Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 36491,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/36491/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 219,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "price. If the supply will increase, then, of course, the prices are likely to go down. I am conscious of the fact that we have been talking about the issue of controls. What we need is targeted subsidy as happens in India, Brazil and several other countries. This is a much better solution than rigid price control as a Government. We are willing to support targeted subsidy which we are actually working on right now. Mr. Twaha talked about the meeting with His Excellency the President about water bowsers. We are trying to get as many water bowsers as possible and to supply them to needy areas in the country within the resources that are available to the Ministry of Water and Irrigation. If some of them have not arrived, I would like to request the hon. Member to be patient. I know that that undertaking by the President has been forwarded to the Ministry of Water and Irrigation and that something is being done about it. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Member for Tharaka talked about drought resistant crops. He talked about green grams, millet and so on. This is what we talked about that we need to come up with a different approach to be able to respond to this crisis and drought resistant crops is one of them. The Ministry of Agriculture has been promoting these crops and providing seeds for these crops to be grown particularly in areas where there is less rainfall and where they will do best. These are crops like green grams, millet, finger millet, cassavas and so on. I would like to assure the hon. Member that he is very much in line with what the Government is trying to do in the country right now. The Member for Machakos talked about subsidized fertilizer prices. That is being done. He also talked about good prices for the produce. This is a question of supply and demand because this is a market economy. Supply and demand walk hand in hand. I am sure that is the best way to allocate resources in the free market. Mr. Kiuna, the Member for Molo, asked whether the Government has petitioned the United Nations Security Council to create a no-go zone in Somalia to free the people. We have actually done so. We have appealed to the international community to create a safe haven within Somalia. There are areas which have been liberated which are not under the control of the al Shabaab. We have said that camps should be created there and supplies flown into those camps, so that people can be fed there. That will help to stem the tide of people who are coming into Kenya because of lack of food. We are working on that as I am talking right now. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Local Government, Mr. Mudavadi, is right now in the United States of America and he will meet with the UN Secretary-General to discuss the possibility of doing exactly that within the territory of Somalia. Mr. Lessonet asked me to take personal responsibility; I do not know what he means. I do not know whether he wants to join me in taking responsibility. I do not know the responsibility for what. I would like to invite him to have a conversation with hon. Members who come from these affected areas and ask them to compare what has been done now and two years ago when we had a drought and what used to happen in those areas in the past. I am sure he will be informed that never before has been seen a government that was so responsive to the needs of the people in situations like the one they are experiencing today. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we do have a disaster response team which deals with situations of this nature. I did actually make a Statement in this House five months ago just to warn the House that this situation will come. So, it did not take us by surprise. We organized ourselves and we are dealing with it as best as we can."
}