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{
"id": 1522982,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1522982/?format=api",
"text_counter": 426,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Peter Kaluma",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": {
"id": 1565,
"legal_name": "George Peter Opondo Kaluma",
"slug": "george-peter-opondo-kaluma"
},
"content": " Hon. George Gitonga Murugara."
},
{
"id": 1522983,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1522983/?format=api",
"text_counter": 427,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Tharaka, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. George Murugara",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I rise to support this Bill by Hon. Bernard Masaka Shinali, the Member of Parliament for Ikolomani. The Gold Processing Bill (National Assembly Bill No.46 of 2023) has a very close association with Ikolomani. The gold mines of western Kenya, which to the best of my knowledge, were started in the 1930s, have remained rudimentary to date because we do not have any clear law that guides the processing of gold in the country. We know very well that what happens is that prospectors, most of whom are illegal, go all over the place and try to use crude means to try and find gold, which they can process, possibly smuggle out of the country, and sell in lucrative areas. It is high time that we declared the Mining Act as not sufficient to cater for gold mining. We need to have a standalone Act of Parliament, which will guide us on how to process gold found in various parts of the country, including Taita Taveta, Nyanza, and eastern Kenya. Gold traces are found in those areas, which may be processed to become profitable. If the Bill becomes an Act of Parliament, it will see prospectors or spectators coming over even to my Tharaka Constituency. Who knows? We may be lucky to find gold in those seasonal rivers which traverse my constituency, in the same style as what happened in South Africa in the 19th Century where prospectors in transit looking for gold came across what is known as the Sand River. The River is known to have plenty of gold in the form of pellets in the sand. As a result of their discovery, there was great development in Johannesburg and everywhere else. I urge my colleagues to pass this Bill so that we start regulating gold processing. We know very well that the issue of gold is emotive. Many people have tried their luck with gold mining and sometimes it does not yield anything. They end up losing a lot of money because we do not have a clear law that guides us on the processing of gold in the country. Let us look at the provisions of the Bill. After the preliminaries, we move to Clauses 6 to 24 which establish a Gold Processing Corporation. We begin by establishing a legal entity known as the Gold Processing Corporation. It will have a seal, and will be capable of suing and being sued, and doing all other things that pertain to corporations, including borrowing and lending money, if that becomes possible. Clause 7 states that the headquarters of the Corporation shall be in Nairobi. That is good enough, although we should have made a provision that the Corporation will have offices, possibly in the counties, so that each county has an office which can regulate the mining and processing of gold. The functions of the Corporation are set out in Clause 8. They elaborate on what the Corporation can do, including collecting, sampling, purifying, smelting, fabricating, and doing all other things pertaining to gold mining and processing. Clauses 8(a) to (j) outline the functions of the Corporation. Clause 11 outlines that the Corporation will be run by a Board. The Board will have a chairperson and other members appointed by the President. Some are supposed to be experts in gold mining, exploration, smelting, and processing. The functions of the Board are given as well as the qualifications of the persons to sit in the Board. However, we shall be looking at this with a toothcomb as we go to the Committee of the whole House for the Third Reading of this Bill to see whether we need to amend certain areas. From there we have financial provisions relating to monies of the Board and the Corporation. They will get funding through allocations appropriated by this House. The Corporation can also borrow and obtain money from grants and any other forms of revenue raising that will apply to it. Let us go to Clause 29. It deals with processing licenses. Again, this is very important because initially there was no form of regulation. Anybody could mine gold. If lucky to get The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
},
{
"id": 1522984,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1522984/?format=api",
"text_counter": 428,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Tharaka, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. George Murugara",
"speaker": null,
"content": "any quantity, one would either sell to a third party who is a broker or smuggle it out of the country at a higher price. This time you need to be licensed. There will be no hawkers trying to entice innocent persons into the business. If caught doing that, your license is revoked immediately. Any licence issued has to be used under the provisions of this Act. Anybody who contravenes the provisions of that licence commits an offense and is liable to punishment. Towards the end of the Bill, we have made a provision for regulations to guide us on how to process and deal with gold. It is always important to remind the House that regulations are the flesh of any law. The enactment of Parliament is the bones while the flesh is the regulations. These are important, especially when they are supposed to be subjected to public participation. That is so that Kenyans know that, on top of having the Gold Processing Act in place, we will have regulations the Cabinet Secretary will make thereunder but with the approval of this House. As we conclude, we have penalties in respect of any person who commits an offence. We will be looking at these penalties because they only provide for breaches of the licence and false information to the Board. We need to expand areas to be punished so that whoever contravenes any provision of this Act is upon conviction guilty of an offence. Such persons will be liable to a certain fine or some term of prison in default or to both. Important to note is that we are making amendments to the Mining Act because it governs us when it comes to speculation. It is a very weak Act of Parliament. This is the reason people move out there, exploit the loopholes, and get away with our minerals at paltry prices. Hence, we will repeal that law and exempt gold so that this Act of Parliament can now regulate it. It is an important Bill. Therefore, I urge my colleagues to look at the Bill and pass it. If there is need, we will amend at the Committee of the whole House. I beg to support."
},
{
"id": 1522985,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1522985/?format=api",
"text_counter": 429,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Peter Kaluma",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": {
"id": 1565,
"legal_name": "George Peter Opondo Kaluma",
"slug": "george-peter-opondo-kaluma"
},
"content": " Hon. Mary Emaase."
},
{
"id": 1522986,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1522986/?format=api",
"text_counter": 430,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Teso South, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Mary Emaase",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this important Bill. Regulations are crucial to the administration of mining activities in any nation. This Bill comes in to solve some of the challenges in the mining sector, not just gold but generally mining at large. There are numerous reported and unreported cases of gold being smuggled into and out of this country, of illegal dealings extraction, sale and transportation. Therefore, this must be addressed. I thank my colleague, Hon. Shinali, for bringing forth this Bill. At the outset I support. Hon. Temporary Speaker, my contribution is on Part II of the Bill which I think is the most important. It is an important Part because it will bring order to this sector. The Bill provides for the Gold Processing Corporation and its functions. The Bill mandates the Corporation to collect, sample, purify, smelt, fabricate, homogenise, sample, register, refine, monitor, and transport gold and gold products. In fact, the major challenges in the mining sector are: infrastructure deficiencies, lack of proper roads, and lack of structured transportation systems which make the cost of transporting high. I believe, this Bill will bring some order in the trading and prospecting of gold. This Bill also seeks to ensure that there is compliance of national standards with international ones. It also seeks to facilitate international accreditation, registration and licensing. This is very critical. Clause 11 of the Bill provides for the establishment of the board. I am very happy that it provides for a chairperson to be appointed by the President, the Principal Secretary responsible for Mining, the Principal Secretary responsible for the National Treasury, the for Principal Secretary responsible for Lands, and the Principal Secretary responsible for Environment among others. I want to speak about the environment because environmental impact assessment is very important. I will consult the owner of the Bill on how we can introduce a clause to protect The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
},
{
"id": 1522987,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1522987/?format=api",
"text_counter": 431,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Teso South, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Mary Emaase",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Kenyans who reside along the borders from negative environmental impact that is occasioned by mining at the border in neighbouring countries. As I speak to you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, the people of Teso South at Alupe area live in fear that one day they might wake up and find themselves buried underground. The ground might sink because there is mining right at the border. The soil excavated from the mining sites has blocked a river that separates the two countries. It has actually changed direction and changed the boundary. Our houses are cracking and air pollution is rampant thereby increasing respiratory diseases. So, we must have a law put in place that encourages cooperation and collaboration between the two countries so that the impact of mining on the environmental can be addressed because it is changing livelihoods and raising concerns. So, as we pass this law to guide and help us in mining of gold, we must look further and see, irrespective of where the mining is done, how it affects the population around where it is done. Further, we must provide for how those that are injured or killed during the process of mining are compensated. Hon. Temporary Speaker, this is a good Bill. I support it but as I said, we need to look further and see how to make mining safe for all human beings where it is undertaken. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker."
},
{
"id": 1522988,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1522988/?format=api",
"text_counter": 432,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Peter Kaluma",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": {
"id": 1565,
"legal_name": "George Peter Opondo Kaluma",
"slug": "george-peter-opondo-kaluma"
},
"content": " Hon. Jane Kagiri."
},
{
"id": 1522989,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1522989/?format=api",
"text_counter": 433,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Laikipia County, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Jane Kagiri",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me an opportunity to contribute to this Bill. I support it. I support regulation and licensing. Many of us would wish to have gold and gold mining in their areas. But many a time we wonder where one would start from and go to. With the establishment of the Gold Processing Corporation, there will be a go-to place for anybody who would want to know where to start off the gold mining journey. Secondly, the Corporation will ensure that anybody given a licence protects workers from hazardous situations and ensures their safety and health as they undertake mining. Thirdly, the mining industry requires a support network, which the Corporation is going to offer. When we have a one-stop shop for gold mining, anybody seeking a market or a mine would have a reference point to start from. Fourthly, there should be economic benefits for the locals in areas where gold is mined as well as for the miners. The Corporation will ensure whoever receives a licence ensures the economic benefits of gold trickles down to the community. Fifth, the Gold Processing Corporation will ensure that we preserve our heritage. We have gold in Taita Taveta and Migori, but as all the gold is processed around the world, we do not hear that the gold is from Kenya. The Corporation will ensure that our heritage is protected and the world is made aware that this gold is from Kenya. Environmental advocacy will be very important. As we have seen, many times minerals are excavated and pits are left wide open and water stagnates, which becomes a health hazard to the community. Mosquitoes find a breeding place and our children get sick when they play in those areas. We need an institution that will govern and regulate such issues. Miners will be required to cover any pits left open. Where our economic situation is not well, the Corporation will have sufficient data to guide the country on our gold wealth. We could lack money in terms of currency, but the institution would tell us how rich we are in terms of gold. That will enable us to confidently know our actual wealth status. Finally, I always say it is Laikipia’s time. By mainstreaming this industry, it is certainly going to be our time to discover gold in Laikipia. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker."
},
{
"id": 1522990,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1522990/?format=api",
"text_counter": 434,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Peter Kaluma",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": {
"id": 1565,
"legal_name": "George Peter Opondo Kaluma",
"slug": "george-peter-opondo-kaluma"
},
"content": " Hon. Patriot Eckomas Mutuse."
},
{
"id": 1522991,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1522991/?format=api",
"text_counter": 435,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kibwezi West, MCCP",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Mwengi Mutuse",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for the decoration and for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Bill, The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}
]
}