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{
    "id": 513648,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/513648/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 298,
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    "content": "Exploitation had to be done from there, near the power plant, so that they can benefit fully from it. Those are communities which have realized their rights, but the existing laws do not give them that benefit. That is why they have to fight for it. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, there is a wind power firm in my area, but the community is agitating for their rights in the same way. This land was set aside without their knowledge and now the project is going on. The only thing the community is told that the thing will be of use to the whole nation. Therefore, this kind of a Bill answers all those questions and we have to support it. This should operationalize what we have expressed in Article 69 of the Constitution. When we go to the concerned Government officers and ask them how the community has been taken care of, they say that they are waiting for Article 69 of the Constitution to be operationalized, that is, the enabling legislation to be created. I thank Sen. (Dr.) Zani and her team because this is one of the ways of creating the enabling legislation so that we have specific shares for specific interest groups. The structures which are created here include the NRBSA which is necessary in my case. We, as Kenyans, have started getting tired of many boards and authorities because the previous ones did not function well. What we should do is guard the NRBSA from the problems that the others faced in their formative stages. It is only at the national level where revenues are collected. We will need to have a body at the national level to deal with it, but also at the county level we need to have a county benefits sharing authority because these resources might be cutting across several communities. The community benefits sharing forum gives the local community a say in what they are going to do with their share. Communities have to be involved from the beginning and should know what they are benefitting through the exploitation of a resource within their land. After that, they should have a say on how that resource is expended within the community. As a community, they know where their priority in terms of development is. They should know the areas where they need to develop and those are the areas where they will invest. In the previous cases, the authorities used to make decisions on behalf of the community and there was no much impact. When this happens, the community does not identify with the project. However, if they participate in prioritization, then we will have sustainable projects that will move the community from one step to the other in terms of development. It is necessary to have the community involved right from the beginning. Regarding the sharing of the royalties, the issue is how the royalties themselves are generated and at what amount or what percentage is charged depending on the income. After that, we are recognizing the way it is shared out. As much as it is in a certain area, it is a national resource and that is why we are also taking care of the future generations. That is why we are talking about a sovereign fund where you put something aside for the future generations so that we exploit a resource now but also keep something for the future generations. If we go this way, it means that the sovereign fund will be 20 per cent, the national Government will end up with 48 per cent, the county and the community will be 32 per cent meaning the county will get 19.2 per cent and the community will get about 12.8 per cent. This is a substantial amount of money if we can access it as communities. 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."
}