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{
    "id": 788060,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/788060/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 96,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Maanzo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2197,
        "legal_name": "Daniel Kitonga Maanzo",
        "slug": "daniel-kitonga-maanzo"
    },
    "content": "suppose, provide water for irrigation. Irrigation is not likely to be achieved if the Government stops at the production of power and funders begin recovering their money. But if irrigation is done, then Kenya is likely to change in a great way. We have Galana-Kulalu Irrigation Scheme which is downstream from where the Thwake Dam is going to be constructed. The flow of water can only be sustained if there is a dam at Thwake. That is what will sustain the Galana-Kulalu Irrigation Scheme which the Government had the ambition of irrigating its one million acres. This can only be realised if Thwake Dam is constructed among other dams in the country. We have several irrigation schemes under construction now. They have had challenges. I was a Member of the Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock. I am aware of the challenges irrigation projects face in Kenya. This law is welcome to regulate the irrigation sector in the country. The moment it comes into force, the Irrigation Board Act will cease to be operational and the new law will take effect. The new law takes care of counties. Agriculture is devolved and therefore irrigation is a devolved function so counties will participate in it. With the Thwake Dam Project, we have been working with the county government led by my governor, Prof. Kivutha Kibwana. Though we have no legal structures, we have managed to forge a way forward because agriculture and irrigation are devolved. Eventually, we will need the input of counties. Thwake Dam will be a good example of what will happen in the country with the other irrigation projects coming up. It shows how the national Government can coordinate with county governments to realise the great dream of supporting rain-fed agriculture through irrigation structures. A good example is the Israel Government. They only have one river, Jordan, and Lake Galilee. They are able to utilise the water very well and irrigate the rest of the country which is mostly a desert. Therefore, if irrigation can be done in a desert like in Israel, then any part of Kenya, which is arable, can be irrigated very well. I urge Members to support this Bill so that we can have proper structures on management of irrigation in Kenya and a proper strategy. One of the biggest challenges has been compensation of residents when an irrigation project of this nature has to be developed. In the Thwake Dam case, the Government has now compensated 90 per cent of the residents while 10 per cent have not been compensated. The Constitution requires that before the Government acquires any land for any purpose - in this case for irrigation - it must compensate all the people and the purchase has to be brought to this House. I believe there will be Supplementary Estimates to cater for the construction of Thwake Dam and to complete the compensation of the residents. This has been quite a challenge. It has been captured a bit in this Bill, but it is comprehensively captured in the Constitution. One of the good things about this Bill is that it has aligned irrigation regulations and laws with the Constitution of Kenya such that whatever we are going to do with the new law is constitutional and can be handled in a good way. Though there are challenges, which I believe this law will address sufficiently as a House, we have to begin doing something on compensation so that, that money is allocated to such people so that we can create different food baskets for the country and for purposes of export. When we undertake agriculture in Galana-Kulalu Irrigation Scheme, Makueni Irrigation Scheme, which has been proposed, Tharaka and other parts of the country, we can then export agricultural products. I see the MP for Tharaka nodding. I believe the construction of the proposed dam will cost over Kshs100 billion and will benefit many Kenyans in that region. It is proposed that the first phase of Makueni Dam will cost Kshs36 billion and will be rock filled. This is new The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}