Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 679471,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/679471/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 128,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Dr.) Ottichilo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 131,
        "legal_name": "Wilber Ottichilo Khasilwa",
        "slug": "wilber-ottichilo"
    },
    "content": "presented to this House before the Forest Conservation and Management Bill went to the Senate. They have come up with some innovative amendments which are quite commendable. For example, we had proposed in the Bill that the Director of the Kenya Forest Service should be called “Director-General”. However, through their innovation and research, they proposed that he or she should be called “Chief Conservator of Forests”. After we researched, we found out that worldwide, this position is titled “Chief Conservator of Forests” and not “Director-General”. This was a real value-addition to the Bill. There are a number of amendments that have been highlighted by both the Leader of the Majority Party and the Chair of the Committee, which we found extremely useful. They add a lot of value to the Bill. When the Bill is finally assented to, it will be very useful and will add value to the usefulness of the forests, particularly to our communities. One area which the Committee did not agree on is in the Third Schedule, where the Senate was trying to degazette certain forests that had already been gazetted using this Bill. That is not the right way to degazette any forest. The procedure for degazettement of any forest is very clear. Therefore, as a Committee, we believe that the right procedure should be followed. We should not circumvent the procedure and do the wrong thing. On the issue of the Environmental Management and Coordination Act (EMCA), the Senate proposed that we amend it to be “Environmental Management and Coordination Act of 2015”. This would not be right because the Amendment Act of 2015 only amended a few Acts. If we deleted “Environmental Management and Coordination EMCA, 1999” and replaced it with “Environmental Management and Coordination Act, 2015”, we would have thrown away the whole Act and remained with only the amendments. Without belabouring this debate, I thank our Committee and the Senate for the good work. When we go for mediation, we shall agree on the areas that we have disagreed because the Committee’s observations are valid and in line with the legal provisions provided under the Standing Orders, the Act and the Constitution. Therefore, I beg to support the Bill."
}