People have come to see me to help them solve those issues. They claim that strangers from outside the country, who are not Kenyans, have come to dig gold in that area. The threat is that the natives will be evicted and resettled. They have no idea where they will go. Secondly, they do not know the strangers who have invaded the area. Their complaints are that that natural resource that has been there for years is being taken away, they are being removed from their indigenous homes, and their land and homes will be taken away. What about the schools and hospitals that surround that area? Those are the questions that are being asked, which raise another issue of public participation on this Bill. Was enough public participation conducted? Was enough information given to the community about strangers coming in? Who are these strangers? Who has given them the authority to invade wananchi and throw them out of their own land, where they have buried their people and find it difficult to move out? I have used these examples to demonstrate that a lot needs to be done with regard to natural resources. We have not done enough and problems keep coming up, which nobody is addressing. Therefore, this Bill will go a long way in addressing the challenges that communities face amongst themselves and with strangers who come from other parts of the country, and also outside the country. I support this Bill wholeheartedly. However, we need to involve the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development because this Bill touches on land issues. Land is involved when one is digging for gold. Where is the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development to save wananchi ? We have to involve the Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Sanitation when dealing with water. Where is the Ministry of Environment and Forestry? Why are they quiet? These are some of the challenges that I am addressing because time has come for natural resources to be protected and shared, and for public participation to be conducted. Those resources should be shared equitably so that nobody cries and says that they are being thrown out of their own land, yet those issues can be resolved and the resources can benefit everybody. Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I support the Bill."
}