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{
    "id": 679177,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/679177/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 237,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Dawood",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2572,
        "legal_name": "Abdul Rahim Dawood",
        "slug": "abdul-rahim-dawood"
    },
    "content": "I support this Motion by my friend Hon. Mwadime regarding water for all. I also support the amendment that it should be clean and safe water. We have been talking about water for many years. It is like a pipe-dream. Hopefully, with this Motion which says “resolves”, the national Government will come in and do it and not the county governments. We have devolved very critical functions of water and health to counties which cannot manage anything right now. They are in a predicament on what to do. Right now, they are just doing some cosmetic things which do not help at all. I agree with this Motion that all our primary schools and public facilities need to be supplied with clean and safe drinking water as well as other things. In many of our primary and secondary schools, instead of the students being seated in a classroom to learn, many of them are sent to collect water from rivers or streams either for cleaning or cooking. By the time they get back to the classroom, they are already tired. They cannot study and are at a disadvantage in relation to urban schools which have enough piped water. This will cure that anomaly. We should not only give water to the schools. We need to supply each and every homestead with clean water. It should not just be for schools. After over 50 years of Independence, we still do not have water in many villages or homesteads. It is a shame because we should be at the forefront in providing water. Hon. Mwadime’s proposal is a very good initiative, but I am afraid it might go down the drain if we leave the water function to the county governments. In Meru County, we do not even know what they propose to do with the water pipes. The water pipes are taken one day and then the next day, they are returned to the county government and the suppliers. People are cheated that there are water pipes being distributed. About a year back, water tanks were given to primary schools for storage. Unfortunately, I saw half the water tanks being transported back to Nairobi instead of going to the schools. The Ethics and Anti- Corruption Commission (EACC) needs to be on top of this. If we are to achieve water for all, the county governments should be excluded from water supply. That function should be given back to the national Government. The National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NGCDF) should fund the people who need the water, but should not be used for the lopsided job that the county governments are doing. We need to see how we can construct boreholes where there are no streams. In my constituency, 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."
}