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{
    "id": 661045,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/661045/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 286,
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    "content": "It reaches a point where they must jump. So, one of them jumped so high that the Pick- Up left and the fellow had to meet with the tarmac. That is a cultural dance associated with the Maasai and the Maa Community. Today, you will find people hosting shows in Miami, Colombo and London saying that they have a dance troupe. They do the Maasai dance. Some are whites and some are black people from other African communities, clad in that red garment and jumping like the Maasai. Since many people in those countries lack money to come to Maasai Mara and see the real Maasais; these people get a lot of money by plagiarizing, if I can use that for the lack of a better word, by copying a Maasai cultural expression and profiting from it. It should be protected as a cultural expression. The same way that you cannot sing Michael Jackson’s songs and charge for them, it should be the same way that you cannot copy some cultural expressions, either in form of music or folklore and not give commercial benefit to the individual or community responsible. Although it sounds scientifically complex, it is a very simple Bill that touches on each community in this country and can transform Africa’s fortunes for the better. The tragedy of Africa has been that we have been slapped with a very inconsiderate and lopsided intellectual arrangement. Otherwise, we would take off like any other continent. The world does not now depend on the sale of physical goods such as agricultural products, but is running on knowledge based products. So, if you patent a phone, you can sell one for US$1,000, because it is a product based on knowledge. However, if you sell mangoes or flowers to Europe, they will go at a throwaway price because they are raw materials. In any case, you have not added any value and knowledge. You simply grew a mango tree. It produced mangoes and you harvested and sold. That is why you will not get much out of it. So, we must protect our intellectual property and traditional knowledge and make sure those communities and individuals who have certain cultural knowledge are compensated the same way musicians in the West are compensated. Some of the richest people in the West are actually performance artists. Mr. Bean, who actually abandoned his career as a chemical engineer and went to act, is one of the wealthiest people in the whole world. We have very good comedians, cultural dancing troupes and a lot of knowledge here. As I have said, we have a lot of traditional knowledge in the area of traditional medicine which is wasted. Some of it is being stolen and used in other countries to bring huge profits to them. This Bill recognises the role of counties and county governments to do two things. The first one is to have a system of registration of all cultural expressions and traditional knowledge in all its forms like traditional knowledge in the area of herbalists. If we have a herbalist who has some good traditional ideas, that knowledge should be harnessed, documented, registered and stored so that it is not stolen. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I should also mention the area of meteorology. That is another area where many African communities were extremely great experts. A traditional elder, woman or man, would tell you that it will rain on Saturday. They would tell you that when you see that kind of lightening in that part of the sky or certain kinds of clouds, there would be no rain, but it will rain in two days’ time. We call them rainmakers and make fun of them. We say they are superstitious people, wizards and such The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate"
}