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{
    "id": 885420,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/885420/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 426,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Murkomen",
    "speaker_title": "The Senate Majority Leader",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 440,
        "legal_name": "Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen",
        "slug": "kipchumba-murkomen"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. I want to congratulate the former Senate Minority Leader, Sen. Wetangula, for moving this very important Adjournment Motion on. The Motion is on an important matter, which is the starvation in our country at the moment occasioned by drought and our poor planning on matters food security. One of the greatest promises of the Jubilee administration in 2013 was to ensure that Kenya becomes food secure. To achieve that, the Jubilee administration promised that irrigation was going to be the solution. The Jubilee administration went ahead to plan on how to irrigate farms in Hola, Galana Kulalu, the Wei Wei Irrigation Project and many others. That was meant to shoulder and reduce the cost of food. I submit that the problem that is in Kenya today is not due to lack of food. It is not that we do not have enough food. If you go to Uasin Gishu, Trans Nzoia, Kitale or Eldoret, you will see lorries queuing to deposit their maize at NCPB depots. The problem is not that this administration has not improved food security in terms of production. It is silly for people to die because we cannot move food from Kitale to Turkana or from Eldoret to Tiaty Constituency, which is across the river, or to the other corner of Samburu. It is crazy that we have institutions that stored the food but we are unable to do the simplest thing which is identification and distribution of the food to the needy. In fact, I am still asking myself questions regarding the story of billions of money being used for food security in those regions. What kind of money are we to use when we can collect the maize from the store and take it to those who are going to consume it? I can understand when I am told that we perhaps need a few resources here and there to get water to the people but when it comes to existence of food in this country, there is enough food. One of the objectives of devolution under Article 174 is to ensure that services are taken closer to the people. I saw a Member of County Assembly (MCA) in Tiaty lamenting and talking of burying people who had died. I was asking myself; ‘you are the MCA, you come from the smallest unit of administration in the county level, where were you? Why are you coming out now when the pictures are in social media when you should have actually walked to your county office and said that it is time to distribute food to our people?’ It is the responsibility of every citizen of this Republic, who has been given responsibility of being a leader, to do the right thing. It is about identifying the office where there is a problem and transporting food to the people who need it. Secondly, I think that our disaster preparedness is wanting, and a Bill was brought to this House, sponsored by Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr and Sen. Sakaja on how we are dealing with disaster in this nation. We must go back and look at disaster preparedness in 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."
}