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{
    "id": 499244,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/499244/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 111,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Maanzo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2197,
        "legal_name": "Daniel Kitonga Maanzo",
        "slug": "daniel-kitonga-maanzo"
    },
    "content": "these people have not been compensated to date. I think this sort of law is important. The other important factor in that we have riparian ownership, whereby people adjacent to a river have certain rights to it and its water. Rivers have other resources such as sand which used to benefit the people under riparian ownership. The Water Bill is quiet on the safety of our environment among other things. This sort of law is scattered in several pieces of legislation in this country. It will be good if we put all these laws together so that matters relating to water, compulsory acquisition of land, the rights of the people near that land, as it is today in the current law, are put together. We want the people of Kenya to benefit from such facilities which are ordinarily public in nature. When you look at this law, there is an issue of water conservation in the country. We have roofs in Kenya which can collect water. Many people who do not have water resources near them may have roofs to tap water, but have no tanks to collect rain water. Many schools now have roofs which can be used to tap rain water. We will be proposing that there be a law that guides the county and the national Government on water conservation and collection. In schools which have proper roofs to collect water, we should have a law that ensures that the counties collect enough water. All roofs should be used to tap rain water in the rural areas, which can then be put into different uses. Such a law is important, so that we can harvest more water in the country and have clean drinking water in the country. We should also have proper methods of treating this water. Our laws are not clear in terms of the methods of treating water. That is why it is important for us to put them together. Although the water sector has been devolved, the issues have not been put together properly. That is why this Water Bill is so important so that we can conserve water. We also have major rivers in Kenya, which have not been used. It will be better if this law provides and germinates a policy of water conservation in the county in terms of dams. We should utilize big rivers such as Athi River, which passes through my constituency for almost 80 kilometres. The River Tana and other rivers in Kenya, should be utilized. We should construct dams like the Thwake Athi Dam and the High Grand Falls Dam on Tana River. This water should then be used for irrigation. Food security is very important and it is tied to water. Currently, there is a very serious debate on whether we should irrigate our land or invest in genetically modified crops which can survive in dry areas. With enough water and good laws on water, we can irrigate massively in Kenya. With irrigation going on, we will then have food security. There will be enough water for animals and clean water for human consumption. Therefore, I would like to thank the Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs for doing its best to draft this law. We will introduce several amendments just like we did with the Mining Bill where we handled about 114 amendments. We look forward to amending this Bill in the Committee Stage, so that it can serve the best purposes and improve the water policy in the country. It should also make sure that as many Kenyan as possible access clean drinking water. The conservation areas which have been mentioned here should be conserved. Kenya needs to have enough forests. If we compare Kenya to other countries such as the DRC Congo, where they have conserved their forests very well, their river water has never gone down. We need to come out strongly to advocate for the conservation of the water towers in the Rift Valley and the Mount Kenya area, so 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."
}