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{
    "id": 965198,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/965198/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 119,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Wamatangi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 646,
        "legal_name": "Paul Kimani Wamatangi",
        "slug": "paul-kimani-wamatangi"
    },
    "content": "Zani. This House has been mandated by Article 96 of the Constitution to guard, safeguard and take care of resources and interest of counties but it has been eluded by that important mandate and duty. The Bill that was moved by Sen. (Dr.) Zani has not succeeded. It is also important for us to remember that Sen. (Dr.) Moi brought the Local Content Bill, 2018 which has found its death place in the National Assembly. Therefore, no meaningful legislation has been put in place under the Senate since devolution, to take care of these issues. When I was the Vice Chairperson of that Committee, we visited various places such as Kwale, Kajiado, Machakos and the sheer exploitation and plight of our people is amazing. Sand is harvested in Machakos and it is used to build mansions, storied buildings and stadia in Nairobi, yet the people who own those resources live in sand caves. The reason for living in those sand caves is so that they can wake up near the river banks the next day and sell that sand. It is a pity. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we visited Kajiado County where we found a serious contest almost boiling down to a physical fight between contractors and the local people. What is amazing is that, some of these exploiters appear to have protection from the Government. As the current Chairperson of the Committee on Roads and Transport, I tell this House that the average cost of building a highway today – be it a bypass or one of the highways we are building - costs about Kshs1 billion per kilometer. That is what we are being charged. I recently went to Turkana with my Committee and the first case that we dealt with was presiding over a contest between the county government and Chinese contractors who have completely refused to pay Cess Tax or a local percentage to the county government for locally exploited materials. You can imagine. If you divide the cost of doing a kilometer at Ksh1 billion which is built using ballast that has been crushed locally and sand that has been harvested locally, one would assume that the charge to the local government per truck - which is paid using our taxes - is probably more than half a million. A contractor is told by the local county government to pay only Kshs5,000 for a truck of either ballast or sand exploited as the local charges. Mr. Speaker, Sir, they choose to sabotage the contract. They would rather not pay a bill of Kshs3 million against a contract of Kshs16 billion. It becomes a big issue that the Committee has to travel from here all the way to Turkana to mediate. One wonders what we are saying about our people, if these people can go to your shamba like they have done here in Kajiado--. For the information of the House, all the roads we see in Nairobi – the Souther Bypass, and the Eastern Bypass – have been built using materials exploited near Ngong’. Not only has the whole of that place turned into a death trap and a major environmental hazard, but if you ask the Senator of Kajiado, today not a single penny has been paid for the minerals exploited. Mr. Speaker, Sir, you ask yourself if in the quarry where Sen. (Dr.) Zani and I visited, a company is exploiting minerals like titanium and exporting them, not only denying us the value, but also delaying us the opportunity for our local young men to find jobs, if they were doing either the extraction or separation locally. We have to have this conversation. I want to laud the proposal by one of the Senators; that the Senator of Taita- Taveta County would rather have the courage and determination to have this converted 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."
}