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{
    "id": 384974,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/384974/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 201,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "July 2, 2013 SENATE DEBATES 38 Sen. Abdirahman",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to support the very important bit, which the same honorable Sen. G.G. Kariuki spoke about, that declaring this issue as a national disaster is not sufficient. We will declare it a national disaster, yes; but what next? I kept on thinking after he said that, and I said that, maybe, from a radical position, what will be wrong if we declared the consumption of alcohol and drugs illegal? What shall we lose as people? I mean making it illegal in the sense that we upgrade to stiffer penalties – and we had the “Mututho” law. I tend to think that we may affect the business of East African Breweries and other manufacturers, but as long as we allow the manufacturing of alcohol and we do not have sufficient safeguards, although much has been done even from the “Mututho” law perspective, I think we either turn to religion fully because we have lost our values; we have lost our religion, we have lost our cultural and traditional set ups; we have lost parental guidance and we have lost communal or societal values. We had limits as we grew up, but today there are no limits. Maybe we need to turn to both tradition and religion, because enforcement is a problem. Many speakers who spoke this afternoon complained about the high level of involvement of people at the upper echelons of this country. When we listened to what the gentlemen were reporting on Jicho Pevu ; when we look at the huge consignments that we do not know where they end up even after being caught in Mombasa or in other international airports, it makes us to worry. We have destroyed, through the use of drugs and other substances, generations; and we will lose more unless we, as the leadership in this country, seriously think about it. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to appreciate the efforts that the National Agency for the Campaign against Alcohol and Drug Abuse ( NACADA ) is undertaking by going to the level of categorizing miraa as a drug. I was really pleased when they did a presentation in Mombasa and they told us that miraa is a drug. I am sure some of my colleagues from the upper eastern may not be happy, particularly those from the miraa growing areas. Maybe an alternative livelihood option for those kinds of people is important. This comes back to the bit on how best our Government is going to plan, as we get rid of drugs and alcohol. What is the other livelihood option we can think of for such communities? We want to take care of everybody, the consumer and the producer. We would even want miraa to be dealt with. But before that, if we think ahead, we can help the people in upper eastern to do something else. Some of the areas are arid, others are semi arid; some can turn to agriculture, some can keep cattle like us, and that is even going to be better. 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."
}