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{
"id": 207970,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/207970/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Ms. Karua",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs",
"speaker": {
"id": 166,
"legal_name": "Martha Wangari Karua",
"slug": "martha-karua"
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I rise in support of this Motion. I want to begin by commending the Ministry for doing very well in a very short space of four and half years. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we know that water was a neglected sector over a long period in this country. Even the Vote of the Ministry told volumes. We have come from a Development Budget of Kshs2 billion to over Kshs11 billion at the moment. That is, truly, tremendous! We have seen what the Ministry has tried to do all over the country. Obviously, not all corners have been reached. But bearing in mind the shortness of time, the Ministry deserves to be commended. I would want to urge the Ministry to continue bearing in mind efficiency in the use of financial resources, and also efficiency in the use of human resources. Let each officer account for the time and money. If this is not done diligently, then the reforms are bound to flounder. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Ministry, like other sectors, has come from a background of wastefulness and corrupt practices and, with reforms, it is necessary to keep on monitoring that people do not go backwards. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would want to encourage the Ministry to continue adopting market surveys for commonly used items and ensure that the various water boards are having optimal use of the resources at their disposal in order to reach the people. I would also like to urge them to ensure that the officers in the respective boards are also utilising their time efficiently and doing capacity building for the various water companies and water associations that are licensed by the various local water boards. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would want to further urge the Ministry to monitor the growth of the Water Services Regulatory Board and the development of individual boards. That is because unless they operate at optimum, they cannot be able to supervise the reforms. The regulator must set standards and monitor those standards with the boards. The boards, in turn, must monitor the operators who are given the licences by the boards. That should also apply in the area of irrigation. We must ensure efficiency in the use of resources and water. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have a lot of examples of countries that have maximised on very little water - countries that are classified as water-scarce - and have been able to do irrigation to feed their people. I have examples of Israel and Egypt in mind. The Minister for Water and Irrigation is now telling me that Morocco is also an example. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for us to be able to use water efficiently, we will need modern irrigation methods with piped water, so that we do not lose water as we transport it to the various farms for use. To be able to do that, the cost of irrigation equipment must be user-friendly, for the ordinary small-scale farmer to be able to afford it. We need to check what is happening in other countries, because we are not re-inventing the wheel. We need to have easily accessible irrigation equipment for our farmers to enable us to use our scarce water resources in a manner that benefits all. I know that in some of our areas, especially in my area - the Mt. Kenya area - a lot of unemployed youths are relying on horticultural and irrigated farming to sustain themselves. If we improve that and also improve the markets, then we are helping our youths to find something useful to do. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also want to mention very briefly, the issue of water and sanitation in the informal settlements, especially around main cities like Nairobi. I would like to urge the Ministry to accelerate its programme of providing stand pipes, so that the people in the informal settlements get the same water and at the same rates, if not at better rates than the rest of the City. They will have access to portable water for their domestic use. 3318 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES August 21, 2007 Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would also urge that the programme of having communal toilets and wash areas be accelerated, so that we are able to have water, sanitation and, perhaps, drainage as well. Teaming up with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, the Ministry should be able to do something, so that even while we await the slum upgrading, people in the informal settlements are able to live in more sanitary conditions. The issue of sustainability is very key to reforms. It is very important that all the officers serving in the various boards and reform bodies must show that their outfits are sustainable. It is expected that there would be a composite water levy, which helps to finance not only water but also the various authorities in water. The Treasury cannot be the long-term solution for sustaining our water services. I would urge the Ministry to accelerate the reforms, congratulate them but tell them that a lot remains to be done. They must concentrate on having intensive programmes of capacity building, otherwise the newly-licensed water associations and water companies in the rural areas will collapse, and the reforms will collapse with them. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}