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{
    "id": 600379,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/600379/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 111,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Saney",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2988,
        "legal_name": "Ibrahim Abdi Saney",
        "slug": "ibrahim-abdi-saney"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. Traditions and cultures are derived from community livelihoods. They say necessity is the mother of invention. How communities toil to eke a living and how they struggle to at least cope with their immediate environment defines their behaviour, way of life and beliefs. That has over the years been communicated informally to the next generations through imitations and oral communication. As much as it is a constitutional requirement that this Bill has to be enacted, it is a milestone today in the history of this country that we are trying to develop laws of very informal issues. Cultures and traditions are very informal and we are trying to formalise that which is informal. I appreciate that traditional knowledge and cultures have preceded scientific developments. In agriculture, it is traditions and cultures that came up with the first forms of farming, harvesting and food storage. They were the early inventors. I recognise that it is through traditional knowledge and cultures that we have made developments in medicine. On pastoralism, pastoralism is the most ancient way of livelihood and there is a lot in native knowledge and traditional practices that is still as relevant. As we speak, this House has passed a Sessional Paper on conflict resolution and peace building. It is good to bring to the memory of this House that we recognised traditional early warning systems which were cascaded to a regional level. That is to appreciate that traditional knowledge and cultures are part and parcel of how we do things presently. Severally, traditional knowledge and cultures are regarded primitive but this has been the basis and the foundation of scientific advances. Scientists say that scientific issues are verifiable but the truth is that traditional practices and knowledge having been tested over time are the most reliable sources of knowledge. In supporting this Bill, I want to say that it will reflect the diversity of this country in appreciating its varied cultures and traditions. It boldly states that cultures and traditions have to be preserved and conserved for posterity. On the issue of patents, I recognise that patents are vested in individuals. It has to at least attach patents to customary issues because the ownership is with the larger group or a community. As much as the counties will be the repositories of establishing which culture belongs to which community, I believe that the country does not have the capacity and the mechanism to establish ownership of cultures. What is very important and of concern to Kenyans 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."
}