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{
    "id": 809644,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/809644/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 38,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "South Imenti, Independent",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kathuri Murungi",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2802,
        "legal_name": "Kathuri Murungi",
        "slug": "kathuri-murungi"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I want to give my two brief comments on the two petitions if you allow me. I will start with the one submitted by Hon. Theuri, Member for Embakasi West. This issue of betting and gambling is a problem in this country, especially to the young people. As much as I support what my colleague is alluding to, unless this sector is controlled our youth will get into problems. Besides the slot coin machine that my colleague is talking about, even betting itself has become a problem. Even though it is a bit sophisticated because it involves the use mobile phones and computers, betting and gambling which is used in Embakasi is the same all over. Unless both games are well controlled, our youth will continue getting problems and that is why the Government saw it wise to burn those machines. Even today they were burned in my constituency. I support that move because it is helping us to curb that vice. All the same, what is needed is to regularise both betting and gambling. The issue of taxation also needs to be checked so that the owners of betting companies pay enough taxes and hence help most of the youth from getting into that vice. The other comment is on human-wildlife conflict which is a menace in Meru and Tharaka Nithi counties. Two days ago, I saw in the media that in my constituency, members of the public killed an elephant because it strayed from the forest to the residential area, and harassed the residents. Two people were hurt in the Igoji West Ward. During the last Parliament we did a very good law on Wildlife Management and Conservation Act in the Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources which I was a Member and we put measures including what to do with loss of lives. We put Kshs 5 million as compensation for loss of life. In case of crop destruction, people could be compensated. Up to now, the Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources has not put aside money for compensation. I can see Hon. Mwadime, he has been raising these issues since the last Parliament and he is very agitated when I mention compensation. This Parliament has a responsibility in the next financial year to ensure that enough resources are set aside to compensate people whose crops and lives have been affected by this elephant menace. As a professional conservationist, the best thing is to put fences in all the national parks and forested areas, so that this will be a one off expenditure and these elephants will be contained in the forests. That is the best method. Thank you for giving me that chance to contribute."
}