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{
    "id": 849605,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/849605/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 163,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Eng.) Hargura",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 827,
        "legal_name": "Godana Hargura",
        "slug": "godana-hargura"
    },
    "content": "When it comes to the procedure for compensation, the law is very clear. We have the County Wildlife Conservation and Compensation Committees (CWCCC) which my colleagues have alluded to in their contributions. The committees were formed as a result of the first petition handled in this House. The committees have been formed according to the regulations which were prepared by the Cabinet Secretary. The period of the first committees lapsed in February, 2018. I think the petition which was here was about the chairpersons of those committees demanding to be paid honoraria. The Cabinet Secretary said clearly that they have paid whatever allowances that were recommended by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) because the Act says that it is the SRC to recommend whatever they need to be paid. The Cabinet Secretary said they have paid the honoraria in dispute but that is still an issue because their time came to an end in February, 2018. We still have human-wildlife conflict because we still live with the animals. The structure has been put in place such that we have committees to tackle those issues. However, I am surprised that the Cabinet Secretary in charge of Tourism and Wildlife has not, as required by the regulations, extended the term because the regulations allow him to either extend the term of all the committee members for another term of three years or advertise and have new committees in place. Basically, there is undeliberate move by the Executive to cripple the compensation scheme. We do not have the committees in place but the law says clearly that the affected persons have to apply to the committees. By keeping quiet, the Cabinet Secretary wants to make sure that there is no kind of committee for Kenyans to complain to when affected by human-wildlife conflicts. I know of a case of a boy from my county who was killed by a leopard in Serolibi area of Samburu County. Up to now, the family has not been compensated because of not having the committees. Again, once the recommendations of the committees reach the Cabinet Secretary in charge, they are told there is no money. Recently, I discussed with a senior warden in Marsabit National Park who used to sit in that committee. They said they do not have a committee but they still get claims every now and then. Now they have a backlog of claims of persons who have been killed by animals or suffered serious injuries like destruction of crops and livestock. All these have not been taken care of because the Government has deliberately ensured that there is no committee to complain to, which in my view, is the Executive trying not to implement a law which was passed by this House. According to the law, in case of human death, you apply to the committee, which verifies and its recommendation are passed to the Cabinet Secretary for compensation of the affected persons. Now we do not have the committee in place. In case of destruction of crops and livestock, the committee has to receive the complaints and submit them to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). We do not have the committees in place. We are actually crippling a law to make sure that Kenyans do not benefit. The most important question is: Why has the Cabinet Secretary (CS) not reinstated or extended the term of the first committees or ensured that when the terms of the first committees expired in February, he puts measures in place so that other committees are formed? In that case, we are dealing with a system which is The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}