{"id":817511,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/817511/?format=json","text_counter":91,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Wetangula","speaker_title":"","speaker":{"id":210,"legal_name":"Moses Masika Wetangula","slug":"moses-wetangula"},"content":"Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have listened very carefully to the Report by the Chair of the Senate Committee on Land, Environment and Natural Resources. Thank you for allowing us to make a comment. The Report begs several questions. What is being excised if there was no gazetted forest? We can only excise a forest that exists and that is dully gazetted as a forest. Secondly, this House will be setting a very dangerous trend in a country that is forest-deficient where our forest cover is less than 5 per cent against the United Nations (UN) recommendation of a minimum of 5per cent. It is also against comparable jurisdictions such as Korea and Japan that are doing 70 per cent. We have no reason whatsoever to excise a forest. This is with the greatest respect to my distinguished colleague, the Senator for Kisii County, who has supported the recommendations. If there is already land which is not a forest, why would a factory not be built on such land instead of excising a forest and then compensating the excised forest with another land? 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."}