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{
    "id": 851345,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/851345/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 264,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Suba North, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Ms.) Odhiambo-Mabona",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 376,
        "legal_name": "Millie Grace Akoth Odhiambo Mabona",
        "slug": "millie-odhiambo-mabona"
    },
    "content": "favour. We will be working in rushed manner and we will not be looking at the work before us properly and we will not give it the depth and information that is needed of us when we are legislating. Even the time that we have for commenting may not be sufficient for the number of Bills we have. I do not have the English word for what we are doing. We are supposed to be persuading each other but there is no time to persuade each other. When the other Members are speaking and busy trying to look at all the pieces of legislation, I may not be able to get it. Everybody is just going to the piece that they think concerns their constituents. Hon. Duale went straight to camel milk. I will go straight to fishing and another Member will go straight to something else. In effect, we are basically talking to ourselves. Having said that, let me start – because I might run out of time – with the amendment to the Fisheries Management Bill. Going by the things that I have said, I have looked through it. The reason why we are not able to do justice to this Bill is that the annex of the parts of the Bill that we are supposed to be dealing with is not comprehensive. There are some parts that are included and some that are not included. Even when you make references, it becomes very difficult to make a logical reference. I have more queries than answers. I sat through in the last Parliament when we were passing this new law. This is an Act which is very recent. I am even wondering why we are in such a hurry to amend it. The Executive is taking Parliament for granted. Once we have passed something, give it time. Let it be tested instead of bringing it back every six months. The only thing they are doing is trying to persuade us every two months. They need to do their work to persuade us so that once we pass a law, it can stay for a while. The Government has not changed; it is the same Jubilee Government. Even the policy on fishing has not changed. Whatever we passed for the Government should be the one that is available. We are now talking of redefining artisan of fisheries. Why are we changing the definition? What are we trying to cure by changing the definition? I can see that the amendment is trying to move it from commercial to non- commercial. I can see that part of the thing that is being done is removing aquaculture from the ambit of fishing so that we do not consider aquaculture as fishing. If it is not fishing, what is it? Is it keeping cows or camels? I do not understand. That is why I am saying I have more questions than answers. I have also raised a lot of concern in the past about the focus of the blue economy, which seems to be more focused away from the internal waters than elsewhere. You always start from your point of strength, not weakness. If I wanted to focus on growing vegetables, I will not go to Suba North because that is not our strength. But if I want to deal with fisheries, I will go to Suba North and ask the people of Suba North about fisheries and how we can improve the sector. If the fisheries stocks dwindle, I will be investing in other things aquaculture within Suba North and its surrounding areas. I will be investing in cage-farming within Suba North. Where is cage- farming undertaken in this country? Why are we not bringing amendments related to that? I am not very happy with the direction that the fishing policy and mindset is taking within the Executive. I would want to urge my good friend, the Principal Secretary, who is very skilled in fisheries, that he needs to go back to the root of fishing in this country, which is Nyanza, and The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}