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{
    "id": 184202,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/184202/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 188,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Twaha",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 145,
        "legal_name": "Yasin Fahim Twaha",
        "slug": "yasin-twaha"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to add my support to the Motion that the said funds be allocated to the Ministry of Local Government. The Ministry of Local Government is a very important Ministry. More importantly, our local authorities are very dear to us. As was evident during the referendum on the proposed new Constitution a few years ago, Kenyans want devolution of power. We have local authorities elected by the people. When people go to the polls, they elect the President, Member of Parliament and councillor. The councillors in turn go ahead and elect a mayor to oversee the local affairs of the authority. Unfortunately, there has been a tendency to pass some legislations in this House which I suspect are donor-driven. You will find that they are the same legislations passed in Uganda and Tanzania. I do not think we think about the consequences of some of the legislations we pass. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, one of such legislations is the one which established the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA). NEMA is a national body to look after, protect and safeguard the environment all over the country. This is a noble task. Unfortunately, they have also usurped some of the powers and roles of our local authorities. I do not think there is any reason our local authorities cannot be empowered to safeguard the environment and perform the same duties that NEMA performs. For example, formerly, we used to submit a drawing to build a house to the county council, municipal council or city council, and it would take a few days or one week and your building plans are approved. You would then go ahead and start building and everybody gets jobs. Money circulates and business confidence is there. Nowadays, your drawing will get to the council, you will get the approval, subject to environmental impact assessment by NEMA. The environmental impact assessment takes a whole month. Then you have to gazette it in the Kenya Gazette for two successive weeks and put it in the dailies at your expense for two successive weeks. So, it takes a whole two months before they issue you with a building licence. They could even decide not to give a building licence. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, by the time you get the licence three months later, you will have lost your enthusiasm for that project or you might have taken the money somewhere else. The project may be halfway. This is not healthy. I would like the Minister to take back the powers of our local authorities which NEMA has stolen. The power to approve building plans should be taken back to the local authorities where they belong. The competent jurisdiction for approving building plans all over the world is the local authority and not the NEMA. Give that power back to the local authorities, because that is where it belongs. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, these plans have been done by architects, who studied for five years in universities. They are competent enough to draw up plans which comply with all the regulations of local authorities. For the new rules of NEMA, they can be taken to seminars and told what is required, so October 15, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2773 that after a competent architect puts a signature to a drawing, it does not take three months for NEMA to release the building licence; this is not good for investment, the growth of this economy"
}