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{
    "id": 391921,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/391921/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 163,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Nanok",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2947,
        "legal_name": "Daniel Epuyo Nanok",
        "slug": "daniel-epuyo-nanok"
    },
    "content": "Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, we need to look at the appropriateness of the policies that have been pursued by the Ministry of Water; which is currently called the Ministry of Environment, Water and Mineral Resources. We need to have interventions that are going to address the challenges of a water starved country because in the coming years, we will be having the challenge of providing water to a population that his growing every other year. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, huge dams will promote other economic activities around when they are constructed. One can introduce fish farming in these huge dams. People can engage in meaningful economic activities like fishing. We can also introduce irrigation using water from these huge dams. That is an economic activity that is going to benefit our people. Arising from this will be settlements. The pastoralists will settle down instead of moving from place to place in search of water. It is also known that floods and droughts cause a lot of havoc and damage; both socio-economic and environmental. So, if these dams are constructed, they will mitigate against those havocs caused by floods or droughts. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, every time we raise issues of Government policies that have not served us well, it is because of the way those policies are implemented when corruption sets in. I want to concur with the hon. Member who contributed some time back that, it is because of corruption that we plan for things to happen in this country and they do not happen. The intention is not followed by action. This brings about a lot of political game plans and in-fighting because people think that when we are in Government, this is when we are provided with these amenities, yet these are basic needs. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, water is supposed to be free the way air is free. This is because without water there is no life. So, as planners and policy implementers of Government, we need to be sensitive and provide Kenyan people with the very basic needs like water. If we are going to think of constructing dams, we will have to consider that there are areas in this country that are so densely populated that you may not construct a dam because you will displace so many people. Therefore, you need to plan for them. But in some areas, you will not have that headache. For instance, in Turkana, there is land and flooding occurs. I live in a constituency where we receive rainfall once in three to four months. When I say once, I am talking of rainfall that comes for only two to three days. Two days and that is it for the whole year. But when it comes, it causes floods, destroys infrastructure and displaces people. For sure, if dams are constructed in such areas, then we will have mitigated a major concern of the people. We will make life better for the people of Kenya. As the Government plans to do this, it should do the construction of the dams across the country and it should start with those areas that will appreciate the intervention most. In the year 2003 when the budget was read, Central Kenya was allocated Kshs5 billion towards water improvement. Turkana, which is water deficient got only Kshs500 million. It beats logic, who is in need? At least, in some places a stream runs throughout the year; while in others, there is no water completely. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, we cannot live like this and say that we are all in the same country. That is why you hear in some parts of this country people saying that they are moving to “Kenya”. This is because that seems to be where the services are The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}