Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 814900,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/814900/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 45,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Eng.) Mahamud",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 373,
        "legal_name": "Mohammed Maalim Mahamud",
        "slug": "mohammed-mahamud"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I beg to support the Bill, which was a Senate Bill that was defeated in this House. It is now coming from the National Assembly. Irrigation is important for this country. Kenya has been depending a lot on rain- fed agriculture, but we have not been serious on irrigation in terms of food security. We debated the Food Security Bill, which is still before the House, but it cannot be operational without a proper irrigation law. We know that irrigation has been domiciled at one time in the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation and another time in the Ministry of Water and Sanitation, as if we do not know what we are doing. It is a high time we agree that irrigation must be domiciled in the Ministry of Water. We are talking about conserving water for purposes of irrigation. It is important that the policies on water are actually implemented when it comes to irrigation. We cannot have irrigation under the Ministry of Agriculture and then we want officers from the Ministry of Water and Sanitation to give us water rights. That is the confusion we are creating. So, we must decide as a country where we want to domicile this body that we are now forming. Mr. Speaker, Sir, in the definitions, the Cabinet Secretary is currently responsible for irrigation matters. I would rather that the Cabinet Secretary being in charge of water and irrigation, because you cannot irrigate without water. Every other time when there is a Cabinet reshuffle, we hear that irrigation has moved from the Ministry of Agriculture to the Ministry of Water and vice versa, depending on who is making the reshuffle. So, it is a high time that we designate by law where these irrigations facilities will be. Section 22 (c) of the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution states that water protection, securing sufficient residual water, hydraulic engineering and safety of dams are all functions of the national Government. The only water functions given to the county governments under Part 2 of the Fourth Schedule, when it comes to public works and services include storm water management systems in built-up areas and water and sanitation services. I understand that as water for human consumption. However, the protection of water, hydraulic engineering, which entails irrigation and the safety of dams, are all functions of the national Government. So, the Bill is not misplaced as far it concerns. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I cannot quite remember the National Irrigation Board Act, but it is being replaced by this particular proposed Bill. Under the functions of the Authority that is being proposed in this Bill, Clause 2 (8) (g) states- “The functions of the Authority shall be to- provide technical advisory services on a commercial basis, on irrigation water management, including water harvesting and storage, and waste water recycling for agricultural use to all schemes under appropriate modalities, including agency contracts.” 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."
}