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{
    "id": 930570,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/930570/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 287,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Wajir East, WDM-K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Rashid Kassim",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13504,
        "legal_name": "Rashid Kassim Amin",
        "slug": "rashid-kassim-amin-2"
    },
    "content": "the people of northern Kenya and other arid parts of the country. I had opportunity to serve as member of the Drought Management Board for a period of three years and I have been exposed to the predicaments and the serious problems which have bedeviled our communities in northern Kenya. Surely, the establishment of the drought contingency fund will be a great milestone in trying to align ourselves to these problems. The drought contingency fund has not been in place. The National Drought Management Board has always relied on the Exchequer and other donor agencies to service and provide for certain mitigation costs in terms of drought. This has not always been forthcoming. The fact that we are trying to entrench the drought contingency fund in the Drought Management Act is a clear indication that the Government is concerned about the problem of the people of northern Kenya and other ASAL districts in this country. Currently, drought is handled in an ad hoc manner. People are given cash transfers to mitigate drought. There are food provisions from the Government of Kenya, but this has no significance for the purposes of drought contingency fund. The fact that we are going to establish the drought contingency fund, we will be giving ourselves an opportunity to source for funds and to trigger responses when it is needed. This fund will give us an insight on how to plan and mitigate against the consequences of drought. If we understand the patterns of drought, we will know when to apply the fund. Currently, we are at the whims of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Kenya to declare drought a national disaster. It is only when there is a disaster and it has been declared nationally by the Head of State can we ask for funds. When we have a fund domiciled in the National Treasury, all the indicators can be triggered without having to wait for the Head of State or the national Executive to provide for funding. Basically, when we establish this fund, it will make us more independent and reliable in our efforts. It will make us more coordinated in terms of mitigation of drought. This is going to improve the mitigation and the response plans that we have and various counties will do it. The National Drought Management Authority relies on the Exchequer for maintenance in terms of the Recurrent Expenditure and development. The fact that we will establish the National Drought Emergency Fund we will have funding to facilitate response to such issues. County governments are supposed to use 5 per cent in their budgets for drought and emergencies. If other emergencies arise and county governments use the 5 per cent, and after that there is drought, they cannot mitigate the drought. There should be a window in the drought contingency fund to increase the five per cent to 10 per cent for county governments to mitigate against drought. That would be an additional funding for the drought contingency fund. I suggest, as a way forward, that we increase and establish the drought contingency fund. We should, in every budget cycle, set aside a certain amount of money that will be planned on various constituencies and counties. County governments should also increase their level of drought mitigation. They should not only allocate 5 per cent for emergencies, but basically, 15 per cent every year, so that they can use it for purposes of providing food and other drought contingency plans like water tankers. As I speak, we are experiencing a very serious drought in northern Kenya. Most of the livestock in my constituency have been moved to Somalia and other places, so that they can cope with the drought. Towards the end of this month, namely, 24th and 25th, we will have the national census exercise. We feel that the movement of livestock and people from the boarders of Kenya to Somalia and other parts of the country will make us lose the natural population that we have in the area. We fear that if this is not mitigated, the people will not be counted as Kenyan citizens. This exercise takes place once in every 10 years. So, we are going to have a serious problem even in the census. 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."
}