Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 769620,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/769620/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 66,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Kubai Iringo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1574,
        "legal_name": "Cyprian Kubai Iringo",
        "slug": "cyprian-kubai-iringo"
    },
    "content": "Kasarani stadiums yet there are officers housed there. They have vehicles and guns. They patrol the forest every now and then, but the best thing they do is wanton destruction of the forests. They work in cahoots with their seniors and use the local community to destroy our forests. Every night, you see lorries driving out of the forests carrying tonnes of firewood and timber. Tree nurseries which were there when we were young have already been destroyed. This is a wakeup call from this House to the Ministry concerned, that they should encourage tree planting and conserve the forests that are already there. Even if we go out planting trees in schools and other institutions, like it has been said, which I really support, and we continue to destroy our indigenous trees, we would be doing nothing. Therefore, there should be a double-edged exercise by the Ministry to ensure that, at least, we replace all the trees which have been cut down or have dried naturally and put punitive caution on people who fell down trees. If you kill an elephant and you are caught with the ivory, count yourself in jail for over 10 years or more and hefty fines, but if you cut down a tree, which has been there for 80 years and you carry the wood, nobody asks you anything. We are destroying our environment. The Ministry concerned should take heed immediately and do what it is required to do. On top of that, we have trees like eucalyptus which are said to drain our waters and rivers. It is said that it sucks a lot of water from our rivers. This one has gone unheeded. You find people planting these trees deep into the riverbeds. Most of our rivers are dry. We are told that we should plant indigenous trees in such places so that we can conserve the little water that we have. These trees should be planted far from the rivers. Where we have rivers, we need to plant indigenous trees. This will help in conserving our environment. Once our forests are destroyed, you find tonnes of soil on our roads which has been swept from hilltops and from our shambas and other places. This is because the top cover has already been eroded by this wanton destruction. Therefore, I strongly support the Motion. Before I end, let me echo the words of the Leader of the Majority Party. I am pleading with the members of the Fourth Estate to be objective in their reporting. Let them not look at the wrong side of the coin. Once our reporters hear something about Parliament, they put it negatively. I do not know why they hate us that much until they write what was not said. Being a Member of two committees does not add a lot of money towards one’s salary. On top of it, once you sit in a committee, you sit once. You do not double sit. Even if you are a Member of 10 committees, you will just sit in one committee at a time. That may just be one day. So, with due respect and humility, I ask the reporters to report objectively. They should not just look at the wrong side of the coin or report what they feel they are happy with. They are hurting those they report against. I support."
}