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{
    "id": 301566,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/301566/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 258,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Obure",
    "speaker_title": "The Minister for Public Works",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 118,
        "legal_name": "Christopher Mogere Obure",
        "slug": "christopher-obure"
    },
    "content": " Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, first, I want to start by congratulating the hon. Member for this very important initiative. Provision of electricity is a pre-requisite to development. We cannot develop as fast as we would like to because electricity is not available in every part of our country. We need electric power for industrial development. In fact, we need equitable industrial development throughout our counties, both in urban and rural areas. We need electric power so that we can carry out value addition activities to our agricultural produce. In this era of information technology, electricity is vital and we must have it in all our learning institutions, particularly secondary and primary schools. We need electricity at the family and household level, so that our people can improve the quality of their lives. It is, therefore, a vital commodity. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to thank the Government for the huge investment in this area, and the success we have been able to achieve so far in providing electricity, particularly in our rural areas. However, we need to hasten this pace, so that the entire country can benefit. One of the major handicaps is the rampant vandalism of transformers. This is a major menace. People wait for years to be provided with electricity. Once that has been done, the next thing you see is the area experiencing a blackouts again because some individuals have come at night and taken away the transformers. This is a terrible thing. It is a terrible practice and it is taking us back into the dark period. This menace must be dealt with very firmly. In my view, this is economic sabotage which should not be tolerated in a civilized society. I support the various measures which have been proposed in this Bill; I thank the Committee for the initiative and for thinking along this line. This is because we must deal with this menace firmly, so that we can allow development to continue to take place. It is not possible to achieve Vision 2030 if we do not hasten the pace of the provision of electricity in all parts of the country. I, therefore, support this Bill very strongly and say that the activities of criminal individuals or groups bent on sabotaging this electrification programme must be stopped. Very firm action must be taken against them to ensure that we allow development to take place and this vandalism is stopped once and for all. Those who want to be rich quickly and those who want to take shortcuts to acquire wealth at the expense of society must be told that, that is not acceptable. We only do so by enhancing punitive action through this Bill. This Bill deserves to be supported by every person of good will. I support."
}