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{
    "id": 206421,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/206421/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 145,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Muchiri",
    "speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Local Government",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 225,
        "legal_name": "Muchiri Geoffrey Gachara",
        "slug": "geoffrey-gachara"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this chance to support this Motion. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, electricity is important for our industrial development. 3552 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES August 29, 2007 It is good that Prof. Olweny has brought this Motion before the House. Any additional power to the grid will make power more affordable to our people. Although the relevant Ministry will be coming to respond, I think the Government, generally, would not object to this kind of idea. I must congratulate my friend, the Professor, for bringing this Motion. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we know that energy, particularly electricity in this country, is fairly expensive to our people. I think that ways and means must be found to make it cheaper and affordable to ordinary wananchi . That is why we are saying that we must try to get alternative sources of power. I know that we are over-relying on wood fuel in our countryside. It is necessary that, as we continue to undertake rural electrification projects in this country, we should also look for other sources of power. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I must congratulate the Government for what it has done. It has supplied electricity to our rural areas. I think everybody can see that the Government has really tried to light up rural areas. I think every other constituency in this country has a power project going on. Since we are actually over-relying on hydro-electric power, all we need to do is ensure that we save our forests so that water can continue flowing. That way, we can be able to generate power. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to urge that wherever we can generate hydro- electric power--- For instance, we have Thompson Falls in Nyahururu. During the mzungu time, like many hon. Members have said, we used to produce electricity from there! There is no reason why that cannot be revived, so that we can get power from that area. That will, therefore, make electricity cheap to our people. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is important for us to underscore value-addition in whatever economic activities that we undertake. Along the sugar belts of Nyanza and Western provinces, the fact that we can produce a lot of alcohol is quite encouraging. That means that sugar- cane farmers will have an extra shilling in their pockets! Right now, they are only producing what you may call \"table sugar\" and a bit of alcohol. If we go an extra mile to generate power, there will be a tidal multiplier effect to our farmers. If our farmers get rich, it means this country will also be rich. That is very, very important. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am very persuaded by the arguments of Mr. Kajwang. He said that whatever we can do to diversity power generation--- The sort of monopolistic tendencies that we have at the moment, where KenGen is the only firm that can generate power--- I think it is important to free that market. I do agree with Prof. Olweny that, that market should be freed so that the tendencies of monopolistic markets do not set in. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we want to support this Motion. I believe that, once the Bill is brought by Prof. Olweny, we shall be able to see what it contains and react from there. But for now, I want to say that, personally, I do support this Motion. I thank Prof. Olweny for bringing it. Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir."
}