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{
    "id": 398764,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/398764/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 40,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "The Senate Majority Leader",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 440,
        "legal_name": "Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen",
        "slug": "kipchumba-murkomen"
    },
    "content": "(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for this opportunity. I rise to congratulate Sen. Kittony for this Motion. She is emerging as a Senator who is very passionate about the protection of our environment. If we had a few more Senators of such calibre, we would really help this country. Other than the crisis that we are talking about in this country in terms of the deteriorating security, there is a huge crisis. This crisis is an ecological one. Our country is becoming more untenable to live in because of ecological challenges. The places where we expected rains to come periodically and regularly are not experiencing those rains. The dry lands are getting drier while the wetlands are no longer there. The water towers are getting depleted. Therefore, as we think about other aspects of physical security, we should look at the sustainability of our environment and the ability of our country to keep us alive and satisfied. I want to thank the Mover of this Motion for bringing it before this Senate. I fully support this Motion. Right now, there is a lot of pressure on water. Kenya has been identified as one of the water scarce countries in the world. In spite of the recent good news that we have adequate aquifers, especially in Turkana County and other places in the north, Kenya still remains a country which is water scarce yet the uses of water in industrialization, domestic use, irrigation, social and religious functions cannot be over emphasized. In supporting this Motion because enough examples have been given, there are countries with less water and they are more productive than Kenya because they have managed their resources so well. The water that is available for agricultural production and industrialization in those countries, is more than what we have in this country. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Jubilee Government is very conscious of the need for sustainable conservation of the environment. In any case, the Constitution has a specific Chapter on Land and Environment; Chapter 5. This chapter constraints us to put in place mechanisms that will preserve our resources, including water resources. Time has come for us, as a country, to understand that water is a finite resource. It is not infinite. Therefore, we must come up with ways of ensuring the country conserves the water that is available. One area of wastage is the rain water. You will be shocked if we just applied very simple technologies to make sure that when the rains come, we are able to harvest even a fraction of that water. We will not need to pressure our rivers. Right now, we are talking about irrigation. There is a lot of pressure for irrigation to be done. The Jubilee Government has committed itself, for example, in expanding the land under irrigation by one million acres. That will have an effect on the quantity of running water in our rivers which will be made available for other uses, especially for counties and parts of our country which are situated towards the last segments of those rivers. The upper riparian areas may get enough for irrigation. I am not sure about the lower riparian areas. 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."
}