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"content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, I beg to move:- THAT, the Disaster Risk Management Bill, (Senate Bills No.8 of 2018) be now Read a Second Time. Madam Temporary Speaker, this Bill was published on 6th March, 2018, and read for the First Time in this House on 18th April, 2018. Madam Temporary Speaker, the disaster that has been disaster management in Kenya is what has really caused us together with Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. to think of what the best legislative framework for dealing with disaster management in our country should be. Even today, a lot of the statements that have been raised and discussed on the Floor of this House have had to do with management of disasters. We are talking about the Gikomba fire tragedy, the Statement raised by Sen. Mary Seneta, issues of flood management in Machakos County. Every day we deal with different types of disasters. This Bill seeks to establish the National Disaster Risk Management Authority that will ensure there is co-ordination of disaster risk management issues at the national level as well as at the county level. The Bill further seeks to establish the County Disaster Risk Management Committees in each of the counties as the role of disaster management is a shared function. If you go to the First Schedule of the Constitution, it is a function that is shared between both the national Government and the county government. Madam Temporary Speaker, our country has been exposed to a variety of both natural and technological disasters such as fires, droughts, floods, landslides, buildings collapsing, traffic accidents, oil spills, industrial accidents, disease epidemics, terror attacks and many others. These disasters have adverse socio-economic, health and political impact on our society and our country. They have disrupted livelihoods, destroyed infrastructure, cost us lives, diverted planned use of resources, interrupted economic activities and have retarded development in our country. If we just look at fires alone, for instance, we have had a series of school fires in the past few years that have affected so many of our schools. We have lost lives. We know that our schools do not have capacity to implement safety standards and to deal with these fires. Recently, we, as county, lost a number of girls at Moi Girls School Nairobi because of a fire incident. It is not the first time that has happened in this country. Madam Temporary Speaker, in 2009 a petrol tanker burst into flames in Sachangwan. A total of 91 Kenyans died, 178 got thermal injuries, were burnt and their lives changed forever. In January, 2009 as well just down the road, a few metres from where we are today, uncovered gas cylinders exploded, smouldered and burnt at Nakumatt costing us lives, causing injuries and damage to property that has been irreparable until today. Madam Temporary Speaker, last week we lost 15 Kenyans in Nairobi County in Gikomba because of a fire incident. A few weeks ago, we lost 47 Kenyans at Solai Dam disaster. Two years ago, I lost 51 residents of Nairobi at Huruma after a building collapsed. I think the extent of the problem really behooves us, as a House, as the Senate of the Republic of Kenya, as the Parliament of Kenya, to think of solutions. In all of these disasters, the response has been poorly co-ordinated leading to duplication of efforts and The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}