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{
    "id": 788148,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/788148/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 184,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Odege",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13459,
        "legal_name": "Tom Mboya Odege",
        "slug": "tom-mboya-odege"
    },
    "content": "and nobody is following up the matter. When we talk about tapping water for irrigation in this country, the Government must be ready to make people account for the money that is allocated for such projects, otherwise we should not be talking about becoming food-secure. Talking of food security, we have enough land in this country. One of the Members has talked about 70 per cent of land in Kenya being fallow because we have not made good use of it. If, indeed, we are pumping money to make people turn to agriculture for the sake of securing this country in terms of food, the Government should develop a keen interest in ensuring that there is value for money given. When we give out money to be used down there and we do not follow up on its use, then we are in essence helping those who are corrupt. I know people go out there to talk to chiefs and other leaders and then tractors are then seen crisscrossing the constituency. We fail to give an opportunity to the locals to own projects. When you come up with a project and there is no ownership, whom do you intend to benefit? What value do you expect to get from the people? Food security should be taken seriously by leaders both at the national and the local levels. When a project is owned by people, it makes a lot of sense because it will bear importance and value to that community. However, when a project is brought to people who are totally unaware of it, then it is a waste of public funds. It is also wastage to the community because it is not a priority to them. We need to sit down and agree on how to position the dams we are talking about here. Why should we construct a dam in an area which is overpopulated and does not even have a farmland when we can comfortably do the same in a vast area like Tana River or around River Athi? The Indian Ocean does not need those waters! Why do we allow all the water to drain into the Indian Ocean? The ocean does not need those waters. We need to make good use of those waters starting from Ukambani all the way to Tana River and the rest of the coastal region. That way, we will be in a position to produce a lot of food. When we allow the water to drain into the ocean, which already has more than enough water, then we are, indeed, wasting the water. It is not helping our country. It is my appeal to this House that we allocate the dams equitably, but in areas where they will add value. When money is allocated for projects, let us follow up on the use of that money and ensure that we get value for it. Let us not allocate money for use in areas that will not add value to this country. When we talk about food security, we need to delink food security from politics so that we can target areas which add value and productivity. We need to take money to areas where people are ready to own the projects. Thank you, I support."
}