Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 472898,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/472898/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 280,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Prof.) Nyikal",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 434,
        "legal_name": "James Nyikal",
        "slug": "james-nyikal"
    },
    "content": "Hon. Speaker, I rise to support this Bill. Yesterday I appreciated the Committee for coming up with a complex and very detailed Bill. I indicated that we are just realizing the potential of Kenya in terms of mineral resources in the country. The discovery of oil may not be all and I believe that even in the old mining areas that were abandoned around the time of Independence, there may still be a huge potential for minerals. I am talking about areas such as Kakamega and Migori. There is an Act that was put in place in 1940. I do not believe that the intentions of legislators in 1940 were also the interests of Kenyans; dominant were the interests of people who were benefiting by exporting most of these minerals abroad. With this discovery, we need a new law that will look at all the areas. It is important to realize that many countries in this continent have suffered great poverty after the discovery of minerals; we call it the curse of minerals. We are aware of places like the Kabinda Enclave in Anglo and the problems in Nigeria that are not to do with environmental issues; there are actual major economic problems arising from huge sums of money exported out of countries by foreigners working with collaborators. It is important that at this point in Kenya we have this Bill. Indeed, it has come in very appropriately. I support this Bill because first and foremost it vests all the interests in minerals in the Government, specifically the national Government. Clause 6 of this Bill categorically states that minerals wherever discovered are a property of the national Government. This is important at this time in our early devolution, and when counties are seeking to exert themselves. It is not that, that is bad; in fact, it is the desired thing. I know that we are already noticing that counties may feel that if minerals are discovered in their areas, then they have sole ownership. The Bill, in that respect, protects the integrity of the Kenyan nation in terms of utilization of minerals."
}