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"id": 220650,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/220650/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Dr. Wekesa",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Science and Technology",
"speaker": {
"id": 137,
"legal_name": "Alfred B. Wekesa Sambu",
"slug": "alfred-sambu"
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"content": " Mr. Speaker, Sir, I wish to second this Bill. I want to commend the Minister for Labour and Human Resource Development for bringing it before this House. As we are aware, most of our Acts - including Cap.514 - were passed in this House close to 30 years ago. Indeed, many things have changed since those days. At the time of Independence, Kenya had a population of seven million. Today, we are close to 30 million. What it means is that, correspondingly, many of our factories have enlarged. The number of factories has gone up and there are more workers now in those factories. Therefore, there is need to update some of these Acts. The Minister has done right to bring this forward. Mr. Speaker, Sir, also, with the technology that is now used in many factories in many of the undertakings, it calls for new measures to be put in place in order to protect our workers. The health and welfare of our workers is important because if we want to produce, we want healthy people. We want to safeguard our workers so that they are working in a proper environment. Therefore, this Bill is going to address some of the issues that have been a cause of many deaths. You are aware that we have lost many Kenyans in poorly-constructed buildings; buildings that have collapsed and caused a lot of suffering to the bereaved. As I said, with the technology, we 1498 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES May 22, 2007 now have many chemicals being used in various factories. For instance, in the agricultural and industrial sectors, there are many different chemicals that are being used. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we have had reports of fires that are either caused by poor maintenance of buildings or poor inspection of those buildings. We have also have had deaths from this cause. This is not only an issue that has caused death only but even the employer has lost, not those lives alone but a lot of money because goods have gone up in smoke. Therefore, the Minister is bringing this Bill to ensure that the worker is protected from toxic chemicals, fire and collapsing buildings. There is also need for the industrial sector and farming community to ensure that the workers have proper attire. Many a time, we have been to factories where people are handling chemicals with their bare hands. Therefore, we need to make sure that they have proper attire. They should have masks, boots and aprons that actually protect the body from coming close to some of these harmful chemicals and also machinery. This will also address the issues of the equipment and machinery that is being used. If the machinery is not properly supervised, if industries are using old machinery, there is a danger for some of these to cause a lot of damage and even death. This Bill also gives the Minister power to walk into a factory and close it down if he is satisfied, indeed, that proper measures have not been taken. Also, the Minister is now going to have a new authority where the people who are charged with making sure that the clauses of the Bill are adhered to, will make sure that they are qualified people. Education is very important. We expect that the inspectorate, in particular, will hire people who have been trained in safety and health measures. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to congratulate the Minister for bringing this Bill. I hope that hon. Members are going to contribute positively. With those few remarks, I beg to second."
}