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"speaker_name": "Mr. Maina",
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"legal_name": "Ephraim Mwangi Maina",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I hope I will start afresh. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I started by saying that the Ministry is doing a good job. I hope it will continue doing a good job. I also said that energy is a security issue and the management and control of energy should be regarded with the importance that it deserves. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am raising this issue because we are aware that the greater part of our energy is being managed and controlled by foreign cartels. That is why you will find today that, in spite of fuel prices falling in the world markets, the Kenyan fuel prices keep on going up. I would like to move that it is high time this House actually enacted a legislation to empower the Ministry to monitor and control the sector; if need be. We are all aware of the importance of fuel as a parameter of the economy of a country. We are all aware that fuel touches on every aspect of our lives. Fuel touches on everything in any country! I consider it almost reckless that we should have a system which is behaving the way it is behaving, and we look helpless and unable to do anything! Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I call upon this House to actually come up with a legislation. Let us not be quoting policies from here and there, which call for market economies regulating themselves! It does not work! Therefore, I think it is time that we come up with a system which empowers the Ministry to intervene, when need be. 2246 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 30, 2008 Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I come now to the issues affecting this country. This country should be self-sufficient in energy! Let us not always try to think of theoretical things in our minds called nuclear power! Kenya should be able to utilise the resources that are there and become self-sufficient in energy! Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have water, wind, forests and nature in Kenya. Hydro-electric power generation in this country will remain an important parameter in the provision of energy. What is required are ways of harnessing water. We should not be necessarily thinking of gigantic projects. If we were to put up small dams in various rivers in this country--- If we were to collect water during the rains, I think we will be able to generate enough energy. In my opening remarks, I said that energy is a security issue. It is actually primary to the development and security of any country. Therefore, we should not leave the development of hydro-power in this country to international cartels which have no basis coming here to do small hydro-electric projects. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me turn to the issue of oil in this country. I want to say once again, that we should not sit here and imagine that Kenya will only develop when there is oil. Kenya should be able to develop whether there is oil or not. We are all aware that getting oil in a country is not the final solution to its problems. We have seen countries that have discovered oil deposits, and because of the poor management, it ends up to be a curse rather than a blessing. We should look into ways and means of developing Kenya. We have enough water and sunshine if we are not just looking for gigantic problems. Our universities should not just be conducting research on things that are in chemistry books. They should direct their energy towards the things that affect the society. I think that the Kenya Power and Lighting Company, KenGen and the Ministry of Energy should by now be linking up with various local universities. These universities should conduct research as per their requirements. Instead of putting money in the exploration of oil deposits, let us look at our neighbours who have discovered oil by chance like Southern Sudan and see whether it is feasible to run a pipeline from the border of Southern Sudan into Kenya. These things have been talked about. The fact that we hosted Southern Sudan peace talks and played a good neighbour to them, I think we should explore the possibility of getting oil from there. That is where there is cheap oil on the surface. Let me come back to the issue of the Kenya Pipeline Company and the Kenya Oil Refineries in Mombasa. I started by saying that energy is a national security issue. These State enterprises should not be handed over to some foreigners just like that. Kenyans have shown that there is idle capital in this country. Every Initial Public Offer (IPO) has been oversubscribed. Could this Ministry come up with a system where Kenyans would invest in the Kenya Pipeline Company by buying shares? That way, we will be shareholders of mali yetu ! When we invite foreigners to buy these State corporations, we could end up having terrorists owning those parastatals. That is not right. Kenyans have idle capital, why can they not buy the Kenya Pipeline Company and the Kenya Oil Refineries? If we need managers, let us go to the best managers in the world and pay them well so that they manage the enterprises for us. I want to say Kenya is for Kenyans. That is what Mzee Kenyatta believed. I have also said earlier that Kenya is for Kenyans. Also, President Roosevelt believed that America is for Americans. We do not want to hear that some negotiations are going on to handover the Kenya Oil Refineries and the Kenya Pipeline Company to so-and-so from another \"satellite\". This is very important. Africans need to reawaken. We are handing over Africa to foreigners. In the eastern belt, we are handing over Africa to foreigners. We need to be a bit more serious. The resources of a country should be owned by her people. There is a difference between July 30, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2247 management and ownership. When you buy a car, you can give it to anybody to drive and maintain it. However, the car is yours. Mkikosana anaenda zake. Unatafuta mwingine. Si hivyo? The same thing applies to a country. These are basic things. I am stressing this---"
}