If you are making your way into the Chamber, please just do so. The Member who has sat just next to the Member for Gatundu North, you have taken so long to walk from there. I was just watching. You just wanted to go and sit next to her? You have taken such a long time, walking and looking this way and nobody could tell what you were looking for. You just wanted to come and sit next to the Member for Gatundu North. She must be from your neighbouring constituency. Is that so? Hon. Members, those of you making your way in, just freeze. You cannot hold us as if there is nothing else happening. The Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 37 of 2017) and the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No.3) Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 44 of 2017) were published on 27th September 2017 and 13th November 2017, respectively. The two Bills are to effect minor amendments that will not warrant the publication of a separate Bill. The Bills are sponsored by the Leader of the Majority Party. Hon. Members, the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 37 of 2017) proposes amendments to the following statutes: 1. The Betting, Lotteries and Gaming Act (Cap. 131); 2. The Pensions Act (Cap. 189); 3. The Dairy Industry Act (Cap 336); 4. The Clinical Officers (Training, Registration and Licencing) Act 1988. It reads No. 9 of 1988. There is a reason why I am saying “it reads”. Those of you who have been around long enough would know. The Member for Kisumu West would know that there was no such law in that year. 5. The Kenya Roads Act, 1999 (No. 7 of 1999); 6. The Employment Act 2007 (No. 11 of 2007); 7. The Alcoholic Drinks Control Act (No. 4 of 2010); 8. The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development Act 2013 (No. 4 of 2013) 9. The Crop Act 2013 (No. 16 of 2013); 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.

10. The Technical and Vocational Education and Training Act 2013 (No. 29 of 2013) 11. The Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act 2015 (|No. 33 of 2015); and, 12. The National Employment Authority Act 2016 (No. 3 of 2016). Hon. Members, I wish to inform the House that I have received a letter from the Leader of the Majority Party requesting to withdraw the Bill from the House. Some of the statutes that the Bill intended to amend, namely the Children Act and the Civil Procedure Act, were erroneously omitted. Further, some of the statutes that the Bill proposes to amend are also contained in the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No.3) Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 44 of 2017). In this regard, the Mover intends to republish the Bill. I, therefore, direct that the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No.2) Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 37 of 2017) be withdrawn from the House forthwith. Hon. Members, the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill (No.3) (National Assembly Bill No. 44 of 2017) on the other hand, contains amendments to the following statutes: 1. The Pensions Act (Cap. 189); 2. The Pharmacy and Poisons Act (Cap 244); 3. The Clinical Officers (Training, Registration and Licencing) Act 1988 (No. 9 of 1988); 4. The Environmental Management and Coordination Act, 1999 (No. 8 of 1999); 5. The Salaries and Remuneration Commission Act (No. 10 of 2011). I wish to inform the House that I have received a letter from the Leader of the Majority Party making a correction with regard to the Clinical Officers (Training, Registration and Licensing) Act (No.9 of 1988). The Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 3) (National Assembly Bill No.44 of 2017) erroneously makes reference to that Act as being No.9 of 1988 instead of the Clinical Officers (Training, Registration and Licensing) Act of 2017. I direct the relevant Committee to take note of the correction during the consideration of the Bill. Being an omnibus Bill, the Bill is, therefore, referred to the relevant committees to consider amendments to the statutes under their mandates as follows: (1) The Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning to deal with aspects proposing amendments to: (a) The Pensions Act (Cap 189); and (b) The Salaries and Remuneration Commission Act (No.10 of 2011). (2) The Departmental Committee on Health to deal with the proposed amendments to: (a) The Pharmacy and Poisons Act (Cap 244); (b) The Clinical Officers (Training, Registration and Licensing) Act, 2017; and (c) The Occupational Therapists (Training, Registration and Licensing) Act of 2017. (3) The Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources to deal with the aspects proposing amendments to: (a) The Environmental Management and Co-ordination Act (No.8 of 1999). (4) The Committee on Delegated Legislation to deal with the aspects proposed to amend: (a) The Statutory Instruments Act (No.23 of 2013). The above Committees should move with speed to consider the Bill and table their reports to the House, with the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning as the lead Committee on the Bill. I wish to remind the Committees that Standing Order No.127 (4) requires Committees to present their reports to the House on Bills before them so as to inform debate within 21 calendar days after Bills are referred to them. I, therefore, urge Chairpersons of 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.

Committees to prioritise and conclude consideration of Bills before them and present their reports on the same to inform the debate during the Second Reading of those Bills.

Hon. Members who have not yet made their way in, you are late so you should not disrupt proceedings. I also wish to remind the Committees that the House already concluded the Second Readings of the following four Bills: 1. The Public Trustee (Amendment) Bill 2017; 2. The Copyright (Amendment) Bill, 2017; 3. The Physical Planning Bill 2017; and 4. The Building Surveyors Bill of 2017. The Chairpersons of the relevant Committees should, therefore, urgently table their reports or report progress in line with the provisions of Standing Order No.127 (4) and (5) to enable the House to proceed with the Bills at the Committee of the whole House stage. The House is accordingly informed. For the information of Members, as you will recall, these four Bills went through Second Reading before the Committees had been formed. As you know, you started with a few things which you were doing outside the House so the Committees had not presented their reports. It is not a strange procedure. In some jurisdictions, this is permissible and, therefore, for convenience of the House, during the Committee of the whole House, the Chairpersons will have more time than usual to explain what is contained in their reports and propose amendments. Members can then take that opportunity to ask the Chairperson many questions because some of the proposals may be informed by what the Chairperson and the Committee will have received from the stakeholders appearing before them.

Hon. Members, this is Petition No.4 of 2018. Pursuant to provisions of Standing Order No.225(2)(b), I wish to convey to the House that my office is receipt of a petition signed by three persons namely: Patrick Muriuki Kanga, Robert Wanjau Gichohi and Joseph Mwangi Maina, on behalf of members of Mt. Kenya Forest Squatters and Residents of Meru County. The petitioners allege that there have been instances of irregular allocation of land set aside for settlement of squatters in Meru County. The petitioners contend that a total of 930 hectares of land were excised from the Mt. Kenya Forest in Ontulili Area in Meru for settlement of squatters. Further, the petitioners allege that after the conveyance process, the title deed of the Ontulili block of Mt. Kenya was irregularly issued to an individual instead of being issued in favour of the squatters. The petitioners are, therefore, praying for the National Assembly to investigate the allocation and ownership of Ontulili block of Mt. Kenya LR/No.12234 and inquire into the matter of the Ontulili squatters with a view to having the over 1,435 families currently living in deplorable and inhuman conditions settled on excisions of the Ontulili block of Mt. Kenya LR/No.12234 gazetted as Civil Notice Nos.68 of 1975 and 107 of 1977. 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.

The Petition stands committed to the Departmental Committee on Lands for consideration. In considering the Petition, the Committee is encouraged to engage the petitioners and any other stakeholders. Thank you.

Is it the intention of some Members to comment on this? Maybe it may excite the villagers. Member for Igembe Central!

Thank you, Hon. Speaker for giving me this opportunity to add my voice to the Petition you have read.

It is a fact that there is so much public land which has been unscrupulously taken by some individuals which is meant for the public or landless people. This is very common in Meru, especially in Mt. Kenya Forest and Nyambene Forest. There is land which was hived out by the Government so that people who have no land could be settled on it, but individuals colluded with land officers and took those particular pieces of land.

Last year, in the last Parliament, I brought a Petition here which talked about 50 pieces of land that had been hived from Meru National Park by individuals. In those pieces of land some individuals were settled and yet there had been people farming there who were now being evicted. The individuals who were settled there purported that the land belonged to the Meru National Park and so they could be settled there. The Departmental Committee on Lands, in the last Parliament, intervened and those pieces of land were returned. I concur with the petitioners that the matters they have raised need to be looked into critically. At the end of the day, we shall save these squatters from losing their land to individuals.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

The Member for Makueni, obviously, comments on all petitions.

Not necessarily, Hon. Speaker. Thank you for this opportunity.

I can see you have put an intervention. It is now a tradition for you to comment on everything and anything.

Yes, I wish to add my voice to this particular Petition. The question of land is very emotive in this country. In the Constitution 2010, land is under the National Land Commission. The National Land Commission is authorised by law to be part of the process of land alienation or any grants or settlement. I would like to encourage the Departmental Committee on Lands to ensure that the National Land Commission is part of those who will respond to this Petition because it has the mandate to deal with this issue.

Thank you.

Member for Central Imenti.

I stand to support the petitioners in this matter. In Meru, especially the areas surrounding Mt. Kenya, Buuri Constituency, Laikipia, Ontulili, Gathioro and other places, a number of pieces of land were gazetted by the Government to settle squatters but due to a problem in the Meru Land Registry, some “scrupulous” officials in the Ministry of Lands joined hands with a few tycoons and grabbed the land which was meant for squatters. This started happening in 1975. If the matter is followed keenly one would discover that land which was meant for squatters, was not given to them. The area around Kisima in the middle of…

This opportunity is not for debate. Now you are telling Members about several other areas and so on. This is an opportunity to comment only on this particular Petition. Those other stories are not part of this. In fact, you do not even have to support this Petition.

I support the Petition because… 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.

You do not have to support. It is a chance to comment. Read Standing Order Nos.226 and 227.

The Petition written to you is very correct. If it is followed keenly, it will be seen that land was hived out of the forest to be given to the petitioners but it was taken by few “scrupulous” tycoons in Meru in collaboration with…

The scrupulous ones or the unscrupulous ones?

Unscrupulous. I mean they were not sympathetic to the situation of the squatters. Those squatters should be considered. That case should be followed up keenly and at the end of the day the squatters will get their right.

Is it about this Petition from Meru or Mt. Kenya? This is the problem, Hon. John Mbadi. There are others who are saying wenyewe. Who are wenyewe ? The Petitions belong to the House.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. The Petition from the Members from Mt. Kenya area is a matter of national importance. This has happened within the Mt. Kenya Region but it is also replicated in other parts of the country. As you remember, in the 11th Parliament, many petitions were presented to the Departmental Committee on Lands and it prepared reports. The reports ended up in the Table Office but were never tabled in this House. Some of them include a petition I presented on behalf of Cholim Co-operative Society, Kingena Farmers and Kiboroa squatters. The Committee visited the constituency and collected views of people from there. Reports were prepared and were supposed to be tabled in the House so that the matter could be resolved. I hope that this time round the Departmental Committee on Lands will address these issues. We do not know whether we shall be required to present other petitions so that the Committee goes back to the squatters to listen to them. The issue concerning Cholim Co-operative Society, Kiboroa squatters and Kingena Farmers in my constituency was presented to the Departmental Committee on Lands during the life of the 9th Parliament. The Committee went to my constituency to collect views. The11th Parliament took up the same matter. It collected views and was supposed to bring the report here for debate.

Was there a report prepared?

Yes, Hon. Speaker,

Then the current Committee can take up the matter of the report because it is a report of a committee of the House. There is no harm in the Committee taking over and presenting it here for debate and possible adoption. Approach the current Chairperson, who I believe is well-known to you having been his deputy in the last Parliament. Approach her and give her the names of those schemes so that the reports can be taken up from the Table Office.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I am much obliged.

Member for Suba South, you wanted to comment on this.

Hon. Speaker, initially I did not want to comment on this matter but when I heard an Hon. Member shouting that this matter is a local issue, I got concerned. There may be need for us to educate every Hon. Members on what is a national issue and what is a local issue. It really baffles me when someone talks about forest cover in this country as being a local issue when we know very well that this country is facing an acute drought which is even 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.

affecting the performance of our economy because we cannot protect our forests. My advice to the committee is that it should not just restrict itself to this particular forest which is very important. In fact, Lake Victoria, which is our mainstay economically, has a lot of issues because of the effects on Mt. Kenya Forest, Aberdare Forest, the Mau Forest and all the other forests in this country.

In future, we should create a specific committee that will look at matters environment. If we do not take the environment as a serious matter of national importance, then the future generation in this country and the rest of the region will suffer. We are bound to lose lives because of destroying our forest. Hon. Speaker, those of us who are old enough can all agree that this is probably the first year in the history of this country that we have not had meaningful rainfall from September. Now we are approaching March and we have no rain. I call upon the Committee to take this matter seriously and not look at it as a local issue of Mount Kenya region.

This matter must end there. There is no debate. Hon. Members, please familiarise yourselves with the Standing Orders. This is just an opportunity for you to make comments. It is not for debate. The Petition has already been referred to the relevant committee of the House. If you want to go and canvass any particular position, you present yourself before that committee. You can even bring the villagers you represent here. They can all appear before the committee and make presentations. This is not an opportunity for that purpose. This is just for you to comment on the petition. That is why the time is usually limited. Just look at the Standing Orders. So, there is no debate. I am sure the Committee is going to invite you. The Chairperson must have noticed that there is a lot of interest on this petition. You will go and present your views before the Committee. Indeed, you can bring other stakeholders you know can help the Committee understand and be able to come up with fair recommendations that will address all the issues that have been raised in the petition. Before we move to the next Order, allow me to recognise the presence, in the Speaker’s Gallery, of pupils and students from Gatundu Primary School, Gatundu South Constituency of Kiambu County; and Peponi School, Thika Constituency of Kiambu County. They are all welcome to observe the proceedings in the National Assembly. Next Order.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table of the House: The List of Nominees to the National Government Constituencies Development Fund Committee from the National Government Constituencies Development Fund Board; The Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Public Procurement Oversight Authority (PPOA) for the year ended 30th June 2016; The Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of the National Water Conservation and Pipeline Corporation for the year ended 30th June 2016 and the certificate therein; The Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements in respect of the following institutions for the year ended 30thJune 2017 and the certificates therein: 1. Kenya Pipeline Company Limited; and, 2. National Oil Corporation of Kenya Limited. 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.

The Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements in respect of the following constituencies for the year ended 30th June 2016 and the certificates therein: 1. Embakasi Constituency; 2. Matungulu Constituency; 3. Kilgoris Constituency; 4. Mandera East Constituency; 5. Gem Constituency; 6. Rarieda Constituency; 7. Rongo Constituency; 8. Kangundo Constituency; 9. Mavoko Constituency; 10. Sigowet/Soin Constituency; 11. Seme Constituency; 12. Kisumu Central Constituency; 13. Rongai Constituency; 14. Ugenya Constituency; and 15. Alego Usonga Constituency.

Hon. Pkosing, Member for Pokot South.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to lay the following reports on the Table of the House: The Reports of the 129th, 130th, 131st and 133rd Assemblies of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and related meetings held in Geneva, Switzerland on 7-9th October 2013, 16-20th March 2014, 12th -16th October 2014 and 15th-21st October 2015; and, The Report of the 134th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and related meetings held in Lusaka, Zambia on 17th -23rd March 2016;

You are due to table the report of your Committee. I know I have approved it for tabling. Proceed.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to table the Report of the Committee on Transport, Public Works and Housing on deliberations and consideration of the Roads Bill 2017. Thank you.

The Table is here, not there.

Since you said you are tabling them, you must bring them to the Table

Hon. Speaker, I beg to give notice of the following Motions:

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Hon. Pkosing was supposed to give a notice of Motion. Proceed, Hon. Pkosing.

I beg to give notice of the following Motion: THAT, this House notes the Reports of the 129th, 130th, 131st, 133rd and 134th Assemblies of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and related meetings held in Geneva, Switzerland on 7th - 9th October 2013; 16th - 20th March 2014; 12th - 16th October 2014; 15th - 21st October 2015; and in Lusaka, Zambia from 17th - 23rd March 2016 respectively, laid on the Table of the House on Tuesday, 20th February 2018. Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Let us move to the next Order.

You do not have a card? Hon. Members, I will not allow it. Do not come up here to tell me that you have no card. Please, just stay there if you do not have a card or, you can go and stay in the streets.

Do not come to tell me that you have no cards. It is not my business. Do you want me to do the work of the Clerks-at-the-Table?

( Off-record)

No! Go back there. Get out of here. Go back there.

( Off-record) .

Hon. Members, I made it absolutely clear that Members must come here with their cards. You cannot come here and start telling me you have no card.

So, there is nothing on Statements.

Hon. Speaker…

Is it from the same Member who is telling me he has no card?

We will not allow him. He is not allowed. It is not just to you but to every other Member. Please, do not bother coming into the Chamber if you have no card or, you can come to watch and listen others speak. You will go and get your card. If need be, you can even raise the issues in the morning, tomorrow. There is a Morning Sitting tomorrow or, raise it in the Afternoon Sitting. But, please, make sure that you keep your card safely. You may say that the issues you want to raise are so important than carrying a card, as you just said, but I can assure you they will not pass, however important they may be. You will have to go and address them on the streets or in the constituency, if you do not come with that card. So, we must follow rules. Why do we have these cards? We have spent resources making sure that every Member has a card. You cannot say it is not important. So, this must apply to everybody. I do not want anybody coming here to tell me that they have no card. Next Order. Leader of the Majority Party, you gave notice of Motion, move the Motion now.

Sorry, Hon. Speaker. I saw Hon. Keter crossing. So, I got mixed up. I did not know why he was crossing and what the interest was about.

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Hon. Pukose.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I stand to second. I think the Leader of the Majority Party has ably explained this Procedural Motion. I do not think there is much I need to add. This is just procedural. I beg that the House approves it. Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I second.

Hon. Members, it would be fair that you understand the import of this: it is to limit debate on the Motion appearing as Order No.8 on the Order Paper so that even though the House passed the various Procedural Motions last Wednesday limiting debate on Sessional Papers to one hour, this particular one on National Climate Change Finance will be limited to a maximum of three hours as explained. It has been deemed that there is a lot of interest. I, therefore, propose the Question.

Are you on a point of order on this matter? You cannot be on your feet when I am also on my feet.

Hon. Junet, there is something you needed to understand. This particular Procedural Motion affects two Sessional Papers. That is what was not explained by the staff when they were drafting. It is Sessional Paper No. 3 of 2016 on National Housing Policy and Sessional Paper No. 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.

3 on National Climate Change Finance. The latter being the one listed as Order No. 8 on today’s Order Paper. I doubt that Hon. Junet still has a point of order. That should clarify the point. Hon. Members, before we move to the next Order there is something I do not understand. When Members want to speak, they must place their cards in the proper compartment. The Member for Makueni, Hon. Maanzo, yours is permanently on intervention. Do you want to raise something on a point of order?

Hon. Member for Murang’a, Hon. Wanjiru Chege! Do you want to raise a point of order?

Now everybody is properly… It is important because there are Members who will want to rise on points of order. So, when you have your cards permanently on intervention, and when I look at you, I realise that you are actually not paying attention to anything happening. It just shows that you actually misapplied your card.

Leader of the Minority Party, you now have an intervention.

Hon. Speaker, I was really struggling to see why we have allowed this Motion to be transacted. Probably I missed something. The Procedural Motion was not in the Order Paper. I am also trying to look for those Motions where the Standing Orders allow us to debate without giving notice and I cannot see. I am really at a loss.

A Procedural Motion, Hon. Mbadi, and I have said this severally, falls under Standing Order No.97. If you want to limit the time that Members are going to contribute, please do so immediately before the debate on the particular Motion commences. That is what has just happened with regard to the business appearing as Order No. 8. Hon. Pkosing has just tabled his Report on the Kenya Roads Bill. I want to commend him and his committee because just last Thursday they gave an undertaking to the House that they would burn the midnight oil over the weekend to ensure that the Report is produced. Since that Report has just been tabled, I felt that it was necessary that Members have an opportunity to look at it before debate on this Bill which is listed as Order No. 9 commences. I would want to encourage the Members to go to Room No. 8 or the Table Office and get a copy of that Report so that when debate on this Bill commences either tomorrow or whenever it maybe, Members will debate from the position of knowledge and information; one being what the Bill proposes and two, what it is that the committee has come up with after listening to various stakeholders. That is the essence of the House getting to read both the Report and the Bill. It helps because, sometimes you will find a Member rising in their place and criticising a Bill, yet when you look at the Report of the Committee… The committee might have proposed deletion of a clause and since you have 10 minutes only, you spend all of it criticising that which the committee has already proposed to delete even after, perhaps, you have shared with the Leader of the Majority Party and other stakeholders. It is important that what you take your time discussing is that which is in the Bill. That is also informed by what the committee will have come up with in the Report. If you spend your 10 minutes - it is a very short time - discussing that which the committee has already said it will be deleting when the matter gets to the Committee of the whole House, then it means that you might as well have actually appeared before the committee to tell it that a particular clause should not be in the Bill and the committee will have agreed with you that it would delete it. That is why it is important to see what the committee has been informed by stakeholders. 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.

Hon. John Mbadi, I think that is clear. Member for Marakwet East, do you have an intervention?

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Mine is on the same note. Standing Order No. 122 talks of the procedure of application of a Bill and also the introduction of a Bill into the House. Most of the Bills, including the Roads Bill you are talking about, are introduced to the House by the Leader of the Majority Party. Like you said, when a Bill is read in this House, it is upon the committee to go out and carry out public participation and invite submissions according to Standing Order No.127(3). So it is upon the chairman of the committee to move the Second Reading of the Bill. Actually, he is the signatory to the Bill; it is not the Leader of the Majority Party. Where is the Leader of the Majority Party coming in, in a Bill where he is not even participating in that public participation out there? We need your direction so that individual chairs own their Bills.

I do not know whether everybody, especially those who were in the 11th Parliament, will recall… We will very soon, in the next two weeks, be inviting people from outside Kenya to come and, perhaps, share with us in what we normally call post-election seminars. If you recall, in 2013 when we discussed this matter, the same matter that Hon. Kangogo has raised, the guest whom we had invited from the United States of America, upon being asked by several Members how government Bills find their way into the House…. Those of you who may recall... I do not know whether Hon. John Mbadi or Hon. Chris Wamalwa can remember the answer that was given. The Member for Suna East was there in person but not in mind. It was that Bills from the Executive, at least in America, find their way into the House on request. The Executive makes a request. So it can request you, Hon. Kangogo, if they think you are capable of navigating the Bill. They can request any Member whom they think…. It is just a proposal. They want a Bill for this or the other. They will request, so you will sign it. Once that has happened, of course, you will be the person they will give their views to. In fact, you may even appear before the committee, or if you may not appear before the committee, those people behind the Bill obviously will appear before the committee. They will therefore have proper interaction with the committee and whatever agreements they will reach they will inform whoever it is that will have signed the Bill on their behalf. That is at least the response that we got. Subsequently, we have confirmed that. So if the Executive requests the Leader of the Majority Party that, “please sign this Bill for us and you are the one to push it”, usually, that is what they do. That is what the Executive does. It gives the Leader of the Majority Party all the material that is necessary for him to move any of their Bills. I do not know whether that satisfies Hon. Kangogo. Hon. Mbadi wants to maybe pursue the matter.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I think you have said it, but I just wanted to add that if a committee generates a Bill, then certainly the chair of that committee would introduce the Bill to the House and then take responsibility. But when Bills come from the Executive, it is upon the Executive to make a determination as to whether they will use the Leader of the Majority Party. By the way, I think it is just clear that the Bill should come through the Leader of the Majority Party and if he decides that he wants to delegate, he can easily use his foot soldiers, the various chairs of committees. The assumption is that chairs of committees do not really have to come from the party that forms the majority. Sometimes, for example in the case that we have today, maybe NASA could provide, with the support of Hon. Keter, Hon. Kangogo and the rest, chair of a committee. In that case then you would expect that the Executive at that time may not be very comfortable with the chair to introduce a Bill that comes from the Executive. 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.

I think Hon. Kangogo needs to accept that a lot of powers go into this Office of Leader of the Majority Party and, probably, Leader of the Minority Party. The Leader of the Majority Party can be magnanimous to share this responsibility with the lieutenants, because what I see is a case where the soldiers have very little to do and they see that the general is overworking. So I want to urge my friend to be sharing some of these responsibilities with his team. Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

It looks like the Member for Suna East also wants to have a bite of the cherry.

No, Hon. Speaker, I just wanted to enrich the debate. What Hon. Kangogo is putting across has some meaning, but in the sense that when the Leader of the Majority Party introduces a Bill and it is coming up for Second Reading, I think the chair of that committee should be given the first priority to second that Bill because he has information from public participation and all quarters relating to that Bill. Remember the Leader of the Majority Party will be doing the Second Reading based on notes that he is coming from his office with, but the committee chair will be coming with the committee report and has a lot of information on that Bill. So I want to support him in the sense that in the Second Reading the chair of the committee should be given priority, after the Leader of the Majority Party, to second the Bill. That practice was not so much adhered to in the last Parliament, even though I was more active in ODM, as you said, than in the House. Now I am fully back in the House and I want to take the…. Thank you so much.

Of course, we have looked at that issue. Yes, it makes a lot of sense that the chair of a departmental committee or whatever the committee is has had interaction with stakeholders, so very early in Second Reading he is able to inform the House and the country: That we have held so many meetings; in fact, Hon. John Mbadi appeared and he said this. We have said we want committee chairs to tell the country and the House who it is that you have interacted with. Do not just tell us some people who are singing on the streets appeared. Tell us who they are. Did they introduce themselves? What did they say? Did you agree with what they said? If you did not agree with them, what are the reasons? So that the country also knows that, yes, you are serious. I know in many of the committees you interact with quite serious stakeholders. If you are talking about roads boards, most likely you have interacted with people in the construction industry, the National Construction Authority (NCA) and all manner of stakeholders; maybe university lecturers in the engineering departments. Tell us that they appeared. Professor so and so appeared and this is what he had to say about this Bill or on this Bill and we agreed with him or we did not agree with him for the following reasons. Let them also know that, yes, when they appear before the committees it is serious business. We want the committees to give the House that information because it is important. Let people who appear before committees also know that they are appreciated. Whether you agree with them or you do not agree with them, it is good to acknowledge that they actually appeared before you. Committee chairs will be given not less than 30 minutes. So you will have sufficient time. And where need be, if committee chairs feel that the kind of report that they have is one that will require more than 30 minutes, just approach the Speaker and indicate how much time beyond the 30 minutes you might require. The Member for Ugunja, who I can see is communicating with the outside world, when I see you bending, I know you are... I was wondering where you had disappeared to but I know you were communicating to the outside world. When the Chair of the Public Accounts 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.

Committee (PAC) begins tabling reports here, he will have one full hour and you know he can speak. He can talk for many hours. Who is the Chair of Public Investments Committee (PIC)? Even him, if he wants to speak, he will be given time to speak but as a Chair, if you feel you may not be able to utilise all the time, indicate to your membership that you might want to donate some of your time so that Members of that Committee can also participate because they are with you. As the Chairperson, you are not the only one who interacted with the stakeholders. It is important that Members of your Committee inform the House and the world or even confirm whether what you are saying as the Chair is true or not. We want this 12th Parliament to adopt that system of dealing with Bills and committee reports. You have heard the Member for Endebess indicate that there are reports from the previous Departmental Committee on Lands which have not been debated. We would want them to be taken by the current Committee, go through them, discuss them and be able to come and move so that the House can either adopt or reject them so that the Member for Endebess can relax. Is that not so? I can see the Member for Endebess still wants to say something.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I was just listening to Hon. Junet. In the last Parliament he used to sit on the other side and more often he was absent from the House. On what he is talking about the issue of the Chairman of the Committee seconding the Leader of the Majority Leader, that has been the practice. It has been the practice in this House and I think you are on the right track. Hon. Speaker, things are moving well and I hope our colleagues will continue being with us here so that we can have meaningful engagements in this House and ensure that very important Bills are passed. I am happy that Hon. Junet in his position now as the Minority Whip is taking his job very seriously. That is commendable. Baba is also seeing what he is doing. Thank you.

Very well. That was also good for housekeeping. Is that not so Hon. Mbadi? I think it is good when people know upfront that, that is what would be happening so that even the people who are on the Chair would also be able to implement that. When they appear to forget, every other Member is at liberty to remind the Chair that this is what we agreed as a House, that we would be moving in this particular way. Let us move to the next Order now.

As you have said, the policy is that now Chairs must be in the House to second Bills. Of course Hon. Bowen needs to grow in parliamentary practice. He needs to grow to aspire to be Leader of the Minority Party, the Leader of the Majority Party or the Whip but you know you started on a wrong footing. The journey is tough and rough. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I beg to move the following Motion:

THAT, this House adopts Sessional Paper No. 3 of 2017 on the National Policy on Climate Finance, laid on the Table of the House on Thursday, 15th February, 2018. This Report is found at the Table Office and is signed by none other than the Cabinet Secretary (CS) for National Treasury with an acknowledgment note by his Permanent Secretary 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.

(PS), Dr. Kamau Thugge. The context of this Bill is important. The formulation of this policy was initiated... I am sure Members who served in the 11th Parliament ordinarily participated in the Climate Change Conference. They are aware of how this framework of the National Climate Action Plan of 2013-2017 was muted. Its objective was to make sure that there is low carbon climate-resilient green economy development through the implementation of the National Climate Change Response Strategy of 2010. Hon. Speaker, there were a number of revisions that took place and finally there was a finalisation of the National Policy on Climate Change which has been done following the adoption of the Paris Climate Agreement by all parties in December, 2015. So, this financing was part of the agreement that was agreed upon by many countries which put their signature to the Paris Climate Agreement of December, 2015. The Green Economy Strategy and implementation of this plan and the recently enacted Climate Change Act, 2016 requires resources both at country level and…

Now, Hon. (Ms.) Mwanyanje, you cannot do that! You have to go there and… What is happening? She looked to see whether anyone was watching her before crossing the Floor.

You cannot go out!

Serjeant-At-Arms must bring her back.

Serjeant-At-Arms, that Member in blue must be brought back.

She must complete the ritual. This is a parliamentary ritual. You must complete the circle. You cannot just go out. This is the effect of security withdrawal. Many things have been happening to the NASA brigade and there is a lot of confusion. You need to help them get back their security.

Where is the lady in blue who just walked out?

Hon. Junet, you must do some in-house induction for your Members.

She risks very severe punishment meted against her.

Hon. Speaker, she must be very fast; she has disappeared. Hon. Speaker, the Serjeant-At-Arms cannot get her or she is scared because she is a new Member. This is the Member for Kilifi County.

When Hon. Junet is your Whip, then be sure to get problems. You can imagine Hon. Junet being your Whip. You will expect a lot of confusion on the side he is whipping.

On a point of order.

My friend, one of the cardinal things in the House is free speech. Why do you want to curtail my free speech? Hon. Mbadi is a stressed man.

Serjeant-At-Arms, can you go and look for the Woman Representative for Kilifi County because you have let her go out? Go and look for her and bring her in. 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.

Hon. Speaker, they should do that with the help of the Minority Whip. The Whip should follow to look for his Member. Hon. Speaker, Hon. Mbadi should relax. He has some very important matters he is trying to push through the House but he cannot go through, and he knows it. The National Policy on Climate Finance is important for our country and all those who believe in sustainable climate. The Paris Agreement sets out a goal of mobilising US$100 billion per year by the year 2020. That is the genesis. The countries that met in Paris had given themselves the goal of mobilising resources and raising US$100 billion annually by the year 2020. In order for Kenya to take advantage of these opportunities and resources, the right institutional and financial mechanisms must be put in place so that resources can be directed efficiently towards national climate and development priorities. In order for us to access the funds that will be mobilised by the various stakeholders by 2020, we must have in place the necessary institutional and financial mechanism. That is why this policy needs to be adopted.

Hon. Speaker, climate change is globally expected to have several consequences over the short-term, medium-term and long-term. The sectors that will be affected by climate change include agriculture, energy, water, trade and tourism.

Hon. Speaker, the Member is back. I will give her a chance to conduct the rituals of Parliament.

Member for Kilifi County, one of the first things that you were told during the induction seminar is that if you want to cross from one side of the House to the other, you go up to the door, bow and cross over. You cannot just move from here and jump like you are in Kilifi County. You represent a whole county. Jumping from one constituency to another may be easy and you could be used to that. When I told you to go and obey the rules, you were not supposed to walk out. You can earn quite some serious punishment for that. You are required to bow from there, make your way back here and then walk away.

Several Members have interceded on her behalf on allegations that she is new but she has already made her maiden speech. She cannot be new.

If you desire to exit, you can now go without any problems.

Leader of the Majority Party, you will have more time.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. She is the great lady of Kilifi County, but she has to learn the parliamentary rituals. Parliament is full of rituals. I am happy that in this Session of Parliament, Members will follow the rules diligently. The Fifth Assessment Report of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change classified Kenya as one of the 20 countries and regions which are most at risk. Since we have 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.

been classified thus – and our agriculture, energy, trade, water and tourism industries will be affected – we must be among the first countries to put in place the necessary institutional and financial systems in order to access this huge basket of resources that will be mobilised annually until 2020. Hon. Speaker, evidence of climate change in Kenya include rising of temperatures, and irregular and unpredictable rain patterns. In Nairobi year in, year out, we have been subjected to the nature of climate. We are heading to March and the dry spell is all over. Previously, the northern region used to be described as the semi-desert part of Kenya. Right now, parts of Kajiado and Narok, which used to have much rains, are as dry as the semi-arid areas. Rising temperatures, irregular and unpredictable rainfall patterns – which result in droughts and floods – as well as rising sea levels are all indicators of the way climate change is affecting us. The negative impacts of change in climate patterns include reduced agricultural production, leading to increased food insecurity. There is loss of biodiversity and eco-system services. There is damage to the infrastructure, increased health costs, and a decline in quality and quantity of water resources. All these are effects of climate change. The cost of managing the impact of climate change is increasing in Kenya. This has forced the Government to spend a lot of resources on new and improved infrastructure; the search for alternative sources of food and water for our people; relocation of communities, and on recovery operations arising from various natural disasters. The policy elaborates the financial aspects of the Climate Change Act 2016, which this House passed during the 11th Parliament. This policy is important in accelerating Kenya’s development aspirations. The Kenya Vision 2030 aims at transforming Kenya into a globally competitive middle-income country through a sustainable high economic growth rate and a more balanced development aspect. However, all these aspirations will not be achieved as long as we have climate change. If left unattended, the phenomenon will impede realisation of the aspirations contained in Vision 2030. Secondly, the policy will help Kenya mobilise additional domestic and international resources in order to address the climate change phenomenon and pursue our national development agenda, including the goals and objectives set out in Vision 2030. That is the objective of the policy context. What are the goals? What do we intend to achieve through this policy? The policy is aimed at fulfilling several objectives. First, it will enhance implementation of the public finance management policy in relation to climate financing. The Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury, with the help of the Legislature, will put in place a climate financing mechanism structure that will be transparent and accountable so that resources can be audited by the Auditor General. Secondly, the Cabinet Secretary will establish a mechanism for mobilising internal and external financing. We cannot borrow from the domestic market, or the international market, for mitigation of climate change if we do not have the necessary policy framework. Therefore, the adoption of this policy will help us put in place a sustainable mechanism that will help us mobilise both internal and external climate finance. Third, once we adopt this Policy, we will be in a position to track, monitor, evaluate and report on the sources, application and impact of climate change. The Policy is going to encourage the private sector to participate in relevant climate financing opportunities. We also want to bring on board the private sector in our country so that they can also be involved in relevant financing opportunities as far as climate is concerned. What are the benefits? 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.

I mean, there must be benefits we get by this House adopting this Policy. One of them is that it is an important part of accelerating the implementation of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 in which a clean and healthy environment is a fundamental right. Articles 42, 69 and 70 of the Constitution of Kenya guarantee our citizens the fundamental rights to a clean and healthy environment. I heard the new Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Forestry vigorously saying that he is going to make sure that Kenyans get a clean and healthy environment. How I wish he picks from where the late Minister Michuki left! He needs to clean Nairobi River, because it the one thing which the Late John Michuki, may his soul rest in peace, is remembered for. The Cabine Secretary, Tobiko, if you want us to remember you, please, clean Nairobi River from the forest all the way to the slums. Let the water that flows in it be that which can be consumed at an instance. Another benefit of this Policy is that it will help advance the Vision 2030 agenda by increasing the country’s adaptive capacity and resilience to climate change while at the same time promoting low carbon sustainable development. It will make sure that we increase our capacity in terms of adaptiveness and our resilience to climate change while at the same time promoting how we can have a low carbon sustainable development. The Policy will help Kenya to mobilise additional domestic and international climate finance resources and increase financial flows in order for the Government, private sector and other players to address issues of climate change and issues of national development. Finally, this Policy will help Kenya’s ability to effectively manage and track adequate and predicable climate change finance. When we go back to the next Climate Change Conference, Parliament will know the amount of resources we have in order to improve our ability as a country to effectively manage, track and have adequate and predictable climate change finance. In a nutshell, that is what the National Policy on Climate Finance is all about. It is a document that has been prepared by our technocrats both in the Ministry of the National Treasury, and the Environment and Climate Change Desk at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Together, they have developed this Policy. It will help us achieve resources and comply with international standards. It will enable Kenya, being one of the 20 countries, which are at risk, participate in climate finance. With those many remarks, I will ask Hon. Cecily Mbarire to second.

Hon. Mbarire.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I rise to second this Motion. Let me begin by saying that climate change is real and is here with us because we are already witnessing many adverse effects of climate change. I want to remind this House of a quote by a former Member of this House, who is late and whom we remember with a lot of love, that is, Prof. Wangari Maathai. She said: “Nature is very unforgiving - What you give to nature is what nature gives back to you.” Hon. Speaker, because of our own human errors, we are now witnessing very difficult times as a nation, continent and world. Two weeks ago, we read about a city, Cape Town, which has gone dry. This is like having the whole of Nairobi with no water at all. They warned us that this is just the beginning and that we are going to witness many more cities running dry in the subsequent years to come. Nairobi is said to be one of them. A time has come for us to make concerted efforts towards policy changes. We need to come up with policy frameworks which can help us deal with climate change. Only this weekend, there was a big picture in one of the dailies of a big river in Kenya which has now run dry. Each one of us in this House can actually identify a river or a stream which once had water as you grew up, but today, all you can see are 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.

the rocks beneath. When I was growing up, I used to see Mt. Kenya every morning as I went to school. It was snowcapped and I thought that is how it ought to be and forever will be. Today, all that snow has melted away. All those snowcapped mountains which we bragged or talked about as a nation and visitors came to see are no longer there. There is nothing to show in terms of snow. We are being hit by drought and famine in scales we have never witnessed before. We are now seeing human-animal conflict and human to human conflicts rising as a result of lack of water and pasture. It is upon us Members of this House to support Government policies and frameworks which come to the Floor of this House. We need to act against climate change and prepare ourselves adequately on its adverse effects. To do that, we need to have enough finances. That is why, today, it is important for us to pass this important policy paper – We will begin to think of climate financing and prepare adequately. In the last Parliament we passed money which was meant for development plans with regard to taking care of famine, building broken bridges, controlling flooding, and repair of roads which were no longer passable. That affected the development plan of Government. Therefore, it is important for us to support this Motion. Our development agenda as a nation and the Vision 2030 are at a risk because we are unable to stick to development plans when we have to divert money to matters concerning climate change or mitigating its effects. Food security is one of the big four pillars which the President has identified and it may not happen if we continue to have the climate change phenomenon. Therefore, I support the proposal that is before us and urge fellow Members to support it. I do not see any Member who would go against it because it is against this real felt need that each one of us is witnessing even at our own private level in our homes, constituencies and counties. The National Policy on Climate Change that is before this House is important. We are signatory to major international agreements and conventions. An important one is the Paris Climate Agreement of December 2015 that established the need for climate financing, as the Leader of the Majority Party has mentioned. In that, they are proposing to set up an account that will be raising a minimum of Kshs100 billion per year to help in climate financing. It is, therefore, critical that we prepare ourselves by putting the necessary infrastructure and mechanism to access this money so that we can be able to benefit from it and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change. Out of this, we are sure that we can access resources from this external financing and also create our own domestic internal financing on climate change so that when such occurrences happen, we are able to deal with them quickly and properly. Through this policy, we will be able to track, monitor, evaluate and report about these sources of financing, how they are used and the impact of those resources on climate change. We will also be able to improve the capacity of the country to mobilise for climate financing through this policy. We do not want to be over- dependent on external financing. So, there will be need for us to come up with our own internal climate financing mechanism and mobilisation of resources from within the country. This will also be an opportunity for us to encourage the private sector to participate in climate financing because they are also immediate victims of climate change effects. I am sure it is also affecting their businesses. There will be a way of ensuring that they come on board so that they also participate in making the environment better, and to mitigate against climate change so that we are able to grow. Therefore, it is my prayer to this House that Members support it. No doubt, we need to have Members getting more and more interested in matters climate change. I know there was a 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.

caucus on climate change in the last Parliament. I hope the Members in this particular House can run with it because at the end of the day we can do all we are doing in terms of development. You can undertake all the planning in your constituencies at the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) level but as long as we continue to have these challenges, and we do not have the necessary financing to mitigate the same, you will find yourselves having to go back to the very plan you had set, taking away money from your NG- CDF to take care of the issues which will arise as we move along. With those many remarks, I beg to second and request the honourable Members of this House to kindly support this important policy document.

Hon. Members, you are aware of the Motion that you just passed. There is priority in speaking. Let us have the Leader of the Minority Party.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to support the Motion on Adoption of Sessional Paper No. 3 of 2017 on the National Policy on Climate Finance. I want to start by saying that, as Hon. Mbarire quoted the late Prof. Wangari Maathai, nature is very unkind at times. However, nature can be very kind if you are kind with it. This is because nature has allowed us to exploit it. It allows us to utilise what it has but it requires us to manage and conserve it. If we do not manage and conserve nature, we will not be able to exploit and utilise it as it were. So, it is upon us to choose whether we are cooperating with nature or not. I know for sure that we did pass the actual Climate Change Policy. What is now before us is going a step further to talk about the financing of the same. There is a requirement in the Constitution that we gave ourselves – that at least 10 per cent of the total land mass in Kenya needs to be under forest cover. As I stand here today, and I may be corrected; we are under 2 per cent of forest cover. It, therefore, means that we need to multiply the forest cover that we have presently by five to be able to achieve what Kenyans decided to give themselves in 2010. The most important thing is the scare that we have witnessed in terms of the deteriorating climatic conditions in this country. Some of us come from places that are near forests. My constituency has one of the biggest or largest forest cover in the entire former Nyanza region, namely Gwasi Hills, which has a forest cover of about 4,000 hectares of land. However, that forest is completely destroyed as we speak. Therefore, we are feeling the effects of the destruction, as the people who come from that area. First, there are no rains. We used to have so much rain. At times our crops used to fail because of so much rain but as we speak, there is insufficient rainfall. As if that is not enough, when the rains come, there is no forest cover to stop the flooding. Therefore, even if you do graveling and put murram on the roads, within one year, they are all swept and destroyed and you have no way of effecting movement. This policy paper has come at the right time. I wanted to urge that as a country, we should not just be looking at the possible finances that we are likely to receive as a result of the Paris Agreement. We need to go a step further. Probably, there may be need for us to bring legislation in this House where we are going to condition our domestic companies – those companies that are seeking licencing to do business in this county – to put even 1 per cent of the net profit that they make into making sure that we conserve our environment. That will be a very good idea. I was just looking at Safaricom alone, which makes about Kshs10 billion or close to 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.

that sum in a year. Just look at 1 per cent of it. If that company could contribute just 1 per cent, we can even give them tax rebates on the amount of money that is contributed to a fund we can set specifically for environmental management and we put money from the various companies that do business in this country. A lot of them actually destroy the environment. This money could be matched by some budgetary allocation in this House so that we take environmental conservation and climate change as an important activity in this country. We can give ourselves a target; that, in the next five years or so, we will have achieved, say 5 or 6 per cent of forest cover. That would take us from mere rhetoric and legislation to actualising this important activity that we need as a country. The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) will be tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that any company that comes here to engage in business or even local companies sign this agreement to contribute towards conserving forests. We should also pass a legislation to set aside a specific amount of our budget. We waste a lot of money on unnecessary things. As Hon. Mbarire said, we even use money to correct the messes that we create for ourselves as a result of climate change. Just a few months ago, we had to come up with a supplementary budget to address the issues of drought and famine which are a direct consequence of our mismanagement of the environment. Because I know many of my colleagues also want to contribute to this Motion and we have just passed a Motion to limit time, I want to be fair to my colleagues and stop there by saying that I support this Motion.

Let us have the Member for Buuri.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I join my colleagues in urging Members to approve this Policy. It is an obligation for every citizen in this country to cooperate with the State organs when it comes to protection and conservation of the environment. We should not go into the history books as the generation that caused our country to become a desert leaving nothing to our descendants. I totally agree that this is one sector of our responsibility that we need to finance effectively. I urge the Members to consider contributing Kshs5 every month. I am sure that by the end of the year, we will have a lot of resources to finance some activities on climate. Last night, my daughter asked me what the advantages and disadvantages of developing a rain forest are. She is in Form One. Today, we are being asked to look at the advantages of planting trees, having clean water and a nice environment where people can relax. There is nothing much more we can do other than to say that we need a policy in this country. We have spent a lot of time doing other things and forgot what the livelihood of this country is. In 50 years to come, I see no difference between North Eastern and Mt. Kenya. I grew up in the Mt. Kenya region. In the morning at 6 a.m., pipes were full of ice. Today, I sweat at 6 a.m. in the morning. Unless we take up full responsibility, Mt. Kenya will be no more in 50 years to come and that is not very far. I do not intend to die very soon. I have about 50 more years to go. What I foresee could become a reality in my lifetime. In Article 69(2) of the Constitution, each person in this nation has an obligation to cooperate with the Government when it comes to the environment. I cannot speak more. The Members have spoken. I urge the Members that we even have to do it at our house-hold level, community level and going up. I salute Wangari Maathai. She saw it coming before she died and left that responsibility to all of us. Let us cooperate with the Government. Let us all set aside our political differences when it comes to issues of climate. I am sure, Hon. Chris Wamalwa, that for 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.

the first time we will agree on this and move forward. I know you are a caring Member of Parliament and we can walk together. Members, please, let us support this Policy.

Let us have Hon. Chris Wamalwa.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support this Sessional Paper on climate financing. I want to remind the Hon. Member for Buuri who has just spoken that I am one of the very objective legislators in this House. We legislate objectively for the good of this country. I want to quote what Pope Francis said on the environment. He said

“Doing little good for this society will add value as far as environment is concerned.”

Also, a female scholar by the name Margaret Mead who has done a lot of research when it comes to the environment said:

“We won’t have a society if we destroy the environment.”

It means that our society is dependent on the environment. Both of them are mutually inclusive. One of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) touches on issues of climate change. Again, on the SDGs, we also have a goal of global partnership. In this context, we want to support this Policy. I have quickly gone through it and it provides a framework that our country must adopt in order to mitigate the risks of climate change. We are part and parcel of the Paris Convention of 2015 which talks about mobilisation of US$100 billion in terms of coming up with resources that will mitigate against these strategies. We have an Act of Parliament namely The Treaty Making and Ratification Act. The fact that Kenya is a signatory to this Treaty goes without saying that it is part and parcel of the laws of this country. We know very well that good plans are put in place but 70 per cent of them fail because of poor implementation. When it comes to policy or strategy implementation, the issue of financing is very critical. I want to salute this Policy because one of the strategies it has highlighted in terms of financing is the public-private partnerships. We have just passed an Act of Parliament in this House that governments all over will never have enough resources to implement their plans but through public-private partnerships, we can fundraise. We have very good corporate organisations in this country such as Safaricom and many others which can help out through their corporate social responsibility programmes. Through a framework of public- private partnerships, we can raise those funds which will go a long way in terms of mitigating the risks of environmental degradation. I salute the late Professor Wangari Maathai. She was very passionate and compassionate on matters of environment. She said if you do not take care of nature, nature will destroy you. It is high time we came up with policies that take care of nature. When we talk of nature, it is about the environment. The environment is the source of everything. We have heard so 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.

much about the Jubilee agenda of manufacturing, housing, health-care and food security. You cannot achieve the big four agenda without putting in place strategies that will help in environmental sustainability.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, in the last Parliament, which I am proud the great people of Kiminini gave me an opportunity to serve in, we had three legislators who were passionate and compassionate about matters legislation. I am sure if Governor Ottichilo, the Governor of the great people of Vihiga, was here today, he would be smiling because he was very passionate about climate change matters. I will not forget the former Chairlady of the Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, Hon. Amina Abdalla. She also was very compassionate and passionate about environmental matters. I do not know the current chairman of the Committee but I hope that he will also be passionate about environment matters. I expected him to be here when the Leader of the Majority Party was moving this Sessional Paper and even second it. Unfortunately, he is not here. That is why we have been telling the Jubilee Government that it is not about winner-takes-it-all. We must learn to share and elect competent chairpersons who can drive these departmental committees to where we want to go. I humbly request the relevant ministries that touch on environmental matters to institutionalise and operationalise this Policy so that it can be implemented.

Financing comes with accountability. Many times, the Government has come up with very good policies and has even raised funds. However, when the money comes, accountability becomes a problem. I am happy to note that in this policy paper they have highlighted how to monitor, evaluate and report.

Article 42 of the Constitution talks about matters of the environment. Every legislator in this House has an obligation to achieve what is highlighted in Article 42 of the Constitution. At a time like now, in Trans Nzoia, where I come from, people have prepared their farms because they are expecting rains. However, because of climatic changes, the environment has totally changed. Parts of Trans Nzoia and many parts of this country are dry. I tried to plough my farm but was unable. The tractor could not plough because the weather is sunny and the land is dry. We cannot prepare the fields because we cannot predict the weather. This is definitely going to affect food security in our country. If rains do not come on time, obviously, we are going to have a challenge as far as food security is concerned in this country. So, to achieve food security that the Jubilee Government is talking about, we must adopt this policy.

On housing, people in other countries have developed strategies of building houses that can sustain them in a harsh environment. For instance, in very hot places, one cannot sleep because of the heat. Even in healthcare, we have seen a lot of cancer cases. We have a lot of carcinogenic agents in the environment that people are vulnerable to. The environment touches everything.

When it comes to roads, the environment has an effect also. Housing and manufacturing also affect the environment. Even clothing is affected by the environment. So, it is important that as we pass this Policy the implementing agencies must apply it to the letter.

Corruption in this country has been a big impediment in the Jubilee Government and so it must be stopped. Measures must be put in place to curb corruption. Those who are responsible must be held accountable so that we can have a safe environment where we are assured of quality medication, roads and housing.

I thank all the key stakeholders who participated in the formulation of this Sessional Paper. We know very well that it has come out of a participatory and consultative approach. We 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.

request other sectors to follow suit. Actually, this Policy has been long overdue. When it comes to implementation, measures must be put in place for that.

I have not gone through the Budget Policy Statement. I hope when we go through it, we will ensure that it has a clear section touching on aspects of environment. We cannot just rely on the private sector or on grants from here and there. We must be responsible enough in the Budget Estimates. This is a wakeup call to the Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. We must allocate enough funds for the environment sector. If we do not fund it, we are going to kill everything. I request Hon. Members to support this Policy because it is going to bring life to all.

Thank you and I support.

Well spoken, Hon. Wamalwa. It is noted that Hon. Ottichilo, the Governor for Vihiga County was passionate about this issue. We hope he will take the same passion to the county as he steers it.

I now give this opportunity to Hon. Iringo Kubai.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity to add my voice on Sessional Paper No.3 of 2017 on the National Policy on Climate Finance. I rise to support it. I also applaud the Leader of the Majority Party for bringing it here for debate. I pray that once we are through with the debate, it will go back to its drafters in the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. After that, we expect the National Treasury to get the funds to sustain the same.

It goes without saying that climatic change is a problem globally. It is not a Kenyan problem only. Being in the Third World with minimum resources, we are more vulnerable than other countries which have resources they can use to mitigate climatic changes faster than us. Unfortunately for us in the Third World, and Kenya in particular, we react to problems. We react when forests have been decimated and when rivers run dry. We are not proactive. If that trend continues, we are bound to experience harder times and especially if we do not set aside finances to cater for those problems. Even if we enact many Acts - We have already enacted the Forest Act, the Environment Act, the Climate Act and the Water Act - without resources and finances, those laws will only remain on paper and there will not be any implementation. Therefore, we need to put in this Policy a monetary aspect. It is exactly the reason we have come up with this Sessional Paper on Climate Finance. We call on Government, stakeholders, private entrepreneurs and international donors to contribute towards this fund so that we can mitigate the effects of climate change in this world. I pass through Sagana every weekend when going to my constituency, Igembe Central in Meru. I have observed that presently one can walk across the Tana River. When there are rains one is even shy or afraid of looking at the river because of the large volume of its water. Today, even fishing boats have been kept aside because they cannot be rowed in the muddy waters.

My colleague, Hon. Mbarire, has talked about Mt. Kenya. We grew up seeing it from the Meru side. Every morning we saw the snow-capped peaks and we would be told that, that is where God lives. We believed it. Today, that snow is gone and it is all bare rock!

Apart from the finances, we should also conserve our environment. We should conserve our forest cover. We should conserve the forests that we have. We should conserve the riparian areas that we have. We have gone out of our way to plant some eucalyptuses trees which suck gallons of water from the rivers. We plant them in the riverbeds and within two to three years, those streams dry up. Why are we eating up ourselves? Why are we presiding over the death of our environment? We can have as much funds as possible but each and every entity of the 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.

Government, including the National Treasury and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, should work in tandem. Where mitigation is required, finances are given. Once those finances have been provided, they should be utilised in the most prudent way without wastage so that at least we can conserve our environment. Tourism is a very important aspect of this country. It is a strong foreign exchange earner but most of the tourist locations rely on our environment. If we do not have proper environment for the wildlife, or we do not have water for wildlife, or we do not conserve those areas where the tourists visit, we will not go far. Therefore, all these aspects are intertwined into one. The best word to describe it is to conserve the environment so that whatever resources we have can be utilised properly so that at the end of the day we can achieve the aspect of getting to control the climatic change. Look at the pollution we are getting in our cities and towns. Every morning, here in Nairobi, when we wake up, there is a big cloud covering the whole City. When you go down to Athi River and other places, it is shiny and bright but there are thick clouds. Those are not natural clouds. They are fumes and other waste products which hang in the sky. Those are the ones which bring diseases. Those are the ones which change our environment drastically. Desertification is now crawling in slowly even where we thought there were big forests. This Sessional Paper will cushion us. It is a Paper whose importance all of us should appreciate. The most important thing is the practical bit of actualising this piece of paper. In as much as we debate it here, if it is not put into practice, it will just be water under the bridge. It will erode and we will be left asking ourselves what we said and what we did. Therefore, the National Treasury, the conservationists, NEMA and even us legislators, when we go out there, let us preach conservation and plant trees. Let us conserve our trees. Let us plant indigenous trees. Let us increase the forest cover in order to attract more rainfall. If we can afford, let us dig boreholes in our respective areas and draw water for domestic use and agriculture. We should let some of it flow so that even the grass and other crops can grow. In the process we can protect our environment, which is already destroyed. With those few remarks, I support.

I will give this opportunity to Hon. Denittah Ghati.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for this opportunity to support this Motion. I support this Motion simply because the issue of climate change cuts across our coalitions. Climate change affects everyone in this country and in this world. Looking at the objectives of this Policy, they are clear. One of the things we have not done as a country is seriously looking into the issue of climate change. If it is possible, I would suggest that the issue of climate change be put in our curriculum. Our children need to seriously look at this issue in school to understand the impact that climate change has for us in this country. Climate change affects people across genders. I am very keen to look at how this Policy looks at the issue of women and climate change. We all know that if there is flood or anything that happens, women and children play a very important role in terms of those calamities. Women and children are usually the first casualties of climate change. They are the first to be rescued. They are the first to be transported to safer grounds. You have seen areas in this country that are so dry; that our children, especially our young girls, miss opportunities to attend their schooling because they are looking for water. Our children in schools walk long distances. Where I come from is also an area that is usually very dry. We used to think as a country that climate change affects people in arid and semi-arid areas but the issue of flooding or drought affects everybody in this country. That is 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.

why you saw President Magufuli, our neighbour of Tanzania, bringing back people of Loitokitok with their cattle. These are people who went there to look for pasture for their animals. My Kuria community also has an issue with Magufuli because our livestock cross the border in search of greener grass simply because there is no appropriate food for livestock in our country. That is why we are now at war with our neighbours. I am very keen as I have said, to look at the role of gender in terms of addressing the issue of climate change. We want to see the contribution that women bring into the management of climate change. As I said, we are looking at strategies that address this issue. We have a Ministry responsible for the environment. Mr. Keriako Tobiko is now the Cabinet Secretary there. I am very sure that this gentleman will seriously look into this issue. It is a quiet Ministry. It is not as loud as the one where the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is domiciled. It is my hope that Keriako Tobiko will seriously look into the issue of climate change as well as the issue of the dumpsite in Dandora and Nairobi River. Those are very serious sites but they have been ignored. When the dumpsite in Dandora is filthy, it is the people living around there who breathe that air. It is the people who suffer ill health consequences. I am supporting this Motion simply because it is in line with our Constitution. Article 42 of the Constitution looks at the issue of environment because it is our guarantee. It is a right for Kenyans to live in an environment that is dignified – an environment that makes Kenyans feel that they belong to this country. It is not a favour. It is a right that Kenyans are seeking to ensure that where they live, the environment is clean and conducive for them to live in. I fully support because the mission and objectives of this Policy are very clear. In Mount Kenya, you see how trees are being felled right, left and centre. You saw what happened in Makueni. Hon. Charity Ngilu, the Governor of Kitui County, was complaining about improper cutting of trees for charcoal and other uses. It is our responsibility, as leaders, to take the issue of climate change seriously and guard it. Having served in the 11th Parliament, I have seen several Acts passed here. We debated the issue of climate change. We saw the Acts on health and environment. I hope we will seriously look into the issue of environmental conservation once we pass this Motion. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, public-private partnerships are things that need to come on board. We have, for a long time, left organisations like Safaricom, Airtel and Telkom to be the only ones looking at issues of climate change. However, they do not have enough funding to help our various areas that we need to address. I am in full support of this Motion. I really support this Policy. It is going to look at alternative ways, mechanisms and strategies to bring on board funding that is going to address the issue of climate change. At the same time, I am keen to see the role that women will play in managing and understanding how climate change affects our environment. This is because we know that a changing climate affects our people. We are not going to leave that out of the process. I am very keen on that and I am very sure my colleagues from across the divide are going to ensure that this Policy is implemented. With those few remarks, allow me to support.

Very well spoken. I will give this opportunity to Hon. Soipan.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support this very important policy on climate finance. The benefits for Kenya from the policy direction we are taking have been spoken to by the people who have spoken before me. 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.

First and foremost, the issue of protecting our environment and dealing with the adverse effects of climate change is a direct protection and safeguard of some of the very critical principles of our Constitution of 2010, key of which is the need for us to have a certain minimum threshold of forest cover in our country. Currently, statistics are very dismal. I know we are below two per cent yet the threshold we have set for ourselves, as a nation, stands at 10 per cent. This Policy will go towards supporting our Vision 2030 in terms of increasing our adaptive capacity and resilience to climate change. It is very promising to see that this is a policy that will guide us into a pathway where we will be talking about the need to mobilise both domestic and international climate finance resources and increase financial flows towards mitigating the effects of climate change in Kenya. When we talk about climate change, the speaker before me has stated clearly, and I could not agree more, that the adverse effects of climate change have no choice of who to hit. In fact, the saddest thing for me in this country is the fact that the matter is trivialised into a political issue every time we talk about protecting our natural resources. Speaking from my backyard in Narok County, we have the Mau Forest. Some pictures of the forest were circulating in social media two days ago. I know this kind of policy arose from an assessment which was done through the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change. But we do not even need to do assessments to know that we are standing at a very dicey situation. As a country, as a nation and as a partner within East Africa, Africa and the world, it saddens me that when we talk about the need to protect our natural resources, these issues are trivialised. People begin to talk about politics. When we talk about protecting the Mau Forest, people think we are hitting at one person. We have been told here and it is very clear for all of us that when the Mara River dries, the situation will be bad. I was going to talk about the picture that is circulating even today in social media. The Mara River has dried up and the impact of this is diminished food security. This will not affect one community only. It does not even just affect people who are living next to the Mara River, but affects every individual. We know the Mara River. I am just giving this as an example because we have been given examples of so many other water bodies which are drying up. Some of them are swelling up due to siltation and rising levels of the sea. This one is going to eat into all of us. We will have nowhere for our kids to grow in. I want to support this Policy very boldly and say that most of the resources that we are going to mobilise, both domestically and internationally or from whichever sources, should be pumped into reaching out and doing the simple things that are going to contribute towards increasing our forest cover, even before we talk about the big terminologies of carbon cover and many other things. We need to go back to the basics of what is happening to our forests. When you fly over some of our critical water catchment areas, you will be hurt. It is very devastating. In terms of the adverse effects that have been spoken about like droughts and floods, we do not need any assessment to know they are happening in our country. From my village, I cannot remember the last time I saw rain yet we were able to predict when the rains would come in the past. Farmers would plough their fields in anticipation of the rains. They would very precisely know that the rains would come at a particular time. That has a ripple effect in protecting the food security of our country. We can no longer plan for that because our rains are unpredictable. Our water sources have diminished. Even the quality of our water has diminished. It is time Kenyans woke up and smelt the coffee and knew that we have no place for our children to grow. Even as we support this kind of policy, we should really follow through its implementation. I want to agree with what Hon. Wamalwa said to the Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources and our newly appointed Cabinet Secretary. 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.

Mine is to challenge them. This is an issue of priority if we are talking about putting our priorities clearly as a country. We need to protect our natural resources. They should wake up and address the issue of climate change as top priority. When it comes to issues of health, there is increased cost of health because of the adverse effects of climate change. This will affect everybody. It will not matter where you come from or your political affiliation. It will affect all of us. When we talk about reduced agricultural production, this affects our livelihood. It is the mainstay of the Kenyan people. It will not choose where to hit. It will hit all of us. When we talk about the decline in the quantity and quality of water, it will affect all of us. It is obvious that all these things have a cost implication on our Government. As I speak, the Government has to devise means and ways to mitigate food shortages. It must address how to mitigate all these adverse effects of climate change. This is a burden which is going to hit on the table of every Kenyan. With those few remarks, I support this Policy and really want to see how this will be followed through in terms of implementation. Kenyans must go to the basics. One Member said that we need to even teach our children about the small habits and practices that will promote the protection of and care of our environment. We have been told here, which is very true, that nature can be very forgiving, but it has a way of coming back to eat into all of us. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker.

Did you say nature is forgiving or, unforgiving?

Nature is very unforgiving.

I thought so. We shall have Hon. Oundo, but as he does so, the next speaker will be Hon. Wanjira Wangari, Member for Gilgil, whom I will invite to speak to us on this matter with a special emphasis on Sustainable Development Agenda 2030.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support this Motion on the Adoption of Sessional Paper No.3 of 2017 on the National Policy on Climate Finance. I grew up in an environment where climate change was never a topic of discussion because everything was predictable. The environment was also clean. Lake Victoria was clean. The water draining into Lake Victoria from River Suo and River Nzoia was clean. Over the years I have lived on this earth, I have traversed the breadth and length of this country in my professional practice and, indeed, I have come face to face with the impact of climate change. I never knew it was an issue until I first landed in Nairobi to join Form One. I saw heaps of garbage. I did not believe that these bad things happen in the world. Over the years, we have seen the Nairobi River get polluted and it now looks like a sewer. It donned on me that the issue of climate change in this country is important and it requires address and redress. We cannot underestimate the negative impact of climate change. It is provided in Article 42 of the Constitution that we have a right to a clean environment. If we do not live to the dictates of that particular article, we run the risk of even compromising the attainment of social and economic rights as stated in Article 43 of the Constitution. You cannot talk about good sanitation when you have a bad environment or you are badly affected by climate change. As much as we have been looking upon the Government to deal with the environmental issue, time has come for us, the citizens of this country, the young and the old, to take the issue of climate change seriously. Article 69 of the Constitution, specifically 1(d), calls for public participation. It requires every member of this society to take 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.

exceptional note and become passionate about the issue of the environment, and as a Member has said, become compassionate. In a span of less than 30 years, my constituency, Funyula, has become food deficient. In 1970s and early 1980s, we had harvests that would run from one season to the other. This is because we used to have two predictable rainy seasons. It would rain between March and July. We would comfortably harvest and have enough to last us to the next season. It would, again, rain between September and late November. We would then harvest, again, in December and January. We would proudly grow cotton. Because of climate change, Funyula Constituency, and the larger Busia County, is now a food-threatened society. The adverse climatic conditions have made it practically impossible to rely on rain-fed agriculture. The soil cover has dried out. Because of the bad economic situation, our people have cut down trees for purposes of construction and charcoal burning thus leaving the soils bare. Consequently, whenever it rains, the runoff clears everything. It destroys roads, homes and clogs the remaining water systems. Siltation of major water pans is now a big problem. Year in, year out, we continuously spend the meagre resources that we have to desilt our water pans thereby misdirecting our resources. I hope this policy on climate finance will be implemented to the letter. We have the Environmental Management and Co-ordination Act (EMCA) and many other laws in place yet successive regimes have never given any regard to the environment and the financing of environmental changes. When the Rt. Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga raised the issue of the Mau Forest, he was fought left, right and centre. Probably, he paid a heavy political price for it, but nevertheless, wherever he is and whatever happens to him, at the end of the day, he will be proud that what he raised many years back has now come to pass. Recently, we read in the Press that in the year 2035, Nairobi City will have run out of water. A few years back, when he raised the concern about the Northern Corridor Water Project, he was vilified and called all names. A few days ago, I saw my colleagues from Murang’a and the neighboring counties raising hell. Honestly speaking, as my colleague who has spoken before me has said, it is time to depoliticise climatic and environmental issues. It matters less whether you are Jubilee or NASA. It matters less whether you have been instructed from above. At the end of the day, it is the people we represent who suffer whenever we have adverse environmental conditions. I strongly support the aspect of financing so that we can have measures to mitigate factors that lead to climate change, but also address issues that follow because of our past mistakes. I suppose part of the funds raised would be devoted towards irrigation because the sector that suffers most is the food security one. We also hope that those funds will be committed towards achieving the 10 per cent forest cover provided for in the Constitution. We are in consultation with the people of Funyula to ensure that every home has enough tree cover. Whenever we have a funeral, we do not have to hire tents. We can sit under trees and bid you farewell knowing that you have left behind a worthy environment which you shall have bequeathed your grandchildren and generations to come. It is important for the Chairman of the Committee in charge of environment and climate- related issues to be a bit more serious, more passionate and concerned about the issue of climatic change. It is not just about numbers. It is not just because you have been told that you must sit there! You must demonstrate ability and passion to oversee such an important aspect of our society. With those very many remarks, I support the adoption of the Motion and I hope it will be implemented as soon as possible so that we can alleviate the problems we have in this society. Thank you. 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.

Very well, Hon. Oundo, I think I have enjoyed your contribution in the sense that you have incorporated culture into this serious issue. A funeral is one of the integral parts of the Luhya society and you are now encouraging constituents to plant trees instead of hiring tents during funerals, which are very important occasions for us.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support the adoption of this Sessional Paper on the National Policy on Climate Change Finance. We have been here before to adopt this Sessional Paper. It is not actionable until we put our money where our mouth is. It is not actionable until we put resources in it. I do not think there is anyone in this House who has not seen the effects of climate change. Looking back at when we were growing up and comparing it to the current times, as other Members have said, it is totally different from what we saw in the earlier years. I just finished my NG-CDF public participation forums yesterday in Gilgil Constituency and one constant problem that we have is water. I want to thank the Ministry of Education for extending the deadline for the acquisition of birth certificates, which one may think is a small issue, but people would ask us to finish our meetings fast because they wanted to go and look for water. It is that serious. You cannot even have a meeting running until afternoon because mothers want to go and fetch water. Children miss school to go and fetch water. One school in my constituency was last week blown up totally by the wind, something that is avoidable. So, in terms of the effects of climate change, I do not think we need to overemphasise. In terms of the infrastructure and policy guideline, you cannot speak of… In the caucus policy for SDGs, where you and I sit, in terms of SDG No.6, you cannot talk of decent work when people cannot access basic things like drinking water. You cannot talk of eradicating poverty when you have not dealt with issues of climate change. You cannot talk of clean water and sanitation if you have not dealt with the environment. More specifically, if you look at the SDGs 13, 14 and 15 on climate action, life below water and life on land, those are issues that are taken very seriously not only nationally, but internationally. Having been lucky to attend the Conference of Parties (COP20 and COP21) on climate change in Peru and Paris when I was a Senator, I can say that Third World countries are not the biggest contributors to gas emission. So even as we look for resources as a country, both inside and outside, we hope that the major contributors, which are the bigger economies, are able to contribute so that they also account, pro rata, to the issue of low carbon resilience. I am looking forward to a sessional paper that will catalyse the transformation agenda. When you look at the big four that are being advanced by the Jubilee Government, which I support very strongly, the four pillars are affordable housing, food security, manufacturing and affordable healthcare for all. You cannot divorce that from the issue of climate change. Therefore, we will be looking forward to get resources. We also need to streamline policy so that every Ministry takes the issue of dealing with climate change very seriously and interrogate what they need to do. This cuts across all the ministries so that every issue that we are dealing with, be it education, health, extractive mining or mining and petroleum, deals with issues of climate change. Let them take into consideration what we are supposed to do as a country to deal with this catastrophe that we are looking at. As a country, we have come a long way in terms of commitment since the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol 2005. We have grown, but this will mark the beginning of what is actionable. We also hope that the Ministry of Environment and Forestry will do a lot of research in terms of technological innovation and build the capacity of every institution. In fact, we must 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.

devolve this issue of climate change because it sounds very global and very big. We must break it down to issues of water, rivers drying, hailstorms, rising sea levels and rising temperatures. Let us break it down so that members of the community can understand it. On the issue of public participation, I do not think we are at a point where we have been able to get a framework to involve our communities. I am hoping that some of these resources can go to that, not only for public participation to comply with the Constitution, but for effective public participation. That you would go around and announce whatever you want to announce and get the stakeholders to know so that they can air their views on the issue. The issue of public-private partnership will also be considered. Let the civil society, because I know there are many organisations in the country that deal with this issue, be brought forward to make their contribution on this issue. I hope we will make it our personal responsibility to conserve our environment for our children and generations to come. Even as we talk about the Vision 2030, SDGs and the big four in the Jubilee Government, we will not go far if we do not put money where our mouth is and fund matters of climate change. We should break down the information to Kenyans and educate them in our curriculum for them to understand what it means. We should also mitigate where we can and take the necessary action where we should. With those remarks, I support the adoption of this sessional paper. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker.

We shall have Hon. Kiti Chonga, the Member for Kilifi South, followed by Hon. Waweru Kiarie. Members, you will notice that we are giving one opportunity to this side and one to the other side. There is a lot of interest. There are 16 Members interested in this. It is alright. We will all have an opportunity to have a say on this. So, let us exercise just a little patience. Hon. Kiti Chonga. He is not in the House. We shall then have the next available Member on this side who is Hon. Wanyonyi Kevin, the Member for Kwanza.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, thank you for the opportunity. I have been sitting here with an intention to contribute to this Motion. I support this Sessional Paper. I am a very disappointed man. I am over 50 years old and I think we have taken nature very casually. As somebody said, and we all know it, climate change is with us and we are doing very little about that. One thing is that, as somebody said, nature has been very kind to us and it is only good for us to reciprocate by doing something about it. Everybody has said the same thing. I think in the Kyoto Protocol there was money given to anybody who could actually plant trees. We call it carbon credit. You were given free money by just covering two or three acres, depending on how much it was. This country never took advantage of that. It was free money so that we could have this afforestation programme. Three years ago, I went to Romania which is much industrialised. My fear was that, that country would have been turning into a desert, but to my surprise, 10 per cent of the land cover is covered by forests. You drive through the city and you see forests. I was so impressed. We went out of the city, almost 200 kilometres by train and it is all covered by forests. Whether there are wheat or rice plantations, the next thing you see is some forest cover. So, we have been very unkind to nature. In my constituency, there are about 152 primary schools - I am giving out free tree seedlings to each of those schools. I have started going round expecting rain, which we never know when it is coming, giving free seedlings to every primary school so that they can take part in planting trees for prosperity. We are doing the same thing to secondary schools. I want to ask 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.

Members that let us take liberty because NG-CDF has got money for afforestation. You can use 10 per cent of that money to plant trees in every primary school. Fifty years to come you will not be there, I will not be here, most of us will not be here, but the generation will ask what we did for them. Today, as Hon. Mbarire mentioned and I agree with her, sometimes back when I was in Nairobi and doing business up to Nyeri, I could see there was cover. When you were flying down Mombasa sometimes back you could see Kilimanjaro covered. Today there is nothing. All you can see are stones. Mount Elgon, which is the third tallest mountain, used to have forests. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, forest guards and foresters have taken liberty in selling wood. It is completely cut out. You see many trucks coming down with logs from Mt. Elgon, but nothing is done as if there is nobody on guard. Hon. Tobiko, wherever you are, please, take leadership and stand up. We are lucky because today when I was coming to Bunge, he mentioned that if you are caught cutting indigenous trees, it is criminal. Please, let us abide by that. Most of our catchment areas are Mt. Elgon, Mt. Kenya and Mt. Kilimanjaro, but if you clear the indigenous forests, you would not even have spring waters. We have a Cabinet Secretary who should take this very seriously so as to move and at least reclaim this in the next two to three years. And as one Member has mentioned this afternoon, let us have issues to do with the environment as a subject in school so that our children can know that it is part of their responsibility to take care of nature. It is important to do that. Last but not least, today I was attending a meeting on agriculture and the emphasis originating from that meeting was irrigation. We do not know when the rains are going to come in order to prepare ourselves. We should engage in irrigation projects. We may now start drilling underground water for irrigation in places like Kitale where large Agricultural Development Corporations (ADC) farms are found. We should do that so that we can have two seasons of planting maize in a year, without which, we run a risk of famine in this country because we are not even sure whether the next rains are coming. When I was driving down from Kitale, there was no rain in some parts. It is until I reached Limuru that I saw some clouds. I was happy because I thought it was going to rain, but there was none. As somebody mentioned, what you are seeing as clouds is actually dust clouds. They are not even rain clouds. Therefore, I want us to be very serious. Please, let us give back to nature so that we can have at least 2 per cent forest cover or up to 5 per cent. It is doable. It is just a matter of us putting our feet down and taking that as the right thing to do. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I am a very disappointed person, but I hope and pray that this National Policy on Climate Finance is implemented. The earlier we start doing that, the better. I am sure the private sector would be attracted to this. Once we start doing something, you will see somebody coming up and we might end up getting contributions towards the particular programme which would be for the prosperity of this country. I want to rest my case but as a very disappointed Kenyan because of our carelessness in the past. We have abused nature. Please, let us stop this and move on. I support the Paper.

That is very well, Hon. Kevin. You are asking: What shall we bequeath our children? It might as well be: “When did the rain start beating us.” It might belong to the museum when our children are there because there will be no rain. They will not know any rain. Hon. Kiarie, the Floor is yours. 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.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support this Motion on the Adoption of Sessional Paper No.3 of 2017 on the National Policy on Climate Finance. I would like to note right from the beginning that the former President of France, Francois Hollande, told us that we have one single mission, namely, to protect and hand on the planet to the next generation. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, with this Sessional Paper, this House will not be taken just as a House of lamentations. It will now start taking steps towards mitigating the effects of climate change by creating a framework for financing and putting in place measures that will mitigate the effects of climate change. I would like to note that when Kenyans awarded themselves the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, they in effect committed themselves and also gave themselves responsibilities towards how they shall handle their environment. This is captured well in Articles 42, 69 and 70 of our Constitution that broadly lay out the ideas that we have as a country as to how we relate with our environment. We are a country of aspirations. Our aspirations are captured elsewhere beyond our Constitution. We also have conventions that we have committed ourselves to internationally and some of which relate to the environment and climate change. Most recently, this Government has pronounced itself on something we are calling the big four. These big four range from food security, housing, manufacturing and health. What we need to note is that all these cannot happen in an environment that is harsh or inhabitable for humans. That is why I find this Sessional Paper quite relevant and timely. I remember a certain quote by the President of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, who said that we have to wake up to the urgency of the now. What is happening now as has been said by many Members of this House this afternoon is in stark contrast of what we grew up knowing. If you go to my constituency, Dagoretti South, and compare what is called the Kirichwa Big River or Kirichwa Kubwa and Kirichwa Ndogo and how we knew them when we were growing up, these rivers are a pale comparison of what they used to be. These are visible impacts of climate change. Some of us who happen to be city dwellers are realising the effects of climate change because the reality is alive to us and I would say it is a harsh reality. Going beyond the financing of climate change, we have to see these issues beyond just the mobilisation of funds. We have to start asking ourselves how the funds will be utilised. To my mind, there are two issues that we really need to invest in. The first issue is that we need to involve the academia in this country. We have universities upon universities in this country. We need to put resource into research on issues of climate change. We need to find out the new and emerging trends that we can plug into the new knowledge that is coming up. Even as we do this research, we will have to dig into the past and see what it is that our forefathers were doing right. My father once reminded me that his grandfather, who is my great grandfather, took great offence when any individual cut down a tree for no purpose. Our traditional learning tells us that you cannot uproot a Mugumo tree carelessly. They had some wisdom that helped them conserve the environment. It is in that light that I say that beyond the financing, we have to look at the utilisation of the funds and I propose that research should be one of the areas that we invest in. Secondly, we need to invest in compliance. I say this being a representative of a constituency that is in the great City of Nairobi. The greatest offenders of our environment are the elite and the very well-to-do. 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.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, with great power, comes great responsibility. We need to invest in making sure that the most able are also most responsible in taking care of our environment. Big companies are depositing raw sewerage effluents into our rivers and depositing high level lead waste into our rivers. Some multinational corporations are depositing very offensive garbage into our environments and as such, it becomes a precarious adventure to live in this city. Those are two areas we need to invest in going forward as we tackle the issue of climate change. I would like to put on record that the effects of climate change as we know them go beyond the obvious issues of a harsh environment, food shortage and the issues that have been raised this afternoon. I would like to offer to this House that to my mind, the greatest war that we face going forward is the war of resources that will be necessitated by the changes in the climate. The great Prof. Wangare Maathai taught us that unfortunately, the issues of climate are taken very subtly because the effects of climate change are very subtle in themselves. However, we are the generation that is living at that point where we had been warned that climate change effects are normally slowly and then sudden. I believe we are at the sudden point. That is why I would like to say that we are the first generation that is able to end poverty and the last generation that can take steps to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Future generations will judge us harshly if we fail to uphold our moral and historical responsibilities. These are not KJ’s words but the words of the former Secretary General of the UN, Mr. Ban Ki- Moon. With those remarks, I support the adoption of Sessional Paper No.3 on the National Policy on Climate Finance.

Very well spoken. We shall have Hon. Osotsi, who will be followed by Hon. (Ms.) Obo Mohammed, the Member for Lamu County. So, you can prepare yourself.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for this opportunity to contribute to this important Motion on the National Policy on Climate Finance. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, you will recall that this House adopted the National Policy on Climate Change and now we have the National Policy on Climate Finance to look at how to finance the proposals within the climate change policy. The issue of climate change is very important, both locally and globally. This country should take advantage of this opportunity to ensure that we adopt the right policies towards mitigating the effects of climate change. There are many global efforts towards having a sustainable climate environment. As it has been said, it is important to note that the global community is looking at the possibility of raising about US$100 billion per year until 2020. In this Policy, there is a proposal to have National Climate Change Fund. This will be a good opportunity for us to try and mobilise resources because we have different stakeholders engaged in climate change. We have the civil society, the national Government and the county governments. All these groups need to be harmonised so that the money that is raised to handle climate change activities can be well utilised and accounted for. There is a suggestion that the county governments need to take an active role in promoting climate change. I am happy about five counties have set up the County Climate Change Fund. These counties are Isiolo, Garissa, Kitui, Wajir and Makueni. We expect other counties, including my own County of Vihiga, led by His Excellency Hon. Ottichilo, who is a very prominent expert in the area of climate change, to follow suit. This is so that our people can benefit from the effects of proper management of climate. This House 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.

passed a very important Motion that provides for compulsory tree planting in schools and public places. We look forward to the Cabinet Secretary in charge, Hon. Keriako Tobiko, to fast-track it so that we can have a system where schools and public places plant trees. We can do more by investing in commercial tree planting so that we have an integrated policy of dealing with the issues of climate change, food security and many other issues that affect us. My colleague, Hon. Oundo, has talked about the issues of human activities and the effect on climate change. We have the Northern Water Collector Tunnel. This week we read in the Press that counties such as Murang’a have challenges of water shortage. In 2016, the People’s President, Hon. Raila Odinga, warned that in the next five years, we would have about five counties, namely Ukambani, Murang’a, Garissa and Tana River, becoming deserts. This week we heard complaints from people in Murang’a that their region would soon turn into a desert. When Hon. Raila Odinga spoke about this, he was condemned. At times we need objectivity when discussing matters of national importance. When Hon. Raila raised the issue of the Mau forest, he was condemned. In fact, that issue affected his political career. Now MPs from that area are raising similar issues about water challenges in the Mau. Sometimes when NASA speaks, Jubilee must listen to what we say. This is because we are objective and we care for this country. I am telling MPs from Murang’a to rise because if they do not condemn this project, their area will be a desert in the next few years, and they will leave a legacy as…

On a point of order, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker.

Hon. Ndindi, what is out of order?

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I rise on a point of order because the Hon. Member referred to the People’s President…

Hon. Osotsi, just relax.

He referred to the People’s President yet the Constitution of Kenya has no such title. Kindly, clarify.

Hon. Osotsi, I think you should take cognisant of the Speaker’s position on this and limit yourself to the matter at hand.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. Before, I conclude, counties need to prioritise on coming up with regulations around the issues of climate change which five counties have done. We also need to have a proper legal mechanism of having public-private partnerships on issues of climate change so that we can have a consolidated process of providing funds to support climate change initiatives.

With those few remarks, I support this Motion.

The Member for Lamu. She will be followed in this respect by Hon. Gogo Achieng, Member for Rangwe. I know Hon. Nakara Lodepe and my brother Maanzo are ahead of her, but I am giving a special bias to the ladies. You know the month we are in. Let them enjoy this.

Asante sana, Mhe. Naibu Spika wa Muda. Ningependa pia kuunga mkono Hoja hii. Kuwa na mazingira masafi ni muhimu sana. Wenzangu waliozungumza mbele yangu wameongea kuhusu ajenda nne za Serikali Kuu. Sisi tunajua kuna Rais mtawala kulingana na Katiba. Hao wengine hatuwajui. Hizo ajenda zake nne alizosema haziwezi kutimizwa ikiwa kuna mabadiliko ya tabianchi. Pia, kuna umuhimu wa Serikali Kuu na kaunti kutenga fedha ambazo zitasaidia kuzuia haya mabadiliko ya tabianchi.

Ni bora watu wajue kwamba haya mabadiliko ni ya ukweli. Tumeyaona na yanasababisha shida nyingi kwa kila kaunti. Mbunge mwenzangu amesema kwamba kaunti tano 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.

zimejaribu kurekebisha haya mambo na wanajitolea mhanga kusaidia. Mimi pia nitachukua jukumu huko kwetu na kuongea na gavana wangu ndio Lamu iwe kaunti ya sita kwa kusadia kurekebisha haya mabadiliko. Nimeshuhudia Mlima Kilimanjaro kutoka mwaka wa 2004 nilipoanza kazi. Nimekuwa nikipitia juu ya mlima huo nikiwa ndani ya ndege. Siku hizi, nikipitia hapo naona mabadiliko makubwa ya barafu iliyokuwa hapo awali na ile iko sasa. Nilisoma kwa kitabu kimoja kwamba barafu hiyo ikiyeyuka watu wa Lamu wanaathirika zaidi kwa sababu wanaishi baharini. Yale maji yanakuwa mengi na wanapata shida nyingi. Nimeona ni muhimu nichangie ili tuweze kuajibika pamoja. Huko Lamu kuna upande wa baharini na wa nchi kavu, kwa hivyo bahari ikijaa upande wa nchi kavu hupata changamoto nyingi kwa sababu ya haya mabadiliko. Wakati wa kiangazi kama sasa, kila mwaka Lamu tunaona vita vya wanyama wa porini na binadamu. Kwa sababu hiyo, tunazika watu ambao wameuwawa na viboko ama nyati. Baada ya mazishi huwa hawapati ile fidia kutoka kwa shirika la wanyama pori. Ni muhimu kama sisi sote tungeangazia hizi shida ambazo zinaletwa na mabadiliko haya. Nikimalizia, sehemu kama Lamu na zingine zina nishati za jua kwa masaa kumi na mawili kila siku. Kwa hivyo, ingekuwa muhimu kama jua lingetumika kutengeneza umeme ili tuache ile miradi ambayo inaleta athari kwa mazingira. Kwa sababu hii ni njia safi ya kusaidia kupunguza mabadiliko ya tabianchi. Asante.

(Hon. (Ms.) Tuya): Hon. Gogo.

Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to contribute on the Sessional Paper No.3 of 2017 on the National Policy on Climate Finance.

We do not need to belabor the point on matters climate. I am glad that Members are taking their time to make their own contributions towards this important Motion. I just want to zero down on mainly two elements. I will not take too much time because much has been said on this. In the SDGs, which are globally looked at, there is majoring on the blue economy as a need for sustainable development. I want to zero-in on the case of Kenya, namely, Homa Bay County, the surrounding counties, even Uganda, Tanzania and Lake Victoria. We are yet to get worse stories on the effects of climate change especially on women and girls. In this country, we have heard of cases being highlighted about women offering sex for fish in the interest that the volumes of fish in Lake Victoria have gone done. It is women and girls who are mostly affected when it comes to matters climate change. I want to also state what was recently highlighted in our dailies about sex for water because we have no water in most of our counties, especially in Rangwe Constituency, where I come from. Most of the streams there have dried up. Our rivers no longer exist. There is no water and women, not only in Rangwe, but in the greater Homa Bay County, work so hard for their families and they even go out of their way to sell their bodies to unforgiving men in order to get water. 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.

Therefore, when it comes to matters climate, honestly, we need to give it the emphasis and attention it deserves and go ahead and finance it. We must walk the talk and finance matters climate. Currently, the allocation of money for environment by the NG-CDF is very low. Part of this money should be availed at the constituency level so that we can finance matters of environment better. When it comes to polythene bags, it is now clear that Kenyans have learned to live without them. Polythene bags were a big problem because they were degrading the environment. When it comes to climate change, I think we have to put in a lot of money. Let us go natural. We would occasionally have to use the natural ladies and gents, especially where we come from in the rural areas, but we have no bushes nowadays. This has made it very difficult especially for people who use motorcycles and do not have designated toilets and other amenities for relieving themselves. We need to set up a fund across the country to enable us to put up public toilets in designated places, especially in the rural areas. I am talking about financing for climate change and I also want to put emphasis on matters health. There is no aspect of development that does not touch on climate. It cuts across the board. When it comes to food security, education, water and sanitation, all these touch on matters climate. So, we must put in money for capacity building. We must help people who are going to talk to even the least of the persons at the grassroots that we must actually conserve our environment. We must also look at systems of talking to our development partners to prioritise activities and projects that touch on climate change. As a Government and a nation, we must protect our own climate. It is easy to find people who are in the Government systems who are easily corrupted to bring down our forests. In the greater Homa Bay County, we had the Kodera Forest. You have a few trees by the roadside, but when you go inside, there is no forest. This is because of who we are as Kenyans. We are very corrupt. We want to make money and make it very quick. What are we teaching our youth here? We may have a system where probably after 10 years we are not going to have a country. When it comes to matters climate change and its financing, there is no position, no Government or political ideology. We must give this Motion the emphasis it deserves. We must take our time. It is unfortunate that when it comes to this particular matter, you can see that the House is literally empty. There are very few Members. It is the same Members who are absent who will come here and start yelling “NASA!” and “Raila Amolo Odinga!”. They should come to this House and debate this particular Motion because this is one particular thing that unifies us. This is one particular thing that we must talk about as Members. I have occasionally not been contributing to Motions. I have occasionally not been present in the House. I have been coming, signing in and going out, but despite all this, for this particular Motion, I had to stay. I am willing to stay until the end of this session for today. Why? It is touching on climate. I want to make a passionate appeal to our Members of this noble House, the august House, that if there is any particular thing that we should be remembered for as the 12th Parliament, it is generating ideas that are going to remember our very own and our one and only Nobel Laureate, Professor Wangari Mathai. What am I talking about? We are the only country that has been honoured in East Africa to be given such a high ranking, the Nobel Peace Prize. This country should take this particular Motion very seriously. If there is any money that should be given, most of it should be given for climate financing. We are going to solve issues of food insecurity, health and matters of the blue economy and all that cuts across all the SDGs. I am thinking about the big four here. The big four talks about value addition. How can we add value if we do not have anything to add value on? If we cannot sustain our agricultural systems, 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.

how can we add value to our food systems? How can we sustain our food chains if we do not have rains? How can we do proper irrigation systems if our blue systems are challenged? I support this Motion with what I have said and I am willing to come and talk about it again and again. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker.

(Hon. (Ms.) Tuya): Let us have Hon. (Dr.) Namsi Shaban.

Asante sana, Mhe. Naibu Spika wa Muda, kwa kunipatia fursa hii nami pia niongeze sauti yangu kwenye suala hili la ruwaza ya Serikali Kuu kuhusu masuala ya mazingira na hasa hali ya anga na fedha za kuweza kufadhili masuala haya. Jambo la kwanza nitakalofanya ni kutoa shukrani kwa Waziri anayesimamia masuala ya kifedha ambaye ameona kuna umuhimu wa suala hili kujadiliwa sasa hivi. Si siri kuwa tumefanya masuala ya utani. Tumetania mazingira yetu. Hivyo basi Kenya hii imekuwa na matatizo. Mara kwa mara tukitoka kwenye hali ya ukame tunaingia kwenye hali ya mafuriko huku maji ya mafuriko yakimwagika na kuishia kwenye bahari Hindi bila kuwasaidia wananchi. Kama nilivyosema, masuala ya mazingira si utani. Hivyo basi Serikali Kuu katika hali ya kujadili suala hili imeona umuhimu kwa sababu masuala yale ambayo Serikali inataka kutekeleza yatakuwa hayawezekani. Kwanza, maji ndio uhai na bila maji hakuna pahali tunaweza kuendelea kwa sababu bila maji tutakuwa na shida ya kuwa na chakula cha kutosha kuweza kukidhi mahitaji yetu hapa nchini. Vile vile, tutakuwa na shida ya kuwa na ugonjwa kwa sababu hakuna maji ya kutosha. Si mchezo watu wanaona Afrika Kusini katika eneo la Cape Town watu wakipimiwa maji kwenye vibobo. Ni kuwa mazingira yale yameharibika na ukiangalia sana jambo lililowaleta pale ni masuala ambayo pia sisi tumeyatekeleza hapa tukiwa tunadharau mazingira. Mfano ni masuala ya kupanda miti inayokunywa maji kwa wingi. Suala hili nitalizungumzia nikimkumbuka mwendazake Waziri Mhe. Michuki ambaye alifanya kazi kwa muda mfupi kwenye wizara inayosimamia masuala ya mazingira na tayari tukaona tofauti kubwa sana. Jambo la kwanza alilofanya alisema kuwa miti yenye kunywa maji mengi yote iondolewe ili mito iweze kupata maji ya kutosha. Alivyoanza vile, tayari alianza kama mfano maeneo yao ya upande wa Kaunti ya Murang’a na vile vile kaunti nyingine jirani na kule anakoishi. Walivyoanza tu kukata ile miti kwa sababu ndiyo iliyokuwa inakunywa maji na kumaliza miti ili waweze kupanda miti inayofaa kutengeneza mazingira, basi mara moja kukaonekana tofauti kubwa sana. Nataka pia kumkumbuka mwendazake Profesa Wangari Maathai ambaye alifanya kazi kubwa sana ya kuhakikisha kuwa mito hapa nchini inapata maji ya kutosha. Ukipita maeneo na mazingira kule anakotoka utaona tofauti kubwa sana. Miaka kumi baada ya kupanda miti kulikuwa na tofauti kubwa sana. Hapa Nairobi, kuna hali ya uchafu na hali ya maji kupungua kwenye mto wa Nairobi. Vile vile Waziri mwendazake, Mhe Michuki, alifanya kazi na tukaona tofauti kubwa sana. Mto ulikuwa msafi na maji yakaongezeka kwa sababu ya kuzungumzia wananchi umuhimu wa kupanda miti. Nafikiria waziri mpya aliyekuja kusimamia masuala ya mazingira ana kazi kubwa sana ya kuhakikisha kuwa Wakenya wanawacha kutumia karatasi za plastiki ambazo zimekuwa zikitumika akiendeleza suala hilo kisheria kuwa kutumia karatasi zile ni makosa makubwa sana na ni kuvunja sheria. Vile vile, anapaswa kuhakikisha kuwa wananchi wanaambiwa umuhimu wa kupanda miti kwenye maeneo wanayotoka. Jambo la kwanza ni kuwa kama wazazi hawajajua umuhimu wa kupanda miti, basi watoto pia shuleni hawatajua umuhimu wa kupanda miti. Mara nyingi tumepeana miti kwenye shule na watoto wakadharau kwa sababu nyumbani kwao hawakulelewa kwenye maadili ya kuwa kuna umuhimu wa kupanda miti. Suala hili la pesa 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.

za kuweza kusimamia masuala haya ni kitu ambacho si tu kiwe kimeandikwa kwenye vitabu vizuri vya Serikali bali kiweze kufuatilizwa na kuhakikisha kuwa pesa hizi zitatumika vilivyo. Mwanzo, Serikali yetu kupitia Waziri Keriako Tobiko ihakikishe kuwa suala la awali ni wananchi wapande miti. Kila mtu akipanda miti isiyopungua kumi kwenye mji wake tayari tutaona tofauti kubwa sana. Tumeharibu mazingira na tumeanza kuwa na shida ya maji. Hapa Kenya, mara nyingi hata maji yale ambayo yanakuja kwa wingi wakati wa mafuriko yamekuwa yakiishia chini, kupotelea na kufurisha bahari bure bila matumizi. Hivyo basi ndio Serikali iliamua kuwa bomba kubwa la maji litengenezwe ili lilete maji kutoka milimani upande huu wa Jimbo la Murang’a. Lakini mara nyingi, watu hawakulielewa suala lile. Ni maji ya mafuriko ndio yanaingia kwenye bomba lile ili maji yale yasiweze kupotea yaweze kutumika. Huku Kenya tumezoea kutegemea mvua ili itusaidie kupata chakula. Sasa hivi kuna umuhimu wa sisi kujua kuwa Serikali imetenga kando pesa za kuhakikisha kuwa tutanyunyizia maji mashamba yetu lakini juu ya kufanya hivyo, ni lazima pia sisi tuwajibike kuwa mashamba yetu yatumie si tu mvua peke yake bali maji yanayopatikana wakati wa mafuriko yakingwe ili yasaidie wananchi. Suala hili kama ninavyosema si utani. Ni suala ambalo limetukabili na litaweza kupigana na janga. Lakini, yote hayo tunayosema hayawezi kutendeka kama sisi kama wananchi na haswa sisi viongozi hatutachukua mstari wa mbele kuhakikisha kuwa wananchi wanafuata ruwaza hii. Ruwaza hii isifuatwe tu kwa kungoja wakati pesa nyingi zitakuja bali tuanze mapema hapo awali tukitumia mifuko yetu ya Hazina ya Serikali Kuu ya Maendeleo ya Maeneo Bunge ili itusaidie wakati tunangojea masuala mengine yakitendwa na Serikali. Vile vile, tuanze kuzungumzia wananchi umuhimu wa sisi kutengeneza mazingira yetu. Mazingira yetu ndiyo yanayoweza kubadilisha hali ya anga ili tuwe na mazingira yanayofaa na anga inayofaa ili sisi kama Wakenya tuishi kwenye maeneo yanayotufaa. Pia nami naunga mkono ruwaza hii ya Serikali Kuu.

(Hon. (Ms.) Tuya): Mhe. Nakara Lodepe wa eneo Bunge la Turkana ya Kati.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I join the rest of the Members in supporting this Motion. This is a global issue and Kenya is part of the global community. When we engage in such activities in our country, we recognise that we are living in a global market where we need to contribute in making this world a better place to live in. This Policy will even encourage the private sector to contribute towards climate change. It is not only the Government or communities that incur losses because of climate change, but even the private sector and investors want to contribute. Now that we have a policy, I am sure the people who love climate will contribute. This money will not only come from the Government, but even the private sector, donors and other countries will support Kenya in financing climate change. I agree with the Members who have said that this money must be directed where it can be used very well. One of the areas that we can use this money very well is in learning institutions where we can start conserving the environment at that level. When learners grow up, they will continue implementing that. I agree with the Members who have said that we need to finance the institutions of learning so that we can develop in our children the habit of loving the environment and being friends of the environment from childhood. As they grow up, they will respect the environment. It has also been mentioned that we have funds, but we also need accountability. We must have the kinds of processes where we can account for this money at the end of the day so that we 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.

can say that we have done what we expected to do with the money. Sometime back, we set aside a budget for such kinds of activities which are very noble and good, but the money ends up not being accounted for. We want to ensure that this money achieves the purpose of the policy that we are approving in this august House. This Policy will put in place a framework on how we can finance climate change activities. We should not only look at big activities. We must start with small things that affect the local community and bring change. A good example is a county like Turkana. If you go there right now, you will find that all the rivers have dried up. The problem the community is facing is that they have to travel long distances to look for water. When we have the funds we should direct them to the areas which are most affected by climate change. The people who live in ivory towers make decisions for themselves. At the end of the day, this money remains within the ivory tower. We want to encourage those who will be implementing this Policy to take the money to areas which have been severely affected by climate change like Turkana, West Pokot, Maasai land and Samburu. The communities in these areas are suffering because of climate change. We need to discourage deforestation in this country and get alternatives to build our houses and institutions. Cutting of timber has become the biggest cause of deforestation in this country. I agree with the Members who have said that we need to discourage logging in this country. We have less than 10 per cent forest cover in the country. We actually have 2 per cent forest cover. We need to see how we can stop cutting down of trees in this country. As I conclude because other Members would also like to contribute, we need to mobilise resources for climate change activities because it is an issue that affects all of us. No one in this country can say they are not affected. Even the areas which we depend on for water are also experiencing the same problems that hardship areas are experiencing. This issue must be addressed with urgency so that we can save the few people who are still surviving. This Policy will also highlight the issue of human rights as enshrined in Articles 69 and 72 of our Constitution. All of us have the right to live in a clean environment and to access clean water. At this age, no person should go to fetch water from the river because we are advanced in terms of technology and resources. We need the Government to supply water. We cannot blame the Government because we, the wananchi, are the ones causing this problem. Now that the Government has come up with a policy to finance climate change, we need to support it and educate our people that conserving the environment is not only for the Government, but for all of us as the locals. With those few remarks, I support the Motion.

(Hon. (Ms.) Tuya): Hon. Members, I have nine requests here. If we manage our time well, everyone will have a chance to speak to this very important issue. So kindly, let us try and summarise.

My apologies to Hon. Member for Narok North and Member for Alego Usonga. There was a technical hitch. In that regard, let us have Hon. Kenta contribute first.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I will be very brief because my colleagues who have spoken before me have said everything that needs to be said. As you have aptly put it, this is not a political issue anymore. This is a matter of life and death. What is happening in this country is something we should be scared of. When you look at newspapers, you see pictures of dry riverbeds. We are talking of rivers that have never dried up in the history of this country. There is need to worry and try to rectify the problems we have brought upon ourselves. 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.

This is a very good Motion and I support it right from the outset. I believe it should have been brought to this House and into operation many years ago. We have seen what has happened. We have heard of the Northern Water Collector Tunnel, which I happen to have visited in the last Parliament when I was a Member of the Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. The people of Murang’a complained that harvesting of water for the collector tunnel was going to affect them. We are now seeing, for the first time, people of Central Kenya walking with jerry cans to collect water. That is how bad it is.

I would like to specifically talk about the Maasai Mara Basin. The Maasai Mara gets its waters from the Mau Forest. We know that Mau Forest is trust land and part of it is Government land. The worst part is that encroachers have taken over the Maasai Mau Forest through the support of greedy local leaders. There was a task force that declared that the title deeds people held there were invalid. They were cancelled, but because of political expediency or benefit, those people returned to the forest and destroyed it even more. If you fly over the Mau Forest, you will realise that this country is ruined.

Everybody knows that Maasai Mara is home to the eighth wonder of the world. It, therefore, supports all the hotels in Nairobi and creates employment for many Kenyans all over the country. It is, therefore, wrong for somebody to believe that it only affects the Maasais. It affects the whole world, including the River Nile. It is not possible for the Mara issue to wait for this Motion to be adopted. My appeal to the Government is to get people out of the Maasai Mau if they want Maasai Mara to survive. Please, kick them out! You cannot tell a trespasser that they have done right because they belong to your community. This is not a Maasai issue only. Actually, Bomet and Kericho counties, where these people came from, are really facing hardship. Their tea and livestock are not as productive as before. Everything has been affected. I appeal to the Government of Kenya to get people out of the Mau as soon as possible. This cannot wait for the Sessional Paper to be adopted. There is money for it. We bring tourists to this country more than any other country in this region does. We grow wheat and maize to feed this nation. We also feed this nation with beef, but they are destroying our economy. They are destroying the livelihood of the Maasai people. This is a nice policy, but the Maasai Mara Basin cannot wait for it to be adopted. I support it and appeal that this should be implemented now. I believe the leaders of Narok who are here, like my brother Sankok, know what has happened to the Ngare River. It is not there anymore. Nothing is there! In fact, Narok is a case study of environmental impact or climate change. We have not only seen floods, but even Magadi Soda, a big economic mainstay of this country, has been destroyed and yet Maasai leaders from Narok keep saying that they are talking on behalf of the Maasai. The Maasai Mara does not belong to the Maasais. It belongs to the whole country.

I support this Sessional Paper, but I appeal that the Maasai Mau be cleansed once and for all.

(Hon. (Ms.) Tuya): The Hon. Member for Nyandarua County.

Thank you very much Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support the adoption of Sessional Paper No.3 of 2017 on the National Policy on Climate Finance.

The country’s economy is greatly reliant on natural resources and, therefore, vulnerable to climate change. Indeed, there is enormous evidence of significant change of climate over the few decades, including the erratic weather patterns and the disappearance of rivers and forests. 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.

In Nyandarua, many of our rivers have dried up. We have this big problem of water. Children are not going to school because they go to search for water. We have a lake that is drying up, the only lake in Central region. The solution for this requires joint efforts by all. Indeed, I vividly recall last year when the House adopted Sessional Paper No.5 of 2016 on the National Climate Change Framework Policy, which is closely related to the current Sessional Paper. The Policy currently under consideration seeks to set out a guiding framework to enhance national financial systems and institutional capacity for the access and utilisation of climate finance. It is noted that the international community target a fund mobilisation of up to U$100 billion per year by the year 2020. This amount will be used in mitigation and adaption activities in the developing countries. The country is therefore recognising and appreciating the circumstances hence creating the necessary frameworks for the access of the funds.

The Policy recognises the institutional structures set out by the Climate Change Act, 2016 passed by the 11th Parliament by establishing legal, institutional and reporting frameworks regarding access and management of climate finance. Furthermore, the Policy sets out some key strategic interventions that can encourage mobilisation of climate finance that include the establishment of a national climate finance platform which is climate change fund, building of capacity to develop viable projects and improved financial standards and management.

It is encouraging to note that the Policy will be guided by principles of transparency, accountability, predictability and inclusiveness. However, it will be important for the National Treasury, as the lead agency, to exercise due diligence in the utilisation of climate finance funds. We have had instances of abuse of global funds which end up not helping the poor citizens. The public officials who will be bestowed with the responsibility of managing these funds should therefore ensure that the funds are utilised in accordance with the set out policy. With those remarks, I strongly support this Paper.

(Hon. (Ms.) Tuya): On special interest, let us have Hon. Sankok.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for this opportunity. If climate change affects people, it mostly affects persons living with disabilities whose mobility is challenged when it comes to search for water, food and pastures for their livestock. Persons living with disabilities are affected the most. From the outset, I support the adoption of Sessional Paper No.3 of 2017 on the National Policy on Climate Finance. Even before we go further, let me start by becoming a bishop and preaching a bit. The book of Jeremiah, Chapter 2, verse 7, states: “I brought you into a plentiful country to eat the fruits thereof and the goodness thereof but when you entered, you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination.” That is exactly what has happened in Kenya. Further, the book of Leviticus says: “I will break the pride of your power. I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like stone.” That is exactly what has happened in Narok and generally in Kenya. As I speak, River Ewaso Ngiro, which is the pride of Narok County, is dry. Maasai Mara River is dry. Livestock are perishing. Wild animals are dying. The wild beasts are dying in their hundreds and thousands. We are totally affected. We are in such a season where we are losing our livestock and crops. We get worried when the Meteorological Department says that the onset of rains will be on the second week of March. We, the people of Narok, get worried because such rain comes with floods, which sweep us away and destroy what we wanted to protect. This Sessional Paper has come at a time when we are in dire need of conserving our environment, having destroyed it. We know very well that nature is unforgiving. We were 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.

advised by the late Wangari Maathai, but we gave a deaf ear. We were advised by Hon. Michuki, but we did not listen. Now we are painfully paying for the sins and atrocities we have done not only against the advice of those great leaders, but also against the Holy Bible. When I hear Hon. Osotsi mention the name of Raila Odinga, and other Members mention other names, it pains me because this is no longer a political matter. When he starts mentioning, during such a very important debate, the people’s president, we also have the President of the Law Society of Kenya, the Students Organisation of Nairobi University (SONU) President and many other many presidents in this country and we do not have to bring them into this House. We have to debate this important issue. I support that policies should also be put in place in collaboration with county governments. Every public institution from our primary schools to secondary schools and others like Purko Sheep Ranch in Narok should have not less than 10 per cent forest cover on their land. As the Government, we are the ones who should lead from the front. We should be geared towards 50 per cent forest cover in all our public institutions from primary schools to other public lands. We also want to engage county governments to enact bylaws and policies that will bring on board the private sector in the commercialisation of forests. We have trees like bamboo, which are economically viable and their growth rate is quick. They improve the climate especially in terms of attracting rain. We should encourage our people to plant trees not as an enforcement or as a punishment, but as another economic activity for them. We should also enforce laws that guard against destruction of our riparian areas. Our rivers are drying up not necessarily because there is no rain, but because we have destroyed our forest cover that supports our springs. There are very minute springs which can be destroyed by animals and once they are opened up, evaporation takes effect. The springs then do not drain into rivers which support livestock and wild animals downstream. We need to enforce these laws especially on riparian areas. The only thing that gives me hope is that the CS for Environment is a man I have known for a long time and I am sure the country has another Michuki. We are sure that the laws that we are talking about in this House and the money that is being allocated will be used efficiently and prudently. Hon. Keriako Tobiko is a no-nonsense man. He started by saying that logging and cutting down of indigenous trees is illegal. I know he means his word. Wherever he is, I want him to know that our children and our generations to come depend entirely on him. He should pull up his socks and make sure that laws passed by this House are enforced. He should also make sure that we engage the private sector. We do not need to scare them. We need to explain to them. We need to hold proper public participation to tell them of the need to conserve our environment so that we do not attract a curse as I have read in the book of Leviticus to our generation to come. I support this Sessional Paper.

(Hon. (Ms.) Tuya): Hon. Onunga.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity to make my remarks on the National Policy on Climate Finance. When I think about climate change and its financing, I reflect back to 1996, when I first landed in Nairobi. Nairobi was very cold. We would spend all the hours indoors. Hon. Speaker, despite residing in one of the largest slums in this country in Nairobi, we had fresh air.

(Hon. (Ms.) Tuya): Hon. Member, you must be addressing a speaker who is not here. You have Madam Speaker on the Chair. 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.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, we had fresh air. We had plenty of water. Right now, you realise that in Nairobi, it is very hot and even water, which is a basic commodity, is hardly available. We really need to think about how we can address, in a more organised way, some of the consequences of climate degradation. This Policy will realise certain proceeds and one of them is that we are likely to see the private sector investing in climate matters. In my view, climate change is one of the things we need to consider as an economic activity where we can invite the private sector to also invest. I want to lay blame squarely on the previous regimes. Most of my colleagues from the Maasai region have pointed out that successive degradation of the Mau Forest and other environmental areas has happened in the eyes of the KANU regime. We need to blame them for failing to address this issue in a timely manner leading to a situation where, as a country, we really have to think hard on how we are going to move forward. Most of my colleagues have rightly put it that if we do not address environmental concerns, we are not likely to have a country. In my constituency, I have noted some of these concerns. There are certain investors who have acutely decided to destroy the environment despite the existence of the Government departments that are concerned with safeguarding our environment. I must point out that when the new CS begins to work, I would like him to go to a place called Lake Kanyaboli in Alego Usonga, where an investor has deliberately decided to destroy our lake. Today, the lake is polluted and it has continued to subside because of the serious economic activities that have not been addressed through proper monitoring. As I close, we must be honest and say that the reason we have allowed our country to degenerate in terms of climate is partly because of politics. My colleagues say that we do not need to talk about politics on this issue, but the truth is that we must own up and agree that when previous efforts were directed at addressing some of these issues, it is the same politics that stopped us from positively addressing some of them. You remember when the question of the Mau Complex, during the Coalition Government, was being addressed, it is the same politicians who stopped the then regime from aptly addressing the environmental degradation. Let us be honest as politicians and allow the system and the Government to deal with environmental violators however big they are. Right now, I know that some of the big fish are still destroying the Mau Complex despite the existence of the Government through the Kenya Wildlife Service. Let us allow the new CS to rein in on these people. Let us support him. Politicians should not come up to say that their people are being victimised or that they are being removed from a particular region. Let us give him the mandate and authority so that he can for once address this question. I know he has the temerity and the courage to rein in on some of these people. We expect the illegitimate Government that we have in this country right now to move with speed and implement this particular issue because it is very important and we cannot wait for the right Government to do it.

(Hon. (Ms.) Tuya): Order Members! Hon. Onunga, you actually misused your time because we are not talking about Governments here. You are actually out of order. Let us have the Member for Wundanyi.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I have been sitting here the whole afternoon waiting for this opportunity to contribute in support of the Sessional 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.

Paper No.3 of 2017 on National Policy on Climate Finance. I have been following this conversation the whole afternoon and I am privileged to have learnt quite a lot. I want to bring to the attention of this House the fact that matters climate change are not matters to be taken lightly. I would disagree with a number of my colleagues because when we bring politics into this matter, we lose the gist of it. The country waits with bated breath to know what leaders are exactly doing to ensure that they safeguard the future of our children and that of their children. This Policy is timely because we are currently faced with challenges, particularly on food security, which are so pronounced in every constituency and county in this country. There is a great impact of climate change in this country particularly where I come from. In my constituency, we are facing very serious challenges around food security because of the issue of climate change. Taita Taveta County harbors the largest wildlife resource of this country, but today the human-wildlife conflict has gone a notch higher. Wild animals, particularly the jumbos, attack human beings as they search for water and food. This conflict has got to a level where there are now so many claims, including compensation for lost lives. This matter is very sensitive. Today, the KWS is not able to compensate our people when it gets claims on destruction of crops and loss of lives because those cases are now very common. I, therefore, stand in this House this evening to add my voice to those who have said that the new CS has his work already cut out. I would want to see the enthusiasm and gusto that we saw in the former CS for Education, currently the CS for Interior and National Security, in Tobiko as he takes over the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. If we run the Ministry of Environment and Forestry the way we have done in the past, it has never been taken as a serious department. Most of my colleagues have mentioned the late Hon. Michuki. We would like to see someone operating in that Ministry with that kind of force. Without it, as a country, we stand to lose. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I did not want to say much because much has been mentioned by my colleagues. I am keenly looking at the private sector involvement in climate change matters. We need a private sector where, say, we agree that we should have in place a policy that talks about billions of dollars earmarked towards the financial support of climate change activities. The Government must look at the private sector and determine how much it contributes towards enhancing our environment. We need to know how much the private sector is putting in as a percentage relative to their profits. We talk about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in most of these corporates but, indeed, what they do is very little. Many of the corporate bodies talk about education, but the percentage of whatever they contribute towards that education and other areas of environment is so little that it does not make any difference. It is high time we passed laws that would push these corporates to run environmental programmes that will support a policy of Government like this one. We have laws, but their enforcement around the issue of the environment leaves a lot to be desired. Hon. Sankok mentioned that human beings have moved into rivers, catchment areas and forests. It is very rare in this country to hear a case about enforcing environmental laws that has been taken to court. Maybe this is a wakeup call to the law enforcers that we must enforce laws as they are supposed to be enforced if we are serious about matters conservation. Two or three weeks ago, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Taita Taveta University and Helsinki University of Finland around issues of monitoring climate change. I am imagining that this should be the norm rather than the exception. All our universities should be talking about research around climate change issues and environment. If we put our universities at a position where they will conduct research around matters climate 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.

change and the environment, then we are sure that whatever we are doing as a country is anchored on academia, research and on doing things the right way to support the sustainability of all the programmes that we run as a country. Lastly, I have to mention that we have huge forests in this country, but again, it is less than the 10 per cent that we envisage as a country. There is one thing that has been happening in our forests, particularly where I come from. Harvesting of mature trees has been done without any regard to the locals. For the people around forests, as far as we want to ask them to protect and take care of the forests because they are catchment areas, we must again sensitise them to feel the benefits of having the forests around them. It will be good to go back to communities around water catchment areas and make sure that they also feel part and parcel of the forests. They should benefit out of these huge resources. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, with all these remarks, I beg to support the passing of this Sessional Paper. Thank you.

(Hon. (Ms.) Tuya): Hon. Members, the time remaining is for the Mover. I would wish to implore the Leader of the Majority Party to donate your time to Members, the few that are remaining, so that they can have their say on this.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I will give two minutes each to Hon. Peris Tobiko, Hon. Savula, Hon. Ndindi, Hon. Mawathe and Hon. Kosgei, in that order.

(Hon. (Ms.) Tuya): Hon. Peris.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, and thank you Leader of the Majority Party for your two minutes. I take it very kindly. I will try to summarise because two minutes are short. Our Constitution is very clear on the rights of every person to live in a clean and healthy environment. This is also a global issue. Stabilising climate is one urgent issue right now. We take cognisance of the Kyoto Protocol of 1997 and the Paris Agreement of 2015. In the Paris meeting, the US made a pledge to contribute US$3 billion to the green climate fund. In our country, we urge the new CS for environment, Mr. Tobiko, to really save this country. I think he has been given the noblest task of restoring our climate. He needs to save our forests, including the Mau, Karura, Aberdare and Mount Kilimanjaro forests. Mr. Tobiko should spare nobody because adverse climatic conditions will spare no one. At his backyard in Kajiado, there is a lot of charcoal burning going on. He needs to address this urgently. A lot of times we have sacrificed our climate for political expediency. Nobody should be spared even for political reasons.

(Hon. (Ms.) Tuya): Hon. Savula.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I thank the Leader of the Majority Party for the two-minute opportunity. I will not say much. I support the adoption of the Sessional Paper. First, this will lead to fulfilling part of our claim in Kenya that Kenya is based on an agricultural economy. If we destroy the environment, then we are destroying the backbone of this country. The solution to this is to adequately finance the infrastructural development in the Ministry of Environment and Forestry to ensure that we engage the Kenya Forest Service in afforestation. We should even recruit the National Youth Service force to assist in afforestation in this country. The retired President Moi really tried a lot. He tried the issue of soil erosion, but the main issue here is reforestation of depleted forests in this country. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, lastly, we should also guard against one issue, the issue of land and forest grabbing in this country. In Lugari, there are squatters who are settled on forest land. We are working out through the Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural 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.

Resources on how to sort out the matter, but for the issue of the Mau Forest going forward, we need to look into it seriously. Lastly, there are laws. If you talk about creating a law on reforestation, there is a law that says that 0.3 per cent of any land must be covered under forest. There is a law existing to that effect. There is also a law saying that if you want to degazette any forest land, you must pass it in Parliament. Degazettement must go through Parliament.

(Hon. (Ms.) Tuya): Hon. Ndindi, the Floor is yours.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. Thank you, Leader of the Majority Party for the opportunity of two minutes. I rise to support. From the outset, I am very disappointed that while we are discussing such a noble matter, the House is almost empty. While we are discussing issues like NG-CDF or even matters of our welfare, I am sure we would be much more than we are. Direct to the point, I have heard many Members quote the Northern Water Collector Tunnel. I am speaking as a Member of Parliament from Kiharu Constituency from Murang’a County. While we are discussing such matters of importance, it is very important that we distinguish emotions and objectivity. I have heard almost every Member quoting the issue of women and men with jerricans from Murang’a, but there was another report on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which quoted many cities like Mexico, Jakarta and London which are likely not to have water in the very near future. Therefore, my issue is that we should address this issue objectively and devoid of politics. I agree that there is no water in Murang’a, but the issue is not about the Northern Water Collector Tunnel. It is the bigger picture that we have been debating the whole afternoon on the issue of protecting our environment. Even the kitty that we have as Members of Parliament, namely, the NG-CDF, it is very important for us to re-look at the 2 per cent ceiling spending on environment with a view of increasing it to probably 5 per cent. The issue of riparian land has been discussed.

(Hon. (Ms.) Tuya): Hon. Musili, the Floor is yours.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this very important Sessional Paper.

If our environment was not conducive for our livelihood, we would not exist here. In the past, Al Gore talked about climate change, but we laughed him off. Prof. Wangari Maathai did the same, but we laughed her off. Hon. Michuki did the same, but we laughed him off. So, it is about time that we took stern measures to support and find ways to provide solutions to the effects of climate change. It is about time we took stern measures in support of climate change interventions. Most importantly, we need to ensure that rain water is harvested. We have long and short rains, but we just let the water drain into the Indian Ocean. As we think of how to protect the environment, we must think of how to take advantage of the little rain water that we get. We should harvest it and keep it. In my constituency, places like Mukuru kwa Njenga and Mukuru kwa Reuben have always had water shortages. We need to take care of the environment, including the eviction of people from the Mau Forest so that we can have sufficient water to support our livelihoods. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker.

(Hon. (Ms.) Tuya): Let us have Hon. Kipkoech.

Thank you so much, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I support the adoption of the Sessional Paper No.3 on the National Policy on Climate Finance. Prof. Wangari Mathai once said that mother nature is very generous, but very unforgiving. We have a serious concern on climate change in this country, but we were doing 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.

very little to intervene. In Bomet County, our rivers are drying up. We used to have a very good forest, namely, the Chepalungu Forest. As I speak, there are no trees due to deforestation. We have not planted more trees. I support this Sessional Paper and hope that the new CS for Environment and Forestry will help us on the way forward on this matter. Thank you.

(Hon. (Ms.) Tuya): We shall now have the Mover.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I thank all the Members across the political divide who contributed to this important Sessional Paper on how to mobilise funding both from the domestic and international arena. The Paper provides policy on how to create a basket of resources to deal with the effects of climate change and create more sustainable development for the people of Kenya. Kenya is among the 20 countries and regions that are at a risk of climate change. I am sure this will give the National Treasury the necessary institutional framework in creating this financing framework. I beg to move.

(Hon. (Ms.) Tuya): Hon. Members, for reasons that are clear, we shall defer the putting of the Question on this particular one until a time when we will have it placed in the Order Paper.

(Hon. (Ms.) Tuya): Hon. Members, the time being 6.53 p.m., this House stands adjourned until Wednesday, 21st February, 2018 at 9.30 a.m.

The House rose at 6.53 p.m.

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