{"count":1608389,"next":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=153146","previous":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=153144","results":[{"id":1549642,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1549642/?format=json","text_counter":358,"type":"heading","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"MOTION"},{"id":1549643,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1549643/?format=json","text_counter":359,"type":"heading","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"ADOPTION OF REPORT ON INQUIRY INTO THE LPG EXPLOSION IN MRADI, NAIROBI CITY COUNTY"},{"id":1549644,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1549644/?format=json","text_counter":360,"type":"other","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"THAT, the Senate adopts the Report of the Standing Committee on Energy on its inquiry into the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) explosion in Mradi Area, Embakasi, Nairobi City County, laid on the Table of the Senate on Thursday, 8thAugust, 2024."},{"id":1549645,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1549645/?format=json","text_counter":361,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Mumma","speaker_title":"The Temporary Speaker","speaker":null,"content":" I am informed that Sen. Sifuna will do it."},{"id":1549646,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1549646/?format=json","text_counter":362,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Sifuna","speaker_title":"","speaker":{"id":13599,"legal_name":"Sifuna Edwin Watenya","slug":"sifuna-edwin-watenya"},"content":"Thank you Temporary Speaker. On behalf of the Chairperson of the Energy Committee, the Senator for Siaya, the Sen. (Dr.) Oburu Odinga, allow me to move the Motion on the Report of the Standing Committee on Energy on its inquiry into the Liquefied Petroleum Gas LPG Explosion in Mradi Area, Embakasi, Nairobi City County. Hon. Temporary Speaker, I beg to move that the Senate adopts the Report of the Standing Committee on Energy on its Inquiry into the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Explosion in Mradi Area, Embakasi, Nairobi City County, laid on the Table of the Senate on Thursday 8th August 2024. As you are aware, I am a very proud member of the Energy Committee and I have been so since the inception of this House. This particular Report, was prepared under the auspices of the previous committee. As you are aware, we had a reconstitution of the committees when we began this session. So, if you look at the chairperson's forward, at that particular moment in time, 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":1549647,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1549647/?format=json","text_counter":363,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Sifuna","speaker_title":"","speaker":{"id":13599,"legal_name":"Sifuna Edwin Watenya","slug":"sifuna-edwin-watenya"},"content":"our chairperson was the Senator for Nyeri, the Hon. Wamatinga Wahome, who now is a member of the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC), which we have just been discussing right now."},{"id":1549648,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1549648/?format=json","text_counter":364,"type":"scene","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"[The Temporary Speaker (Sen. Mumma) left the Chair]"},{"id":1549649,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1549649/?format=json","text_counter":365,"type":"scene","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"[The Temporary Speaker (Sen. Wakili Sigei) took the Chair]"},{"id":1549650,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1549650/?format=json","text_counter":366,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Sifuna","speaker_title":"","speaker":{"id":13599,"legal_name":"Sifuna Edwin Watenya","slug":"sifuna-edwin-watenya"},"content":"Hon. Temporary Speaker, on Thursday 1st February 2024, an LPG explosion occurred in the Mradi area of Embakasi, Nairobi County. The facility involved was an LPG plant used for storing and filling gas cylinders. This explosion claimed the lives of 11 Kenyans and left at least 280 other people injured. The explosion further resulted in a massive fire which spread to nearby buildings, causing extensive damage to residential and commercial properties. Following this incident, I had an occasion with the area Member of Parliament, the Hon. Babu Owino and the party leader of ODM, the Hon. Raila Amollo Odinga, to visit this particular area. Together with members of the committee, we resolved that we had to conduct an inquiry as to what led to this particular incident happening, with a view of making sure that it never happens again. Hon. Temporary Speaker, during the committee proceedings, we framed the deliberations in order to arrive or to determine the following issues as key issues for resolution. The first reason was why the LPG refilling facility was located so close to a human settlement, the ownership details of the company that was running the facility, compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements of having an LPG refill and storage facility, details of LPG refill and storage facilities and their locations in the county, sorted by counties and safeguards that the government has put in place to avoid a recurrence of the same. So, during these deliberations, we held six meetings as a committee. I want to thank members of this committee, led by the then Chairperson, for the dedication in order to bring some level of closure to the people of Mradi and the people of Nairobi in general. We held six meetings with key stakeholders, including the then Cabinet Secretary for Energy, the Director General (DG) of the National Environment Management Agency (NEMA), the DG for Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), the Director and Gas Explosives Expert at EPRA, then we had the Petroleum Institute of East Africa also appearing before the committee and the Energy Dealers Association. With your permission, Temporary Speaker, I will just run through some very quickly. First of all, one of the key observations that the committee made is that there is involvement of multiple legal regulatory bodies in the licensing process, which creates a complex web of responsibility, making it difficult to establish accountability where safety issues arise. So, from those deliberations, we realised that there are a number of licences that somebody needs to obtain before they operate such a facility. The problem we have is that these various agencies that are responsible for giving these licences do not speak to each other. So, somebody will go to the county government 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":1549651,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1549651/?format=json","text_counter":367,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Sifuna","speaker_title":"","speaker":{"id":13599,"legal_name":"Sifuna Edwin Watenya","slug":"sifuna-edwin-watenya"},"content":"of Nairobi and obtain a business permit, saying they want to set up a shop somewhere there and they will go with that approval to NEMA, saying we are setting up a garage. In fact, this particular site had been registered as a garage and they did not even have a license from EPRA to operate a gas filling plant. So, that presence of multiple legal regulatory bodies and the fact that they do not coordinate and speak to each other when required, causes that complex web of responsibility, and it is very difficult to pin somebody down and say you are the person responsible. As I said, that LPG refilling plant in Mradi was registered as a garage and not an LPG facility. The county government of Nairobi disclaimed responsibility for any licenses that had been issued in this regard. However, you will see from our observations and recommendations that there was also very serious dereliction of duty on the part of the county government of Nairobi when it comes to enforcement and inspection. Temporary Speaker, Sir this complex web of many regulatory bodies led to the fact that this company in fact had a valid environmental impact license from NEMA, and the registration number is there, approving the installation of a 10-metric tonne LPG storage and filling plant. The committee noted, however, that the issuance of the environmental license did not absolve the company from its obligations to acquire other applicable permits and especially permits from EPRA. As a result of that incident, EPRA suspended all operational licenses issued to Maxxis Energy, who was the operator of this particular plant and cleared Mwiki Gas Suppliers. It further shut down 63 out of the 140 LPG storage and refilling plants located within a radius of 200 metres near residential areas due to high risk or risky technical audit score. Following re-inspection, 39 of those facilities were reopened, with some implementing safety measures like firewalls reducing the required distance from residential areas to about 35 metres. Very quickly, we made certain recommendations as a committee, and we are hoping that we will follow through after this House adopts the Report. The first recommendation we made was that the DCI must investigate how Maxxis Energy obtained an LPG storage and filling plant license, and those found culpable be charged in accordance with Section 99 of the Petroleum Act. In addition, the National Police Service (NPS) and Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) should fast-track all pending criminal cases relating to non-compliance of LPG regulations. We also recommended that the Ministry of Energy must expedite the approval of the LPG Regulations of 2019, which have provided for more stringent compliance measures when it comes to operation of similar plants and all the licensing authorities, especially the county governments must enforce zoning boundaries prior to issuing any permits. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the Committee also recommended that no new petroleum facilities be licensed in residential neighborhoods. This matter was raised with the Governor of Nairobi during his appearance before the Committee last week. We urged him to address the proliferation of gas filling plants and petrol stations in residential areas. Such developments pose undue and unnecessary danger to the residents of Nairobi and other affected regions. 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."}]}