Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1485368,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1485368/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 232,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "South Mugirango, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Silvanus Osoro",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I join the Members who have spoken before me in congratulating the Mediation Committee for the very good work it has done on the Water (Amendment) Bill. It is important for Members to appreciate that the particular clauses that have been reviewed, and the proposed amendments by the Senate, are very pertinent to water management across the country. Hon. Temporary Speaker, Section 72 of the Water Act has empowered the regulatory authority to publish regulatory standards without the approval of the Cabinet Secretary. This is for purposes of ensuring consistency with the law. It is also for purposes of safeguarding the independence and operational autonomy of the WASREB. This Board should be empowered to enable it set standards for water service providers as it encourages them to develop water management assets without approval of the Cabinet Secretary. Hon. Temporary Speaker, there is need to adhere to Sections 2 and 22 of the Statutory Instruments Act, which require publication of regulations in the Kenya Gazette . This is very important. Therefore, the Mediation Committee has included it in Clause 5. The Committee also agreed with the proposal by the Senate on the requirement to subject bulk water purchase agreement to economic efficiency criterion. This should be dropped and instead WASREB should be among the bodies to be consulted when the water works development agencies enter into bulk water purchase agreements. This was a very good proposal by the Senate, which the Mediation Committee agreed with. There was another proposal for deletion of a clause which provide that national public waterworks shall not be transferable to the county governments. The proposal was dropped to allow for non-transferability of national public waterworks. Members will agree with me that water is essential for life to continue. There is a delicate balance in management of water and health systems in the society. The Mediation Committee came up with very good proposals after consulting widely. Even the CoGs rejected the Senate's proposal for them to nominate two persons to sit in the Water Tribunal. This was vital because Article 169 of the Constitution establishes subordinate courts, which include local tribunals established by an Act of Parliament. So, in exercising judicial authority under Articles 159 and 160 of the Constitution, tribunals ought to be independent and subject only to the Constitution and the law. They should be independent from the direction or control of any person or authority. Therefore, including two people nominated by the CoGs would be unfair. This is because when it comes to matters of judicial review or litigation when disputes arise, it is important to have these independent bodies. The Water 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."
}