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{
    "id": 596124,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/596124/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 153,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Barua",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1529,
        "legal_name": "Ejidius Njogu Barua",
        "slug": "ejidius-njogu-barua"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this Bill. I would like to begin by commenting on the amendments proposed to the Environmental Management and Coordination Act. That is my area of expertise, and I sit in the Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. I would like to seek a clarification on whether it is possible to amend a statute which has already been overtaken by events. The Environmental Management and Coordination Act is one of those Bills which have constitutional timelines. We passed one such Bill this year and it has been signed into law. In this Bill, we have the Environmental Management and Coordination Act No.8 of 1999, which has been overtaken by events. I assume that this is a mistake which needs to be corrected. If need be, I will bring an amendment so that we make corrections to this Bill. The purpose of this amendment is to amend the Environmental Management and Co- ordination Act to align the provision with the Constitution by specifying the jurisdiction of the Environment and Land Act. The new Constitution put into place the existence of the environment and land courts which bring justice closer to the people who have environmental complaints. Over time, cases regarding environmental crimes have taken a back-seat and they have not been considered. This is a good opportunity, under these courts, for environmental justice to be offered to those who seek it. I support the Bill because it also amends the Land Act. It seeks to remove the exclusive jurisdiction of environmental and land courts and give subordinate courts the right to hear such cases. This will ensure that people with land cases are not restricted to the environmental and land courts. I am also wondering whether it is possible for this House to contact the respective Committees before including amendments in the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bills. If the Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources was contacted before this Bill was published, I am sure that this oversight may have been noticed and corrected; it would not have appeared in this Bill. There are more serious concerns than this one, including the amendments proposed to the Environmental Management and Coordination Act of 2015 to substitute the nominee of the civil society in the Public Complaints Committee with the nominee of the Council of Governors. I would like to submit that the Council of Governors or the governors themselves do not perform the same roles as the civil society. The civil society, which comprises of NGOs, should be given a chance to nominate somebody to sit on the Public Complaints Committee. If this happens, it will bring justice closer to the people through representation. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}