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{
    "id": 358174,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/358174/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 107,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Mwaura",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13129,
        "legal_name": "Isaac Maigua Mwaura",
        "slug": "isaac-mwaura"
    },
    "content": "Hon. Deputy Speaker, I rise to support this Motion about the poaching of elephants and the measures that need to be taken. If you look at the history of poaching, there has been an increase in the number of elephants that have been killed of late. There is a report showing that between December and January this year, at the Tsavo National Park, we have lost about 21 elephants purely because of poaching. The population of elephants in Kenya reduced from 275,000 in the 70s to 20,000 in 1989. The fact is that poaching is not necessarily linked to the common person on the ground. If there are collaborators, it is due to the factors that have been enumerated in this House like poverty. Poaching seems to have the support of mainly high level individuals. There is no common man who can ensure that the security apparatus at our exit and entry points are switched off if he or she did not have some kind of political clout or some high ranking position in our pecking order in the society. I am also concerned about the China- Kenyan relationships. Poaching is primarily motivated by the rising middle class in China because of the economic boom that has occurred there. China has moved from a developing country to a developed country within a generation. The consequences are that if we continue to encourage it in our country, we will reduce our opportunity of earning revenue from tourism, which is a key economic pillar of our economy. I am concerned by some of the concessions that are made by our Government when it is negotiating for various funding opportunities from banks such as the Exim Bank of China to fund projects such as infrastructure. Are we not giving too much? That leads to the discourse of having countries that are usually referred to us as poor, but resource-rich countries like our country. We need to ensure that there is proper legislation. Therefore, we need to question the relationships that we are also developing with the emerging economies - especially Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - so that we do not concede too much and therefore, jeopardize our future. For example, this country’s identity is largely because of its tourism. When one travels out of the country, people are likely to ask you why we have so many elephants and yet, as hon. Toborso has observed, our children may not have seen an elephant."
}