Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 822605,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/822605/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 156,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, I second this Bill, which will set the road to industrialization and help to achieve better living for the people of this country. There are many sources of energy that are covered in the Bill which are not yet exploited. Many parts of this country have sunshine. If we are to achieve rural electrification, it will be easier to set up small solar energy projects in respective areas. This will cut down the cost of electrical wiring that covers miles. For example, if today we were to connect electricity to some village in Marsabit, we would have to connect electric lines that will cover about 300 kilometers. It is easier to go there, fix a solar panel and connect them to power. This is the kind of liberalization provided for in this Bill that will allow various investors to get into this business and generate power in a cheaper way. Madam Temporary Speaker, this country has a lot of biogas from animal waste. Even the garbage in our towns can be turned into generators of power. That will only be possible if this Bill relaxes the regulations that exist today. It is extremely difficult and laborious to venture into that today. We also have issues of nuclear power in the Bill. The Senate Majority Leader referred to the tragedies in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I would advise that we should get into nuclear power cautiously. Nuclear power is not a child’s play. During the Second World War, after the bombs were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, people saw the effect of it. There are four scientists who designed the nuclear bomb. J. R. Oppen Heimei went to President Truman and told him the world should stop the research on this kind of weapons. After that J. R. Oppen Heimei had to suffer and his citizenship of the United States of America (USA) was revoked and he ended up quite miserable, but his word still remains true. As we go cautiously and carefully into nuclear power, let us ensure that we take into account all the safety measures. The nuclear power should be coming as a back-up finally when we have exhausted all the other simpler methods of power. All these things are envisaged in the Bill. The other issue is of unemployment in this country. As you travel in this country and you stop anywhere, there is something that is striking. There is nowhere you can stop in a bus stage and you miss some hundred learned young men who are doing nothing. When energy is provided everywhere and cheaply, these young men will do their own things and contribute greatly to this nation. At this stage, I am glad that you are somebody who is familiar with education. As Kenyans, we need to relook into our education system. We used to have colleges of technology in this country like the Kenya Polytechnic College and the Mombasa Polytechnic College. Even today in the USA, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) which is in Boston is actually called an Institute in Technology. Therefore, the academic line that we are following without emphasizing on technology will not get us to where we want to go. As we talk of energy, we need electricians. They should not necessarily be degree holders. This country today must come back to where we were. If someone can be trained to make some tools and simple furniture, this is the way this country would 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."
}