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{
    "id": 774101,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/774101/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 232,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "activities in dealing with their forests; they have destroyed them. If you go to Europe and it rains, it is all acid water. They have no forest of any nature. We have been lured into carbon credit. It is the exchange for carbon. They can pollute the world and at the end of it say that for our bad practices, in exchange, they can give carbon credit. It is a good thing to get carbon credit because we are the custodian of clean air. But what is happening today is that most of our rivers are drying up. The other day I crossed over River Sotik while coming from home. It is used to be full of water regardless of the season. However, I could just see patches of water passing through. I just wondered how a river which used to burst its banks and flow over the bridge whenever it rained could be in the current state. Kisii where there is supposed to be plenty of water is currently dry. Therefore, these irrigations schemes should be done. The construction of dams should be a selective exercise. It should be done in a manner with the full understanding that Kenya is moving towards water scarcity. In order for us to address this problem comprehensively, and that is the reason why I am supporting this Bill, the dams must be equally distributed to all counties. We must be involved to know the benefits that accrue from this kind of a Bill that we are now discussing in this Senate. This will ensure that there are tangible benefits to our people. I do not want us to do something that we will regret later. This irrigation has a potential of opening up new settlements. With opening up of new settlements, areas that have not been inhabited before, particularly arid and semi-arid regions, will have new populations. With the population growing, this will call for all the social services such as health care and housing. This will make our people happy. They do not have to trek many miles away to look for water for their animals. Every time I watch television I get sick because I see people trying to scoop water from dirt. When I was a medical officer in charge of Wajir in Sen. (Dr.) Ali’s county, in 1968, to be precise, the place was not as desiccate as it is today. There was a lot of water whenever it rained a bit. Whenever it rained you would take more than 12 hours for a trip from Wajir to Buna. Gural, the nearby border of Ethiopia, is about less than 20 kilometres from Buna, yet it took us a whole day to traverse that section because it had rained. Today it is a dry place and yet water tables in the region are very high because of the mountains across Wajir. So, apart from conserving, the aquifers of water should also be replenished. There is a survey that talks of the plenty of water in Turkana that is able to supply the whole of Kenya. I would like to know the quality of that water. Is it something that we can look forward to as yet another reservoir for this nation and as a natural resource that we can preserve and develop? Just like we value oil, we should also start valuing water because we have realised water is a finite resource. Without much ado, since I can see the warning light is on, this board must be representative. Every part of the Bill talks of ‘in consultation with the county governments,’ but when I look at the constitution of the board, it does not reflect that. Can we, please, during the Committee stage, reflect how the county governments will have a stake in it? This is because we, as Senators, will be accused of passing a Bill in this House which does not take into account the interest of the county governments. Madam Temporary Speaker, with those few remarks, I beg to support. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate"
}