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{
    "id": 890565,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/890565/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 367,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Dr.) Musuruve",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13188,
        "legal_name": "Getrude Musuruve Inimah",
        "slug": "getrude-musuruve-inimah"
    },
    "content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, if this Bill is implemented, it will ensure that the local content is utilised and that locals are not exploited. We have a duty, as a Senate, to protect the interests of counties and their governments. So, if we pass this Bill, we will have played our role as the Senate in a very powerful way. Madam Temporary Speaker, this Bill naturally calls for public participation in the sense that when natural resources are discovered in an area, the locals will have to talk to the county governments and the national Government. Therefore, there will be public participation and dialogue. That is the essence of devolution. Madam Temporary Speaker, what I like about this Bill is that the benefits that will accrue from the natural resources will cascade all the way to the counties to benefit the locals. Madam Temporary Speaker, some of the natural resources that are mentioned here are God given and divine, for instance, sunlight. However, some of them are manmade, divine or in between, for example, fisheries. Madam Temporary Speaker, sometimes locals lack the financial muscles to exploit the financial resources. However, if someone comes with the financial muscle to exploit the financial resources and this benefit does not cascade to the locals, it is unfortunate. This is because the resources are found in the local’s land but the moneybags go away with the money. The locals also have their own needs. Therefore, they need the revenue. The fact that natural resources are found in their areas means that they have the capital which is very important, for example, land which is a factor of production. So, they are rich. However, it is unfortunate that resources are found in a particular area but people die poor. It is ironical. Therefore, there is need for this Bill to go through. Madam Temporary Speaker, I like this Bill because it calls for transparency. There are instances where resources have been found in a certain area but when they are exploited and benefits accrue from them, locals do not benefit at all because of lack of transparency. This also applies in the issue of loyalties where, for instance, locals are told that resources were found, exploited but the exploiters made very little or no money from it. Therefore, I support the issue of transparency that is in this Bill. When there is transparency, benefits will cascade to the locals. The natural resource is local in content and this must benefit the locals."
}