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"speaker_name": "Mr. Bahari",
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"legal_name": "Abdul Bahari Ali Jillo",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this Motion, on the Vote of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation. I want to join my many colleagues in congratulating this Ministry for a job well-done, particularly in the arid and semi arid areas, where we have, for a long time, had a lot of problems when it comes to availability of clean and safe water. I must say that quite a substantial number of boreholes have been sunk in these areas. There have been dams which have been constructed, while others have been rehabilitated. We are very grateful for the effort made, because a concerted deliberate effort should be made by the Government in trying to redress the imbalances that have been there for a long time. In particular, if this is not properly addressed under this Ministry, then you can as well forget about bonding in this country. However, I want to once again thank the Ministry and encourage them to proceed and complete work in the areas which have not been taken care of. When we talk about water and its scarcity, then the regions we call ASALs are needy; no wonder, then, that this Ministry has given its priority to areas where the needs are more pronounced. With that, I will proceed and address the issue of catchment boards. Every time the issues of the use of rivers are brought to this House, by way of Questions and other forms, we have been told, time and again, that those issues are better addressed through the water sector reforms. I am particularly concerned about the Ewaso Nyiro North River Water use Upstream, where many farmers have diverted water, both legally and illegally to the detriment of the people downstream. This is immoral, unfair and unjust! This issue must be addressed adequately. Every time that issue has resurfaced here, the answer has been that it would be addressed within the broader water reform programme, but it needs to be properly addressed. Perhaps, if we are to understand this, the people downstream have a right, and they are fully dependent on the water that flows from upstream. Unless this is properly regulated by the catchment boards, then you can rest assured that livestock production will be badly affected. People's livelihoods are being interfered with. It is a matter that should not wait for the reforms; it is an urgent matter. It cannot wait even for a day to be properly addressed. August 21, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3319 This issue used to be there during the colonial times. I have had the opportunity to look at the banks of Ewaso Nyiro North River, for example. I see markings showing various water levels and they were put there during the colonial times, so that those who were responsible would just read those markings and say: \"This water level has gone down at this particular point in time certainly because of misuse upstream\". They would then move in and act, but we have let the situation remain unrectified in Independent Kenya. If the colonialists saw the sense in doing it, why not in Independent Kenya today? Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have let the flower farms around Nanyuki and Laikipia areas to use this water the way they want, including the streams that flow into rivers. We have allowed people downstream, the ones in Habaswein, Sericho, Merti, Samburu and in all those other areas, to suffer. Even the people from Garissa and Wajir, who used to come during the dry spells to the lower swampy areas of Ewaso Nyiro North River and, the Lorian Swamp, to graze their livestock cannot do so any more. In the process, the poverty levels have gone up. We have lost all livestock, or 90 per cent of it, and now we have to ask the Government to give us relief food. Last time, most of that money came from the Ministry of Water and Irrigation. So, I want to plead with the Ministry to, perhaps in conjunction with the Ministry of Regional Development Authorities, address this matter very urgently. They should bring it to the fore and should not wait for the slow water sector reform programme. The boreholes that have been sunk in those areas, and that are now being run by the communities, still need a lot of support by way of provision of engineers and technicians for maintenance of these boreholes. Some of these districts are vast. If you talk of Marsabit, Isiolo and Turkana districts, they are vast. And for communities in some remote centres to depend, for maintenance, in the district headquarters, because they do not have expertise at those boreholes, is impossible. It is very costly because of the need for allowances and maintenance of vehicles. It is high time this Ministry looked into, perhaps, decentralising some of these maintenance services and training the people on basic skills, so that they can effectively handle some routine preventive maintenance programme, instead of them just waiting for reports from people who just rush the work. They then ask communities to pay their allowances, because most of the time the Ministry is not able to pay the allowances. It is not like you can go in, in a day, and come back. Some of the distances are long, and, because there is nobody to do the initial troubleshooting, they carry with them all the experts, the electrician, the mechanic and others, and you will be forced to pay a lot of those allowances. This issue is going to make the communities fail to manage the water sector. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, at the risk of repeating myself, this Ministry also needs to work very closely with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, so that we protect the environment. I want to heed your advice about giving other hon. Members time, but I want to make my last point about irrigation. It is important that, particularly in the ASAL areas, where there are rivers, the issue of irrigation funding is given a lot of attention. I am happy that the Ministry is looking in that direction. Overall, I say this Ministry has done a good job and I want to thank them. Thank you, very much."
}