Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 640743,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/640743/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 183,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "ground claiming to own rights. The portion he had purchased himself, which is now private land is the part he should use to do his mining. He should not interfere with another private land that somebody else has purchased. The new county governments apparently do not know what is happening. The governors and their deputies arrived thinking they were kings and queens of the counties. They thought they could entertain and run around with some of these investors. Yester night in my county, the Deputy Governor for West Pokot went to a local radio station pretending to chase a new investor who is coming to put up a cement plant. It is clearly stipulated here that private land is private land. However, one has to seek permission if they want to claim mining rights. I am happy that these things have come out. About 70 per cent of land in West Pokot County is community land. The authority obligated by the law relating to administration and management of community land is indicated here. These are the people who are supposed to negotiate. One cannot just walk in. The disputes in Turkana land have to be put to rest. We have oil. Two weeks ago, the Cabinet Secretary for Energy, former Senator, Sen. Keter, said that there is a new discovery of oil along the Kerio River Belt. We also have this discussion between Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda about how the pipeline for crude oil should be built. This Bill will put to rest some of these issues within communities. For a long time, some communities have been taken advantage of. This law was not there. Clause 47 on page 56, talks about preference in employment. If a factory will be built as a result of mining minerals found in that area, the holder of the mineral right shall give preference in employment to members of the community and citizens of Kenya in that order. Communities have suffered where an investor arrives with foreigners or aliens who do not even speak English or Swahili language and yet the people who can do some of these jobs can be found locally. If they are not found in my county, try the next one. If they are not found, try the whole country. This is clearly stipulated here on what is supposed to follow for communities to benefit. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we know that we have over 5,000 megawatts of unexploited geothermal resources in Kapedo. The Pokot Community in Tiaty, Baringo County, has not gone to school. What are their interests? How will they be safeguarded so that they are fast-tracked to go to school and then some of these mining can start? I would prefer that these people go to school first before opening up their resources and they can then come to enjoy. Let it not turn out to be like what we heard about Nigeria where oil was mined before the people were educated and some king just signed things off. It is key that Kenya gets the Bill right, once and for all. Like our colleague has clearly put it, Sen. (Dr.) Zani brought a Bill here – I was a Member of the Ad hoc Committee that generated the Bill – which stipulated 20-25 per cent of the profit that the investor will mine should go to the immediate community and then shared with the county. I support this mediated version Bill. We need to discuss it and fast-track it to enactment. In the meantime, county governments and the relevant department dealing with mines should be told to put everything on hold. That way, they will not run around in the process and end up messing like the Mui Basin in Kitui or Mwanjala in Taita- The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes"
}