HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 814925,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/814925/?format=api",
"text_counter": 70,
"type": "other",
"speaker_name": "",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "(National Assembly Bills No. 46 of 2017), whose history we are quite familiar with. We know the journey it has travelled. No matter the opposition and thoughts that Senators shared when it was first brought to the House, the drafters and those who have the interest of seeing this piece of legislation go through, have still not taken time to consider our views and what we think about it. However, all is not lost. I listened to the Mover of the Bill, the good Senator for Isiolo County, Sen. Dullo. As is the procedure for all Bills, after the Second Reading, when this Bill is committed to the Committee, what are the thoughts that we, as Senators, have shared that the Committee will accommodate and consider, so that we do not get to a state where it appears as if Parliament was made for the Executive? I have always held the strong view that it is the Executive that was made for Parliament. Parliament is a meeting of all Kenyans. Each afternoon, the 47 million Kenyans gather in this House through their 67 representatives. Therefore, by any stretch of imagination, it cannot be the work of Parliament to do the work of the Executive. Rather, it is the opposite. It is up to the Executive to do our work and inculcate our thoughts and ideas. This is because we speak on behalf of the people of Kenya that we represent. The thoughts that I share, for example, about the Bill are not my own. I have thought through this Bill and seen how it will benefit the one million residents of the county that I represent in this House. Mr. Speaker, Sir, there are many things I agree with in this Bill. For sure, when you see the struggle that we have continued to have in our water resource management, the whole agriculture sector and large-scale irrigation, we know that irrigation will be the only answer to the perpetual famine challenge that this country continues to face. It does not mean that because we have a legislation that is before us, we hurry it as if by passing this Bill, famine shall become history in this country. No matter how hungry a person is, we cannot serve them 97 per cent food and three per cent poison and hope that because they have been hungry, they will eat it anyway. The truth is that they will die. There are parts of this Bill, which my conscience will not allow me to support in the context that it is. I hope the Members of the relevant Committee are taking note of the views being raised by the Senators. This is important because we may never get another opportunity to raise some of these concerns. Mr. Speaker, Sir, moving on to Clause 6 of this Bill, on the importance of development, management and regulation of irrigation and some of the duties that the Cabinet Secretary (CS) in charge will be doing, they are supposed to send a report to Parliament annually, from time to time as may be necessary, on the state of and need for irrigation, development and management in this country. It is not for lack of legislation for this not to have happened. In the current statute, this is supposed to be happening. For the number of years that I have been in this House, I have never seen such a report submitted before us. For example, we have the infamous Galana-Kulalu Irrigation Scheme. Apart from the reports we get from the media and what we hear about the misadventure by the National Irrigation Board (NIB), there is nothing that Members of this House can use a basis when making decisions whether or not to support such legislation. 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."
}