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"id": 249325,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Oparanya",
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"legal_name": "Wycliffe Ambetsa Oparanya",
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"content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Assistant Minister has said that there is no need of setting up a separate unit. When I moved the Motion, I said that we need an institution that is independent. But because of its functions, it will still be under the Office of the President. All the institutions that we have in country, whether they are parastatals or commissions, must be under a particular Ministry. I said that when that institution is set up, it will be under the Office of the September 19, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 4019 President because of what it is supposed to do. It will need to draw its resources from the Provincial Administration. I said that, that particular institution will have branches at the grassroots up to the national level. That is from sub-locations, divisions, districts, provinces and up to the national level. If the Assistant Minister listened to hon. Members when they were contributing to the Motion, they said that, at the moment, we do not have proper structures. We need an institution with proper structures and which can respond to disasters when they occur. We know that some of the disasters that have happened in this country have been caused by corruption. Buildings have collapsed in River Road. Why? That is because of corruption. We know that there are laws and rules to be followed. But they are not followed. So, we need an institution that will be following some of those issues. We need an institution that will have proper resources and capacity to respond to disasters in this country. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the compensation aspect of those who are affected by disasters is not there. That is why we need a proper policy framework so that, when there are disasters, those affected are effectively compensated. Being a country that attained Independence 44 years ago, it is a shame that when we have a disaster, we request for sniffer dogs from Israel. How can we, at the moment, be importing dogs when we have disasters in this country? Imagine the time taken to transport a dog from Israel to this country. It takes a long time. That dog does not cost billions. If we had an institution that is looking into issues of disasters, it would set up a centre to train dogs for disaster management. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the institution will ensure that there is proper management of the environment. We have institutions like the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), but they are not doing their work. I have seen that somewhere along the banks of Kitisuru River, somebody is building flats. How do you allow such a thing to happen? If we had such an institution, it would ensure that proper procedures are followed and the necessary approvals are obtained before such structures are allowed to be put up. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, climate change is a reality. If we have to ensure that we prevent disasters, we have to be equipped with all the information relating to climatical changes. You remember what happened in Malava recently. Crude equipment was used to try and save the lives of the people. If we had such an authority in place, it would have responded on time. We would have saved many lives. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to take this opportunity to thank institutions like the Red Cross, which have helped to save many lives in this country, when we have disasters. I would like to request this House to support the establishment of a National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), so that we are prepared to manage disasters when they happen in this country. It is a reality that disasters will be there and we will live with them. It is only that we do not know when they will happen. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those remarks, I beg to move."
}