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{
    "id": 382891,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/382891/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 60,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Hargura",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 827,
        "legal_name": "Godana Hargura",
        "slug": "godana-hargura"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this important Motion. The issue of the environment is a serious issue in our country. The ecosystem in some parts of this country is very delicate as it was mentioned before. According to a study by the World Health Organization (WHO) a quarter of the diseases we are facing actually got into our systems over a long period of time. They are basically pollution related. We do not come to realize it until later in life when they have reached a level where we can do very little about them, because they are not easily detected. We get into this situation through inhalation and ingestion of pollutants and even absorption through our skin. When we have that situation and the kind of health system and level of awareness that our people have, then we are exposing them to very serious health risks. I will give an example of Marsabit County where I come from, particularly an area called Kargi. Some time back in the mid 1980s, there were some explorations that were done there by some foreign companies. They claimed to be exploring for oil, but five years later, we realized that our boreholes had been polluted. In one instance we lost about 6,000 heads of animals. It was attributed to pollution of the water and that borehole was closed. That shows that we do not realize what is happening when our environment is affected until after sometime. Based on the same kind of pollution, for the last ten years now, in that particular area we are losing close to ten people per year because of cancer related diseases. This shows that the people there have been exposed to some toxic or radioactive materials which are affecting them now long after the actual pollution has taken place. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in this particular case where the Mover of the Motion is referring to the pollution of the two main rivers, we have normally the treatment works in Dandora which we know is done through the natural system. There are ratio and infloculation systems which remove the waste from the water, which is later discharged into the water systems. It was mentioned that the main culprits are the industrial pollutants which release the heavy metals into the system and the natural water treatment system does not absorb those heavy metals. So, they end up in our rivers and downstream that is what people use. Unfortunately, you cannot detect most of these things using your normal senses. They will end up in your system. After sometime, you will experience what the Senator for Kitui said. They are experiencing cancer cases also there because of pollutants upstream. So, there is need to have very clear guidelines and punitive measures on these pollutants like the industrial waste. For example, there must be very clear guidelines that an industrial system cannot release its waste into the normal sewerage system, until it has been tested to a particular level that they have removed the pollutants which cannot be taken care of by the normal water treatment systems. That is what is missing. We may have all the legislations on paper, but actually the implementation is the problem. We have to impress on the Government that those systems have to be addressed. First of all, the control has to be at the source or factory level. There must be some way of making 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."
}