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{
    "id": 380620,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/380620/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 166,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "is a big river called Nzoia which emanates from Mt. Elgon and around April and May, it causes havoc around Namanjalala where people are immersed in water until the water subsides. This Motion urges the Government to build walls on the river banks so that the water is contained. The other issue which this Motion proposes is for the Government to build dams to slow the speed of this water. During the dry season we can use this water from the dams for irrigation purposes. My county has had serious effects as a result of damage in the highlands. We have big highlands in West Pokot, these are; the Lelan Hills, the Cherangany Hills and Mt. Elgon. As a result of population explosion, people have moved into forests. So, when rains come, there is flooding. Rivers expand and I have in mind River Swam. This river starts on the border of Uganda and Kenya in Mt. Elgon. The river causes problems downstream in Kongelai as it goes down to Turkwel and finally to Lake Turkana. Two years ago the Government decided to put money in Kongelai and Kacheliba to contain the river so that it does not spill over. For the first time shops in Kongelai centre were saved from the floods. This means that if we can progressively put money annually on rivers, we can contain them by storing water in dams for irrigation. The people along River Kanyangaren in Pokot North and also those along River Muruny in Pokot South have been affected. River Kerio has also been causing problems in four counties, which include, Elgeyo-Marakwet County, Baringo County, West Pokot County and Turkana County. Every year, for a long time, if the river floods and you are on the other side, you have to wait for eight months for you to cross over with your animals. One old man joked and said that if your daughter becomes ripe to be married off, you just shout across the river to your neighbours to do the necessary like paying of dowry because, for eight months, the river is completely full. Mr. Deputy Speaker, we have natural rivers which God gave us but we have not utilized the water. We just let it flow into the Indian Ocean or in Lake Turkana for example. We do not have bridges for crossing from one side to the other. Even in River Tana, you can walk for several kilometres before you can get a bridge to cross to the other side. The point we need to get from here is that we have rivers and we need to build dams and protect them. If you go to Europe, you cannot even know that there is a river because waters have been contained, walls have been built and fishing or boat riding can be done, but for our case, we have not done this. How much does it take for us to do like we did three years ago through the Economic Stimulus Projects (ESPs) where some impulsive work was done and the whole country could see that the Government had injected money to initiate programmes that can easily bring change? There were programmes in every constituency and people knew the Government cares. There are people who suffer, for example, in Weiwei where every year, we are sure of landslides. When God displaces people, do we call them “internally displaced persons” or “externally displaced persons”? Do we also have any mechanisms to assist those people other than sending relief food? When you give relief food, it does not assist because next year the same problem will recur. Our number on this earth is increasing and we need to take steps as a Government, and the Senate is proposing here the measures to be taken. These measures may not be uniform depending on where the rivers are, to eliminate or reduce these perennial damages. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}