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{
    "id": 615617,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/615617/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 209,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Ms.) Abdalla",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 382,
        "legal_name": "Amina Ali Abdalla",
        "slug": "amina-abdalla"
    },
    "content": "colleagues in the region have taken this step and it is my view that, as a House, we should all welcome the issues as stated under Clause 43. The establishment of the Kenya Forest Service Board (KFSB), the Kenya Forest Research Institute (KEFRI), the Kenya Forest College in Londiani and a trust fund on forests has been done in the normal way. People want to set up their own enclaves where they do not want interference from others. They end up having institutions that are intended to serve the same goal, but doing different things that are not helping each other. My Committee travelled to China to study the potential of exploiting bamboo in this country. We discovered that the KEFRI has top of the range equipment and information that shows that we, as a country, have a very high potential of exploiting bamboo which can give us billions of shillings in revenue. That information is not percolating down to KFSB’s actions and into the Executive action. In fact, as a country, we have 150,000 acres of bamboo that are not being cut because of a silent presidential directive in the 1990s which stated that we should not exploit bamboo. The Bamboo trees are rotting because of lack of synergy between the KEFRI and the Executive in implementing a comprehensive bamboo utilisation programme. It is our proposal to have a representative or a member, namely the Director of the KEFRI, included as a board member to the KFSB and vice versa. We want to strengthen the institutions that are going to deal with forests so that we have synergy in this sector. A major item that has been left out, and I spoke about this when we were dealing with the environment policy is the fact that our Constitution and Vision 2030 state that Kenya must have 10 per cent forest cover. That 10 per cent forest cover is not included as a strategy in the Kenya Forest Conservation and Management Bill. We will include the need for a five-year strategy of how the Government of the day intends to increase forest cover to 10 per cent. An extremely contentious matter, which I spoke about in the classes of transactions that require parliamentary ratification, is the change of forest boundaries and sizes of forests. I was not able to convince my Committee to amend this matter. However, some Members, especially those from Tana River County, will be addressing some of the historical injustices that have been meted on them because of the irregular establishment of forests. The process that was outlined in the 2005 Act requires that you do public participation to establish a forest. The Government of the day considered the meeting of the county council as being sufficient public consultation. They established 43 per cent of Tana River County and areas inhabited by the pastoralist communities as a forest reserve. It is next to impossible to degazette those forests yet some of them include established towns. This House has received and considered two petitions from Tana River County and yet the Bill requires that the decision to change the boundaries of Wayu and Bura forests must emanate from the KFS and the Executive. It is a game of musical chairs. I am fearful that if we do not do something, any civil servant can decide to go to the county assembly and ask it to establish a forest reserve in your area and it is next to impossible for you to change that. So, I will urge the House to amend the procedure set in this Bill. It is good that it will help in areas where politicians urged the Government and ended up degazetting forests for private use, but in arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) it has now 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."
}