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{
    "id": 838306,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/838306/?format=api",
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    "content": "disaster response and how it is managed. From the outset, I must say that this is a timely thought. Our colleague said that they are jointly co-sponsoring a Bill with Sen. Halake who served as the Deputy Director of the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) before joining this House. It has been said that there is no need to reinvent the wheel. If the KRCS has proven innumerable times that they are able to respond to disasters in this country whatever the magnitude is, it is not rocket science to propose that they need Government support for them to take care of particular unfortunate events because we have seen the nature and speed with which Government has continued to drop the ball every time we have had a disaster, be it here in the Capital City or in different parts of this country. The lone first responders in any particular part of this country are officers of the KRCS. Therefore, I find it to be an extremely timely thought for someone to think through and consider that they should be lent Government support and be made more effective by enjoying the leverage of being provided for with the resources that they need to respond to emergencies in this country. I would like to agree with the proposals that the Mover of this Motion has made before this honourable House this afternoon; that a time has come for us to look keenly into how we handle disaster management. We need to consider, as Government institutions, that they may not have the expertise and the know-how on how to place first responders in areas that are known to be disaster-prone in this country. It will not be unusual to be the first country in the world to sort of give away what is considered generally Government work or ordinarily handled by the Government. A new concept is emerging where in different parts of the world people are beginning to appreciate that there are certain organisations that excel in different disciplines. Therefore, there is absolutely nothing illegal in doing that. Given the track record and how we know their response to various disasters within our country, we should lend them the kind of support that is needed for them to execute their work with distinction. It is also my proposal that we consider not only giving them support to operate at the national level but also to have presence down to our villages and sub- locations in our counties. I urge my colleagues to consider giving the legal framework that is needed for county governments to also partner with the KRCS because it is important. We all remember that during the first cycle of devolution, there were few challenges here and there. Truth be told, it is a matter that appeared even before the Committee on Finance, Commerce and Budget that I served in during the Eleventh Parliament. A number of counties signed partnership with the KRCS to provide ambulance services but it was considered to be a bit more expensive and the framework that was used to reach that kind of agreement was not transparent. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I also urge that before we consider dipping or throwing public resources at such institutions, we should consider the governing structures. We were informed this afternoon that, last year, Kshs7 billion was spent on overseeing all the disaster response activities. That is not a small amount of money. However, given that it is not a public organisation, issues of transparency can never be second-guessed. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes"
}