Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 788967,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/788967/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 221,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Amin",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13398,
        "legal_name": "Amin Deddy Mohamed Ali",
        "slug": "amin-deddy-mohamed-ali"
    },
    "content": "Of great significance is environmental management and assessment, which is likely to affect oil exploration. This Bill clearly emphasises the importance of conducting environmental impact assessment to see how exploitation of this product is likely to affect other livelihoods in the region. These issues should be looked into critically with a view of seeing how this Bill can be harmonised with existing environmental laws, like the Environmental Management and Coordination Act (EMCA), in order to avoid conflict that would deter future exploration and development of this natural resource. Finally, petroleum is of great significance. Any company that is likely to operate within this region, both in upstream and downstream should have programmes that will support the development of the local communities. In addition to the percentages of revenue allocated to the local communities, there should be mandatory corporate social responsibility programmes even at the initial exploration and potential examination stages. Let me say at the outset that the company that will be operating there should not ignore certain community interests. Previously, many operations involving oil prospecting in northern Kenya resulted in an open looting spree of our natural resources as there were no controls. Companies that were mainly prospecting for oil went ahead to gather corals and gemstones, which are of importance to this country. There should be a specific declaration as to what a company is supposed to do. There should be controls to ensure that prospecting companies specifically do what they have been licensed to do. Otherwise, exploration of oil may give them an opportunity to discover more. Oil prospecting companies should be required to declare any other discovery made in the course of their work so that community interests, in terms of gemstones that may be in existence in the region, can be safeguarded. With those remarks, I support this Bill."
}