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{
"id": 1446507,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1446507/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Cherarkey",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 13217,
"legal_name": "Cherarkey K Samson",
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"content": "They call it oil gas. Countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has all the minerals available in the world and the rainforests but stability continues to be scarce like a snowball in hell. I was watching a documentary and those of us who have been very keen on natural resources, would realize why part of Delta region in Nigeria remains unstable. I watch in one of the leading channels people being interviewed and complaining that the exploitation and extraction of natural resources has not benefited the local population in as much as it has made dollar billionaires from that region. Mr. Speaker, Sir, you know there is a famous saying in Nigeria that when you board British Airways, you do not turn to your right, but only to your left and they only use first and second class. They do not go to economy class when they are boarding a plane. This is because of the beauty of natural gas and oil that is in Nigeria and other countries across Africa. Somebody quipped somewhere that we do not have oil gas in Kenya until the day Turkana under the Tullow oil programme was exploited. Mr. Speaker, Sir, you were a governor then. You realized that there was then a lot of uncertainty in the management of Tullow Oil. I remember it was reported in the media at some point that the local population even blocked the lorries from transporting the crude oil from Turkana to be exported. People who have lived long enough, like Senior Counsel, Sen. Omogeni is familiar with such. The issue of natural resources and other hydrocarbon resources are very critical. There was an issue in Tanzania on where to get the gas into Kenya. We repackaged, especially cooking gas, to make it affordable. We are in the era of environmental conservation and protection, where we are now discouraging use of firewood. We do not want to destroy and exploit the forests in the country. Therefore, the exploitation and extraction of natural gas to be used for cooking and other industrial purposes is very critical. Mr. Speaker, Sir, when you look at our Constitution on environment and natural resources, especially Article 69, the state has been obligated to ensure the extractive of natural resources from minerals, oil, gas, and hydrocarbon extractives. I do not know whether we are over-legislating or legislating on this Bill but we still have a lot to go through on the Constitution that we passed in 2010. This issue of local content is under Article 69. I remember in the previous session, I saw this under the Chairperson of the Committee on Energy, the former Senator Agnes Zani. She was very passionate about The Local Content Bill at that time. We need to bring out all those issues, including mining. Under the Mining Act, 2010, we have a process where 70 per cent of the revenue in the extractive process is taken to the national Government, 20 per cent to the county government and 10 per cent to the local community. We must bring it under one Bill, so that we do not just have the Mining Act. I am happy that the former Cabinet Secretary, your colleague and neighbour, Hon. Mvurya, was very vast with the issue of the Mining Act. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we also have a concern on the issue of gold in Nandi. We have gold in Karebe, but my people have never benefited. We only see choppers coming in and out and the gold is being taken away. We do not know how many kilos of gold are taken and there has never been proper use of that natural resource. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}