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{
    "id": 445778,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/445778/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 360,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Nyenze",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1987,
        "legal_name": "Francis Mwanzia Nyenze (Deceased)",
        "slug": "francis-mwanzia-nyenze"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity to contribute on this very important Bill. I want to say from the outset that I support this Bill. It is very well drafted although it contains some small errors that should be corrected. I have noticed that on Page 115 of the Bill, Clause 25(5)(b), there is a word “personas” and yet it should be “the person was”. The other one is on Page 114, Clause 22(1) (b) which refers to “identity number” instead of “identity card number”. This ought to be corrected. Otherwise it is a very good Bill. If you want to know how important this Bill is, take a walk along Harambee Avenue where there are major Government offices such as the Office of the President, Sheria House, National Treasury and so on. You will notice that the covers to eight manholes have disappeared. This is because of the demand for scrap metal. People are removing covers of manholes and this is posing danger to Kenyans. The holes are so deep and somebody could easily fall in and die. This Bill is timely because it modernizes the Scrap Metal Act, 1962 Cap.503 of the Laws of Kenya which became outdated despite attempts to modernize it through amendments which were done in 1966, 1997 and 2012. Since this Bill seeks to regulate the scrap metal industry, it is very good to look at the realities that we have in Kenya to ensure that the vandals are weeded out. I will support this Bill for that reason. According to the Economic Survey, 2014, Kenya exported scrap metal worth over Kshs2.5 billion in 2013. These exports, hon. Shakeel tells me, came from Kisumu. However, the scrap metal came from all over the country and Nairobi was most targeted. This was done because there is market in those foreign countries. Kenya is losing Kshs16 billion every year to vandals. They target public utilities. They go for the guard rails, the road signs and so on. Our modern facilities are being vandalized because people want to make money. I do not know whether it is because of poverty or there is market for the scrap metal. This Bill is good and it will curb that. The telecommunication industry has lost a lot of wires. I saw a bridge in Western Kenya where the guard rails have disappeared and a river with a lot of water flows beneath the bridge. Hon. Major. Waluke can attest to this. Today, Kenya Power is losing 3,000 transformers every year. They also lose about 200,000 metres of power cables to thieves. If this goes on, where will Kenya Power be tomorrow? Telkom Kenya unearthed a syndicate of criminals who steal their communication copper cables and wires and then sell them to scrap metal dealers. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, the originator of this Bill is my friend. He has done a good job because the passage of this Bill will save this country a lot of the money it has lost over the last few years. The scrap metal industry has criminal elements who steal metal components for sale. The thefts are not restricted to scrap metal. Even old cars are being stolen for people to sell them as scrap metal. All those countries that have allowed haphazard export of scrap metal face similar problems. The cost of raw materials in the steel industry is very high. The cost of steel items is consequently very high. In Kenya, steel products are very expensive. I am sure that most hon. Members are builders. Some 10-15 years ago, twisted steel wires like the Y16, Y12 and Y8 used to cost a fraction of what they cost today. The 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."
}