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"id": 187834,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/187834/?format=api",
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Kioni",
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"speaker": {
"id": 49,
"legal_name": "Jeremiah Ngayu Kioni",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity. I will make very few remarks on this Vote. We are now able to talk about the Ministry of Energy because I believe it is one of the Ministries that have been very distant from the minds of enyans until, perhaps, the introduction of the Rural Electrification Programme. But, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, even as I support this Motion, I note that in line with all other Ministries, the allocation of funds within this Ministry has also been done on the basis of the districts. Perhaps, there may be no other better ways of doing these things. Certainly, this by itself marks yet another example of unfair distribution of resources on the basic point that these districts are being created. They have been created, perhaps, from unknown criteria that may not be quite clear to many of us. But we have areas in this country that are certainly being discriminated against when these districts are being used as the basis of allocation or distribution of resources. We have areas in this country that have a high population, but they would not be able to benefit using that criteria because they have not been split into small districts. Those areas that may have agitated had enough and have been cut into small districts. It means that there would be more resources that will be going to a given region as opposed to others. In essence, we have continued to institutionalise these unfair distribution of resources and certainly that is going to be discriminative in one way or another. This will manifest itself in the very near future. Having said that, I must also commend the Ministry because in the couple of years the process of connecting people has been demystified. There before, many Kenyans did not know what they needed to do to get connected with electricity. Now, there is publicity that is going about the provision of power within the rural areas and other areas and this has demystified this process. I still think that a little bit more needs to be done. For example, I came across a group of people in my constituency, Ndaragwa, who paid Kshs1 million to the company way back in 1996 so that they could be connected with electricity. Up to now, they do not know what they need to do next. While things seem to be opening up, that is a clear case of people who need to be informed as to what they should do so that they can be connected with electricity. It is important for us to commend the Ministry because of the Rural Electrification Programme that has made it possible for many to start having hope that power will get to them sometimes in the near future. It is also important to note that, one of the things that is required is the public facilities. We need water. We do not need to talk a lot to link water with forests. I think that is something that is in the minds of everybody in this country. I want to suggest to the Ministry that it may be important or crucial for them to mark forests as public facilities. If that was to be done, then the communities that are living around these forests will find it necessary to preserve the forests because they are also benefiting in one way or another. So, if we could move quickly and mark the forests as public facilities, alongside schools, dispensaries and shopping centres, then we would be joining hands with the communities because they would see the sense of taking care of the forests near them. If we continue stopping them from moving into the forests and yet we are not telling them why we need water, then it will not be very easy to convince them to preserve the forests for the benefit of others as opposed to them seeing the immediate benefit. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in my constituency, we have also seen a lot of harvesting of the blue gum. It has also become a source of income for our rural folk. Perhaps, it is 2170 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 29, 2008 good that they are being harvested. But the big question is: Do we want to plant blue gums again given that in my constituency we have witnessed a number of dams dry up because of these blue gums that have been planted? They are now bringing income to the people. They may want to plant more but in the process, we will end up without any dam. I think the Ministry needs to come up with an innovative way. I do not know whether we have to continue using the blue gum tree, even if it comes from West Africa, North Africa, South Africa or wherever it is. They say that the one from South Africa may be useful, but I do not think that, that is entirely accurate. That is because we have also seen the drying up of some of those mashy areas. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, others have talked a lot about other sources of power. I do not want to belabour the same point. I think it is important that we also explore those areas that may need legislative exercise. I think that will also be useful for this Parliament to help in it. We have heard some people talk about nuclear power, but I do not know why it is that we should continue being scared of things that would otherwise--- We have seen it help in other countries and I think we should also be bold enough to move into that direction. Again, within the programme of rural electrification, the rural population is able to benefit if they are within the 600-metres radius of a transformer. That has been useful, but I think that if the Ministry could consider giving a directive that, that be doubled or tripled, then in some areas which are sparsely populated and those with some large pieces of land because of, perhaps, the arid nature, more people will benefit. But as it is now, 600 metres is useful, but it can be better because only a few households are able to benefit from that. Then, we are back to the same very difficult situation raising a lot of money that has been given in form of Estimates. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, if we are able to provide power like it has happened in many areas, then we would be able to take care of the youthful issue that is becoming a time-bomb in this country. With power near them, we are going - which is again, almost, a common sense position - to generate more jobs. That youthful population will be engaged in useful activities. That way, again, even the insecurity that we keep on experiencing in the rural areas will be reduced. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I think that it is important to mention that when I heard one of the speakers before me talk about North Horr, he said that areas like North Horr--- He considered it very remote. He actually said that he is happy that he can see solar panels being installed in a very fast manner. According to the way he presented it, it seems like it is being done on an hourly basis. I am happy that, that is happening. But I would also like to note that, perhaps, some of the areas that have been considered as remote in the past are no longer remote. That is because if Ndaragwa is not considered as remote, then the example that was given by the Member for North Horr is enough evidence to prove that we are now in a very remote area. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in Ndaragwa, affording a solar panel or even seeing one is not something that we are used to. I think attention needs to be given to all those areas. Ndaragwa is in Central Province, but I must say that there is no development even in terms of rural electrification. If we were to take stock of what has been done, we would be able to see that very little has happened in that constituency. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as I support this Motion, I think it is important to know that many of the issues that we have, particularly relating to our youth, would be solved to some great extent, if they can access power easily. I think it is also important for the Government, in future, to consider allocating a little bit more money, so that we can get more areas provided with power. Mr. Tempoarary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to support the Motion."
}