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{
    "id": 531459,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/531459/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 431,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "brought the Natural Resources Bill. It is up to this House to ensure that as we look at this Bill, we ensure that we look at the similarities between the two Bills so that we can synthesize them together and come up with one Bill or different Bills for the benefit of this country and for the county governments to ensure that the communities benefit from mining. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the Bill also brings in a very interesting article of the Constitution. Article 201(c) says:- “the burdens and benefits of the use of resources and public borrowing shall be shared equitably between present and future generations;” It goes down to Article 201(d) to say that:- “public money shall be used in a prudent and responsible way; and--” I want to give a story of mining in Mwatate in Taita-Taveta. For many years, the community has witnessed private investors come and exploit the minerals that are there and yet the people within that area, always live in poverty. As much as they are proud that they have the natural resources, minerals and mining around them but they do not benefit from these natural resources. In Kwale, we have had to wait for many years for the titanium to be mined. It is after 10 years that the company has been able to export some of it because the communities there could not understand how they had the natural resource that they were blessed abundantly with, yet they could not see its benefit. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, this is because many private investors had taken advantage. They knew that the community does not understand absolutely anything about mining. Therefore, they just came in and started exploring. Also, even within the mining sector, there was no policy that would compel companies to plough back part of the proceeds to do a school or hospital for the community and educate the community to own what they are doing. Therefore, it ended up with people killing each other and sometimes, even the community was frustrating the whole industry. However, with the new Mining Bill, the communities through public participation will understand who is coming and they are going to work together."
}