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    "id": 822680,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/822680/?format=api",
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    "content": "that is now there in all the statutes governing all public bodies; that when they acquire public land, they cannot sell it. If they do not need it, they should give it back to the Government, which is the Republic of Kenya, but they cannot sell it or allocate it to anybody else. In that regard, even in the energy sector, we have ended up using a lot of resources to construct electricity power lines. As you can see in the olden days, the telegraph and telephone lines were erected along the railway lines. It was supposed to be a corridor through which all communication infrastructure could be constructed, managed and used. We have, however, lost all that. Therefore, looking into the future – because all is not lost – the authority placed on the Cabinet Secretary (CS), for the reasons I have stated, need to be relooked at. If you look at the creation of the National Energy Entities in Part III of the Bill, the same argument once again applies; the general references to stakeholders and the like. On the issues of licensing – I know that I do not have the time to look through all the provisions – here is where a lot of danger lies. I heard the Senator for Kericho County – and thank God he mentioned it – say that even those people who do not know how to operate a kerosene lamp, acquire these licences to supply, generate or construct electricity power lines. They then go ahead and trade on it. The licensing processes in this country – whether it is in the area of commodities, like you have seen with sugar and maize; or in terms of bringing fertilizers and all that – is where the evil rears its ugly head in the operation and management of public affairs. Therefore, I hope that the provisions that have been made here are more rigorous to ensure that those licenses are not given “anyhowly”. There was a time when it was so difficult to get a license for the airwaves in this country to operate a radio station or a television network. Subsequently, when it was liberated, these licenses were given to many people, who did not even intend to use them. However, because they were valuable, they were invited and subsequently, those who needed them could not get them except by purchase of those licenses. I know of instances where even the mainstream media had to spend a lot of money to get licenses to some of these airwaves because of the way licenses had been given and managed on a basis that was unfair. Madam Temporary Speaker, I will need more time to look at the area of renewable and nuclear energy, but I am glad that there are provisions now governing those sectors of energy. That is where the future lies. We should not be afraid about our continued quest and desire to have nuclear energy for peace proof purposes because to be left behind is to be relegated to the Third World. Many countries are now using nuclear energy for safe purposes and peaceful means in the energy sector. France is a nuclear power and nearly 90 per cent of its energy supply or generation comes from nuclear. They are able to do it cheaper than many countries in Europe. Some countries like Germany and others depend on oil and gas from Russia. When Ukrainians wanted to be a little bit independent, they realised that even getting that oil from the oil fields in Russia, to go through the rest of Europe and Ukraine was not easy. The politics of energy is high voltage. So, self-sufficiency is something that we should be looking and planning for now rather than tomorrow. That way, the future 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."
}