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{
    "id": 661889,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/661889/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 272,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, this is one area that we must look at to find out whether we are creating a Bill that provides Parliament with the responsibility that has already been assigned to another statutory authority. If we want Parliament to provide approval for access permits or grant of permits to conduct field trials of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), then we must kill or amend the responsibility of the National Bio-Safety Authority, or do away with the Bio-Safety Act. At the right time, I propose that we re-look at that schedule and allow issues to do with genetic materials and resources to be dealt with by a specialist body, which in this case is the National Bio- Safety Authority established by the Bio-Safety Act. Finally, on the contracts that have already been signed and entered into regarding the 46 gazetted oil blocks in Kenya, there is suspicion that most of them have been allocated to companies or individuals. Unfortunately, Kenya did not adopt a competitive allocation process; it was a first come, first served basis. That is why our late brother, Jacob Juma, ended up being the beneficiary of a block containing huge stash of minerals whose worth cannot really be established. Maybe it was the belief or the possession of such riches that could have driven him to do some of the things he went about doing around. There is need to ensure that the contracts that have been negotiated and signed up are released into the public domain. I am not worried about them because Article 35 of the Constitution provides that any Kenyan has a right to access information held by the State. I hope that Kenyans will utilize that particular provision to get detailed information on the details of the contracts that have already been entered into. We need to know who owns the oil blocks in Kenya. There was a time when there was a rush to allocate oil blocks and declare Kenya’s oil and gas potential. Unfortunately, when the Jubilee Government took over, we are hearing less of oil and gas and more of the SGR. We need to understand what happened to the oil and gas when it was said that Kenya will be an oil producer. That needs to come back to the national narrative so that the young people of this country have a future that they can believe in. They should know that we can afford a Kshs2.3 trillion budget because we will have the natural resources to finance it. They can also know that a Government can come in and commit Kshs5 trillion budget, and they will be confident that there will be a way of financing it without going into extra taxes, borrowing and the Eurobond, whose proceeds then come back and Kshs1.35 billion goes to the hands of one person who reveals that it was a conspiracy of politicians and Government leaders. Madam Temporary Speaker, I support the Bill subject to consideration on genetic material, because it has already been dealt with under the Bio-Safety Act."
}