Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 474777,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/474777/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 680,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Maanzo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2197,
        "legal_name": "Daniel Kitonga Maanzo",
        "slug": "daniel-kitonga-maanzo"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for according me the opportunity to contribute to this Bill. In many parts of Kenya, there are probably a lot of minerals which are yet to be discovered. Even in parts of my constituency of Makueni, during the rainy seasons children spot stones on the riverbeds – stones which eventually turn out to be very precious minerals. Therefore, there is need for us to come up with a law which could help the country to make proper use of the minerals which we have in the country. I have looked at this Bill and noted that the drafters were not very serious with the aspects of the offences and punishments provided therein. Some of them look very lean or offences that one can easily get away with. Diamonds are found in plenty in the countryside of Botswana. In fact, an ostrich in that country is likely to swallow some diamonds to assist its digestive system. An individual is not allowed to slaughter an ostrich without the presence of diamond mines officials. The minimum jail term you can get for committing diamond-related offences is 24 years. The fines are also hefty. In our case, the average jail term is 10 years or less. So, there is need for the Committee to look at those provisions again with a view to proposing appropriate amendments, so that we can make the offences very strict. A good example is the provision of a 30-days period for reporting of discovery of any new minerals, as cited by my colleague from Kabete. If somebody spots a very precious stone today and they have 30 days to report the discovery, in itself, that period is a leeway for such person to illegally extract the mineral within that period. By the time they report discovery of the mineral to the Cabinet Secretary, they will already have benefited. So, we need to review this aspect and require one to report such discovery immediately to ensure that our minerals are not exploited illegally. Again, the proposed law does not seem to cover the communities, and how they benefit. I understand that there are massive coal and limestone deposits in Kitui County. If mined, those minerals can take this country to a great level of development. The biggest problem in having mineral exploited is failure to invest in the sector. For example, if we were to mine coal, what is the system of financing the sector? Should financing of such sectors always be undertaken by foreign companies? 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."
}