HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 840063,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/840063/?format=api",
"text_counter": 365,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Were",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 13183,
"legal_name": "Petronila Were Lokorio",
"slug": "petronila-were-lokorio"
},
"content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this Bill gives a lot of power to the CS. Every time you read through the Bill, you will find that the CS will appoint this; he will give licence, regulate and determine the membership to the Petroleum Fund. Therefore, there is a lot of power being drawn to the centre and very little to the counties. Therefore, without this Senate, then our communities, counties and people will be doomed. I, therefore, thank you because this Bill has come to this House. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, public participation on this Bill was done by the Senate and other stakeholders. It is important that we include the views that we picked from the public participation exercise and include them in this Bill before we pass it. Otherwise, what would be the use of including public participation in the Constitution? There is also a certain expectation that has been put on public participation. We should meet this expectation by including some of the views – if not most of the views – that we have picked from the public. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this Bill seems to only focus on Turkana, as the place where we have petroleum. However, there are also other natural resources like gas for which we also need to establish a law, even within this petroleum Bill. There are other counties, like Baringo, which have also discovered oil. Are we going to set up another law that will be addressing Baringo and, therefore, for all other counties that will discover oil? Because of the oil coming down from the Middle East to Africa, we are going to continue getting this oil in all other counties. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is also important to note that 70 per cent of Kenya is Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs). We will, therefore, continue to get oil deposits in the country. We should set up a law that is not just dealing with questions and issues that are in Turkana County; as much as we want to use Turkana County as an example, it is because that is where we have first discovered oil. That also goes back to the issue we raised earlier about the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC). Kenya, being 70 per cent ASAL and, therefore, the capacity to discover or exploit oil is high at 70 per cent. We practice livestock keeping more and, therefore, we need to continue setting up, for example, industries, that respond to our environment. We also need to set up laws that continue to respond to our environment or the climate that we live in. 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."
}