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{
    "id": 654138,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/654138/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 80,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Barua",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1529,
        "legal_name": "Ejidius Njogu Barua",
        "slug": "ejidius-njogu-barua"
    },
    "content": "Tree which has medicinal value. The genetics of that tree has been stolen from us and patented elsewhere. These are genetic resources of high medicinal values. I support this Bill. We should ensure that indigenous people and communities of Kenya benefit from these resources. When the resources are patented elsewhere in Europe, America and other Western nations, they are later on shipped back to us as refined products, expensive medicines and other products that we cannot afford. In essence, Africans end up buying these products at very exorbitant prices yet these are originally our resources. The Bill, once enacted into law, will ensure that this does not happen again. The Bill also proposes to establish a Genetics Research Resource Centre. The centre is going to be important because among other things, we expect it to coordinate research activities, regulate how far a foreign researcher can go in our environment and what to exploit and export. Over time, people have been doing research in Kenya and Africa, but in disguise they do other things. They come to our national parks and forests as researchers and map out where these resources are and exploit them or use them for other commercial purposes. Time has come for us to take charge of our resources. We need to ensure that if genetic resources are shipped out of the country, then Kenyans should benefit from that commercialisation. This is big business for this country. We research in genetic resources, generate a lot of money and by extension increase the wealth of this nation. As I wind up, I would like to call upon Kenyans to be cautious in protecting their resources. Africa is the richest continent in the world, but not the most prosperous. Other continents are prospering by exploiting Africa. It is high time we protected these resources for our own benefit. With those few remarks, I support."
}