Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 513613,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/513613/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 263,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Muthama",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 96,
        "legal_name": "Johnson Nduya Muthama",
        "slug": "johnson-muthama"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I rise to support this Bill that was brought by Sen. (Dr.) Zani. The reason I am supporting it is because it addresses all the issues about natural resources in our country. I am a player in this field. I know what it takes to establish a mine; what you have to go through, the prospecting issues, the exercise itself and embarking on the prospecting to be able to find minerals. In most cases, minerals that we find are those that are of lower standard compared to other minerals which are produced in other countries. All the same, it is business. This Bill is about the distribution of the wealth in this country to reach the common mwananchi . From the outset, the feeling of Kenyans is that there is a lot of exploitation. That is the gap that we need to bridge. While we are looking at that issue from that perspective, at the same time, we are trying to establish a management authority that will constitute representatives of the county and also committee members from the national Government. However, what is the issue here and why are we discussing this Bill on forming this management authority, when we have the national Government that has been collecting fees, licensing and having Kenyans pay taxes while these resources are not reaching Kenyans? I served in the Tenth Parliament and I was a senior Member of the Public Investments Committee (PIC). I went through books from different ministries, commissions, authorities, including National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) and the National Social Security Fund (NSSF). To our surprise, we found none, including Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), whose funds had not been squandered. That is the exercise that we have been doing in this country; day in, day out, week after week, month after month and year in, year out. Administrations come and go and we keep forming different bodies to control public funds. However, is there any that has succeeded? The answer is none. What I want to say to my sister as I support this Bill is, that we are going to have ole so-and-so, Mutiso, Kamau or Atieno here, but we are just bringing the same faces of Kenyans who are sisters and brothers of those who have failed in the NSSF, NHIF, Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) and so forth. I am not opposing, but I just want to declare my position about this; that we are bringing in other institutions that will start eating again from the public funds. Once this money is set aside as I have seen here, diverted and given to the counties, is it not going to the same governors that we have 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."
}