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{
    "id": 473335,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/473335/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 298,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Mulu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1955,
        "legal_name": "Benson Makali Mulu",
        "slug": "benson-makali-mulu"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me the chance to also support this Bill. It is quite timely. It would not have come at a better time than now bearing in mind that the operational law is of 1940, that is before Kenya became Independent. A number of things have changed. When you look at Kenya today, a lot of discoveries have been made and areas which had been marginalized for a long time, and which have been classified, or categorized, as useless in terms of economic potential, have come up; a number of minerals have been discovered in those areas. Currently, Kitui County is rated as county number one in terms of minerals. If we do it right, in terms of exploitation, this is going to help our people and at the same time contribute greatly to the national economy. Looking at this Bill, there are a number of good things. I think it is this legislative framework, or legal framework, which is going to be in place after this Bill becomes law. It is actually going to go along way in ensuring that Kenya benefits from these natural resources; we hope we will not go the way most of the African countries have gone, where discovery of minerals became a curse. Looking at this Bill, there are three or four clauses which are really attractive, and strick me as very good clauses. For example, clause 149(2)--- I would really wish to read this clause out. “149(2) A mineral right shall not be granted to a person under this Act, unless the person has obtained an environmental impact assessment license, social heritage assessment, and a environmental management plan has been approved”. This has been the fear of most of the Kenyans in terms of environmental issues where we have mining activities. When you look at this Bill, it is very clear that, before any mining is done, the Government will make sure that an environmental impact assessment report is actually submitted, analyzed by our experts and it is confirmed that at the end of the day, Kenyans will be safe even with a mining activity around. The other thing that is very important is that this Bill also talks about what we call skills transfer. When we look at Clause 44, it says that anybody who will be involved in mining will be required by law to ensure that they transfer skills from experts to 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."
}