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{
    "id": 380633,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/380633/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 179,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Mositet",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 608,
        "legal_name": "Peter Korinko Mositet",
        "slug": "peter-korinko-mositet"
    },
    "content": "Thank you Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I rise to support this Motion. This is a very good Motion which tells us that some people have relaxed on their job. I believe that when Masinga and other dams were constructed along the Tana River, this was done in good faith. This was an intention not only to get power but also to control floods. I agree with the Mover of the Motion that the institution that is in charge of the dams that are along that river and particularly KenGen should be held responsible and asked to take care of all the mess that has been caused by the flooding of that river. Speaking from an engineering point of view, by the time engineers design a dam, there is always a spillway designed to take down water when the dam overflows. In case the spillway is small or was not designed to take a lot of water, for instance, in case of Masinga Dam, control valves are used. By the time control valves are used, warnings should be turned on to warn the people who live downstream that control valves will be opened at a particular time to run water from their natural streams. This warning is done just like the one we are given when we have a solar eclipse. We are told that on a particular day, there will be a solar eclipse and that we should not stare at it with our bare eyes. Any disaster caused by a dam is very enormous. In fact, the opening of control valves is equated with the collapse of a dam. The collapse of a dam is normally a major thing all over the world. Life downstream is affected, animals, people, crops and even machinery. The Mover of the Motion said that those communities need to be compensated. That is something I feel should have been done a long time ago. Those concerned should not wait for the Senate to sit and come up with a Motion. This is something known to the authorities and the designers. They know that once you open the gates, automatically, something bad must happen. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we are not only talking about Tana River, but quite a number of things have not been working well, and that is why we voted for the Jubilee Government. We have even allowed people to build on riparian land. If you go to Athi River, some factories have been built on riparian land. Such developments should not be allowed. We should not wait until the boundaries are drawn before we can act. With the new Government in power, people should not be allowed to build on riparian land. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it is really a big shame that everytime it rains, we complain about the damage caused by water and, then a few weeks later, we complain again about lack of water. I know that in the Jubilee Manifesto, the Government has a good plan of irrigation, where a million acres or even more will be put under irrigation. We can only do this irrigation by ensuring that there is enough water in dams. This irrigation will ensure that we feed our country. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, with those remarks, I beg to support."
}