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{
    "id": 530623,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/530623/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 63,
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    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the other day you heard the Chairman of the Committee on Land and Natural Resources fumbling on the Floor and telling us that our forest cover has reached 7 per cent. We are still waiting for him to show us the map of Kenya and plotting where exactly these forests are. This brings me to the Mau Forest which is one of the five water towers of this country. It is the Mau Forest that sustains lakes Nakuru, Naivasha, Elementaita, Natron and Victoria. It keeps the highlands of Kericho as admirably green as they are. Mau Forest is the lifeline of the Wonder of the World, the only one in Kenya; the Maasai Mara. What is happening now in the Mau Forest is lamentable. Right now, close to 1,000 acres of the Mau Forest has been consumed by forest fires, partly because of the drought, criminals who are burning charcoal and partly because of arsonists. I urge the national Government to take action and not to bring parochial politics into the protection of our water towers, whether it is the Mau Forest, the Mt. Elgon, Cherangany, Aberdares or Mt. Kenya. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I loud you particularly because you told me that your family that had settled in a public forest had voluntarily moved out. That is the spirit we want to encourage. We should not have situations where we want to play cheap ethnic politics with facilities that save this country. If the Mau Forest is gone we are going to say bye to the very successful horticulture and floriculture industry around Lake Naivasha that generates over Kshs60 billion in a year. We are going to say bye to lakes Nakuru, Magadi and Natron which may not be in Kenya, but we have a shared interest. My brothers and sisters from the Rift Valley, we urge you to convince our brothers who have encroached on the Mau Forest. If you fly over the Mau Forest, you will be shocked to see how much is going on in terms of human settlement, cutting down 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."
}