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"content": "of our precious snow cap in Mt. Kenya and even in our neighbouring country, Mt. Kilimanjaro. We are also witnessing diminishing quantities in the supplies of inland water resources. When the Senator for Kajiado was contributing during debate in the previous Bill, he mentioned a number of rivers that have dried up in Kajiado County. He was referring to a phenomenon that is taking place in almost each and every county in our nation today. In Tharaka-Nithi, for example, more than 15 permanent rivers traverse that county, but about five of them, as I speak, have dried up in the last six months alone. Rivers that have flowed since God created Tharaka-Nithi County, today are dry river beds. I know many Senators here have examples to give about the disappearance or the diminishing supplies of inland water resources from their counties. Because of this phenomenon, the importance, therefore, of a body to direct the country on how to mitigate the effects of drought and also to prepare the country to have contingency arrangements in times of drought - that utility cannot be over-emphasized. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, very quickly, I will highlight what this Board will be about and what it will do. The functions of the Board as stated in Section 5 of the Bill include, coordination of drought management matters, coordination of drought response matters, development of early warning mechanisms, making sure there is in place national and county level drought contingency mechanisms and plans, conducting research on how to prevent drought, how to mitigate drought and how to respond to drought. Finally, but not least, to provide technical support to Government agencies at national and county government level, to ensure that these agencies are technically equipped to combat or address the issue of drought. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, Clause 6 of the Bill, talks about the powers of this Authority. They are very straightforward; the usual powers that a juristic person or a corporate body should have. There is the power to sue or be sued, contract, receive grants or donations and own property. In Clause 7, the Bill deals with the requirements by the Authority to put in place and establish an institutional framework for drought management in the country at the national and county government level, and to provide policy directions for this institutional framework. The institutional framework, envisaged in Clause 7, includes:- a) national forum for drought and climate change policy; and b) county forum to oversee drought related interventions. Under Clause 8, the Board is constituted in terms of composition. It will consist a chairperson, who is competitively appointed by the Cabinet Secretary in charge of the relevant Ministry. The other person, who will sit in this Board is the Principal Secretary who is in charge of the relevant Ministry or their designate. Thirdly, the Principal Secretary for matters of Finance or the designate plus four other persons who are competitively appointed. The Board will also consist of the secretary, who shall be the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Board. The qualifications for chairing this Board are: One must have a university degree from a recognized university. That is important because these days, there are many people with degrees from all the places in this world, some of them are claiming to get degrees from non-existent 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."
}