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"speaker_name": "Mr. Ligale",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this important Motion. First, I want to thank hon. Oparanya for bringing this Motion which is long overdue. We have been lucky in this country that we have not had disasters of the magnitude that is felt in other countries. However, because of our own manmade activities, we are beginning to witness disasters such as the one in Budalangi and the landslides which are caused by poor methods of cultivation. There is need for us to plant trees to ensure that they do not happen. This morning, I was watching Cable News Network (CNN) and learnt that there is a huge typhoon that has hit China, south of Shanghai. Within less than six hours, they had moved two million people from the path of the typhoon. I just wondered if we had that kind of disaster in this country, whether we would move that number of people within that period. They are able to do so 4014 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES September 19, 2007 because of proper disaster preparedness. That is what we are talking about. We need to have infrastructure in place that would ensure that when disaster strikes, we are prepared, not only in terms of moving people out of arm's way, but also in ensuring that they get basic provisions in terms of rehabilitation so that when the tide has ended, they can go back to their homes without any particular problem. When we talk about the worst disasters we have had in this country, one remembers the bomb blast that happened at the former American Embassy and the building that collapsed on Race Course Road. In both instances, we had to resort to assistance from outside this country. We had to bring in Israeli engineers and people from America to assist in rescue operations because we were not prepared. It is time that this country established an Authority that would prevail in case such kind of disasters strike. We must put it in place. There will be disasters that will emanate from disease and natural happenings. For example, rains that have flooded our country and the typhoons that hit the Coast. Above all, most of the disasters that we are likely to encounter in the future will be due to manmade activities. If you look at our urban development, you will see that we are increasingly not obeying by- laws. We have had several buildings collapsing in this city. I am afraid that this is going to be a major phenomenon in the future because of our own tendencies not to follow by-laws that require that we put in place buildings that have been approved by the relevant local authorities. If this is going to happen - and I am afraid that it will happen - we must be prepared to deal with that manmade disaster. There is no any other way of dealing with it other than having an Authority in place that will have the mandate, the resources and structures in place to ensure that we respond appropriately and effectively to disasters so that we are not caught unaware. That Authority cannot be dependent on the kind of activities that my brother, hon. Bahari, was talking about, where you only report to a police station at Nyayo House, where you have Administration Policemen who direct you to the Kenya Red Cross Society or another place to seek assistance. It must be an Authority that will have the mandate, full power behind it, resources and structures to respond accordingly. So, I support very strongly, the idea of setting up the National Disaster Management Authority. The sooner we do it, the better for us. Whether we like it or not, disasters will continue to come and more so, because they are manmade inflicted, or due to lack of basic requirement or because we have put up structures that are going to collapse and hurt our people. We must ensure that this Authority is in place. I am sure that the Government will vote positively and if it does, we must try and ensure, even if within this year's budgetary allocation we cannot accommodate it, then in the future we should provide for better resources. But we need this National Disaster Management Authority like yesterday. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}