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"speaker_name": "Mr. Balala",
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"legal_name": "Najib Mohamed Balala",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am used to the Front Bench. Do not forget that I was the Minister in charge of heritage. This is my Bill. That is why I have to stand in solidarity with my June 13, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1289 colleague from Coast Province, to support him. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, when the Government does well, I come here to support it. When it goes wrong, I object and help it to rectify the problem. That is because I, as well, am a Member of this Government. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the entire heritage of this country is based on two Bills, which have outlived their usefulness. We are in the 21st century, where we need proper home-grown Bills like this one. These are relics of the colonialists. The National Museums of Kenya have done a good job on this. I was involved in the amendments that were agreed on in the Committee of the Whole House and unfortunately it has taken three years for this Bill to be brought back to this House without being approved. We have talked a lot about this Bill. It is important to uphold the dignity of our heritage,both cultural and natural. I know in terms of natural heritage, the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife and the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources are taking good care of it, but on cultural heritage we are not doing the same. We have the perception that some aspects of our culture are primitive and yet culture upholds the dignity of our people and our civilisation. So, I am glad this has been captured appropriately in this Bill. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on the issue of our heritage sites being grabbed by the so-called developers, I can say that we have seen this abuse in Lamu and in Nakuru where Hyrax Hill is situated. We have seen it in areas like the rock arts in the rural areas of this country where I have travelled to safeguard these artistic cultures of our people. We need to give the National Museums of Kenya and the Minister the power to \"bite\" and not just to be a Minister in terms of facade, but I believe he has the power to go and possess those properties because of national interests. We do not take the Ministry of National Heritage as a serious Ministry. We want to see the Minister for Finance not only doubling but tripling the budget of the National Museums of Kenya because it is under-funded. Its money is only used for salaries of its personnel and it is not enough. This is where research work can be done. This is where discoveries can be carried out. As my colleague, Ms. Karua has mentioned, this is where we can use the National Museums of Kenya to raise funds like Egypt and many other countries have done. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to say that for the first time Kenya is now sitting at the World Heritage Committee in United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). That is a very rare opportunity for a black African nation. South Africa being a powerful nation has got that opportunity but we are proud that our country is also sitting among the 155 countries in this committee of the UNESCO. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, special elements need to be looked into very seriously, particularly when we carry out discoveries. We should give the National Museums of Kenya the sole authority to carry out discoveries in this country. When we use the Ministry of Education to carry out research and they discover skeletons or any artefacts in this nation, they will take it as their private property. I am particulary talking about the millennium man. We want to bring the millenium man to the attention of the Minister for National Heritage. That is Kenya's property and not a communal museum's property. It is very important that the Government takes over the operations of museums and they should not be left in private hands. I think this is the first time that we have done a good job by bringing a home-grown legislation, particularly on the heritage sector that needs to consider all aspects of both natural and cultural heritage. These includes the geo-parks, Uhuru Gardens, Uhuru Park and national monuments which need to be protected. Such areas should not be left under the jurisdiction of the Nairobi City Council which has no capacity because this will lead to problems. With those few remarks, I beg to support the Bill."
}