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"speaker_name": "Prof. Maathai",
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"legal_name": "Wangari Muta Maathai",
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"content": "Thank you very much, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this Motion. I, too, would like to thank Mr. Angwenyi for bringing this Motion, which is extremely important. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to, immediately, support Mr. O.K. Mwangi on the point that he has raised, which I was seriously thinking about, and which I know I have raised in this House before. The KTDA has, in its wisdom, and in the management of the tea industry, decided that it would rather not invest in electricity or other sources of energy other than wood. There is no technical reason as to why the KTDA invests in, or uses, wood to cure tea. If you ask the KTDA why they do not use electricity or other fuels or other sources of energy, they will always say that it is cheaper to use wood. It is cheaper to use wood, because this country under values wood. We think that it is a cheap source of energy, but when the wood is grown in the forest, or when it is grown along rivers, or at the source of rivers, we are, in many ways, undermining that industry. In years to come, there will no longer be rivers. They will have dried up especially because of the Eucalyptus that are planted along the river beds, at the source of rivers and in the nearby forests in order to provide wood to the key industries or tea factories. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the reason why some parts of Kenya produce excellent tea is because these farms are around mountains that have indigenous forests. These areas enjoy high rainfall for a large part of the year. It is also true that because of these forests and the general geography of these areas, the rain drizzles rather than falling like a bucket from the sky. This is very important for the growth of tea bushes. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, when you replace indigenous forests with exotic plantations the rainfall pattern changes. The rain begins to fall as if it were a bucket falling from the sky and this is not good for tea. That is partly one reason why the production and quality of tea will fall down. Most important is that practice that has almost now become synonymous with tea growing areas where farmers are encouraged to plant exotic species especially Eucalyptus along the rivers and their sources. The Government must stop this. If we are really serious about our country continuing to produce tea for many generations to come, the Government must intervene and stop the growing of Eucalyptus and other exotic species of trees along rivers, sources of rivers and in indigenous forests. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, if we do not do this, it is only because we have short term interests in this country. For this reason we tend to think of today and we do not think long- term. No long-term thinking people can allow their most productive areas to be degraded through environmental degradation because they want to grow tea today. Most of the farmers grow those trees because they are not getting enough income from tea. I do not have to address that because other hon. Members have addressed that issue. Why are farmers not getting enough for their products? This issue has been raised in this House so many times, that our farmers have been turned into slaves by those who manage our cash crops. They pay themselves and use a lot of money in the management and compensation of the many directors they have. Eventually, the farmer who is the producer, gets very little. That is partly the reason why the tea farmer has to grow trees along rivers and sources of rivers because they want to make some money. These trees grow very fast because they get a lot of water from the ground so that the farmer can sell to the tea factory. In many ways we are undermining our industries and economy by allowing practices that degrade the environment. This Motion is extremely important so that the Government can invest. There is no reason why the Government cannot provide hydro power. As we all know, tea grows in high altitude areas. In those areas rivers are fast flowing and many of them have water falls. It should be possible to produce micro hydro-power to provide energy to these factories so that they do not depend on firewood. If we are going to clear the indigenous forests, allow the shamba system and exotic 1542 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES May 23, 2007 plantation in the indigenous forests then instead of the water being harvested in the forests and going to supplement the underground water reservoir which then feeds the rivers, the water will run down. When the water runs down it causes havoc in many parts of our country like Budalang'i, Nyando and the Coast. Every time it rains in this country we have floods and yet we do not change. Much of that is happening because of the destruction of the environment. If we want the factory to have hydro power we ought to protect the forests upstream so that the rivers will continue flowing and then we can produce hydro power. This is an extremely important issue. If it has almost seemed impossible for the directors of KTDA to address this issue, it is quite often because in many situations in this country, Ministries work in the opposite direction. They do not consult. How can the Ministry of Energy not supply water to the pastoralists? The Ministry of Agriculture is not weakened about what is happening because the tea factories do not have energy. I do not know how to emphasise the need for our Ministries to work in tandem so that they can support each other and have a good end result for our country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Roads and Public Works and the Ministry of Water and Irrigation should work in tandem. Quite often, every Ministry goes in its own direction, irrespective of the damage that is done to another Ministry. We really need to think holistically as a Government and a people so that we can protect our environment and ensure that this country still continues to produce the best tea in the world for many generations to come. Obviously the KTDA cannot do it. So, it is time the Government came in and invested both in finances and technology so that we can truly have an industry we can be proud of. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}