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{
    "id": 541987,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/541987/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 259,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Tong’i",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2611,
        "legal_name": "Richard Nyagaka Tongi",
        "slug": "richard-nyagaka-tongi"
    },
    "content": "I also propose that when we get to that point, we need to include the provision that the planting of Blue Gum by the riverside should be banned. I am so concerned about this. I come from a region where we are endowed with soil fertility and we have done very well in terms of ensuring that God’s requirement is fulfilled on earth, that is, filling the world. We have done very well. However, filling the world has its own consequences. My county is a small one, yet we have a huge population. With such a huge population, we must get a way of addressing the issue of food insecurity. How do we do that? We have to protect what God has given us. One thing that God gave us is that he made Kisii his bathroom, and there he takes a shower all the time. However, that shower is drying up because of the Blue Gum tree, which is planted by the riverside and has now taken all the water that we had. We must have in this Bill, and in others which are concerned with the management of water, aprovision that the Blue Gum tree should never ever be planted at least a hundred meters from a river. This is because it uses a lot of water for it to grow and it is a nuisance. When I was growing up as a small boy, I used to fish in a small river, but nowadays that river has dried up. I remember that as a small boy, we would actually go and bathe in a river. Bathing was an occasion and a ceremony, and we did it once in a week as we prepared for the Sabbath. For example, tomorrow used to be a serious day for my people, but that luxury is no more because rivers have all dried up. It is something that concerns me and the country. It is something that all leaders must be aware of and address. If we do not take action, then we are going to have a desert in places where we never had deserts before. When the time comes, that will be one of the amendments that I will want to propose, so that we can address the issue of planting Blue Gum tree on the riverside. My honest opinion is that - I am sure scientists will agree with me, there are better trees we can grow instead of having the Blue Gum tree. It cannot be the only one that we can grow. I know sometimes we do it for commercial purposes. We do it because it is a quick win. You are able to get your trees and in less than two years you have a lot of money because you have ready a market for it. However, the opportunity cost to the country is so massive that soon in places where food was never an issue are going to have that as a concern. When we call for food rationing, we are going to do that in areas where we should never have done that. With those many words, I beg to support. It is a beautiful Bill and we will need to use it to make Kenya a good country to live in."
}