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"content": "or 60 years after they discovered oil, it has been flowing to the centre and when they share out revenues, they have never benefitted from it. So, to a larger extent, the very idea that we are developing this Bill just when we are in the process of developing some of the key natural resources in the mining sector like oil and so on, and so forth, I think it has come at a very opportune time. This will help us not to fall into the poverty traps that some of the countries that have these resources have fallen into, like Nigeria and many others. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I have gone through the various provisions of this Bill, including Section 3 of the Bill, which identifies those resources which fall within the meaning of the Act – petroleum, natural gas, minerals, forests, water resources, wildlife and fisheries. I want to say two things; one, for you to identify these resources in your county, there has to be an investment in the first place in infrastructure in that area to enable investors to go in and even identify whether that potential exists. This is one of the challenges we have faced in my county. There is a town, for instance, called El Wak in Mandera County where, many years ago, the Mining Department – which is now the Ministry of Mines – conducted a study where they confirmed that we have about three billion tonnes of gypsum. Gypsum is used for, among other things, the manufacture of cement, fertilizer and many other things. Today, as we speak, much of the gypsum that we use is sometimes largely imported, especially in the decorative industries. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I got a team of engineers from the United States of America (USA) in 2005 to visit El Wak and to discuss the possibility of exploiting that resource. The main issue they raised was that of lack of infrastructure. For example, if you are to develop a factory there, the energy that is required there, you must be on the national power grid. Similarly, a road is needed to transport those minerals out of that region. So, from the outset, even before you talk of the sharing formula, the very fact that we are underprivileged in terms of the development of the infrastructure puts you straight away at a disadvantage. You have a resource there, you can see it but investors cannot come and work on it because of the challenges of infrastructure. That is why I think it is important and it is the reason why the framers of the Constitution, in their wisdom, had come up with such things as the Equalization Fund so that those counties that do not have infrastructure can be brought up to that level. It is in this regard that some of us think that the Government and the Treasury in particular, should not drag its feet in providing that money so that the counties can come up. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the second thing is about these resources which have been identified in Clause 3 of the Bill. We have talked about petroleum, natural minerals and so on, and so forth. But I also want the sponsor of the Bill to think about a resource like a harbour in the case of Mombasa and Lamu, because that is a very important natural resource. If you have a harbor that can be developed into a port and the benefits accruing from that port are not shared, then you stand at a disadvantage. A good example is Mombasa where not less than between 60 to 80 per cent of our national revenue particularly Custom Duty and Value Added Tax (VAT) are in fact, collected at Mombasa yet when it comes to allocation of revenue for expenditure, Mombasa does not benefit because that factor is not considered. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}