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{
    "id": 531415,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/531415/?format=api",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I say so because in the past, natural resources vested in the state have not been regarded as property in trust. They have been regarded as personal property of state officials and, therefore, this Bill tries to move away from that paradigm. Any person who discovers minerals where there is no apparent holder of a mineral right or any land which is not held by the person who has made the discovery must report the discovery to the Cabinet Secretary. There are a number of general provisions. For example, Clause 10 deals with searching, prospecting and mining. It says:- “There will be no such prospecting or mining without a permit or a licence.” The difference is that a licence applies to large scale operations while a permit applies to small scale or artisanal mining operations. Section 11 says:- “Mineral rights may not be granted to a person of unsound mind, under 18 years or who is an undischarged bankrupt.” You cannot give a licence or permit to mine to a child or a man who is insane unless it is the man in the story in the case of Banks versus Good Fellow which we used to read in the Law of Succession, where some mad man would temporarily become sane. I think that is an avenue worth looking at because sometimes I am told human beings suffer from two conditions; temporary insanity where somebody is sane but temporarily becomes insane. However, there is a reverse condition called temporary sanity, the case of Banks versus Good Fellow. That was on a light note. The person to be given mineral rights must also have the required technical capacity, expertise, experience and financial resources to do mining operations. In the past, we have seen so many briefcase mining companies granted licenses. These people do not have offices, address, engineer, geologist, money or a bank account and then you see somebody possessing 10 or 20 mineral rights. When the Jubilee Coalition Government took power, one of the things the President did was to establish a task force which was chaired by my distinguished Senior Counsel, Mohammed Nyaoga, whom we approved in this House recently to also chair the Commission of Inquiry on the situation in Makueni. 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."
}