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"id": 1418622,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1418622/?format=api",
"text_counter": 310,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Suba North, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Millie Odhiambo-Mabona",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. I wish to indicate that I support this Bill with amendments, because it seeks to consolidate RDAs into one Bill. I wish the sponsor and drafters had given it some legislative elegance because I see a lot of repetition. You find the same roles given to various authorities are almost cut and paste. There is really no reason in a digitised and progressive world, why we should go that way while doing this Bill. Therefore, I will be proposing amendments that will make it leaner and thinner. Going into more substantive issues, I am very happy with the principles enshrined in this Bill. Some of them include sustainable use of resources. As a person who is committed to environmental conservation, the issue of sustainable use of resources is very important. For instance, if you look at the way some of us are using our resources, there is a challenge. It is unfortunate that a Bill on natural resources came up but it failed. That is one of the areas we need to look into. For example, a lot of road construction is going on in our counties and there are small hills which generate the materials that are needed to make the roads. Very soon, there will be no hills in those areas. This is actually part of what is causing climate change. It is significant and important to me that we deal with issues about the sustainable use of resources. Also, on the issue of promotion of equity in the management of natural resources to ensure equitable access for present and future generations, as a person who is committed to protecting the rights of children, I am very keen on the use of, ‘access for present and future generations’, when we are dealing with resources. When this is provided as a value, it is important. The only challenge is that when we are implementing, we forget this. I had hoped for a bolder approach that also streamlines the roles, as I had indicated. That also ensures we do not have duplication with the national Government, counties and those authorities. Many Members have spoken to this, but one of the things I have learned having been in this Parliament for a long time is that when we have multiple bodies doing the same thing, one or all of them become cash cows. That is why even when Parliament tries to streamline, we get a lot of resistance because we will be killing somebody’s way of earning money. I wish we were bolder as a House and, sometimes, just take the bull by the horn, kill some of those authorities and give the counties greater mandate. However, because I know we are not bold as a House, I will propose amendments that will allow the ones who want to steal to steal. I am not the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC). When the EACC wakes up and decides they want to do their job, they will follow-up and ensure that those people do their work and then they will streamline. One other thing that I hope to see is a deliberate attempt to establish a formula for sharing resources within the regions. When you find that one of the authorities is working within a region and yet, it has different regions to serve, how do you ensure that within that region there is equity? I support the inclusion of gender, the youth and the marginalised community in the management units of the bodies. I somehow agree with Hon. Baya and the Member who raised a point of order that we must remember marginalised communities. Coming from a marginalised community, I must speak to it. I know many people do not consider the Luo community as marginalised because of their resilience. They are strong. They work hard and fight hard and, therefore, they do not appear as a marginalised community. However, over the years, they have been marginalised by economic policies due to their nature of their politics as the Opposition. It is interesting that many of the people who keep telling them to join the Government are the very same people who tell them not join the Government because we need a strong Opposition. Kenyans must make up their minds on what they want. They should choose people who will do good work so that there is no need for an Opposition. If they choose people who cannot do a good job, they should not start screaming that they want a good Opposition. 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"
}