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{
    "id": 861060,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/861060/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 399,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Prof.) Ongeri",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 124,
        "legal_name": "Samson Kegeo Ongeri",
        "slug": "samson-ongeri"
    },
    "content": "In the mineral sector and under water materials, we have petroleum products. This is a feature we are going to see as we move forward and as they continue exploring. We do not have the expertise to do the extractive processes that are required. We, therefore, need chemical analysts; people who know the density, molarity or the characteristics of the petrol that we want to exploit. What is currently happening is that we get crude oil and transmit it to the port for refining or the raw material is exported as it is. I believe that manufacturing features prominently under the Big Four Agenda. One of the things we ought to do is to establish various refineries so that if we have discovered the crude oil in Turkana, for instance, why can we not have a refinery there so that the pipeline that goes all the way to Lamu, can transport a finished product for export? This will earn the country tremendous resources and money. I have had a problem, because when a resource is found within an area, how do local communities stand to benefit? How will Meru, for instance, benefit if we discover some minerals underground? This Senate must pronounce itself well, because the percentages that are being shared from industry to industry differ. We need to make a standard rule or legal framework that will assess what kind of percentages are available to the people. If the local content takes a bigger share, then those percentages can vary. However, so long as the local content has not taken a bigger share, then we are in deep trouble. We need to rationalize this thinking and get things moving in a predictable manner. On this aspect, we stand to gain immensely if we have a legal framework that will tie in all these things that I have mentioned. In summary, I am saying that the local content means; one, increasing the knowledge and the power of our people. They will have to know what they are handling, what they are doing with that product and how it will be finished. Secondly, the local content will give skills at different levels to our manpower. There are those who are semi- skilled, others are skilled and there are those who are in the top grade, who do not have to go to the university to acquire those skills. We have millions of our children who can acquire skills and make a livelihood out of those skills but they are just lying idle and dormant. That is second element that we stand to gain. The third element that we stand to gain is in terms of the people from that region who gain from whatever resource that is available in that area. That will raise the lifestyles of those people a little higher than it is today. That way, the local people will benefit. The fourth element is that our universities will tailor courses and training programmes that will be supportive of our industries. It is, therefore, a symbiotic relationship between the public and the private sector, universities and various training institutions. Therefore, they will create an enabling environment where these people can thrive. The fifth element that we shall gain out of this is the sustainable use of our raw products. We have totally destroyed our environment because we have not used it sustainably. I suspect that a few years down the road, we will have a country which is almost a semi-desert. We need to think about this; how do we use technology and local resources to sustainably exploit what is available to us, while at the same time replenishing what we are using? Therefore, sustainable use of materials also has got a 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."
}