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{
    "id": 494998,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/494998/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 217,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Ogalo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2679,
        "legal_name": "George Oner Ogalo",
        "slug": "george-oner-ogalo"
    },
    "content": "ensure that we sustainably use them. They will also ensure that the basins from which we draw our water are properly managed. Under Clauses 28 and 29, this Bill creates the Water Harvesting and Storage Authority. This is a sort of a national strategic institution that should help the country prepare so that there is water all the time. Water is a security issue; if you do not have water, the security of a country will not be guaranteed because people will begin to fight for the scarce resource. Our Committee has recommended amendments to the Bill to ensure that those who transit from the National Water and Pipeline Corporation to this Authority are vetted properly to ensure that failures of the current corporation are not carried to the Water Harvesting and Storage Authority. In my opinion, this Authority should take care of all the big dams, whether they are for flood mitigation, water supply, power generation or irrigation. This Authority should take over all these big dams, manage them and offer services to those who use the dams for whatever purpose. If you want to generate power then you pay the Authority. If you want to irrigate land, you also get service from this Authority. This is going to be a strategic national institution to safeguard this country from lack of water. Under Clause 63 we have created the water works development boards in the different basins. These are the boards that will convey water from the Harvesting and Storage Authority to the counties and to the areas where consumers can begin to access it. These boards are necessary. There are those who have argued that with devolution we should not be having these boards. These boards traverse counties. If you talk of Victoria Water Services Board, you are in essence talking of Migori, Homabay, Siaya, Kisumu, Kericho, and Bomet counties. This board will undertake major works to convey water to the counties. At Clause 68, we have created the Water Services Regulatory Authority. When water eventually arrives at the counties we need to regulate how its supply is going to take place, and how users are going to be protected. This regulatory authority is an important one and it must remain a national institution. This is because under the Constitution consumer protection is a function of the national Government. The Government must, therefore, have a mechanism for ensuring that the tariffs that counties and service providers charge to supply water are regulated. We cannot allow that to be regulated by counties or service providers themselves. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, at Clause 75 we have created the water service providers. These are entities that are accredited by the regulatory authority to be able to supply water to consumers. The Bill also proposes that county governments provide mechanisms for delivering water to rural areas, where it is not commercially viable for a service provider to take water. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, this Bill also creates under Clause 23 the water basin committees to bring in public participation in deciding on the management of water resources. This is very important and the Constitution requires public participation. Under the water basin committees at Clause 23 we also have the sub-basin water resources user associations that will look at much smaller areas within the basins to ensure that management at that level of those water basins is carried out in a manner that satisfies all the stakeholders. 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."
}