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{
    "id": 794151,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/794151/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 869,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Hulufo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13348,
        "legal_name": "Hassan Oda Hulufo",
        "slug": "hassan-oda-hulufo-2"
    },
    "content": "Thank you Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me the opportunity to speak to this Bill. I support this Bill. As the Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Administration and National Security has stated, this is a very important Bill. As a country, we have a very long coastline along the Indian Ocean. We also have other inland lakes like Lake Turkana which my colleague Hon. Marselino has mentioned. These water bodies are not policed. This is posing security threats to our nation. Most developed countries have multi-agency coast guards. We ought to have had this force. The establishment of this force is constitutional. If we look at the Report of the Committee, especially the presentation by the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Defence and so on, it is very clear that the establishment of a military or a paramilitary force for purposes of promoting national security can only be established in accordance with the Constitution or an Act of Parliament. Of course, there is a relevant Article in the Constitution. But, as Members of this august House who have the cardinal responsibility of providing legislation when it is required, it is our responsibility to support this Bill so that we facilitate our security organs, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Defence and the National Intelligence Service to come up with a force which is going to safeguard our coastlines. The manning of our coastlines by a disciplined force like the one proposed in this Bill is something that we ought to have formed a long time ago. Fortunately, we are not the only ones who do not have coast guards, particularly in our continent. Even some advanced countries which we normally look up to when we do benchmarking are yet to establish theirs. I have had an opportunity of trying to find out where coast guards exist in the African Continent. In countries like Egypt, for example, it exists but it is part of the navy. The good practice internationally is to have a multi-agency force whose members are drawn from different wings of military or security organs like the army or the police. The Bill also provides clear provisions for the establishment, functions and appointments of Director- General. The functions are clearly specified and they relate to security challenges that we face as a result of unmanned seafront. For example, in the recent past, we had an instance where terrorists attacked tourist resorts in Lamu County. By the time the security organs were responding, the damage was already done and we ended up losing tourism which is a major foreign exchange earner for our country. We also know that our territorial waters are rich in biodiversity, which is part of our heritage. We also have people who illegally do bio-prospecting. They do prospection of our biological resources and extract them without the knowledge of our Government simply because our coastline is not manned or policed. Due to this situation in our coastline, there could be instances where illegal firearms can find their way into our country. As my brother has said, once those firearms enter into our country, they pose a very serious threat to lives and properties of our people. With those few remarks, there are a number of issues which I have noted require amendments. I am glad that some of them have been flagged out by the Committee. Once we get to the Committee of the whole House stage, we will propose some amendments."
}