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{
    "id": 625970,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/625970/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 624,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. J.K. Ng’ang’a",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 54,
        "legal_name": "Joseph Nganga Kiuna",
        "slug": "joseph-kiuna"
    },
    "content": "Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, as we consider community land and the welfare of indigenous tribes, we should also remember that there are those areas which we should preserve for the future generations. We should preserve them generously. The national Government should come out clearly and state these specific areas. A lot of forests in our country have been destroyed. Currently, we are crying because of starvation. As a county, we are not supposed to import food to feed this nation. Instead, we are supposed to be exporters. But we destroyed all our forests and that is why many parts of Kenya have become semi-arid. Last time we debated and agreed that the Government should conserve the few remaining forests. Any person who encroaches on these forests should face the law. We should also look at other areas. There are fertile land areas in our country and we should preserve them for food production. Why should we cry and ask for foreign aid in form of food yet we have cultivatable land in our country? Why can we not manage and protect it? A very good example I can give is of land that is somewhere along Thika Road. There is a very big plantation there, although people have been claiming the ownership. We should try to conserve such areas which can be saved for farming. We have plenty of water from Mt. Kenya and Ngong Hills going down to the Indian Ocean. Why should people in Ukambani and the coastal region cry because of starvation? Why should they rely on food aid? It pains me a lot when we talk of things which we, as Members of Parliament, or the leaders of that particular area ought to have handled so that we can save our people from the kind of suffering they have been subjected to since time immemorial. I remember where I come from which is why I speak with a lot of bitterness. When I was growing up, I used to see the beautiful Mau Escarpments. I remember vividly that I used to admire them in those old days when I was a young lad. But all of a sudden, I do not know what happened. In the mid-90s all of it was invaded and all that beautiful nature was destroyed. As I speak, it is barren. All the water coming from that area erodes that fertile land to the lower zones in Lake Nakuru. As we protect community land, we should define areas where community land is supposed to be. We should also define where the Government needs to provide input and enforce the law. For instance, we have our national parks. They bring us a lot of foreign exchange through tourism. Those areas should also be protected. But you will hear somebody, because of cheap politics, talking about his or her people. We should not be so selfish. We should come out and speak as patriotic Kenyans. Do not be so narrow-minded. Time will judge us harshly. We will be judged as having been in Parliament and passed this or that law. All kinds of corruption are currently dominating the headlines. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, wherever you go to your home area, people ask you why we have scandals. Where are we heading to? Where are those patriotic Kenyans who can salvage this nation instead of dwelling on petty issues? We should come out clearly and define this area so that we do not reach a point whereby an investor opens a factory, for example, in Nakuru or Makueni County and since he is not an indigenous person of that area, his factory is vandalised. I have an example in my area where farmers have been invading investors’ farms because they are not from that particular community. For example, an investor might plant 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."
}