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{
    "id": 381616,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/381616/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 113,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Abdirahman",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 161,
        "legal_name": "Abdirahman Ali Hassan",
        "slug": "abdirahman-ali-hassan"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for allowing me to contribute to this very important Motion that touches on the lives of very many Kenyans including those of where I come from. For the benefit of the House, I would like to say that even if we put this under the arid and semi-arid lands, this still does not cover the whole country. The arid and semi-arid lands cover around 24 original districts. So, in my understanding, this is still a Motion that affects counties. However, I stand to be corrected. It could cover a number of counties in the country but not all the counties fall under the arid and semi-arid lands. There are areas that do not fall under any of these categories. I do not want to spend more time on that but it is crucial for us who come from areas where we keep livestock. When I listened to many contributions, including that of Madam Speaker who appeared to be a very serious pastoralist, you are not an ordinary lady Senator. I admired the passion with which you and a number of Senators from other parts of the country had while sharing how the livestock sector has been neglected over time. I will call this a new dawn. If Senators across counties can rally their support behind this Motion that was brought by Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo and if this Motion was brought many years ago, it would have changed the lives of many Kenyans including our national economy. When the new Jubilee Government was constituted, I felt that one area where there was a gap was when they lumped the Ministry of Livestock Development with the Ministry of Agriculture. If there was any seriousness on the part of the Jubilee Government, they would have continued to retain the Ministry of the Development of Northern Kenya because it was a relevant Ministry. We feel that agriculture will continue to dominate or take precedence over the livestock Ministry. That aside, development in general is understood by many practitioners in different respects. However, I want to point out that pastoral development is unique. Provision of services to people in livestock keeping areas including education, health and water, is done in a very unique way. Those policy makers and planners who have done it for over the last five decades did not realise how this could be done. They thought about formal systems the same way we heard that extension services have to move along with the people. Education services have to move along with the people. Health services have to be done in a mobile manner. I want to point out that our policy makers and planners for development in this country did not appreciate the set up in those areas. Pastoralists are under pressure. One of the Senators who spoke said, I think it was Prof. Anyang’-Nyong’o, people in Maasailand are under threat and livestock keeping is facing extinction. The same applies to northern Kenya where I come from. The Government has created over 100 locations at the expense of the people who keep livestock. 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."
}