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{
    "id": 479848,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/479848/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 253,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Okoth",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 12482,
        "legal_name": "Kenneth Odhiambo Okoth",
        "slug": "kenneth-odhiambo-okoth"
    },
    "content": "country under the Cabinet Secretary. Again, this is fundamentally wrong and it is the wrong direction for Kenya to take. It is an invitation for corruption and unpredictability in the industry. It is not an international best practice or model which will attract foreign direct investment to Kenya. It is a model that will keep away international corporations from countries such as Australia or the United States whose foreign relations Acts prohibit them from dealing in bribery and corruption. So, they will come to Kenya if you set up a system where you are putting all these powers in one hand. The best practice is that powers to grant, review and revoke licences must never be vested in the hands of only one Cabinet Secretary or even just officials from one narrow Government branch. They should be done through a committee or a licensing board that is independent, verifiable and can be audited. Such a body would include representatives of the Cabinet Secretary, the mining industry, employees, private citizens and the committees. So, you have decision making on such vital matters as licences not being done by one person and creating a huge space for rent-seeking and corruption. We must make sure that our mining sector, as it comes of age, is set on the right principles of ensuring that there will be no pollution or destruction of our water, soil and air resources. We have seen examples of countries, including our neighbours Tanzania where unregulated, unco-ordinated and unsupervised mining has resulted in the destruction of ground water and the rise in cases of cancer and other diseases. That is a huge blow and it will not be worth it if we seek to get economic gain for huge multi- national corporations and their shareholders, but we sacrifice the well-being and the health of our children and future generations by making our water, soil and air dirty so that we cannot live in it nicely. I have seen good examples of mining companies in Kenya which have done well on the environmental front. I will give an example of the Bamburi Portland Cement Company which has done so well with regard to quarry reclamation."
}