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"id": 187563,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/187563/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Nyamai",
"speaker_title": "The Member for Kitui West",
"speaker": {
"id": 115,
"legal_name": "Charles Mutisya Nyamai",
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this chance to also contribute to this Motion. I am also grateful because it happens to be the first time that I am talking in this House. As such, I would like to take this chance to thank the people of Kitui West for electing me to this House. Indeed, that is something that I have talked with them. It is not late because I have been on the ground with them. They know that the promises we made are going to be kept and they will have no regrets. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I must also say that for me to contribute when this Vote is being discussed is also strategic for some reasons that I am going to mention. It has been said by other hon. Members that, indeed, this Ministry is one of the Ministries which are clearly being felt round the country, particularly in the rural areas. I must admit that most of us went to school when we were using some make-up of light to read. But in the same places where we were using those crude modes of lighting, now there is electricity. It is because of the efforts that this Ministry has made over the last several years; to take power to the people. Indeed, it was impressive when the Minister was presenting his budget. He talked about the number of customers that have connected, which is comparable to what has been done in the last 100 years. It is my hope that the Ministry will keep on doing that good job. As far as the budget is concerned, this is one of the Ministries which has been given quite a big budget. But I would say that, that still does not suffice. Energy is the engine of economic growth and development. We are talking a lot about Vision 2030 and, if there is any critical component in what we envisage to achieve in Vision 2030, this Ministry will play a critical role. I am happy that it is in safe hands. Of course, money will never be enough. What they have been given is not enough to do what we want. As we move ahead, it is also important for this Ministry and its organs to look for alternative ways of raising money other than relying on the Exchequer. There is a lot of money around us and from our development partners, which can be used to develop energy resources. I urge the Ministry to take advantage of whatever is available, rather than just relying on the Exchequer. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in my constituency, like I mentioned earlier on, a lot has been done. I must, at this point in time, as I congratulate the Minister and his officers, at least, there is one lady whom I want to acknowledge for the job that she is doing. She is one Mary Njiraini from Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) Office in Thika. She has done an July 30, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2249 exemplary job in my area. However, in as much as she has been able to do a lot in terms of surveying and what is required to give us power, I see a situation where all those efforts are going to get wasted. I am talking about that because of the issue of connectivity. Yes, we have done a lot of survey and we intend to do a lot more with the people, but the cost of connectivity, particularly, when we are talking about rural areas where the income levels are very low, still continues to be very high. Something has to be done in terms of not only making connectivity affordable to the consumers, but also on the issue of electricity charges which currently, as we all know, have gone up tremendously. Whereas we do appreciate that the Ministry, in terms of providing energy, is also dependent on oil which is subject to international prices and other factors, honestly, something has to be done. I believe the Ministry has got the capacity and the people who can think outside the box and come up with solutions in terms of how we are going to reduce the costs of not only connectivity, but also the consumption charges. Indeed, if we do not do that, we will not be able to enjoy the fruits of most of the good things that we are talking about like Information and Communication Technology (ICT), providing youth with employment and encouragement of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). That is going to be a big hinderance to their progress. Indeed, even the established industries are going to be really affected by this cost. I happen to be a Member of the Parliamentary Committee on Energy, Communications and Public Works. When we were going around with the Minister inspecting the pipeline, one of the biggest cost components we were talking about was electricity. Honestly, if something is not done, they are going to grind to a halt. Basically, I am saying that it is not just the rural folks who are affected. It is all of us, even in our own houses. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, indeed, a lot can be done in terms of making the cost of electricity come down. There are issues of alternative sources of energy. The Minister alluded to this when presenting the budget. Along these line, honestly, I would have wished to see a lot of money going into the development of renewal sources of energy. That removes our dependency on hydro-electricity. We have done this since Independence and we know where it has taken us to. Indeed, the issue of coal deposits is well known. It is something which has been talked about for quite sometime. It is high time that something was done so that it can supplement our sources of energy. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I come from an arid area with a lot of free energy in the form of solar. However, we are not able to exploit that freely available energy because the cost of solar components is extremely high. If you compare the cost of components you need to light a simple house in this country and in a place like Dubai, honestly, you cannot understand the difference in costing. I thought that, in the budget we would see some efforts from the Ministry in trying to make some of these sources of energy like solar a lot more available to our people. Indeed, I do not know whether it is the question of our capacity to absorb the production if we were to establish our own factories for producing our solar panels. I am sure the Minister will address himself to that. What I am saying in a nutshell is that, we need to see some practical action in the Ministry in terms of diversifying energy reliance in this country from hydro to other sources. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, if I have to talk a little about my constituency which I have said we have done a lot to connect electricity to many points, I would not be fair to talk about the so many voters who voted for me and the other candidates. Many residents of Kitui West always complain to me whenever I go round that, \"yes, electricity has been connected\" but they only see power lines passing over their heads. It is my humble request that something is done particularly on the cost of transformers so that instead of having these many kilometres of lines just flying above people's homesteads, we get to connect them. Whenever we talk to them or when they try to come together the issue they raise is the cost of transformers. Honestly, we need to do something and particulary for the rural areas. 2250 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 30, 2008 In my constituency and particulary one division, there is the issue I have just raised of many lines passing through it. I have two divisions; Mutonguni and Matinyani. In the division I come from, at least, I am happy that we have seen the first fall of electricity wires. However, that only takes about a kilometre in the division which is about 80 kilometres long and 40 kilometres in width. We are talking about quite an expansive division. It is my humble request that as the Ministry allocates its resources, let us be very fair to some of these divisions. Indeed, I know it is not the only division. I know there are many others. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}