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{
    "id": 812304,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/812304/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 195,
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    "content": "Secondly, it is a Bill that seeks to do something very important to this country; to bring sanity to the disaster risk management regime that is currently not in very good shape. In the last Parliament, I happened to have been part of the caucus of the disaster risk reduction, together with Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. and others like Hon. Shebesh and Hon. Tiyah Galgalo. We really worked a lot on these proposals. We met many stakeholders and I can confidently report to this House that this Bill is not a Private Members Bill, but actually a Bill based on consensus. We had a lot of engagements and it is sound. In fact, when we were trying to put our heads together on this matter, there were tensions. People wanted to protect their own turfs, because it meant that if we have one agency, then the other people would lose their jobs or something like that. However, that is not the case. We must see the bigger picture. We must ensure that we protect the lives and properties of Kenyans, and this is the basis of this Bill. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, from the outset, I want to recognise a gentleman by the name Mr. Maasai. Mr. Maasai has really worked and impressed me by his contribution to issues of disaster management. He is a Kenya Police officer and is in the Kenya Disaster Management Unit. I was very surprised to see that within a very short time after a disaster has happened; this gentleman, through his unit and with the support of various development partners, has produced a succinct report of what exactly happened. Such officers must be commended because disaster risk management has become a gravy train. This is where people get easy money because they are not very accountable. For example, when one is given blankets or food to give to poor people, these items even end up being used for campaign purposes. So, when we have individuals who are committed to saving the lives of their fellow Kenyans and executing their public duty, they deserve to be commended. I believe and hope that over time, when it comes to the presidential honours, this gentleman, Mr. Masai can be considered. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, this Bill borrows heavily from the Sendai Framework. The Sendai Framework is the globally agreed upon rules of engagement when it comes to disaster risk reduction. In the year 2014, the whole world met in Sendai in Japan to come up with this framework led by the United Nations Institute for Disaster and Risk Reduction. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are actually predicated on disaster management. It is about trying to avoid climate change and the catastrophic effects that we are seeing here in terms of global warming and having a lot of rainfall. We just saw what happened in Tana River. The whole place was flooded. Recently I came from Malawi, they have refugees as a result of this global warming. It is critical for us, as a House, to pass this legislation so that we are able to forestall whatever risks that exist within the changing global scenario. There are many agencies working on disaster mitigation in this country. We have the National Drought Management Authority; the Colonel Kigotho office and the police. At the end of the day, if everybody is claiming to be doing this and that, there might be no co-ordination at all. We are reminded, for example, of the Westgate incident where there was friendly fire between various security agencies; the GSU and the regular police. This is because 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."
}