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{
    "id": 531305,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/531305/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 277,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. G.G. Kariuki",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 330,
        "legal_name": "Godfrey Gitahi Kariuki",
        "slug": "gg-kariuki"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I want to submit that this Bill is very important and long overdue. When we start discussing the details of the Bill, we should also deal with the policy and its intention. I hope that the Drought Management Authority will be an institution which can be relied upon. I want the House to understand and appreciate that drought is a major problem. If we have long periods of drought, that makes the people in our country poorer than they are. When farmers are no longer in a position to produce food as a source of livelihood, that should make us read the signs of the times. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the whole Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) in the next few years will be totally ungovernable owing to very many issues. We are talking about management of food security among other issues. We must know that the source of our survival in this country is the pastoralist and the farmer, if they are taken care of properly. Today, if you look at Mandera, Garissa, Wajir, Laikipia, Pokot, Baringo and Samburu counties, they are experiencing a lot of insecurity. Why is this? First, this is because they depend on the Government for food. However, this food does not reach the real needy people. It disappears in the process of being distributed. It is sold by the so- called food distributors. There are people who do not wish to have those areas being self sufficient because their businesses will not flourish. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, Kenyans have a culture of making money out of any situation. The continuation of drought in Kenya has made quite a number of people rich. We have men and women who are extremely rich as a result of the prevailing drought because they import food and sell it at very exorbitant prices. Since time immemorial, we have been going through this process. We know that it is not a big deal to convert these areas to be productive. However, some people, unfortunately from the marginalised communities have been forgotten. The Government’s philosophy is to take away guns from these people. This ends up being a big issue and yet is not a big issue. How can we disarm people who are hungry? They use the guns to look for food. We need to understand that we are the ones in Government and should manage our country so that no one dies out of hunger. It is a pity that in this country, people continue to keep on dying out of hunger. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the drought situation cannot be blamed all the time because we can create dams and other areas to hold water from the rain. We keep on 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."
}