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{
"id": 1433937,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1433937/?format=api",
"text_counter": 304,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Bondo, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Gideon Ochanda",
"speaker": null,
"content": "that this Bill has addressed, which I appreciate. There has to be a point at which REREC and KP meet to ensure that we have the supply of power. They should also ensure quality in terms of supplies and contracts used in the supply. For example, in my constituency at the moment, there are 48 transformers. Out of those, 23 are not working. Further, most of the poles erected by REREC are down but the infrastructure was transferred to KP. It is now up to KP to make sure that they work. This has been unfair. The Bill has addressed the issue by establishing a connection between KP and REREC. The other issue that is useful here is the regulation of the scrap metal industry. The issue of licensing as outlined in the Bill is good. However, in my view, the Bill does not address the real issues. For example, there is a section that states the penalties for the offence of stealing public utilities like sign boards on the roads and guard rails. I would like to inform this House that scrap metal dealers have a serious connection with metal thieves beyond the public utilities. There are people who have lost metals from private fences and gates. For example, if you have put up a gate in your ranch, you may wake up one morning and find that it is gone. At the end of the day, it is not just public utilities that are vandalised, but even private property. In my view, the Bill has failed to regulate scrap metal dealers, and instead it is trying to license them. It is indicated that scrap metal dealers must be stationed at a specific point where they operate from. In this case, how does one get metal or scrap from two or three kilometres away? It means that somebody has to look for it and deliver it to you where you are stationed yet it is only you who is licensed. So, what happens to the middlemen between where the scrap metals are sourced from and the dealer? The Bill needs to indicate that the people who supply scrap metal to dealers must show the source of their scrap metal. This will ensure that it is known whether someone’s gate, fence or billboards have been brought down. This has not been indicated in the Bill. We need to bring it out. Before you get to the dealer, somebody supplies the dealer. Who is this person? How do we regulate him or her such that the trade is made right? That is one area that the Bill does not address properly. The other area that the Bill addresses itself to is the sector of fisheries. We need to remind the nation that the Fisheries Department sometimes is overrated. It is one sector that has many entities, including Kenya Fisheries Services, Kenya Fish Advisory Council and Kenya Fish Marketing Authority. In the real sense, fisheries is devolved but the structure of the Department goes up to the Beach Management Units (BMUs). We have a fisheries directorate in Nairobi, but it goes down to the regions, counties, sub-counties and finally to the BMUs. Why are we doing this? At the same time, counties also have their own arrangement from the county, sub-counties and finally to the BMUs. At the end of the day, there is conflict. At the same time, when it comes to fisheries, one thing that we have not done well, unlike other sectors such as agriculture and livestock, is that there is no value chain that is recognised. We have been struggling a bit to do things at the landing beaches. However, there is no fish at the moment; fish stocks are down. We need to have an arrangement where we make sure that we re- stock the lake with fish. There are many ways of how this can be done either locally or properly by a different arrangement. If you talk about a marketing authority, it should be one that has products. You cannot have a marketing authority that does not have anything to sell. Generally, the Bill is fine, apart from those areas that need to be corrected or enhanced, moving forward. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker."
}