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{
    "id": 418330,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/418330/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 235,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Billow",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 260,
        "legal_name": "Billow Adan Kerrow",
        "slug": "billow-kerrow"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the same issue of energy, I agree with what the previous speakers have said that we need huge investment. I am glad that the Government is thinking of putting up a new pipeline from Nairobi to Mombasa. But, again, really the Government should look at the possibility of bringing on board the private sector into this industry, otherwise, we will also be operating at under-capacity and suffering constraints of infrastructure in the energy sector. This is one sector that is expanding more than any other. There is no way that you can talk of expanding the economy – whether it is agriculture, tourism or transport – if you do not have energy. The consumption of fuel is increasing across the region and we have got a strategic port. You want to serve all those countries, but you are telling them: Sorry, I can only allocate you a space of 30, when you can actually invite people to put billions into this thing. Because of certain interests, we are unable to expand the facility. We have talked about privatizing the Kenya Pipeline for the last 15 years. We cannot move because of interests all the time. I think it is important that the Government really focuses on some of these areas, if we want to focus on the economy. Lastly, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, let me talk about the issue of energy, including power generation. The Ministry of Energy and Petroleum is very important but we keep hearing of various interests in this sector. If there is one area in this Government where there are a lot of conflicting interests that frustrate progress, development and investment, it is this sector. It is wrong to allow individuals to literally get people out of office because they want to create opportunities for themselves, their people or for others. We are seeing this now with the issue of the geothermal sector. We are reading in the newspapers of what is happening everyday, that a chairman wants to get a particular individual out of office, they want to put mtu wao. This kind of culture must stop. This Committee has an obligation to go beyond telling us they visited various places to actually going into issues that affect this sector. They should tell the Government what is not right and what needs to be done. This approach is very important. We, as a nation, cannot continue suffering due to the self-interests of individuals. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I conclude by saying that we, as a nation, are strategically placed. We are lucky that there is oil that has been discovered in Turkana County. I hear it has also been found in Mandera and Lamu. I know we will discover oil in many other places. We need to think about the issue of a refinery. We need a discussion around these issues. We do not want a boardroom decision. Let the Committee table the energy policy as soon as possible so that we can look at it. They should also table the proposals regarding where to put an important infrastructure like the refinery. Is it going to be in Lamu? Let us have a debate around it. This House needs to be engaged in these matters because we are interested in resource allocation to the people and the counties of this country. Therefore, we must be involved in decision making over this matter. Those are the issues we want to see placed on the table by the Committee. Otherwise, they have done pretty well by giving us a report of their tour. I support. 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."
}