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{
"id": 1527522,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1527522/?format=api",
"text_counter": 278,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Omogeni",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "people felt that the appointment of the commissioners was not free or impartial and that the people who were picked were not going to preside over free and fair elections. However, you will find politicians pleading, “Your Excellency, we want you to appoint for us so-and-so in IEBC,” yet the law has given that task to an independent panel. We are sending the wrong message to Kenyans. Kenyans will have it in their heads that one of the players in the political contest is the one appointing the commissioners. We should conduct public participation and inform Kenyans that we have commissioners in office and that they are given an opportunity to interview candidates without any interference. Then, allow the best candidate from any of the 47 ethnic tribes to be the chair of IEBC and the other commissioners. Then, run an election that will not invite another 2007 situation in our country. So, I hope the board proposed in this Bill will take the assignment seriously and appoint the managing trustee of the National Museums of Kenya freely, without any form of interference from anybody. That is how we will create a country that respects the rule of law, where power is distributed, and where the concept of a limited Constitution is entrenched. You know the concept of a limited constitution, that power is spread and shared by many institutions. Even where you have a president, his powers are limited by what is in the Constitution or statutes. If the power to appoint has been given to a panel, the President has no authority. If the power to appoint has been given to the Public Service Commission, let them assert their independence. Madam Temporary Speaker, I sat on the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission as a chair of the board. I interviewed the executive director and four assistants without any phone calls or anybody attempting to interfere with that assignment. Even if you said no, what would happen? Nobody would kill you because you are doing a job that has been given to you by the Constitution and by our statutes. As a way of also having a good heritage as a country let us have this spread of power to Presidents, Cabinet Secretaries, interview panels, independent commissions, so that everybody can have a sense of belonging to this beautiful country called Kenya. I support this, Bill. I hope that once it is enacted it will go a long way in ensuring that we as Kenyans can again be proud of our heritage and culture so that when I go to West Pokot, I will find people of the County still proud of their culture and heritage. The same goes for me as Omogusi, for you as a Kikuyu, same to my sister here from Kajiado County. With those many remarks, I support."
},
{
"id": 1527523,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1527523/?format=api",
"text_counter": 279,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Veronica Maina",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Senator. Sen. Osotsi proceed."
},
{
"id": 1527524,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1527524/?format=api",
"text_counter": 280,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Osotsi",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. First of all, I start by supporting the Heritage and Museums Bill (Senate Bills No.8 of 2023). This Bill actually repeals the National Museums and Heritage Act of 2006 that basically was established to manage all the national museums and the heritage of this country. As you know, the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution provides that cultural issues such as museums, are devolved functions. Therefore, it is a function that should be handled by our county governments. The current Act, offends the Constitution because it The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
},
{
"id": 1527525,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1527525/?format=api",
"text_counter": 281,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Osotsi",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "does not address what is contained in the Fourth Schedule. This is a good attempt to try and align the prevailing law to comply with the Constitution. Madam Temporary Speaker, I know there are many other provisions in law which have not been aligned to the Constitution. They are still basically referencing the national Government with very little on county government, and yet those functions are either shared between the two levels of government or have been devolved. This is long overdue. We would like to give a legal mandate to our counties to manage the museums and various assets of national heritage in their respective counties. Museums and heritage are important to any country. However, this country has never taken these matters very seriously. If you visit other countries, especially their capitals, you realize that there is a lot of investment in museums and heritage. I just came back about three weeks ago from Moscow. If you walk around the City, you realize that almost 90 per cent is museums and heritage sites which show you various pieces of history across the city. All the streets, and most of the buildings have been designed to preserve the national heritage. That does a lot for the country in terms of tourism, and even preserving its sovereignty. It is very important because our youth would want to know how their forefathers lived, what they did, and who they were. That information is very important and promotes patriotism in a country. There is a lot that the country can gain from protecting its heritage by investing in museums, and basically protecting the cultural assets, in terms of collecting, documenting, exhibiting materials, and managing the artifacts. If you go to a city like London or Berlin you see heritage all over. How much heritage do you see in this country? Madam Temporary Speaker, we are destroying historical buildings in this country. The other day, you heard some people complaining about the renovations in State House. They were saying, in as much as we want modernity, we must try and protect the heritage of key strategic buildings in this country. This will ensure that our youth, and those who will be born many years to come, will remember that this country had a history and people who believed in their heritage. We need to invest seriously in our heritage and museums. That can only happen if we take these matters seriously. The situation at the moment is not good. If we are not careful, we will not have history and we will be forgotten together with all the things that we have done. This Bill, is an important piece of legislation which we should all support. If you allow me, I will go through the various parts of this Bill. Part 4 contains provision related to financial matters; how the funds of the National Museums of Kenya will be sourced, how the annual estimates will be done, and the investment of the funds. We must find a way of ensuring that the national museums and the heritage sites also draw money from the incomes we get from the tourism sector. The money that is invested there will be used to develop the museums and heritage assets, thereby creating opportunities for more tourists to visit. That will be key in the development of this sector. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
},
{
"id": 1527526,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1527526/?format=api",
"text_counter": 282,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Osotsi",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, Part 5 of the Bill provides for the management of national heritage, antiquities, and monuments. This is very important. You have seen the monuments that we have in this city such as the Tom Mboya monument and many others. They are not properly maintained. In some cases, they are even defaced. This is where the Nairobi City County government needs to do something about it. In other countries, the heritage sites are heavily protected. Madam Temporary Speaker, if you have a Tom Mboya monument, which is not protected, then what are we trying to say? A monument for Tom Mboya that is not properly protected it and exposed to vandalism in the end, defaces the name of Tom Mboya. So, I think that Clause 4 helps us ensure we have consistent management of the national heritage and all the assets, including the monument."
},
{
"id": 1527527,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1527527/?format=api",
"text_counter": 283,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Osotsi",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Clause 5 of the Bill deals with the requirements of obtaining an exploration license before pursuing excavation or surface search operations for buried monuments. This is very important because we have had cases where foreigners come and carry out exploration quietly and take away vital heritage assets to other countries. That has happened before. We have had cases even involving the heritage assets for the second Vice-President of Kenya, which were taken away and now Kenya is struggling to get it back."
},
{
"id": 1527528,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1527528/?format=api",
"text_counter": 284,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Osotsi",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, Clause 6 of the Bill provides for the protected areas and ways of compensation to the owners of the land declared to be a protected area. I think this is very important because the Cabinet Secretary will be empowered to issue regulations on how to prohibit or restrict access to an area, which is earmarked for the development or use of these important assets. It also deals with the issue of acquisition, protection, maintenance, inspection and repairs of a monument. I have just referred to Tom Mboya Monument and said it requires protection, maintenance and repair. How do we acquire these heritage assets? Guardianship of this monument is important. I think these are things which will help in protecting these assets."
},
{
"id": 1527529,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1527529/?format=api",
"text_counter": 285,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Osotsi",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "This Bill is very progressive. I am also highly motivated by the proposal to have a Heritage Tribunal where when we have a dispute around matters of ownership of these assets, protection and maintenance, they can be taken to a legal entity. Therefore, having a heritage tribunal is very important in this case."
},
{
"id": 1527530,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1527530/?format=api",
"text_counter": 286,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Osotsi",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, Part 12 makes provision for miscellaneous matters, including regulations that the Cabinet Secretary in charge of matters of heritage can come up with. It also provides for how the County Executive Committee Member (CECM) responsible for heritage matters will formulate regulations in the county about matters of museums and all that. As I said, this is a very progressive Bill. It is long overdue because the current legislation Act needs to be aligned to the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution. So, I think this will empower counties to invest in museums and acquisition, maintenance and protection of heritage assets in their respective counties."
},
{
"id": 1527531,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1527531/?format=api",
"text_counter": 287,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Osotsi",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "As I said earlier, if we want to be recognised as a country or as a brand among nations, we need to protect our heritage. We need to ensure that we maintain our history and we protect it. I have heard Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale talk about the heroes who are The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}
]
}