Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 239707,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/239707/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 242,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Maj. Sugow",
    "speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Water and Irrigation",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 142,
        "legal_name": "Aden Ahmed Sugow",
        "slug": "aden-sugow"
    },
    "content": " Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise to support this Motion. It is long over-due to put in place some legal framework to address drought problems in this country. I thank the Mover for identifying herself with the problems of the drought-stricken people of this country, particularly in the ASAL areas. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there are quite a number of things which the Government has done, but we have come from very far and there is a lot more that needs to be done. The KMC has recently been opened, but it is not going to be effective since most of the infrastructure to support the current depot in Nairobi has gone. There is need, therefore, to open some depots in livestock producing areas and various parts of the country. Currently, many parts of the country have not received sufficient rain, particularly the ASAL areas. In Garissa District, for example, there are areas where we are doing water tracking, and this is not the right time to do it. It indicates that we still have not gone out of the cycle of drought that there was in the last season. There is need to put in place measures to rescue the situation. For instance, some of the emergency funds that we set aside in this Budget should be channelled through KMC to prepare for livestock off-set so that we do not lose livestock again as we did the last time. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, one of the best ways of handling food security in this country is to invest in the water sector. This Ministry has been receiving about Kshs2 billion annually in the last three to four years. This year, it has been allocated about Kshs12 billion. Despite this being a significant increase, we still have a long way to go. This country has the potential for 540,000 hectares of irrigable land, but only about 100 hectares are under irrigation. The Ministry of Water and Irrigation has an ambition to bring a minimum of 20,000 hectares of land under irrigation annually in order to achieve food security. It needs the support of this House, and the Government needs to put in place measures that will increase the allocations to this Ministry significantly every year so as to be commensurate with that particular plan. With those remarks, I beg to support."
}