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{
"id": 196442,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/196442/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mrs. Mugo",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Public Health and Sanitation",
"speaker": {
"id": 85,
"legal_name": "Beth Wambui Mugo",
"slug": "beth-mugo"
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for the opportunity to contribute to this Motion. I want to thank the mover of this Motion because it is very timely. It is something that we should have looked at a long time ago. As the previous speaker said, this has come to this House before. I know that the Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wangari Maathai, has spoken passionately about plastics in this country and the hazardous way they are handled. All previous efforts to control this menace have not worked. The Minister for Finance introduced, as was said earlier, a tax on plastics, but that did not help either. This is because plastics continued to flow in and the only person who was hurt is that housewife who depends a lot on the plastics for the wrapping of commodities like sugar and so on. Even when they go to the marketplace, especially in the urban centres, the market women and men use a lot of plastics for their wares and trade. What they have to do is to pay extra for those plastics. This really does not help much. Perhaps, we are hurting the same people we want to protect from this hazardous waste. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to support this Motion very much so that proper measures, especially those targeting the manufacturers, can be established and put in the Bill. That way, a recycling or a disposal mechanism will be part of the component of authorising or licensing the manufacturers. We must make sure that the cost is not borne by the consumer, but by the manufacturers or traders. If you go to my constituency or any other township, be it in Nairobi or elsewhere, the drainage systems are completely full of plastics. The waste does not flow. It is very filthy. It is very worrying because you will see children playing with those plastics around those drainages. Because of the way we are, we have not been able to completely clean up these drainages. I would like to urge the Nairobi City Council to make sure that the drainages are completely cleaned of these plastics. They employed, sometime ago, staff for the estates. Each ward has as many as 60 to 100 members of staff from the Nairobi City Council. However, if you look at the work they do, you will notice that the drainages are still full and they do not flow. So, maybe, the first thing that we need to do is to clean up the plastic waste. It is very hazardous. As somebody said, it even affects 474 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES April 16, 2008 public health. It is something that we will definitely be looking at very closely. I, therefore, urge that this Bill be brought before the House very soon because just saying, \"No plastics\" will not work. We must provide the mechanisms to regulate the production, distribution, consumption, recycling and disposal of those plastics. We must admit that they are necessary and they are part of our economy. They contribute to the economy of this country. They also help the housewives and so we must make sure that they are accessible. However, please, note that it is hazardous to our health and especially that of our children. It is the same thing in schools. You will see plastics there. The young ones play with the plastics by putting them in their nostrils or mouths. This could easily suffocate them! Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in supporting this Motion, I want to say that it is urgent. I want to support the Mover of this Motion and ask the Minister for Environment and Mineral Resources to ensure that this Bill comes to the Floor of the House as soon as possible unless, of course, the Mover had an idea of having a Private Members' Bill. It is something that I feel the Government should support. I urge the Minister for Environment and Mineral Resources to make it a priority. With those words, I beg to support."
}