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{
    "id": 836446,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/836446/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 332,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Gatanga, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Joseph Nduati",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13338,
        "legal_name": "Joseph Nduati Ngugi",
        "slug": "joseph-nduati-ngugi-2"
    },
    "content": "From the outset, I support this Report and commend the Chairman and his Committee for doing a very good job. From the deliberations, there are a lot of accusations against NEMA for not doing a good job. I have interacted with them and I can say that NEMA is not well staffed for the kind of work they are supposed to perform in this country. As Parliament, we need to give them adequate funds or else, we will be wasting Kenyans lives. The other thing I wanted to point out is that Athi River is very much polluted. Apart from the LDKL, the old and new cement companies which are coming up cause a lot of pollution, which is not controlled. This is as a result of poor planning of that town. How I wish the Committee visited the town planning department to see the capacity they have and the work they are supposed to do. This is not only seen in Athi River Town, but also in small towns which are very poorly planned. This is something that we should not have devolved. As a country, if our towns are to grow, planning is something that we need to look at critically. We are blaming the LDKL for pollution, but looking at what is happening there, you will see that Athi River, as a town, does not have a master plan to be used. The last master plan for Nairobi was done in 1973. Murang’a, where I come from, there is no town planning. Most of our towns and counties do not have town planners, which is a very critical service. The zoning regulation in Athi River is not well documented and publicised. This is a way of creating corruption because an investor goes to Athi River to invest without knowing the specific zones and land user changes are at the will of policy planners. As a country, we need to have a multi-agency approach so that we can have town planning departments, NEMA and the National Construction Agency (NCA) under one office. Investors are facing problems by having to go from one office to another for approval. There are 1,001 approvals just for a small investment. We find that some of our investors are cutting corners and our projects are not well supervised."
}