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    "id": 612841,
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    "content": "harbinger of the enforceability and justiciability of socio-economic rights. I am sure he did that, not just for Mombasa County, but for all the counties of our country. Madam Temporary Speaker, in this context, this Bill deals with a very important resource called water which is finite. Therefore, there are competing uses for water, which if not managed well, the society and our communities could generate conflicts, as we have seen in many parts of our country, especially in the northern and semi-arid parts. There has been a lot of push and pull by pastoralists as they want their livestock to access water. That is in competition with farmers who have more sedentary uses for water etcetera. This Bill offers the country a comprehensive legal framework for the enforcement of Article 43 of our Constitution. I am very passionate about socio-economic rights. There are many ideological arguments against socio-economic rights even by leading constitutional experts. Up to now, there are those who believe that socio-economic rights should not be in the Constitution and they should not be given the kind of legislative prominence that we have seen, for example, in the Bill by Sen. Hassan Omar or the Bill that I am moving now. It is said that you cannot put water as a human right because it is very difficult to ensure enforceability. No country in the world can assure 100 per cent access to water and housing. Therefore, when you put them in the Constitution, you will be exposing the Constitution to ridicule. A story is told in the old days in the Soviet Union of how they used to mock socio-economic rights of a woman who went to a restaurant and asked for the menu. She went through that menu, looked at the various items and the waiter responded in each case that the item that this woman wanted was not available. After five requests, which were not available, the woman cynically quipped: “Is what you have given me the menu or the Constitution?” It meant that the Constitution is that which says many things and does not deliver. However, this is not the case for our constitution. Madam Temporary Speaker, we have seen developing countries push for the realization of the right to water and other socio-economic rights successfully. The South African example which I have given handled the issue of access to water in a very important case in the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg in 2002. Other similar socio- economic rights like the right to housing have been adjudicated positively to give homeless people homes. The Grootboom case in South Africa is a good example. The right to emergency treatment which is also a socio-economic right and also captured in our Constitution has also been given effect. Again, I can cite the Soobramoney case in South Africa which gave effect to the right to emergency medical treatment, where somebody can force both public and private sector to offer emergency medical treatment. As we continue discussing this Bill, we are looking at a human right that must be enforced in accordance with our Constitution and make sure that every Kenyan has access to adequate supply of water and sanitation. The long title of the Bill describes it as an Act of Parliament to provide for the regulation, management and development of water resources, water and sewerage services and other connected purposes. Madam Temporary Speaker, at this juncture, allow me to caution. I know this Bill has already gone through a lot of stakeholder interventions and presented before the The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}