Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 61773,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/61773/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 356,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Dr. Wekesa",
    "speaker_title": "The Minister for Forestry and Wildlife",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 209,
        "legal_name": "Noah Mahalang'ang'a Wekesa",
        "slug": "noah-wekesa"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I wish, on behalf of my colleague, to respond to the very many issues raised by Members of Parliament who have contributed to this Bill. I know in this House we have five veterinarians. Three of them are sitting in front of me; not to mention hon. Members that have spent many years looking after animals. Some of them are in this House, including my good friend, Mr. Mureithi. This Bill was long overdue. Many para-professionals have been crying out loudly to be recognized because of what they do for this Government and Kenyans. They look after animals in remote areas and they have not been given the rightful recognition that they require. This Bill will ensure that for anybody who has been trained formally as an animal technician, his services will now be recognized. He will be working knowing very well that there is a legal framework that actually protects his services. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Bill seeks to implement the policy that we passed in 2008, that provides for expansion of the mandate of the Kenya Veterinary Board. This policy was discussed at large by many stakeholders. Today, we are seeing the fruition of that exercise. We now have a Bill that will address many issues regarding the profession. The Bill will review The Veterinary Surgeons Act, Cap 266 of 1953, which only regulates the practice of veterinary surgeons. The new Bill will now bring all these players together, as they have always worked together. The Bill will also take care of international obligations that recognize that we no longer live in an isolated environment; we are part of a global village. Anything that happens here will affect other people as well. To give you an example, the emergence of a disease such as Foot and Mouth in a country like Kenya or Botswana, which produces a lot of beef, will make it be barred from exporting livestock products to the European Union. For many years, the European Union used to consume meat from Kenya. For a long time, we were unable to export our livestock. This Bill will make sure that we put our act together. We will bring professionalism to the livestock sector, and we will access markets. The Board that will be formed under this new Bill will take care of very many issues such as the registration of, not only veterinary surgeons but also of officers that I have referred to. I want to assure hon. Members that the veterinary profession has attracted many women. We have very many women who are veterinary surgeons. We have many women who are para-professionals. In appointing the Board, women will not be left out, because we recognize their importance. If you look in our universities, you will see that many women are playing major roles in enhancing the veterinary profession. As I conclude, because I know that there are other matters pending, I would like to stress that with regard to issues that we need to bring up at the Committee Stage, I will sit with my colleague; I have already made notes, and we will introduce amendments in order to take on board what hon. Members have expressed. With those few remarks, I want to thank hon. Members for the interest they have taken in addressing issues that affect our livestock and Kenyans. With good veterinary practice in this country, we will be assured of food security, and Kenyans will have not only enough but also clean food; food that will have been inspected by people who will be recognized as professionals. With those few remarks, I beg to move and thank hon. Members."
}