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"id": 252760,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/252760/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Prof. Kibwana",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Environment and Natural Resources",
"speaker": {
"id": 277,
"legal_name": "Kibwana Kivutha",
"slug": "kibwana-kivutha"
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"content": " Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I must say that you are a very nice person. I must apologise for having stood up when I should not have done so. I rise to support these Supplementary Estimates. One very compelling reason for doing that, as House, is that a lot of this money, particularly that in the Vote for the Office of the President, will go a long way towards alleviating the effects of the drought and famine we have been experiencing. It will help people by providing them with seed and other things. This Parliament has consistently engaged itself in the drought situation. It will, therefore, be sensible for us, in the spirit of previous work, to quickly approve these Supplementary Estimates, so that our people, who are suffering, are assisted. I believe that this is one area where we need a bipartisan approach. We should rise to the occasion and support these Supplementary Estimates, so that money to assist our people can be available. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we are aware of some of the conflicts that have arisen in our country, and, very sadly, led to the loss of the lives of our colleagues. Among the reasons advanced, even by researchers, for this conflict is scarcity of resources. When resources are scarce there is a tendency for people to engage in conflict. So, if the Minister for Finance is asking for additional money, so that we can provide resources to some of the areas where they are scarce, we should approve his request. That is an important way of ensuring that there is no conflict. We know that if for any unforeseen reason it takes time for these Supplementary Estimates to be approved by the House, it will mean that the Government will continue to run on the basis of the Budget that was approved in June last year. Government operations will not shut down but there will be a problem in terms of implementing many of the programmes that have already been lined up. This will lead to a very adverse situation countrywide. This Motion, in the calendar of Parliament, is one of the most important measures that Parliamentarians are supposed to debate and approve unanimously. It is my expectation that as this debate continues, as many of us as possible will take a lot of interest in it, because this is a very important Motion. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, since I am responsible for two Ministries, I have also looked at the needs of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources and the Ministry of Lands. We are going to launch a national tree planting season. I am happy to note that there is some significant amount of money that has been made available. Obviously, if this money does not come forth quickly and the rain season is concluded, it means that we will have a problem in terms of planting trees. We all know that this is a very important concern. All the time, when I am in the House and even when I am in the Office of the Ministry of Lands, hon. Members ask about monies for adjudication and ensuring that we make title deeds available. Fortunately, in the Estimates, we have a considerable amount of money for that purpose. Therefore, I ask that hon. Members favourably look at these Estimates because within the Ministry of Lands, we will get a window for ensuring that a lot of the adjudication work can be undertaken."
}