Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 719260,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/719260/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 164,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Chea",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1694,
        "legal_name": "Mwinga Gunga Chea",
        "slug": "mwinga-gunga-chea"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity. Let me say, at the outset, that I support the Hydrologists Bill, 2016. The question surrounding water is critical to this nation. In our Constitution, water is more of a shared function between the national Government and the county governments. It is important that the national Government and the county governments make provisions for water services in their budgets. As it had been alluded to by Hon. Members in this Chamber, the prolonged drought and critical shortage of water has been occasioned by, among other factors, lack of proper and requisite expertise in this area. Therefore, having been introduced to regulate this area, this Bill deserves support. It is always important to regulate trade and professions. The absence of regulation leaves us with a free world where one does everything as he wishes. Clause 3 of this Bill seeks to create a board. From the debate that we have had in this House, we realise that we have boards which have not performed to our expectation. My humble submission is that the boards that we create here should add value to their institutions in terms of what they are assigned to do. The boards that we create are more of Government in terms of representation. I wonder whether they will have time to pursue the interests that are supposed to be pursued in this field. With regard to this Bill, the Board being created needs to be expanded so that we can have more experts to deliberate on the question of water. The second issue I want to speak about is the question of quacks. Under Clause 33, on miscellaneous provisions, there is a fine that has been imposed against people who masquerade as hydrologists or assistant hydrologists. The fines that have been proposed are very low. They actually encourage people to commit offences. This is one area we can look into and see whether we can propose amendments to enhance the penalties so that if unqualified persons present 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."
}