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{
    "id": 918978,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/918978/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 139,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Garissa Township, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Aden Duale",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 15,
        "legal_name": "Aden Bare Duale",
        "slug": "aden-duale"
    },
    "content": "One time it died in the Senate and we revived it and took it to mediation. So, it is a Bill that has been on the corridors of parliament for a long time. Pursuant to the provisions of Article 110(4) of the Constitution and Standing Order No. 142, it is here today. We considered the amendments forwarded by the National Assembly and rejected some of the amendments by the Senate on 14th March, 2019. That led to the mediation process. After long negotiations - the Member for Mwea Constituency was part of the Committee - we agreed on a version that is agreeable to all of us and today it can be presented to both Houses for approval. The Irrigation Bill is an important Bill not only for the Government but for the people of Kenya. I am happy to report that the Mediation Committee had fruitful deliberations and developed a version of the Bill that was agreed by both Houses. I want to single out the Senator for Embu County who was the Leader of the Senate team. He is also a former Minister for Cooperative Development. Beyond the Irrigation Bill, he made our lives easy compared with what we went through during the Kenya Roads Bill and Land Index Bill. Dr. Oundo is smiling; he knows the hell we went through while dealing with the Bills on land value index and physical planning. On this one, we had an easy time. It is because we had a very good chairperson and team. In only one sitting, we agreed on everything. The clauses in contention were 6, 9, 14, 16, 17, 20, 25, 34 and the Schedule to the Bill. In our report, we have annexed the mediated version of the Irrigation Bill and it is much better than the earlier one. An agreed version was arrived at after consensus with our counterparts in the Senate. If you allow me, I will give the highlights. Under Clause 6(1), the Senate had proposed amendments to provide for the Cabinet Secretary to consult the Council of Governors (CoG) in regulating irrigation developments. I think that is also part of public participation, so that any time he wants to issue regulations he consults the CoG and other stakeholders. Consultation is a constitutional requirement as provided for in Articles 6 and 189 of the Constitution. Consequently, the Mediation Committee agreed to amend sub-clause (3) to provide for the CS to consult the CoG and other stakeholders in performing his or her functions under Clause 6. Under Clause 9, which was also contentions, it was on the composition of the Board of the National Irrigation Authority, which is anticipated. The committee considered the amendment and observed that there would be need to have more representation from the county governments as well as persons representing other stakeholders like farmers, the private sector, investors and all that. Finally, permit me to express my gratitude to Sen. Njeru Ndwiga, who was the Vice- Chairperson of the Mediation Committee. Just like in the mediation committee on the Warehouse Receipt System Bill which he chaired, he exhibited great leadership. I also want to thank Senators and Members of the National Assembly in that mediation process for making the process a success. I also want to thank the Clerk Assistants to this committee, led by a gentleman by the name Kadhi. I want to thank our legal team, led by Jemimah and at times the Director of Legal Services in the National Assembly; the various interns who were following the deliberations; and the Clerk’s office for making sure that the mediation succeeded. It is good to remind Members that the House needs to start considering the Roads Bill afresh. We agreed on everything but the Bill collapsed because the Senators wanted to have two representatives in the constituency roads committee, for which we told them the sky is closer than reaching a decision on that matter. You can as well go touch the sky. How you reach there, I do not know. We told them that one is important and because Kshs8.9 billion was allocated to 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."
}