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{
    "id": 479780,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/479780/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 185,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Nyamweya",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 391,
        "legal_name": "Manson Oyongo Nyamweya",
        "slug": "manson-nyamweya"
    },
    "content": "serious conflicts. The Bill does not recognize county governments. We know that county governments own property. Constitutionally, the county government is the owner of the county property. This Bill only recognizes the Cabinet Secretary. It does this through and through. It is as if we do not have devolved units in this country. We need to bring an amendment so that we incorporate the county governments which have the right to protect the natural resources in their localities. They must be given a say on the mining and revenue sharing. Unless this is addressed, the communities where the mining is going to be done will complain. I have gone through this Bill. I come from Tabaka where we have special minerals, as hon. Angwenyi said. This Bill actually recognizes the fact that if you own land you can develop it and even sell it. You can get somebody to come and develop the land. The same Bill states that the Cabinet Secretary has absolute authority to nullify all that. This is a very serious contradiction that this Bill is bringing. Unless these issues are addressed then we are actually setting this country to conflict. Clearly, the rights of private property are protected by the Constitution and yet here we are talking about the Cabinet Secretary coming to acquire this land for commercial purposes for vested interest groups. It is not going to be easy for communities to agree especially now when we are discovering minerals. A lot of minerals have been discovered including oil, coal, soapstone in Kisii and so on. We need to come up with an honest structure so that this wealth can benefit all Kenyans equally. Hon. Speaker, another issue in the Bill is that the Cabinet Secretary will form a parastatal. When you look at the membership of the parastatal, it comprises all the Government appointees. It has the PS, Ministry of Finance, the PS, Ministry of Trade, and then it says “four other people who will run that organization.” Basically, this is a Government body which is being formed. I thought the Government is running away from forming parastatals. This Bill contradicts the aspirations of the Jubilee Government. For example, the Jubilee Government is downsizing on parastatals and it is creating wealth. This Bill is creating a body which is purely controlled by the Government. For what purpose is this? Let these people work in the Ministry. There is no private input--- If you want to create a parastatal, the purpose should be to benefit from private input so that individuals who have expertise can give correct advice and information to the Government. If you, however, make it a Government appointee thing then it is still the PS who is in charge. And if he is in charge, why do you create it and for what? This is just another conduit for corruption, nothing else. There are murmurs today that before somebody is given a licence, they are asked to pay up to US$1 million. It is a serious issue in this country. I would like to urge the Committee and hon. Members that we do not pass this Bill the way it is. If we do, then we are pitting Kenyans against each other. You cannot say private ownership, community ownership, right to develop land and at the same time give the Cabinet Secretary power to acquire the land. How do you determine how it is going to make money? The Bill also talks about auction. It states that the Cabinet Secretary can auction the land and the highest bidder develops the land. At the same time it states that the Cabinet Secretary can give directly. Which is the correct procedure? We must have one clear procedure which is going to be used. If it comes to issuance of licences let us form an independent body to issue them. This is a body which can be fair. The way this Bill is, 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."
}