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"id": 210057,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/210057/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Kimunya",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Finance",
"speaker": {
"id": 174,
"legal_name": "Amos Muhinga Kimunya",
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise to second this Motion on the Ministry of Energy, which is very critical for the development and growth of this country. As you can see from our decorations, we have just come from a function in which we were celebrating the awarding of the ISO 2000/9001 certificate to Kenya Pipeline Company, one of the flagship companies within the Ministry of Energy. That basically shows what is happening within our parastatals. Mr. Speaker, Sir, in looking at the Ministry of Energy, I believe that it is all very clear to us. The Minister, even if you, probably, gave him all the time, he would not have the time to articulate all the issues that are relevant to that Ministry because there is a lot of work going on. There are a lot of new policies and plans being formulated. I hope that I will be able to highlight some of those he left out in his speech. However, Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Minister articulated the policy of the Ministry very well. He showed us the direction the Ministry is moving to ensure that Kenya is powered across the entire country. I believe that all hon. Members have been beneficiaries of the very popular initiative of the Rural Electrification Programme (REP), which is taking place across the entire country with success and also pushing the demand for energy supply, hence the demand for extra resources. I believe that if hon. Members looked at the Printed Estimates, they will notice that with regard to the REP, the Ministry will be looking for an extra Kshs4 billion, which will go towards helping the REP. At this point, I would also like to join the Ministry in thanking the French Government, through AFD, which has contributed Kshs450 million towards that initiative. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am also very happy that the Ministry has taken into account the need for a masterplan. We will be committing Kshs56 million towards the implementation of that masterplan, which will guide us in terms of the REP. Indeed, we thank the Government of Finland for that support. Mr. Speaker, Sir, with regard to exploration, the Minister mentioned something about the success so far off the coast of Lamu, and, indeed, what is happening in terms of the other explorations. I am aware that there is a whole Kshs299 million that has been provided for petroleum and coal exploration in addition to what is happening. More important for us is that within the Mui Basin in Kitui and Mwingi districts, there is evidence that there are some deposits of coal. From the last count I had, there are 26 wells that have been drilled with about 11 of them showing some very positive results. Part of the budget for this Ministry will be directed towards further drilling and exploration so that we can get cheaper sources of energy to supplement the oil and electricity that we are using. I believe that the coal exploration will be taking about Kshs145 million. Another Kshs4 million would have been provided for an LPG facility at the Kenya Pipeline Company. Energy has become very expensive for us. Pump prices are high, in tandem with the world oil prices, but unless we have our own company that can compete and be at par with the other multinational companies, we will be at a constant disadvantage. I am happy that the Ministry has seen it fit to support the National Oil Corporation of Kenya (NOCK) in terms of building its capacity. In the Ministry's budget, under Sub-Vote 004, NOCK will be provided with a grant of Kshs90 million, which will help in the facilitation and acquisition of additional primary data in four sedimentary basins and to market the petroleum potential to international oil processing companies which have the requisite financial resources for drilling. So, apart from what is happening in terms of grants to NOCK to purchase extra pump stations and to build its own capacity, there is also money that has been allocated to them so that they can facilitate the exploration. Mr. Speaker, Sir, following the enactment of the Energy Act, the Petroleum Exploration August 8, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3061 Directorate has been set up. It will be a recipient, under Sub-Vote 007, of Kshs60 million. This will help in terms of giving it the capacity to carry out its work. This is one of the Ministries with a very low Recurrent Expenditure. I believe that the figure is just about Kshs327 million. Most of the money is devoted to development. It is one of our development agencies. As we look towards the realisation of the goals that have been set up within the Vision 2030, energy becomes far much relevant because with all the new investments, for example, the Kshs500 billion we want to invest between now and 2012, if we do not have the right energy, a number of those projects will end up as white elephant projects. I would like to urge the House that we take this matter seriously because we need energy. We have all been beneficiaries. Perhaps, this is the time to put the nation ahead of us. So, we need power for this country. The debate on this Motion should be as constructive as possible. Let us have as many ideas as we can even as we move this country forward. We need to energise the country, especially our rural areas. It is only by doing so that we are going to uplift the lives of our people, especially those in the rural areas. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I hope that after all these measures have taken place, we shall have cheaper LPG and pump prices. There will be energy in our homesteads and our forests will be safe. With what the Minister announced, that is, getting our youth, women groups and all those people involved in the rural areas in the replanting of trees in our farms, we are going to secure more underground water sources which will enhance our geothermal power generation. This will save our environment so that we can have a just and cohesive society living in a very secure and clean environment, true to the wishes of the second pillar of our Vision 2030. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I believe that the issue before us is self-evident. It is everyone's wish to have power when they go back home and to have it continuously despite the droughts and floods. Of course, our neighbours have not been as fortunate and we have had to do with power rationing. We suffered that in the past partly due to the misdeeds of the past and the lack of planning. Any support we can give to this Ministry will be welcome so that we end up with all these energy sources tapped, working and reliable. We need the assurance that we shall all go home and find power available for our needs. That way, our industries will keep running and becoming competitive, hence our country will be taking its rightful place within this region, continent and, indeed, the world as a world player in terms of production using local energy. Our kids will be going to school knowing that they can access the best in technology because there will be power. Mr. Speaker, sir, since we have not been endowed like our neighbours in terms of resources, we hope that when we spend this money, we will not be disappointed the way we were during the explorations in Lamu. One day, we will strike our own oil and other natural resources that can only help push this country further. Look at the success we have had, that is, growing from 0.6 per cent to 5.7 per cent in 2005, 6.1 per cent last year and 6.3 per cent for the first quarter of this year with no resources of our own except our people, our beautiful country and good leadership. Now, if we add it to natural resources coming our way, this country could grow at a higher rate than any other fast-growing country across the world. I hope that one of these days, we will use these investments to explore real natural resources which will help trigger our country's economic growth and sustain it long-term. Mr. Speaker, Sir, against that background, it is my wish that the House will give all the support required to this Motion. I beg to second."
}