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{
    "id": 784132,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/784132/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 326,
    "type": "other",
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    "content": "you will see tens of people with cancers. They do not know where they got them from. These things were not there in the earlier years. However, for the last 30 years, these cancers are increasing especially that of the oesophagus and liver. You will see people with big tummies and some tell you that it is uchawi and other things. However, when they go to hospital, most of them realise that they have cancers, as a result of these foods which have been stored in unfavourable conditions for very many years. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, Clause 4(c) has the explanation of duty bearers and transparency in the food sector, particularly emergency food aid. These foods are taken there through the County Commissioners, the Assistant County Commissioners and the chiefs. We are told that these foods are distributed to locations, but it never reaches anywhere. The food items are sold and when people complain about it, especially politicians, we are told that we are fighting what nobody else has fought before. It is unfortunate that these things are there and they have to be acted on. The county administration has to find other ways of handling those issues. When I went through the Bill for the first time, the impression I got is that it is biased towards farming communities. It does not say anything about the pastoralist communities. I, therefore, urge those concerned and the Committee to harmonise the Bill so that it also includes cases of food security for pastoralists. For example, the pastoralist communities usually experience severe droughts year in, year out. As a result of lack of pasture and water, they lose their animals. The loss impacts on their lives since they depend on livestock. Therefore, considering the issues I have mentioned, including the unreliable rainfall and global warming, the pastoralists’ way of life is being threatened. We, therefore, need interventions, just as farming communities have subsidies on fertilisers and farm inputs. We should not just talk of the livestock off-take programme. We should also buy these animals at better prices when they are still strong, so that these people can have money to buy food as well. We also want the Government to assist in ensuring that there are enough boreholes and dams. This will ensure the growth of pasture in certain areas and mitigate the effects of drought. There should also be vaccination of the livestock, so that they are healthy and helpful to the people who look after them. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I heard the Senate Majority Leader saying that we can have one borehole in every ward. Some wards are 30, 40, 50 or 100 square kilometres. How will one borehole help an area that is 30 square kilometres? We need more boreholes and dams and extension officers to help these pastoralists get involved in subsistence farming. This will ensure that they grow some food in these areas where they have boreholes and dams. This will ensure that livestock and people who look after them have access to food and water. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to support."
}