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{
    "id": 386229,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/386229/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 58,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "even the new districts which have been formed have no power. So, how do you expect that kind of area to develop? We are talking about youth and women and things like self- employment. If you do not have power, it is very difficult to harness your own capability. You may get the funds, but not have any useful skills to develop because you do not have the basic infrastructure like power. So, that is a major issue which is lacking in the President’s Speech. He did not tell us how he would fast track development in marginalized areas, so that we reach a level where we can make use of his programmes and whatever he is proposing in terms of taking the country forward so that we can be a middle income country within our generation. In his Speech, he talks about tourism as a way of improving our economy and revenue base by attracting more tourists. We are talking of a total of about three million per year. We know very well that tourists come here basically because of our wildlife and the marginalized areas, the so-called arid areas, is where the wildlife is found. We have been trying to conserve as much as we can. However, since late last year, there is a worrying trend that has come up in the conservancies in this country. We have heard about the poaching menace which is not good for our tourism, wildlife and for our future generations. However, I am worried about some conservation policy which is coming up. We have all see that there is a lot of poaching. However, if you look keenly you will see this poaching is taking place outside the protected Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) areas. These are private areas outside the conservancy area which are mainly run by Europeans. The politics going on is that the KWS is being portrayed as being ineffective so that the owners of ranches can attract funds. In the process, they portray our otherwise dedicated Kenyans who are involved in this protection to appear like they do not know anything. As somebody from a pastoral community, I am worried. Some senior officers who were targeted at KWS and who were accused of being ineffective happen to come from my area. This may be a way of getting them out. This may disenfranchise us who are harbouring the animals. That kind of politics needs to be checked if we intend to improve our earnings from tourism. We need to strengthen organizations like the KWS which are already doing it so that we achieve the goal of making sure that we benefit from the resource. The Youth Enterprise Fund (YEF) and the Women Enterprise Fund (WEF) is a good idea. However, the issue is to make sure that it works. This is not a new Fund. It has been there. However, where I come from, people have not accessed it. This means that there is something wrong with its implementation. This time round, it must be easily accessible. In addition, the necessary capacity building should be carried out so that people can make quality and meaningful use of it. The other issue I would like to talk about is insecurity. Kenyans cry of insecurity in major towns. We have been living with insecurity for a long time until we are now made to believe that pastoralists cannot live without fighting. However, I would like to give a case where that idea was disapproved. North Eastern Kenya has been one of the very insecure parts of this country for a long time. You had to get police escort for a bus; one vehicle to lead in front and one behind, but it would still be attacked. However, it took one officer who understood the cause of this banditry to step in. This was Amb. Swaleh. He stopped it. My last posting was in Mandera. I could easily travel from Garissa to Mandera at night. I worked there for five years and did not hear about a single incident 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."
}