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{
    "id": 822614,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/822614/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 165,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, this is why we need to ensure that this law works. At the same time, we have to remember that we are not just a country on its own. We are part of a global community and there is high competition for resources. At the same time, we should ensure that we sustain our development. Kenya participated in the development of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In fact, I think we were the co-president of the Political Bill under the United Nations (UN). It was led by the then Amb. Macharia Kamau who happens to be the Principal Secretary (PS) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is incumbent upon us to ensure that we sustain our development by moving towards green energy. This does not also necessarily mean that because it is becoming a global phenomenon, we slow down on our development. If you look at the development quotient, then Kenya is still a fairly developed country. Madam Temporary Speaker, the leveraging of this would be in terms of innovations around value addition of the national resources that we have that will produce energy. We have not explored to our benefit the issue of solar energy. That is something that we really need to look at. We have a lot of solar energy. I was surprised that when you go to London, you can see households with solar panels on top and you wonder how these people get the sunlight which only comes some few months in a year. For example, in Germany, 2 per cent of its energy is from solar. You can imagine how cold it can be in Germany. We have a lot of opportunities to ensure that we tap into renewable energy in terms of solar and wind, so that we can spur the Vision 2030. Madam Temporary Speaker, the Vision 2030 has got 27 good projects. I believe that they require this Bill to ensure we meet these demands for energy. However, it must also be remembered that there is a serious competition even for our land. As we speak, going forward, Africa has got 60 per cent of arable land. It would also mean that if we were to do our work properly and provide the right kind of energy, then we are the next food basket for the world. I believe that this Bill will provide a mechanism to ensure that we can do huge plantation agriculture that is commercially viable. Rather than having small parcels of land that do not help our people, but keep them in a poverty trap. We can provide evidence that there is urgency with regard to value addition of our agricultural products. Madam Temporary Speaker, however, without repeating, we still require that you have enough energy to value add, so that we are not just providing jobs for other economies. Indeed, within the International Labour Organisation (ILO), there is what you call international division of labour. The work of Kenyans and Africans is not to be the people who do the sludge work or the people who go to the trenches to produce raw materials for the other economies. Madam Temporary Speaker, this Bill is good; let us see it for what it is. We hope that we will not only generate enough energy for our own local consumption, but that it will also serve our neighbors within the East African Community. Just like we have been buying a lot of power from the Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited, I hope that we can also supply energy to our neighbors in Somalia and other places. 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."
}