Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 612862,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/612862/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 564,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Equally important is when you read through the Bill. First, it is referring us to Schedule Two to see details of the board members. However, it simply provides for the board chairman who should be qualified and appointed by the President. At these levels, we know that whether it is the former governments of President Jomo Kenyatta, Moi, Kibaki, and the current Government of President Uhuru Kenyatta, unless we have serious qualifications, you will see a court broker being appointed to manage a water board yet he knows nothing about water. Madam Temporary Speaker, politicians are constantly blackmailed by their supporters. We must ring-fence such areas with the law, so that when a youth winger rushes to Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki and asks for a job, having identified one in the Water Bill, he should be told that he identified the job, but he does not qualify. Besides, the law does not allow us to appoint people. Otherwise, where the law is fluid, we will end up filling--- Like we saw currently, the Government appointed board members, all of whom are failed politicians. It is unlikely that failed politicians will succeed in anything, yet they are being loaded everywhere and appointed to every board. For example, in Nzoia Sugar Company a failed politician was appointed as the Chairman of Nzoia Out growers Company Ltd and he has a criminal case pending for misappropriation funds. However, he was lifted and appointed to be the Chairman of Nzoia Sugar Company Limited - a major investment- even with those serious issues on his head. That is because he says: “ Mimi ni Jubilee damu; I will die with the Jubilee.” Even if we were the ones doing such things, it would be wrong for the country and for future generations of this country. Water is not just about extinguishing a bush fire where you can get anybody with a bunch of twigs and tell them to go and extinguish the fire. It is a resource that we must manage properly. I would want to see that people appointed to these boards have proper qualifications in water resource management. They must be hydrologists or environmentalists. You cannot pick somebody who in his whole life has been walking with a briefcase full of newspapers on the streets of Nairobi, calling himself a businessman and appoint him the chairman of the Water Services Management Board. All he turns up is to see what is up for him, but not how to manage water or help the people of Kenya benefit from the resource. Unless we qualify who should be on the boards, we will be opening it up for abuse. You remember during the good old days – not because I have any disrespect for Mzee Mulu Mutisya – when former President Moi appointed him to be in charge of Soil Conservation. Those kinds of actions do not add up at all. We have no problem with people being appointed to positions. However, let them be appointed to positions where they add value. This country has no shortage of qualified people from any community. Assuming that we even want to be tribal, like many people are, even in your own tribe, you can still scout and get qualified people to give jobs, instead of giving people jobs just because they were shouting, “wewe juu, wewe juu.” Madam Temporary Speaker, Clause 34 of the Bill is very important. It restrains any person or group of persons from unilaterally draining swamps and dams or polluting water sources. What I do not understand – and my brother, the Mover of this Bill should check – is that Clause 34 states that a permit is required for any of the following 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."
}