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{
    "id": 915393,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/915393/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 350,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Makueni, WDM-K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Daniel Maanzo",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2197,
        "legal_name": "Daniel Kitonga Maanzo",
        "slug": "daniel-kitonga-maanzo"
    },
    "content": "engineers already working, do we have sufficient engineers on this field? Is nuclear energy being taught in university? If so, what is the practicality? We do not have these plants already operating in the country although they are in many parts of the world especially the first world. They have been very effective in those countries. The cost of it may require us as a country, we prepare for quite some years. This is something that we need to think through properly. We should be advised well by the Treasury, so that when we begin the plants, tenderpreneurs will not take advantage by having an international company come and do the business here, take away all our earnings, broker at that level and make money for bringing the installations. It is a very good idea. This is a very good Bill and it may not be applied immediately. We may have to pass this Bill and probably suspend the date when it will come into operational or functional. Probably, that is something to consider bearing in mind that Parliament should not be debating or passing laws in futility. We have to be prepared in terms of cost and location. Where are we going to locate this? Is it in a heavily populated part of Kenya? If it is in a sparsely populated part of Kenya, do we have sufficient water there? Do we have a river going by this particular plant which will cool it sufficiently? If that were the case, looking at the face of Kenya, how are we going to be able to put the infrastructure so that we can serve all Kenyans with this particular energy? Will it be cheaper than the normal electricity that we are producing now? I am aware when we have drought, like now we have experienced drought, probably in a few months, we will be using generators and the cost of power will go up. However, when we put up this particular energy, will it be more expensive than what we are already using and what other methods can we use? There are many other sources of energy in Kenya although coal has been described as not clean energy. It is old and it has more devastating effects than what we could have now. Most importantly, how are we going to train our experts? How many years will they take to go through a nuclear course and the practicality of it? How long will they undergo enough practicals to employ Kenyans locally to run this particular project? Are we going to hire many foreigners to run the nuclear plants in the country? So, it is a very good Bill. It has regulations. It has quite a number of parts. It complies with the relevant sections of the Constitution, but we need to look more at the danger likely to be posed in the event of an accident of this nature. How are we going to deal with it or contain it? Recently, we are doing quite a number of dams in the country. How many of the dams can generate power? The Thwake Dam is being constructed in Makueni Constituency along the Thwake River and it is going to produce energy, which will definitely go to the national grid. How are we going to put this to the national grid? Have we put up an alternative energy- generating State corporation already? It seems we will have two energy-generating corporations. So, at some point, we need to think of how to marry the two to make sure all of them are energy- generating and they can go to the grid. What will be the role of the existing one, which is KenGen, when all power in the country is generated by nuclear plant and it is sufficient for all Kenyans? Will we need KenGen? So, it means that at some point, some necessary amendments will have to be made so that the two bodies can be merged and both of them are generating power or there is a system of one 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."
}