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{
    "id": 1490831,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1490831/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 146,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Mungatana, MGH",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Kisumu Water and Sanitation Company Limited, Kwale Water and Sewerage Company Limited and Nyeri Water and Sanitation Company. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, before I make my contribution, I wish to join other leaders in extending my best wishes to the students of Tana River County and the rest of Kenya who are sitting their exams. I wish them well and and the very best. We all passed through there. Take heart and do the best you can. God will be with you. Secondly, I acknowledge the industry and hard work that has been put by the Chair of this Committee. They have done a tremendous job as a team. I appeared before them when Tana River County was appearing. I know that we have a very capable Chairman Ososi, Vice-Chairman Prof. Ojienda and the rest of the team. We thank you because you have made this Senate proud. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, many issues have been raised about the companies that have been mentioned and whose report is before this Senate for consideration. I want to pick two issues to focus my attention on. There is a big complaint amongst Kenyan people that there is no water in their taps. I remember many years ago when water reforms were underway. At that time, the Minister for Water was the very Hon. Martha Karua. She brought this idea to Parliament at that time that we needed to segregate these companies. We needed to create water bodies that would manage water in various levels. Some of them were regional and others national. Obviously, from those days to date, a lot of changes have taken place. However, the principle remains the same, that if this water is managed at a lower level, in this case, at the county level, then we should have people who have a feeling for the people. People who are directly connected, who will not steal money and mismanage resources meant for water, so that the county can have water flowing in the taps. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, this has been a challenge everywhere. When we speak to the management, like the one in Tana River, they will tell us that they still depend on the old infrastructure that was built by the defunct county councils. County councils have been gone for more than 10 years but still, these water companies depend on that infrastructure. Therefore, we have this challenge of non-revenue water. We have been told by our able Chairman while moving that non-revenue is that water which nobody can account for. It is there, it has been utilized but nobody can account for it. We have also been told that these companies are 100 per cent owned by the county governments. This effectively means that for the infrastructure to be upgraded and be where we want it to be, the new investment must be put into the infrastructure of water. It is not enough for us to just blame the management of these water companies. We must start thinking of solutions. For new money to be put in these water bodies, it means that we must start thinking of a way to ring-fencing some money, which comes from the Senate to go down to the governors. They should be told that the money is for water and they cannot touch it. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, developing that kind of legislation is one way forward and we must start thinking around that issue. It appears that if that is not done, it will be like what one of our Senators here has said. That the money goes to the County 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."
}