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{
    "id": 603343,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/603343/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 222,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Barua",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1529,
        "legal_name": "Ejidius Njogu Barua",
        "slug": "ejidius-njogu-barua"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker for this opportunity to contribute to this Physical Planning Bill of 2015 .From the outset I would like to say that I support the Bill, although I also support the sentiments of previous speakers who suggested that there are some various amendments that should be brought up at the Committee Stage for this Bill to be fully representative of our intentions. I would like to comment on what Hon. Sakuda, the Vice-Chair of the Committee, said about the title of the Bill. I think that the tittle of the Bill is appropriate; the most important aspect which we must capture in this is the planning aspect rather than the land aspect. Hon. Deputy Speaker, physical planning determines whether you are going to have order or disorder. This is a very important Bill, which is applicable to all the sectors of our economy. Physical planning, just like environmental planning, is a multidisciplinary activity. It is not something that can be done by one profession. So, this Bill should be enriched further by giving a serious input from participation of other professionals like environmentalists. As a Member of the Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources in this House, I would suggest that our Committee should go through this Bill and make the relevant additions to strengthen the Bill in as far as environmental considerations are concerned. Previous speakers have talked about urban planning. The emphasis has been on urban planning. The aspect of physical planning is two pronged. It talks about urban planning and it also refers to what happens in the rural areas. I am happy to note that this Bill also gives the county governments the mandate to give the nation guidance and direction on how to plan our land resources. As it stands now, especially in the central part of Kenya and the surrounding, there is a threat in the waiting which is going to erupt very soon. This is because our sluggish economy, which has been an issue for the 30 to 40 years, most people have been depending on land. So, you will find a situation where a parent has two acres of land and he has six children. When they grow old, the only thing they can give to their children is land. So, a two acre piece of land is subdivided into six as inheritance. Basically, we are increasing the density of population in those areas and the threat to those eco-systems is going to be severe. Time has come for us to look at the issue courageously and consider the aspect of urbanisation as a way of life. That brings the issues of once you give urbanisation a major emphasis, then the urban centres must be properly planned to accommodate the new immigrants from rural to urban areas. When you subdivide those pieces of land into small unsustainable units, you are also compromising food security. Those pieces of land will be hardly enough for housing leave alone farming. So, it means that food production will go down and the environment will be much more degraded. So, I would like the Committee to look at those aspects and see how we can have a win-win situation where we do not compromise our environment, agricultural production and we improve our livelihood. Clause 55 of this Bill talks about development control. It provides that the county government has been given several aspects, namely (a) to (f). One of them is to have control on 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."
}