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{
    "id": 494972,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/494972/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 191,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Ms.) A.W. Ng’ang’a",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2884,
        "legal_name": "Alice Wambui Ng'ang'a",
        "slug": "alice-wambui-nganga"
    },
    "content": "get it right; when the rains come we need to harvest water first. Basically, this is why I say the national Government should come in, because if it is dams, we know they all do not fall within the same region. There are those that are within the county but there are some that are built or constructed at the border of two counties. If the national Government has to come in, these resources belong to all of us. The national Government needs to place those dams in places where they cater for larger areas. For those of us who come from places where these dams are constructed; it is true we are the ones who preserve them, we are part of the ecosystem. We need to be given part of that share because we will preserve them. But then as a county we should not be selfish; just like any other natural resource we should know this is something that is going to be shared across the county. So, when we are asking for recognition, we should be reasonable. We appreciate that the natural resource comes from your region and it is a plus for that county, but also we should see ourselves like Kenyans; we need water. When it rains and given that there is no drainage system here in Nairobi, you will see all hospitals flooded with patients who have developed a cold, typhoid, dysentery and other diseases. You will see hospitals full of people because we are not able to handle the mass of water that comes with rain. When we sit here representing the national Government as Members of Parliament, this is the time people at home will be calling us because the infrastructure in our constituencies is also affected. It is high time as Kenyans, we get it right. It is raining; we harvest water in pans and dams. The other day on television I saw a man with his cattle; he had walked a very long distance. I will talk of Thika; even as we speak, animals are criss-crossing the whole town. I can imagine these animals come from Kajiado, North Eastern and Samburu. They do not have pasture or water to drink. What else are they supposed to do yet their livelihood depends on these animals? If there is no food, they need to move and look for food for their animals. This man talked about how he had walked for long not knowing whether his animals would survive or not. That is where poverty level now comes in. These animals start dying of hunger. Then it means that the level of poverty goes up. We need at this particular time to have the Government to invest in pans. When there are no rains, the animals can have water to drink, if we have dams. We are 50 years down the line since we got Independence but there are many households that do not have water right now. In my constituency, being a town constituency, there are parts of it where water is a problem. These bodies which were doing very well and they were being handled by municipal councils and town councils are no longer there. Water has become very expensive to a point that your neighbour is getting water and you are not, because you cannot afford what is being charged. The water is there but the little that is there is very expensive. So, this Bill has come at the right time, but we need to put our heads together to see the way forward. We need to tackle the area of charges. How much should the water cost? That needs to be regulated and captured strongly in this Bill. We also need to capture research and development. We need to put a lot of effort in research. We need to be innovative enough to know how to deal with our people and how to harvest water. Where do we get the water; and with the dams that we have, how well do we protect them? How do we protect the catchment areas? When it comes to consumer rights, at times I wonder whether we still protect the rights of people because if the water bill 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."
}