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"id": 530627,
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"content": "buildings do not even have access. You can neither drive nor even ride a boda boda there; houses are back to back. As part of the management of the environment, we want to have proper planning of all our markets and urban centres, including open spaces for recreation, green fences, sewage, water, play fields and so on. This is one way of managing our environment. If you look at Nairobi, since the pools in Nairobi were created in the colonial days, Nairobi Dam is dead and we hope it is going to be resurrected. We have some small dam near Kangemi which has been encroached on until it is chocking completely. There was some wetland just next to the Kenya Veterinary Vaccines Production Institute (KEVEVAPI); it has been encroached on completely. If you look at our sewage treatment plan, you keep on hearing stories that the sewage treatment all over the country is sometimes compromised. After treatment and oxidation, we release the same water into rivers and streams which are used by animals and human beings. We need the highest degree of standards. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, those of you who are old enough like Sen. Karaba or Muthama know that 15 years ago the River Thames in London was greasy and you could not swim in it. However, because of prudent environmental management, if you go to London today, you will see people fishing in the River Thames. It has been properly cleaned and fish is back. Now people can fish and roast fish on the banks of the river. The River Rhine is another example. The other day I was in Juba and when I went to the banks of River Nile, I was very impressed to see how clean the Nile passing through Juba looks like; I could see fish in the water. But as that was going on, I could see people half naked, naked doing all manner of things. I want our continent to learn how to protect our environment. As I end, I know we have a separate law on forests and we said in the last Parliament that a minimum of 10 per cent of Kenya’s land mass must be forest. The Act provided that every land owner, whether it is Government, or an individual must have a minimum of 10 per cent of their land planted with trees. You can plant a wood load or perimeter fencing. However, it is now over 5 years down the line, and there is absolutely no enforcement. If anything, people are cutting down trees at an alarming rate. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, if you go to a country like Belgium, even if a tree is in your own compound, you must seek civic authority to cut it whereas it is a tree you planted and brought up on your own compound. But once it grows up, it becomes part of the national pride, heritage and ownership. Today, there is a group of young men with power saws who maul down all trees whether they are mature or not. There is no recourse in law even when the law is there. We must make it very difficult for people who destroy the environment to get away with it. Counties like Elgeyo-Marakwet, Kakamega, Uasin Gishu and others which have public forests, must have a very clearly defined relationship between the national government and the county government. The national Government has a duty to help those county governments to protect those forests, and those counties have a duty to allow the forests to be used for industrial activities. I have in mind Panpaper Mills in Bungoma which is now on its death bed, but which only depended on logs from Uasin Gishu, Elgeyo-Marakwet, Kakamega and Trans Nzoia. 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."
}