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{
    "id": 784082,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/784082/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 276,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "want to mention names here, but some of them, went on a spending spree. It is like they were in a fashion show in London, Milan or Paris. They talk about the newest T-shirts they are wearing, how their clothes are designed, how much time they will spend in the gym so that they look good but the people they are leading are living in abject poverty. They keep on preaching marginalisation to the people they are leading. That mindset should be changed. The idea that when the Government is in place --- When we say the Government must do this, we are not talking about the national Government only; we are talking about both the national and county governments because agriculture is largely a devolved function. The counties and the national Government must change the mindset of the people to give them hope by, for example, giving them seeds. Why do counties worry about having a cable car, building the longest bridge and building a luxurious mall? Counties are supposed to focus on small things like giving two kilograms of seeds to farmers to till their land and plant then guarantee them the purchase of their farm products whether it is maize or millet. Guarantee them good prizes and tell them: “If you till one acre of land today, we guarantee you we will buy this much. When there is drought, as a county government, we will get the same maize we bought from you and distribute to the people. Now, move on and till another two acres.” That is what needs to change. Therefore, the Government must put in place adequate infrastructure to facilitate the access and circulation of food, particularly in areas that are affected by food insecurity. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. It is a shame that we know for sure that at some point this year, there will be drought and thereafter floods and we just sit. It is like in this year there will be a miracle that will happen. The meteorological department forecasted that it will rain in Nairobi and there will be flash floods. Everybody behaved like it will not rain. How possible is it that we were caught unawares? People got stuck in traffic for hours while others were killed by floods that were forecasted ten days before it happened. It has become so normal that three or eleven people die and people say: “Only 11 died. Okay, It is just 11people who died” as if the life of one person is that cheap when we talk about it. So, now we know for sure that there will be drought; what are we doing about it? The Bill says we create an institutional infrastructure for an entity that will focus on what you do to ensure that when drought occurs in a particular area, people will not starve and suffer but get food that they produced when it rained. It is now raining; we can do a lot of farming, harvest and store all the water that is flowing causing havoc then do irrigation and in three months harvest the produce. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, a story must be told of your former Governor. Instead of him focusing on dealing with the challenges that were in Chakarika, Marimanti and Gatangachini just but to mention a few areas I know, he took fishlings and put them in a flowing river and said that he was promoting fish farming in Tharaka Nithi. One of the comical things you told me was that the question that the people of Tharaka Nithi County were asking is ---"
}