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{
    "id": 473250,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/473250/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 213,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Nyenze",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1987,
        "legal_name": "Francis Mwanzia Nyenze (Deceased)",
        "slug": "francis-mwanzia-nyenze"
    },
    "content": "limestone in Kitui South where hon. (Ms.) Nyamai comes from and so many places. So, Kenya has become a hotspot for mineral exploration because as the trends have shown, Africa contains more hydro-carbons than the Middle East. It is only that it had not been discovered before. But all the attention globally is focused in Africa and especially East Africa where Kenya and Uganda have discovered oil and Tanzania has discovered gas in large quantities. What this means is that we can, with the right legislation, transform our economy to the middle income status within a short time, so long as those minerals are exploited for the benefit of the common man and the wealth is equitably distributed amongst the people. I want to say that a mining company called Cortek some time told us that the rare earths that were discovered in Murema Hills were worth US$100 billion. If this is true, it can transform this country. From what we have learnt from the little that we get from Tullow Oil, for every well they sink in the Turkana basin, they always strike oil with depths of over 100 meters. That is a lot of oil! Without saying much, we are lucky. Those areas that used to be called low or marginal areas of very low economic potential are the ones that those resources have been found. There is Lower Eastern, Ukambani, North Eastern, Turkana and even in Maasai land where most of the sand that we use to construct houses in urban centers come from. So, those areas where minerals have been discovered have been termed marginalized before. What I would like to urge hon. Members to do is to accept that they were supported by tea and coffee growers from Mt. Kenya and other areas. So, whenever those minerals are found, let those communities not feel that it is their commodity. That is because we used to get services from the shared resources that we had. There are several things that should be done at this point so that this Bill helps people; especially in the area of benefits-sharing. I can say without fear of contradiction that the Bill, as it is, gives the Cabinet Secretary so much power to issue and cancel licences and introduce controls. That gives room for corruption. This Bill should seek to curtail the powers of the Cabinet Secretary and share this power through the devolved governments, so that there is equity and fair distribution of those resources. For this country, there was prophecy for those who read the Bible and who are born-again Christians, that this country---"
}