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{
    "id": 531378,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/531378/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 350,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "The Senate Majority Leader",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 440,
        "legal_name": "Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen",
        "slug": "kipchumba-murkomen"
    },
    "content": "(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, mine is to thank all those who have contributed to the Second Reading debate on this Bill. I also appreciate how useful most of the suggestions have been towards improving this Bill. One thing that has come out is that drought is a national disaster. Earlier, it was a bit discouraging when some Members wanted to bring side issues and tried to distract us from addressing a matter that is very grave. For many of the Senators who sit in this Chamber, drought is a catastrophe that threatens to wipe out our people. If there is one authority that we must have, it is the Drought Management Authority. We would not buy the theory of duplication. If we have to dissolve 50 other corporations to remain with this one, so be it. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I represent Tharaka-Nithi County. Three-quarters of the people of Tharaka-Nithi County are staring at starvation as we speak. Interventions that have been put in place are inadequate. People, adults - men and women - are pleading for relief aid. There is nothing as dehumanising as a family which cannot put food on the table. There is nothing as embarrassing as being unable to put food on the table. I have heard that there is need to estimate the kind of funding the Authority must have. I agree fully so that we do not have the kind of interventions that we have at the moment. Right now, I know that the Ministry of Devolution and Planning is assisting some of the vulnerable counties. However, you will be shocked that in a whole county like Tharaka Nithi, the other day we made some requests. We were told 1000 bags of maize, 500 bags of beans and I do not know how many kilogrammes of cooking oil had been sent. That is negligible. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we need adequate funding so that we have massive interventions with an aim. In fact, I would like to see timelines where the Authority can tell the country how to get rid of drought and its consequences. I agree, scientifically, we might have very little in terms of controlling drought because it is more of a natural phenomenon which may be beyond our country because of the interconnectedness of the global environment, climate change and global warming. These are challenges that affect us as a result of events taking place thousands of miles away from here. We can deal with the effects of drought such as famine. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it does not rain in the Middle East, in countries like the Sultanate of Oman; Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. Have you heard of hunger and famine in the Middle East? The answer is no. The issue is not how we can bring back the rainfall. That is part of it. However, there are many places where people - in the biblical language –do not sow. They do not worry about planting or toiling on land 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."
}