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{
    "id": 404906,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/404906/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 274,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Kiptanui",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 52,
        "legal_name": "Jackson Kiplagat Kiptanui",
        "slug": "jackson-kiptanui"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I want to thank the Mover of the Bill for reserving some five minutes for me to second it. In support of this Bill, I would like to say that wildlife is our national heritage. Many countries are not proud because they do not have wildlife. Therefore, we should be proud of this important national heritage. As my colleague said, tourism earns this country a substantial amount of money through foreign exchange. Tourism, indeed, contributes greatly to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Therefore, we must protect wildlife in this country. The Jubilee Government promised that the number of tourists visiting this country will increase from three million to 10 million in the next five years. In order for us to achieve that objective, we must address the issues surrounding wildlife conservation. As a country, we are pleased to say that the eighth wonder of the world found in this country – that is the wild beast migration that happens every year. I understand that millions of tourists visit this country to watch the wild beast migration. This year, we are experiencing something which has never happened before. The wild beast migration is taking place for the second time. I understand that they migrated from Maasai Mara and Serengeti. They are now going back. This has never happened before. The tourism sector employs quite a number of Kenyans. Statistics show that the sector employs over 200,000 Kenyans, which translates to over 10 per cent of the total work force in this country. Therefore, we need to improve this sector to protect wildlife and ensure that we are able to attract tourists to come to this country. I would like to note that wildlife in our country is found in natural habitats, and not in zoos like in many other countries. Therefore, we should be proud and continue to protect it. Part II of the Bill talks of establishment of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). I want to believe that this Bill contains a section which protects the current employees of the current KWS, the Board of Directors and management to ensure continuity. On the same note, we must empower the KWS by funding it sufficiently, so that they can protect wildlife and its habitat. I understand that currently, there is a lot of poaching going on due to insufficient funding of the KWS. Therefore, we must empower the KWS to enable them have enough funds, so that they can employ and train sufficient personnel in order for them to eliminate poaching and deal with the illegal trade of wildlife and wildlife products. We must give sufficient funds, so that they can protect wildlife. Clause 24 of the Bill talks of establishment of County Wildlife Conservation Committee, whose roles will include ensuring that benefits derived from the use of wildlife resources are distributed in accordance with this Act. I want to believe that the establishment of the committee will be fair, so that all the people in counties are taken care of. I want to believe that those who will play the role of forming the committees will consult with the various stakeholders, so that we can have a broad coverage in terms of representation. Finally, I wish to say that we must expand the tourism sector. In order for us to do so, we should know clearly which taxes belong to the national Government and which ones fall under the county governments. We need to protect our national parks and game reserves and expand to reach the various counties. We need to support the KWS to enable 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."
}