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"id": 204350,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Muite",
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"legal_name": "Paul Kibugi Muite",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also wish to support very strongly this very timely Motion. In supporting the Motion, I want to state that the sooner we have the new Standing Orders, the better, so that we can streamline the progression of what is erroneously called the \"Private Members Bill\", like the one the hon. Member is seeking the leave of the House, so that it can be fast-tracked, and be treated in the same way as Bills which are introduced by the Government. Nothing would serve this country better than to see the proposed legislation in place yesterday rather than tomorrow. It is a major embarrassment that we wait to express our emotions when a disaster strikes. Although we kneel down and pray to the Almighty God to save us from these disasters, we know that they are going to occur. Look at the fear that gripped Kenyans because of the earth tremors! Is this not adequate warning or writing on the wall that we sit and build in dangerous areas which are prone to earthquakes? The fact that no major earthquake resulting in collapse of buildings and loss of lives has occurred is no guarantee that it is not going to happen. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, disasters are waiting to happen in the Rift Valley Province. We have got skyscrapers there! If a disaster strikes, how many lives are we going to lose? Are we going, suddenly, to get galvanised into mourning when we have not prepared ourselves in advance? So, this Bill should come as quickly as possible so that the new Authority can access international network in terms of building capacity and getting to understand how other countries 3860 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES September 12, 2007 prepare themselves for disasters of different types. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, you remember that during the Tsunami that took place thousand of kilometres away, we lost, at least, one life here in Malindi. Who can state with certainty that we are not going to have a Tsunami on the Indian Ocean that is going to affect the people along the coast? So, while the Authority is in place, it will access expertise in different spheres. Therefore, it will develop knowledge and capacity in advance on how to deal with it. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, you have visited Europe. You know that in countries like Switzerland, they have actually built safe homes. In the event that there is a nuclear warfare, they know where each one of them will run to. There is a bunker. In respect of offices and every building, they know what to do. This is an example of people who prepare and think in advance. Here in Kenya and the Third World, in general, we just wait for the disasters to strike. We just leave things to go shauri ya Mungu way. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, this is a Motion that we should support. I would urge that as soon as the Bill becomes a reality, that Authority should employ the best brains in Kenya. That Authority should network with other authorities and other countries so that they can develop blueprints in respect of different types of disasters that might occur. They should not only access the Kenyan funds. I will propose, when the Bill comes, that the Authority be adequately funded so that they are prepared for each and every eventuality that might come in advance. They should even access funding from donors and from elsewhere so that they are fully equipped in terms of personnel, finance, manpower and knowledge. They should be up to any challenge that might present itself at any time. They should not be reactive, but proactive. They should also develop a system or a policy or a programme of civic education so that Kenyans, in every corner of the country, are educated on what to do in the event of a disaster. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, was it not embarrassing that people did not know what to do in the event that the earth tremors developed into a major earthquake? We are learning that people should go under a bed or a table or stand next to a door frame. Knowledge is power. So, I hope that one of the agenda which the Authority will undertake, once they have amassed the knowledge, is how to handle different types of disasters. The next simultaneous phase will be educating Kenyans. Should this happen, that is how we will react. That education should be carried out through the grassroots level and FM stations, so that Kenyan people are fully prepared and each one of us will know what to do in case of disasters. We need mechanisms to be put in place for rapid response to disasters. Let us not wait again to experience the humiliation of people coming from Israel and America to help us cope with our disasters because we do not have the capacity to deal with them. Even our hospitals do not have the capacity to deal with disasters. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, God forbid, if there was to be a major plane crash at any of our international airports, how should that be handled? These are the issues that the new Authority should address. During the disaster that we had recently, we had to go and borrow cold storage from the then American Embassy down in Mombasa Road to store bodies because our mortuaries were full. Where is the capacity to deal with disasters? We must respect our citizens who depart in these disasters. We must have respect for the dead. Where have we made emergency storage facilities for dead bodies if there happens to be a disaster that will result in our mortuaries being completely flooded and saturated with bodies? Where are we creating the extra capacity? Do we have to go and borrow fridges from the Americans who anticipate these sort of things and have, therefore, prepared those provisions in advance? All these are aspects that can obviously be handled very effectively and adequately by well-funded independent authorities. It should not be dealt with by a unit in the Office of the President which is already overloaded by a lot of other aspects of national life that they have to attend to. Let them deal with what they have got to attend to and let this Authority be the one to co- September 12, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3861 ordinate response to disasters. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to support."
}