Hon. Members, we have a Supplementary Order Paper which I hope you all have access to. That is what will guide our business this afternoon. Clerk, can you read the Orders of the day?

Hon. Members, I wish to recognise a delegation from the Parliament of Uganda. I wish to introduce to you a delegation of members of staff from the Office of the Leader of the Opposition Party in the Parliament of the Republic of Uganda, who are seated in the Speaker’s Gallery. Visitors, when I mention your name, you stand up for recognition. They are:

Mr. Leonard Walusimbi

- Senior Policy Analyst Mr. Ali Lusiba

- Policy Analyst

Ms. Victoria Kwagala - Research Assistant Ms. Sylvia Bugembe - Assistant Secretary

Mr. Hamidu Tibenkana

- Assistant Secretary

Hon. Members, the officers are in the country on a benchmarking visit which is aimed at, amongst other things, sharing knowledge and experiences with their counterparts on various subjects, including budget development, scrutiny, monitoring and evaluation, as well as best office management practices and general administration. Hon. Members, on my own behalf and that of the National Assembly, I welcome our visitors to Parliament and wish them fruitful engagements during the course of their stay in the country. Welcome.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table: Reports of the Auditor-General and Financial Statements in respect of the following institutions for the year ended 30th June 2021 and the certificates therein: (a) Nyayo Tea Zones Development Corporation; (b) Pest Control Products Board; (c) Kipchabo Tea Factory; (d) Agricultural Finance Corporation; 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.

(e) National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority; (f) Wildlife Clubs of Kenya; (g) Kenya School of Law; (h) Kenya Leather Development Council; (i) Emurua Dikirr Technical Training Institute; and, (j) Jubilee Party. The Bank Supervision Annual Report for theYear 2020 from Central Bank of Kenya. Performance Audit Report on Management of Blood Transfusion Services from the Office of the Auditor-General for August 2022. Forensic Audit Report on National Optic Fibre Backbone Infrastructure and IP Bases HIPATH 4000 Network Projects from the Auditor-General for August 2022. Annual Report and Financial Statements in respect of the following institutions for the Financial Year 2021/2022: (a) Kenya Bankers Association; (b) Public Service Commission; and, (c) Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission

Thank you.

Member for Kakamega County, Hon. Elsie Muhanda.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to give notice of the following Motion: THAT, aware that school meals are an important safety net for vulnerable children from food insecure households and communities in Kenya; appreciating that school meals have multiple benefits such as increased school enrolments and attendance as well as a significant and positive contribution to reducing hunger and nutritional intake; noting that primary school completion rates have been found to be higher in schools with meals thus school meals remain a core development intervention to support the country’s achievements in the education sector; recognising that some county governments have adopted direct and community-led initiatives for Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) school feeding programmes; concerned that the exercise is not supported with clear policy and budgetary framework and does not support pupils in the primary and secondary schools or forms the basic education ecosystem; cognisant of the fact that provision of school meal programmes where they have been initiated encounters different challenges impeding their effectiveness, including insufficient resources due to low budgetary allocation and cuts, lack of school feeding policy, inadequate safe cooking and drinking water, drought and famine, destruction of food by pests, lengthy and slow procurement process, and insecurity and dilapidated infrastructure; this House resolves that the Ministry of Education, through the relevant State Department, to immediately develop a school feeding policy to cover basic education pupils and proposes budgetary allocation to sustain the programme in order to ensure that children are maintained in schools for effective learning. I thank you, Hon. Speaker.

The next Member is Hon. Ali Wario Guyo, Member for Garsen.

(Garsen, ODM)

r: You need 20 Members to support your request.

Order Members! I am satisfied that we have the requisite number. I will designate this Motion to be debated from 6.00 p.m.

Hon. Speaker, can we do that from 5.00 p.m.? This is very important.

Okay, we can debate this Motion from 5.00 p.m. to 7.00 p.m. Let us go back to Order No.7. Member for Bumula.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, you may need to protect me from Hon. Elisha who is trying to monolise me, but it might not be possible. I rise under Standing Order No.83 to discuss the whereabouts of a Member of this House, the Member of Parliament for Sirisia, Hon. John Koyi Waluke. Hon. Waluke, who was arrested some years ago, was taken to court and charged.

Hon. Wamboka, before you proceed, remember that Hon. Waluke is a Member of this House. You must navigate what you want to say very carefully because you cannot discuss the conduct of a person, a Member of the House, without a substantive Motion. You may go on.

(Bumula, DAP-K)

Order Hon. Wamboka! Firstly, Hon. Waluke has been convicted by a competent court of law. Secondly, his appeal is still a matter which is within the realm of possible appeal by himself to the next court. Thirdly, court cases are dealt with and decided on each individual’s case merit. Therefore, you cannot say that because somebody else was let go, everybody else should, or vice versa. Therefore, as I told you, you are engaged in a very dangerous swim in very dangerous waters. I want to encourage you that if you want to raise empathy with Hon. Waluke, you are free to do so. If you want to question the competence of the courts that dealt with the case, you have no capacity do so here.

I am well guided, Hon Speaker. On behalf of Sirisia people of Bungoma County and Kenyans at large… I empathise with those people who, perhaps, feel targeted and side-lined. I want to be in the shoes of Hon. John Koyi Waluke. I want him to know that he is not alone. I want him to know that he is not a child of a lesser God. I want him to know that we stand with him and this too, shall pass. Hon. Speaker, thank you so much.

Thank you Hon. Speaker. I was struggling to listen to the gist of what the Member for Bumula was asking the House and you properly guided him. But, Hon. Speaker, even after you guided him, he has not withdrawn the tirade he had against the Judiciary let alone any of the other sentiments he had expressed that bordered on sub judice . Hon. Speaker, as you have properly guided him, it would only have been in order, since we are a House of records, that the Member for Bumula withdraws the short tirade he made by mentioning people who are not in this House like Hon. Kimunya and others. They should be allowed to handle their matters before the Judiciary. He just changed tangent and pretended to be with the people of Sirisia. The Member for Bumula has not even stood in his place to thank the people of Bumula for electing him. He now pretends to be speaking on behalf of the people of Sirisia, who also have elected a Member of Parliament and it is only fair that the Member for Bumula rises in his place and withdraws everything from the record that is touching on cases that are before competent courts of law and that are being adjudicated. As you said from the beginning, we should not use this Chamber… You know we enjoy certain privileges as Members of Parliament, but we are never to be seen to be using this Chamber to disparage other institutions, or even persons who cannot defend themselves here. The Member for Bumula was completely out of order and he ought to have withdrawn the earlier tirade before he changed tangent to now pretend to be speaking for the people of Bumula and Sirisia combined. Sirisia is an independent constituency from Bumula as much as they are found in the same county. The Member for Bumula cannot pretend to speak for the people of Sirisia.

This statement will not elicit any debate and I want to advise Members that if you really care for Hon. Waluke, support his lawyers to go to the Court of Appeal and fight for his rights there. The Court of Appeal is still available to him. Next Order.

I am not opening any debate.

Hon. Members, the Motion was debated and what was left was putting the Question. At the time the House rose, there were no enough Members to vote on the Motion. Now we are satisfied that we have enough Members.

Next Order. Leader of the Majority Party.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to move the following Motion: THAT, pursuant to the provisions of Article 107(1)(c) of the Constitution and Standing Order 16, this House approves the appointment of the following Members to the Chairperson’s Panel: 1. Hon. Martha Wangari, MP - First Chairperson of Committees; 2. Hon. David Ochieng, MP

- Second Chairperson of Committees; 3. Hon. Omboko Milemba, MP - Third Chairperson of Committees; 4. Hon. Farah Maalim, MP

- Fourth Chairperson of Committees; 5. Hon. Peter Kaluma, MP

- Fifth Chairperson of Committees; and 6. Hon. (Dr.) Rachel Nyamai, MP - Sixth Chairperson of Committees. 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, as Members are aware, having elected our Speaker and Deputy Speaker, we are required under our Standing Order 16 to elect another person to preside over the House pursuant to Article 107(1)(c), which deals with presiding in Parliament and provides that the Speaker shall preside over all sittings of the House and in his absence, the Deputy Speaker, and if they are both not there, a Member of the House elected by the House presides. Therefore, what we are doing in approval of this Panel is basically equivalent to an election of the persons who will be presiding over the House in the absence of the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker. Previously, the Speaker would simply pick any Member in the Chamber to preside on his behalf, but subsequently under Standing Order 16, we created that proviso that we can institutionalise the Panel of Chairpersons to help the speakership in ensuring that there is seamless presiding of the House in the absence of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker. Again, in line with the same Standing Order 16, those who served with us in the 11th and 12th Parliaments remember we had four Chairpersons, but now under the 6th Edition of the Standing Orders, we have six Members in the 13th Parliament to preside in the absence of both the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker. Therefore, by merely approving this list of Chairpersons, it will be deemed under Article 107(1)(c) of the Constitution and our own Standing Orders that we have in effect elected the six persons that are listed on the Order Paper that I have read out. All these are ranking Members. Hon. Peter Kaluma, Hon. David Ochieng, Hon. Martha Wangare and Hon. (Dr.) Rachael Nyamai are all serving their third terms in Parliament. Hon. Omboko Milemba who is right behind me, is also doing his second term and has been a diligent Member in the last Parliament when he first joined the House. It is also important to note that Hon. Farah Maalim, besides being a candidate for Deputy Speaker’s position, he is also serving his third term. He also served this House as Deputy Speaker to Hon. Marende, the then Speaker in the 10th Parliament. I will, therefore, ask Members to support the proposed persons to be Members of the Speaker’s Panel. For the benefit of our new Members…I know Hon. Farah Maalim had not seen where I was seated as I paid accolades to him being a seasoned veteran of the House. For the benefit of our new Members of Parliament, the Panel of Chairpersons consists of Members who basically preside over the Third Reading. During the induction, I am sure we all went through the stages of legislation. The most important stage of legislation is not the Second Reading where we debate in plenary, but rather the Third Reading. These Chairpersons are the ones who preside over the House during the Third Reading. I really want to encourage our first-time Members of the 13th Parliament to, please, take their time when we begin real business. I know Members have been very eager to make their maiden speeches in this season when there is no much business to transact other than the Procedural Motions and a few other Motions that we have done. However, when we come to actual legislative work in the enactment of Bills, besides what happens in committees, the actual legislation is done in the Third Reading. Please, take your time. Be present during the Third Reading. There have been tendencies, especially in the 11th and 12th Parliaments where I am fortunate to have served, of Members massively walking out immediately the Chairperson took to the Chair for the Third Reading. I beg we take time. Without mentioning names, I remember an incident in the 11th Parliament where we changed legislation during the Third Reading to create a provision that had just been declared unconstitutional by the courts to require people who qualified to be elected as Members of Parliament to be university graduates. Half of the people who were not university graduates were seated in this Chamber. Others were enjoying their cup of tea at the Members lounge. After we finished, one Member, whom I do not want to mention because he is not in this House today, came running back asking “Imepitia wapi?” I do not want to say there would be any mischief in the kind of Bills that we will pass, but I pray that nobody will come running back 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.

to the Chamber asking “ilipitia wapi” ama “ilipitishwa Bunge gani” and yet you are seated here. Please, be active during the Third Reading and support these Chairpersons. They are all seasoned parliamentarians. They have our unequivocal support. We will support all the six Chairpersons. Lastly, as much as Hon. Farah Maalim ran for the Deputy Speaker’s position against the substantive Deputy Speaker… Hon. Omboko Milemba is from the Amani National Congress (ANC), Farah Maalim is from the Wiper Democratic Movement-Kenya, Hon. Peter Kaluma is from the ODM, Hon. Nyamai is from the Jubilee Party and Hon. David Ochieng is a party leader of his own party in the Kenya Kwanza Alliance. In as much as the Speaker has balanced the political representation across the Floor, these Chairpersons do not come to serve the House as Members who represent their political parties, or are affiliated to any coalition. When they sit to preside over the House, they do so on behalf of the Speaker who is not aligned to any political coalition. I would really beg all the six Chairpersons that when they take charge, they should, please, be impartial, objective and allow all Members a fair opportunity to articulate their issues. With those many remarks, I have the honour to move this Motion, and request Hon. Opiyo Wandayi, to second.

Hon. Speaker, allow me to second the Motion for the adoption of the approval of the proposed Members of the Chairperson’s Panel. I wish to echo what Hon. Ichung’wah has said. I have no doubt, whatsoever, in my mind, that these six honourable Members qualify to serve in those capacities. I must also appreciate the fact that this is as a result of a very intensive consultation which I am told has happened for the first time since the advent of the new Constitution, that both sides of the House, at least, had a say or an opinion on who eventually ended up being proposed to sit in that exalted Panel. Hon. Speaker, as you can see from the representation, these are Members who represent diverse backgrounds and interests for that matter. I hope that immediately they assume office as we wish they do, they will quickly move to engender confidence from amongst Members in themselves. This is because these are Members who will not only preside over the Third Reading or the Committee Stage of business of the House, but will also preside over the general business of the House as Speakers, in the absence of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker. In the morning, I raised an issue while your deputy was on the seat. I hope that the Members now coming on board as Members of the Chairperson’s Panel will take note of what I had mentioned in the morning that Members want to see fairness by whoever is presiding over the business of the House at any given time. Members have complained a lot that many times they feel they are left out while they are queuing to make contributions. These are issues I am sure will be dealt with so that Members have confidence that whoever is presiding exercises fairness, equity, and generally, sound judgement, so that they get an opportunity to communicate not only to the country, but also to their constituents. Otherwise, I have no doubt that these are Hon. Members who will deliver on their new mandate. Thank you, I second.

Order, Hon. Members.

Hon. Members, there being no interest in debating this Motion, I now put the Question.

Hon. Members, the Committee on Appointments at Order 8 that was debated in the morning and approved a few minutes ago will meet tomorrow, Thursday, 13th October 2022 at 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.

11.00 a.m. at County Hall, Mini Chamber to get a briefing on their work and consider the vetting schedule. It is for them to start vetting the Cabinet nominees on Monday. The Members that you have just approved, the Chairperson’s Panel, will meet tomorrow Thursday 13th October, 2022 at 10.00 a.m. in the Speaker’s Boardroom. Thank you. Next Order. Let us have the Leader for Majority.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker I beg to move the following Motion: THAT, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 28, this House approves the Calendar of the National Assembly (Regular Sessions) for the First Session (2022) as contained in the Schedule to the Order Paper.

Put the Question!

There being no interest in debating the Motion, I will put the Question.

Next Order.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to move the following Procedural Motion: THAT, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 97(1), this House orders that each speech in debate on Reports of Audit Committees be limited as follows: A maximum of 60 minutes for the Mover in moving and 30 minutes in replying, and a maximum of 10 minutes for any other Member speaking, except the Leader of the Majority Party and the Leader of the Minority Party, who shall be limited to a maximum of 15 minutes each; and that priority be accorded to the Leader of the Majority Party and the Leader of the Minority Party, in that order. This is a departure from all the other Procedural Motions. Members will note that this particular Procedural Motion is giving the Mover a whole hour because this is on reports by either the Public Accounts Committee, the Public Investments Committee, the Special Funds Accounts Committee or other audit committees. Many of those reports are usually very bulky. So, the Chairperson or whoever is moving the Committee’s report has adequate time 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.

articulate all the issues that have been raised by the Auditor-General, what the Committee has considered and their decision on each of the issues that have been raised. Hon. Speaker, I ask the Member for Muhoroni to second.

Hon. Speaker, I second.

Thank you, Hon. Member.

Put the Question!

There being no interest in debating the Motion, I now put the Question.

Next Order.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to move the following Procedural Motion: THAT, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order No.97(1), this House orders that each speech in a debate on other committee reports, including a Report of a Joint Committee of the Houses of Parliament or any other report submitted to the House for which limitation of time has not been specified, shall be limited as follows: A maximum of two-and-a-half hours, with not more than 20 minutes for the Mover in moving, and five minutes for any other Member speaking, including the Leader of the Majority Party and the Leader of the Minority Party and the Chairperson of the relevant Committee (if the Committee Report is not moved by the Chairperson of the relevant Committee); and that 10 minutes before the expiry of the time, the Mover shall be called upon to reply; and further that priority in speaking shall be accorded to the Leader of the Majority Party and the Leader of the Minority Party, in that order.

Who will second?

I would like to request the Member of Parliament for Voi to second.

Hon. Speaker, this being a Procedural Motion, I support. I second.

Put the Question!

There being no interest in debating the Motion, I now put the Question.

Next Order.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to move the following Procedural Motion: 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, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order No.97(1), this House orders that each speech in a debate on any Sessional Paper shall be limited as follows: A maximum of two-and-a-half hours, with not more than 20 minutes for the Mover in moving, and five minutes for any other Member speaking, including the Leader of the Majority Party and the Leader of the Minority Party and the Chairperson of the relevant Committee (if the Sessional Paper is not moved by the Chairperson of the relevant Committee), and that 10 minutes before the expiry of the time the Mover shall be called upon to reply; and further that priority in speaking shall be accorded to the Leader of the Majority Party and the Leader of the Minority Party, in that order. I request the Member for Nyaribari Chache, Hon. Zaheer, to second.

Hon Speaker, I second.

Next Order.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to move the following Procedural Motion: THAT, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 97(1), this House orders that each speech in a debate on reports of constitutional commissions and independent offices be limited as follows: A maximum of four hours, with not more than thirty minutes for the Mover in moving and ten minutes in replying, a maximum of thirty minutes for the Chairperson of the relevant Committee, and a maximum of ten minutes for any other Member speaking, except the Leader of the Majority Party and the Leader of the Minority Party, who shall be limited to a maximum of fifteen minutes each; and that priority in speaking be accorded to the Chairperson of the relevant Committee, the Leader of the Majority Party and the Leader of the Minority Party, in that order. I request the Member for Manyatta to second.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Thank you, the Deputy Leader of the Majority Party for this chance. We are still getting used to this House. We are still looking around. I want to second this Motion. Thank you very much.

Why are you looking around, Hon. Member?

Put the Question!

There being no interest in debating the Motion, I put the Question.

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.

Next Order

Hon. Speaker, I beg to move the following Procedural Motion: THAT, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 97(1), this House orders that each speech in a debate on a report of the Budget and Appropriations Committee on Budget Estimates contemplated under Standing Orders 239 and 240 be limited as follows: (a) General Supply Debate – a maximum of three sitting days, with thirty minutes for the Mover in moving and fifteen minutes in replying; a maximum of fifteen minutes for each of the Chairpersons of Departmental Committees and a maximum of ten minutes for any other Member speaking, except the Leader of the Majority Party and the Leader of the Minority Party who shall be limited to a maximum of fifteen minutes each; and that priority in speaking be accorded to the Leader of the Majority Party, the Leader of the Minority Party and the respective Chairpersons of Departmental Committees in the order that they appear in the Second Schedule to the Standing Orders; and, (b) Committee of Supply – a maximum of six sitting days for consideration of the proposed allocations to respective votes and programmes in the order specified in the schedule submitted by the Budget and Appropriations Committee. Hon Speaker, in the spirit of gender, I would like to request Hon. Marianne Kitany, the Member for Aldai, to second.

Hon Speaker, I second.

Next Order

Hon. Speaker, I beg to move the following Procedural Motion: THAT, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 97(1), this House orders that each speech in the general debate contemplated under Standing Order 146 (Consideration of Senate Amendments to Bills originating in the National Assembly) be limited as follows: A maximum of one hour and thirty minutes, with not more than fifteen minutes for the Mover in moving, fifteen minutes for the Chairperson of the relevant Departmental Committee, and five minutes for any other Member speaking, including the Leader of the Majority Party and the Leader of the Minority Party (if the Bill is not party-sponsored), and that five minutes before expiry of the time, the Mover shall be called upon 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.

to reply; and further that priority in speaking shall be accorded to the Leader of the Majority Party, the Leader of the Minority Party and the Chairperson of the relevant Departmental Committee, in that order.

I request the honourable Member of Parliament for Tetu to second.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. This being a Procedural Motion and in view of the good use of the House at this time on limitation of debate on Senate Amendments to Bills originating in the National Assembly, I second.

There being no interest in debating the Motion, I will put the Question.

Kilifi North, UDA): I beg to move the following Procedural Motion: THAT, notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Orders 41 and 42 relating to conveying of Messages from the Senate and from the President or the national Executive, this House orders that during short and long recesses of the First Session: (i) upon receipt of any Message from the Senate, or upon receipt of any name of a person nominated for appointment to a state or public office from the President or any other office in the National Executive, the Speaker shall forthwith refer such Message to the relevant Committee for consideration, without having to recall the House, and report such fact to the House on resumption; and, (ii) upon receipt of any Message relating to the Senate’s Amendments to a Bill originating in the National Assembly, the Speaker shall forthwith refer the Schedule of the Senate Amendments to the relevant Committee for consideration pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 145 (Senate Amendments to Bills originating in the National Assembly), and report such fact to the House on resumption. Hon. Speaker, I request the Member of Parliament for Keiyo South to second.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. This being a Procedural Motion on consideration of certain business received during recess periods, I second.

Hon. Members, as I propose this Motion, I direct the Member for Bura that we will bring forward his time for moving a Motion for Adjournment after this Motion. We will start with his Motion immediately hereafter.

There being no interest in debating the Motion, I will put the Question.

Hon. Members, we will now go back to Order No. 6. This relates to the Motion for Adjournment to which authority has been granted to the Member for Bura. It is the Member 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.

for Garsen but not Bura. I am sorry, Mheshimiwa, but you are neighbours. I call upon the Hon. Member to move the Motion.

Hon. Members, it means that this Motion will run from now, 4.00 p.m. to 7.00 p.m. You have three hours. Under Standing Order 33, contribution to such a Motion is limited to five minutes for every Member. When you are called upon to contribute, compose your messages, focus your contribution and deal with the issue. Drought is ravaging many parts of our country, particularly the northern parts of Kenya, the eastern parts of Kenya and the coast.

Welcome Member for Garsen to move your Motion.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker for giving me this opportunity. The cumulative impact of four consecutive poor rainy seasons has caused ravaging drought and hunger to rapidly rise in the country.

Member, you have 10 minutes for moving the Motion.

Thank you. The cumulative impact of four consecutive poor rainy seasons has caused ravaging drought and hunger to rapidly rise in the country, especially in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs). This has resulted in estimated 3.5 million people experiencing acute food insecurity and in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. A fifth consecutive poor rainy season will be disastrous.

The household food security continues to deteriorate, with 942 children aged between six and 95 months, pregnant and lactating mothers acutely malnourished and in need of treatment. Livestock deaths driven by drought have been reported in most parts of ASAL counties. The general increase in the prices of most consumer goods continues to weaken the purchasing power of most consumer goods. This has worsened the food security situation.

There is a call to action in response to climate change to mitigate its effect. There is need to invest in policies that reassure our commitment to climate action. As you are aware, the drought has really affected our areas, especially in Garsen Constituency in Tana River County. We are doing water trucking, which is very expensive because the source of water is 160 kilometres away. In some areas lions and hyenas nearly feed on our mothers because they fight due to the scarcity of water. The drought also affects the school-going children. Assa Boarding School faces closure because there is no water and food.

There is also human-wildlife conflict. The wildlife has moved to the scarce source of water, which is a well that is being dug by hand. We need urgent intervention. Deaths of livestock and people have been reported because of hunger and thirst. I am requesting this House to approve the urgent intervention by the Government for this situation to be handled. Hon. Speaker, there are policies by the Government to construct mega dams in those affected areas. Once this is done, we will have a long-lasting solution for those areas. I beg to move the Motion. I want my good brother, former Cabinet Secretary, Hon. Mwangi Kiunjuri, to second. Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Hon. Kiunjuri, I will exercise discretion and give you your five minutes and the balance of his five minutes for you to talk for 10 minutes.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. This is a very important Motion. Before I make my contribution, I really want to thank the people of Laikipia East for electing me for the fourth time. They elected me for 15 consecutive years, which are three terms, and now they have also given me another opportunity. 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 congratulate you on being elected to the seat of the Speaker and your deputy. I know that this House is in safe hands. It is important to note that we have a record of being in this House since the 1990s. We have enough experience. I also had the opportunity to serve as a Cabinet Secretary in the previous Government, and was in charge of the Department of Special Programmes under my Ministry. Therefore, this is an area that I am knowledgeable in. It is one of the areas that need to be taken seriously by this House. I hope that it will not end by discussing this Motion today.

Drought does not only affect this country; it is a worldwide phenomenon. Climate change is real. It has really affected the lives of many people in the world. High cost of living is being experienced everywhere not only because of the crude oil prices, but also the cost of essential commodities. Very few people can feed their families. The cost of food is also very high. People have no money and many youths are jobless. Therefore, as we debate today, it is important to note that climate change is real. If you observe the drought cycle in this country, and you look at what was happening in the 1970s and 1980s, it used to occur between eight and 10 years. In the late 1980s and 1990s, the cycle changed from eight to 10 years, and it was between four and five years. What is happening today is that the cycle has now come down to two to three years, which is really worrying.

Hon. Speaker, there are a number of interventions that have been put in place. However, we do not have any particular policy that has been highlighted that can be carried in unison to ensure that we can, at least, predict on what to do this year or next year. There are measures which have been taken. For example, we have policy documents that are in place, like Ending Drought Emergency Strategy. That strategy was made and it is already in place to ensure that key development activities are undertaken, both long term and short term. Hon. Speaker, we have the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands policy programme in place. It is being revised today. We also have the National Disaster Risk Management Bill and policy already at the Cabinet level. We do not know when it will land in this House. We have a resilience programme framework not yet finalised and signed. It clearly indicates key activities that are supposed to be implemented to build resilience. There are key priority areas that must be considered. For example, peace and security is threatened whenever there is drought. We have cattle rustlers raiding each other and causing many deaths. There is a lot of insecurity in this country today. Insecurity is not only in terms of human to human but also, human-wildlife conflicts in areas that border forests and ranches. We are being threatened. The little that would have been harvested during harvest period is harvested by wild animals. There is elephant menace all over the country. We need to prioritise how we tackle drought to ensure that we have security in this country. Education opportunities for our youth is also very important. Those young people, especially the ones coming from ASAL counties, do not have the opportunity to get proper education. Therefore, affirmative action, must be put in place. For example, for schools, we need low cost boarding primary schools to ensure that kids are kept in school. The institutions that are there must be strengthened. We need to create policies to deal with the drought situation in the country Hon. Speaker, women empowerment is also very important. Other issues include institutional strengthening. On institutional strengthening, there must be clarification of roles and responsibilities that are carried out between the national and the county governments. We need to have a clear line on when the national Government should intervene and when the county government can intervene. This must be very clear because if you leave a responsibility that is supposed to be taken seriously to the county governments, most of them cannot rise to the occasion. There is the issue of enhanced governance and accountability. Right now, distribution of relief food is ongoing in those counties that have been privileged. For most of us, our 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.

counties have not been able to receive relief food. How do we account, not only for the funds, but also the distribution of relief food? Through monitoring and evaluation of relief distribution in the government departments involved. This is one of the departments that must be strengthened in this country. Why would we wait year-in, year-out for the Auditor-General to come and pinpoint the ills in the Ministries on what happened five to ten years ago? At the end of the day, the report from the Auditor General’s office will land in this House three to five years after the ills have happened. It is therefore, important to make sure that the departments of monitoring and evaluation are strengthened to cure any ill in time. There are policies that need to be harmonised and finalised. We have so many policies that are running. If we harmonize them to know when each one comes into place, then we will say this country is moving in the right direction. Hon. Speaker, some of the programmes have been put in place through the Drought Emergency Strategy. Some areas had been prioritised for building of dams where water harvesting could be done and measures be taken to ensure that the farming communities and the pastoralist communities are living in harmony and in support of each other. These strategies are in place. Instead of us looking at what is most important, we have put our priorities upside down. We have the Big Four Agenda. If we address the question of agriculture, we can support other activities. When a country is well fed, health is not curative but preventive. I am happy that the President addressed himself to this issue. He promised to support agriculture. Agriculture is not only about crops; it encompasses fishing and livestock. Lastly, Hon. Speaker, the issue of emergency food is so important. There are people who are almost dying. In schools, our pupils are fainting in classrooms and enrolment has gone down. We, therefore, are calling upon the Government to distribute food immediately to our schools to support our pupils to go through the education system. Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I beg to support.

To second.

I beg to second.

Hon. Members, I now propose the Question that this House do now adjourn.

We have plenty of time. Each Member will speak. If you hold your horses, there should be no unnecessary canvassing. Each one of you will have time. Farah Yakub, Member for Fafi.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Indeed, I am humbled that you have given me this chance. At very least, I thought my card was not working. I have been here for the last five days, from the start of a Sitting to the end, believing that there was something wrong with my card numbers. Our senior brothers who have been here before have not shown us the tricks to move up in the queuing system. Having said that, I would have been the first person to congratulate you, but I will give you a ‘fermented’ congratulation, as they say in our family. Congratulations for being elected. I want to thank and bow to my people, the ‘ Fafians’. A special bow to the ‘ Hangolites’ for delivering this seat and giving me the mandate to represent them; the power to legislate and the mantle to oversee in this House. Thank you very much. Hon. Speaker, it is also an honour that the subject matter, when I am given a chance to talk, is dear and very important to me and my people. Fafi Constituency in Garissa Town is the largest constituency in Garissa. It has a 45 kilometre stretch of River Tana and 50-kilometre borderline to Somalia. It is a constituency with people of great generosity. They harboured, welcomed and hosted over 200,000 Somali refugees. 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, as we speak about drought, every household in Fafi Ward, the host community in that area, hosts about five to 10 individuals who are famine-influx refugees from the southern part of Somalia, Gedo region. They are about 65,000 people. They have not been registered and they have not been catered for. They are a burden to our families whose main problem today is bringing bread to the table. Hon. Speaker, drought has been an issue in this constituency since Independence; it comes and goes. It has now hit us hard as it is the fifth season without rain in that area. The funny part is that if you live two kilometres from the river in that constituency, you have no water. The farthest point from the river to the border line in my constituency is 200 kilometres. If funds are given, I believe that water could be pumped from River Tana to the farthest point in my constituency and today I would not be here saying that there is lack of water in my area. The Government has made a lot of interventions but of little importance. This shows the importance of little things. Rain harvesting was the main intervention by the Government. As we speak, there are over 200 water pans dug in that constituency. I can see that the red light is on. Drought in our area has culminated to lack of water. This has led to the closure of 28 primary schools and others are almost being closed. The lack of water causes insecurity in the area because of conflict in the few water pans that have water. This is an area that hosts the Arawale Reserve. However, because of lack of water and drought the Hirola, which is a rare wildlife species is less than 100 today as opposed to 10,000 in the 1980s.

Hon. Speaker, I second and support the Motion for Adjournment. This is a dear subject in our area and I want great government intervention in the area. The Government should enhance sector ….

Member for Laikipia West.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this Motion. First, I join the other Members in congratulating you for being elected the Speaker of the National Assembly. Second, I would like to thank the people of Laikipia West for seeing it fit to vote for me as their Member of Parliament. This is not the first time they have voted for me. In 2013 the good people of Laikipia West elected me as their Member of Parliament. In 2017, they gave me a five-year break and I had time to reflect. They then voted me back in the last general election. I thank them and assure them that I will perform my duties as they expect of me. I am now more energised and I will deliver the promises that I made to them during the campaigns.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, on the Motion at hand, we are also experiencing the same problem in Laikipia County though it is not as severe as it is in northern Kenya. We have plenty of crops but we also have problems. Like my counterpart the Member for Laikipia East, Hon. Mwangi Kiunjuri has said, we have conflict between the wildlife and the people. I want this Government to address that situation because if the little crops we have are conserved, they can be of help in other areas facing drought. The other thing I would like to address is that there is a difficult cycle in our area. Whenever we start planting, the prices of seeds and fertilisers go up. However, when it is harvesting season – like now we plan to start harvesting starting from this month to next month – the prices of farm produce go down. We ask the Government to intervene. There was the promise that the prices of farm produce would be looked at. I pray that we will fulfil that. Thank you very much, Hon. Deputy Speaker. 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 very much, Member for Laikipia West. I know that you had great difficulty with your missing card yesterday. I hope that you have recovered it now. Next, we have the Member for Samburu North.

Thank you very much, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

First of all, I would like to thank the great people of Samburu North for giving me the opportunity to represent them in this august house. I would also like to thank them for electing leaders who stood on a platform of peace in the just concluded elections. I encourage them that the path of peace will only come through dialogue. I also assure them that I will walk on that path. I thank them for their support, prayers, encouragement and the believe that peace is possible in Samburu North.

The people of northern Kenya are languishing in acute famine which has not been witnessed in generations. It is a matter of life and death. To be specific, as of last week, in Samburu County, there were almost 40,000 households in dire need of food interventions. We all know that famine is cyclic in the northern Kenya. We also know that next year and the year after that, there will be famine in that area. It is a shame that we stand on the Floor of this House and talk about acute famine yet there have been papers and strategic plans but very little implementation on the ground.

I would like to laud the President for the speech he delivered in this House. I also appreciate the food that he has given as a relief measure to northern Kenya counties. I thank him on behalf of the people of Samburu North but I would like to tell him that the food was inadequate. In his Speech, he alluded to value addition on livestock products. I would like to ask that the livestock off-take programmes be quickly implemented. This is because it is a great loss to lose livestock in this famine. The Government can take livestock and supplement families.

I would also like to speak about the perennial underdevelopment in northern Kenya. The President talked about livestock off-take programmes and industrialisation in the north. We would like him to address the Sessional Papers which legitimised the underdevelopment of some parts in this country, not just in words, but also in action.

I also want to put it on the Floor of this House that there have been cases of children fainting in classrooms. There was a fatality case in Samburu East five days ago. I would like the Government to step in and resume the school feeding programme which has not been in place since June this year. Those are among the issues that I would like to contribute to the Motion on drought in this House. I would like to thank the great people of Samburu North for giving me an opportunity to amplify their voice. Thank you very much, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

Member for Taveta.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker for allowing me to make my first contribution in this House. I will try to be brief. First and foremost, let me take this exceptional opportunity to thank my family, and the great people of Taveta for the exceptional privileged they have bestowed on me to serve them as their Member of Parliament. I have followed the proceedings of this House keenly, for the last five days. I have prayed very much to get an opportunity to speak. I am pleased to note that it is a huge privilege. And as Senator McCain said, it is a service to a course better than my interests. Hon. Deputy Speaker, my standing here means that the Chamber has said goodbye to one of its finest Woman parliamentarian and my predecessor, Dr. Naomi Shaban. Dr. Naomi has enjoyed a distinguished political career for 20 years; and has mentored many women 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.

Kenya, and I respect her for that. I pray that I will fit in her shoes and more importantly, I pray that God will open new doors for her. My being here is God’s will. I want to take this rare opportunity to thank God for giving me this opportunity to serve in this august House. With respect to Taveta Constituency, I have taken leadership at a time when there are many challenges. Many of my constituents are watching me right now and one of their concerns is the issue of infrastructure, especially, the Taveta- Ilasit Road. This road is worse than the one to hell. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I want to address two issues: one, I appreciate the intervention that has been made by the Government of Kenya to distribute food to three million Kenyans. However, I dare say that it is not enough. The key concern is our children in school. The President said that we will save Kshs300 billion. I, therefore, plead with him that the said amount of money that we are saving from the Ministries that he has indicated should be used to ensure we have free secondary education, and food for our children in school. Secondly, I wish to indicate to the House that a greater population that suffers from the drought are pastoralists. Food is not enough because they too, have livestock to take care of. This House in the Year, 2013 passed the Kenyan Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, No. 47 of 2013. Specific interest is in Section 102 of that Act which says that the Cabinet Secretary and the Kenya Wildlife Services should create guidelines to ensure that our grazers access National Parks for purposes of grazing and watering of livestock in times of drought and national disaster. My plea today is the implementation of Section 102...

I can give you an extra minute to finish your sentence.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I was saying that even if you were to go to the National Parks today, you would find animals grazing there. The only problem is that they are grazing at a fee, which is illegal. We all agree that drought in now a national disaster. However, we should allow our grazers to access the National Parks in accordance to Section 102 of the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act. With these remarks, I thank you.

Thank you. I had to give you extra time. My hats off to you if you felt our matriarch of women politics in Kenya. I now call upon the Member for Ganze.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I want to take this opportunity to thank the people from the four wards of Ganze – Bamba, Jaribuni, Sokoke and Ganze – for overwhelmingly electing me to represent them in this 13th Parliament. I take this opportunity to also congratulate you, Hon. Deputy Speaker for being elected to lead this House and also the Speaker, Hon. Moses Masika Wetangula. I come from Ganze which is a very dry constituency. It still faces a myriad of challenges many years after Independence. They are still struggling with the necessities of life such as poor housing, water shortage, poor infrastructure and lack of good education. Almost 80 per cent of Ganze is currently affected by the ravages of the ongoing drought and famine. Livestock farming, which is the economic mainstay has severely been hampered as all pastures have dried up. The few water ponds which are shared by human and wildlife have been invaded by the elephants from the Tsavo East National Park. Paragraph 44 of the President’s Speech says that 3.5 million Kenyans are affected by drought and famine in Kenya. This is the true position in Ganze right now. As we speak, it has not rained for the last three years. The people there are surviving on a meal per day for three days. The situation is so bad, and it calls for urgent and immediate Government intervention. We saw the President launch relief supplies to the drought-stricken areas the other day. I, however, want to tell this House that these supplies are yet to reach Ganze. I urge 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.

concerned people to make sure that the relief supplies reach the people of Ganze who are suffering very much in the soonest time possible. Ganze is blessed with seasonal rivers; and when it rains, a lot of water flows into the ocean. If there is a way this water can be preserved it can go a long way in alleviating the water shortages that are being experienced Ganze right now. It is against this background that I ask the Government to immediately start the construction of the Rare Dam. This is a dam whose feasibility study was done a long time ago and a design was done but I can say that this report is lying somewhere at the Ministry of Water gathering dust yet nothing has been done on the ground. If this dam is constructed it can go a long way in making sure that there is enough water for use both by humans and livestock keepers in Ganze. The drought situation in Ganze has been compounded by the fact that there has been an invasion of elephants in human settlements. We are facing a serious human-wildlife conflict which also needs immediate intervention to help the situation. As it is right now, even if it rains now, nothing can grow in the fields because the elephants are loose and will destroy crops. I also urge the Government to come up with long-term solutions including, if possible, fencing off Tsavo East to contain the animals in the reserve and enable the farmers to do their farming without interruptions from the wild animals. There are many challenges that are facing Ganze right now including poor education compounded by the fact that children are dropping out...

Thank you Member for Ganze. I now call upon the Member for West Mugirango.

Thank you, Hon Deputy Speaker. I would like to take the earliest opportunity to congratulate you and the Hon. Speaker on your well-deserved election as our Hon. Speaker and Hon. Deputy Speaker. I in particular celebrate you, on behalf of my class that you had the honour to teach Civil Procedure during my second year at the University of Nairobi. My Name is Hon. Stephen Mogaka. I am an Accountant, Banker and an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya. Those are the skills the people of West Mugirango saw fit to present to this House for use as part of the solution provision for the people of Kenya. For that reason, I have the humble opportunity of thanking the people of West Mugirango for coming out in large numbers and voting me in overwhelmingly. I promise I will not let them down. I am in fact a miracle Member of Parliament because the ward I hail from in West Mugirango there has never been an MP except for nine months only when the late George Justus Morara served and died in a road accident. Prior to that my other ward Member, Hon. Thomas Mong’are, had also died within one year of election. May God rest their spirits in eternal peace. Hon Deputy Speaker, as we support this Motion for Adjournment, the people of West Mugirango are mourning because they woke up to a brutal murder of a female school principal of Rangenyo Girls’ High School. I am hoping that Mr. Mutyambai and George Kinoti tendered their resignations. This is not what we are going to be subjected to in the Republic of Kenya. Through this House, Hon Deputy Speaker, I am pleading with the investigating agencies to get down to the bottom of what, and who killed Madam Lydia and have them brought to book as soon as practicable. Speaking of the drought ravaging this country, it has been a vicious cycle in the Republic of Kenya every other season. I sympathise with our compatriots in ASAL and request that this country gets a permanent solution to the drought problems. As I speak of drought, the area I represent of West Mugirango is within the convectional rain region of Lake Victoria. As the sun burns the rest of Kenya, the convectional currents run amok and the Gusii region is ravaged every other day by hailstorms which destroy food crop. Never have I heard about the possible compensation of victims of hailstorms. In the last two weeks areas like Bosamaro and parts of Bonyamatuta Wards suffered serious hailstorms, and coming with those hailstorms 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.

hunger because the food crops are destroyed. The cash crops - tea, coffee and pyrethrum - are also destroyed. I will be proposing an amendment to the disaster Act of this country that when we talk about drought, the flip side of it is always hailstorms and heavy rains which wash away soils and create floods for our neighbours in the Nyando Region. Hon. Deputy Speaker, as we join this 13th Parliament I celebrate the Speech by His Excellency President William Ruto particularly when he admitted that this country is broke. As a result of this brokenness...

Member for Kajiado East.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity. We have been sitting here for the past one week and I was wondering whether my card was not working. However, I am very pleased to have this opportunity. I congratulate you for being appointed as the Hon. Deputy Speaker of this House. I also congratulate our Speaker, Hon. Wetangula. We look forward to supporting you to deliver what we need to deliver to Kenyans. I want to take this opportunity to thank my people of Kajiado East Constituency for electing me as their MP to represent them and bring them development. I would like to thank my family for their unconditional support as well as my friends in the Diaspora community where I was living, the United States of America (USA). Many of us wish to have the opportunity to return to Kenya and help in ways that we can. When I told them that I was going to vie for this seat, many of them expressed a great deal of support and encouragement as they all also wish that they could find ways to help our country. Hon. Deputy Speaker I was very pleased to hear a strong emphasis on food production by our President. This country is obviously suffering due to lack of sufficient food supply and I hope that with his food policies and focus on agriculture we will, one day, be able to supply enough food to our people. It is very sad to see that every year, generations after generations continue to face food shortage and many of our people struggle due to lack of food. I hope that with policies of this administration, the set food subsidies that he is giving to our population and the fertilizers to our farmers will yield good results for our communities. Although the recent fertiliser subsidy was very good, I also wish to see subsidies being given for animal feeds so that our pastoral communities can afford them for their livestock. I hope that moving forward and considering the dire situation of drought in the country, our Government will be able to come up with subsidies for animal feeds so that our communities that feed their livestock can benefit.

In terms of drought situation, my constituents, like others who spoke before me are struggling. There is lack of enough grass. Last weekend, we went to my home and found six cows being helped because they could not stand ue to lack of grass. Our people are struggling to feed their families and their livestock, and you can see a dire situation happening. Children are struggling in schools. I hope that in this House, with our new administration, we can work collectively to find measures and ways to help our people so that they can come out of poverty.

I heard many folks from pastoral communities say that livestock farming is becoming very difficult in arid lands. It is my hope that our Government, together with our National Assembly, will be able to come up with ways on how to mitigate drought because having our people depending on relief food every year is not sustainable. I also wish to have seen the President talking about environmental conservation because we need to restore our environment, grow more trees and find ways to cope with climate.

With those few remarks, because I see my time is up, I am grateful for the opportunity and we look forward to days where we can find ways…

Member for Keiyo North.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. This being my first time to speak in this House, first, I want to thank the Almighty God for giving me this 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.

opportunity. I also thank the people of Keiyo North Constituency for electing me to this House to represent them. People from Kapchemutwa Ward, Mutei, Sergoit, and across the constituency, I want to tell them I am here as their voice.

I also wish to assure my people that I will represent them diligently and work with all State agencies to ensure that electricity supply goes to all parts of the constituency. We have projects in my constituency like Kamariny Stadium, which have not been completed by the last regime because of challenges here and there. But under this Government, I am sure that we are going to complete it.

I do not want to forget my mentor, Hon. Senator Kipchumba Murkomen, whom I worked under for 10 years as his Personal Assistant. I thank him wherever he is for mentoring me to this level that I represent the people of my constituency.

To conclude on that, I also want to thank my family and my campaign team and in a special way my father, Mr. Yussuf Keitany, who unsuccessfully ran three times to represent our people. I thank God he is alive and he is seeing me here representing the people he wanted to represent. I say thank you.

On this Motion, drought has affected many parts of our country especially Kerio Valley. First, we need to look at the effects of this drought. Children are no longer going to school because they are concentrating on finding something to eat. Education standard has also gone down because of that.

We have seen deaths both in human and in livestock. People are suffering by losing their loved ones and livestock. So, this issue is dire. We know that serious intervention needs to be put in place. The same drought has even caused insecurity. All the fighting that is happening in Kerio Valley and many parts in the Horn of Kenya is as a result of drought. People who do not have anything to eat are now resulting to doing things which are inhuman. That is why I am saying measures should be put in place. We need to move away from rain-fed farming to irrigation so as to be food secure. In my constituency, we have Arror and Kimwarer dams which we are sure if they had been constructed, we would have had much supply of food which would eventually assist our people.

I am sure that many Members in this House are also getting a lot of grievances from their constituents who are asking for support in terms of food and many other forms of support. Going forward, I wish this House would consider good budget so that our farmers can be motivated to increase production. If a farmer can get good money at the end of selling his or her produce, that will motivate him or her to increase production and in the long run we will not face challenges like what we are facing today. I am very happy. I am excited, and I do not want to spend much time. I am happy because at least my people have heard me speak for the first time.

Thank you.

Member for Dadaab and, thereafter, we will have the Member for Makueni. I know that you have been having challenges with your card. You better have someone help you with it because you will be next. Member for Dadaab?

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker for allowing me to contribute on this Motion. I also join my other colleagues who have congratulated you and the Speaker of the 13th Parliament, Hon. Moses Masika Wetangula, for having been elected as Deputy Speaker and Speaker respectively.

I stand in this place, the same place where I stood almost 30 years ago when we had exactly the same problems that we have now. For the longest time, the people from the Arid and Semi-Arid areas of this country have been subjected to, and have been at the mercy of the vagaries of weather. The Government, at Independence, started off on the wrong note. We had what was called Sessional Paper No.10 of 1965 whose gist was what I call intensification of investment of the Government and country in the high potential areas and absolutely 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.

mention of low potential areas. The gist of that Sessional Paper was that the Government ended up investing nothing in those areas to try and promote agriculture or the mainstay of the lives of those people.

We are going through the same cycle 58 years later, from 1965. I have personally had the pleasure of trying to deal with the issue of drought in my ways when I was in the 10th Parliament and got the best results that anybody would ever get those days.

For those who are not from pastoral areas, I will tell you that the problem with this kind of weather is that there are limited number of water points because the livestock will congregate in that place and eat all the pasture. So, the area itself becomes totally degraded and does not have any pasture. But because there is no water where the pasture is, and there is no pasture where the water is, animals have to travel for two or three days to look for pasture. Animals like cattle can only stay for three days without water. They then have to walk back to where the water was, and they die on the way. That is why you see the kind of stuff you are seeing right now. In the drought of 2010 and 2011, I engaged 59 water bowers in my constituency, using both the emergency component in the NG-CDF as well as some other powerful donors that came on board. In those days, that included the Millennium Villages Programme, which was partly in my constituency. Not only were we able to save the livestock in their entirety, but they were so strong that we could sell them in the market and fetch very good prices because we were taking water to where the pasture was. The animals stayed where there was pasture. It is not rocket science for the Government to adopt such strategies to try and protect the livestock because everybody eats meat. We had lunch today and there was meat. There is mutton, goat meat, beef and camel meat, which is extremely delicious. Why is it that we have never had a Government that seriously undertakes to make sure that this sector of the economy is protected in the same way that tea, coffee and all other agricultural crops are protected?

You may have one minute to finish your sentence.

There you go. Thank you for the one minute. Being a former Deputy Speaker who has been out of Parliament for the last 10 years, for one reason or the other, I took a little bit longer. The idea is, for God’s sake, let us get a Government that cares for these people and this sector of the economy for once. For once, the ideas and strategies are in abundance. If you go to Namibia, you will find that they have the biggest ranches. They have the best beef. They export to the European market, yet they do not have land as good as ours. Theirs is even more arid than ours, but because of Government intervention, the fact that there is water everywhere and they grow grass, they are able to benefit from that. It is the same thing in Botswana and a number of other countries. We tried to do something in Galana-Kulalu but because of corruption, all the money was wasted…

Thank you. Let us have the Member for Makueni. After that, kindly help the Member for Kajiado South as he keeps going off.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. This is my first time to speak in this Parliament. I sincerely feel very honoured. First, I am very grateful to God for giving me this opportunity to be in this Parliament. Sometimes it takes the grace of God to go through a political process. Secondly, I thank the great people of Makueni Constituency for electing me as the first woman Member of Parliament. I assure them that I will be their representative and I will do what it takes to make a difference in their lives and households. I felt greatly honoured by the confidence they demonstrated in me. We have had nine men serving as Members of Parliament since elections started in Makueni Constituency. I am the first woman to be elected. I feel very 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.

privileged. To the women in Makueni, feel that your voices have reached the national level. I assure you that your voices will be heard. Makueni Constituency is one of the biggest constituencies in this country with a population of 194,000 people. It goes far beyond the national figure of 70,000. I pray that we will be considered when the process for delineation of constituencies comes to this House because fair representation is part of reflection of equity. Makueni Constituency is one of the semi-arid constituencies in this country. As today’s Motion suggests, it faces quite a number of challenges related to drought. Some of the major challenges include inadequate water as a result of unreliable rainfall. I am happy to report that we are very happy as a constituency because the national Government has invested in one of the biggest dams in our constituency - Thwake Dam. The only challenge is that it has taken six years to complete. Each year, the budget goes down and it has to be reallocated. If this project was taken with the seriousness that it deserves, my people would not be facing the kind of challenges they are facing today. As the Motion implies, if you go to Makueni now, we have a school drop-out rate of about 30 per cent. Children cannot go to school because they are too hungry. If you look at the mothers, you do not have to be a scientist to know that they are emaciated because of the kind of strain they are going through. If the Government concentrated on such projects like Thwake Dam and they were fast-tracked to deliver the desired results, we would make a big difference in this country. The other major challenge we have in this constituency is poor infrastructure, especially electricity and the road network. My constituency has less than 40 kilometres of tarmacked road. That is why I was very happy when the President talked about wanting to dislodge ethnicity in his opening Speech. Dislodging ethnicity is not just a campaign slogan. It means we develop this country holistically. When we share resources equally and share projects as per the need, that is dislodging ethnicity. If dislodging ethnicity is only a slogan to be used during campaigns and elections, we will be far from addressing some of the emerging needs in our constituencies. The other major challenge as a result of the water issue, is food insecurity, which leads to low incomes. So, if we solve that problem of water, by the national…

Let her finish her sentence.

I support this Motion because drought is finishing our people and we cannot sit here and not consider it. Our country is as strong as its weakest link. If people die in Makueni, there is no way those with food will feel proud of this country. Thank you. I am happy to be in this House.

Thank you, Member for Makueni. I now call upon the Member for Kajiado South.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. First, I congratulate you and Hon. Speaker on your election to serve the 13th Parliament as our leaders. Second, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people of Kajiado South and my family for trusting me and electing me to represent them in this House. Kajiado South has its own uniqueness. We are on the agricultural slope of Mt. Kilimanjaro. We also neighbour Amboseli Game Reserve and Tsavo National Park. Kajiado South faces several challenges. I want to mention a few because of time. Like many other young people in the Republic of Kenya, the youth in Loitoktok are facing unemployment. I thank the President for the initiative of lifting blacklisting on CRB and the proposal of the hustlers’ fund to take care of women and unemployed youth.

We face a lot of challenges in education. The education system is not functioning in our place. We do not have the required number of teachers. We also have challenges with electricity 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.

and water supply, making education a problem in rural areas. We also have a problem with road network. We do not have good roads. The main road that is supposed to serve us between Kajiado County and Taita Taveta County is Ilasit-Taveta Road. It has a lot of economic benefits to our country. It serves Tanzania at the border and Mombasa in terms of food supply. Being a constituency leading in production of tomatoes and onions, I think that road will do us good and promote the economy in our place.

There is another challenge. During the campaign period, we promised the people to open the Loitoktok/Tarakia Border Post. In the whole country, Kajiado South is the only constituency with a border post that operates for 12 hours while other border posts operate for 24 hours.

On a point of order, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

Proceed. I will hear the point of order later.

Thank you. On the subject that is on the Floor of the House today, Kajiado County is approximately 22,000 square kilometres. It is also categorised as an ASAL region. About 80 per cent of the land is ASAL. There is a problem with livestock production and crop farming. I plead with this House and the whole Republic to declare drought in those areas as an emergency in the country. In the short-term, we should be supplied with hay and vaccines. The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) needs to do something. People also need food relief. In future, pastoralists should be taken care of in terms of a livestock insurance scheme. We should also consider cultivating crops that can do well in short rains. Hon. Deputy Speaker, thank you so much. I appreciate.

Member for Isiolo South has a point of order. I could not tell your face earlier and you had not inserted your card.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. While I thank Hon. Ali Wario for moving this Motion, is it in order? The Motion is more or less open ended. We are discussing drought. I thought the last sentence should read that we declare drought a national disaster. What the Motion says is that we discuss the issue. We have to think of a resolution. The resolution should be that this House declares drought a national disaster. Is the Motion in order? Thank you.

Hon. Member, I was not on the Chair when this began but I can see that it was allowed under Standing Order 33 on Adjournment of the House on a definite matter of urgent national importance. The Motion is about the drought ravaging most parts of the country. Members are ventilating and debating that particular issue. The Motion does not provide any resolution.

Hon. Member, kindly sit down and press the intervention button. I will give you an opportunity to speak. I can hear your voice, but I cannot see your name on the console.

Actually, I think you are being disrespectful to the Speaker. I have asked you not to shout out loud but to insert your card. I will find your name and call upon you to speak. I am about to do that but if you continuously shout, then I will not even ask what your name is. You are seated too far and I cannot see you from here. We are still new in the House, and I am still learning your names and faces. So, allow me to use the available technology to identify you. I am kindly asking you to be polite enough to allow that to happen. That is all. It is offensive if you keep shouting. 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.

Member for Wajir North, you can raise your point of order.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I apologise. On the Floor is the Member for Wajir North, your proposer and a constituent who voted for you. I did not intend in any way to annoy you but to contribute constructively. On the point of relevance, this House adjourned for a special Motion on the effects of drought. We are being mesmerised by maiden speeches. Could you kindly guide us so that we can contribute to the Motion on the drought ravaging ASAL counties in the country? We need to speak to issues rather than make maiden speeches, which can be made at any time. It is about relevance.

Hon. Member, I realise that some Members contributing to the Motion are making their maiden speeches in a few sentences then they move on to talk about drought. Let us not stop them. We will now proceed. Let us have the honourable Member for Marsabit. Hon. TJ Kajwang’, I cannot see your card here on intervention. I can just hear your voice. Honourable Member for Marsabit, proceed.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker for allowing me to add my voice to this very important statement. I congratulate the Member who has brought it. It is quite relevant to many of us. Maybe that is why you see some people getting emotional. It is affecting us and some people are already losing lives. The situation is so bad at the moment. As a result of the drought, some school-going children are fainting in classrooms. Others are not going to school at all. Lactating mothers and pregnant women are getting sick and weaker. We have children under the age of five who are already malnourished and the situation is getting worse every day. The elderly are the most affected. There are people who have already lost lives and others cannot even wake up from their beds. While in the 12th Parliament, while I was in Senate, I remember we debated this matter about two times. According to my observation, drought comes after every three years. This time round it is quite serious. For the last four seasons, many areas have not received rains. That means the situation is worse than any other time we have had drought. That is why we are requesting that it be declared famine so that it receives the attention it deserves.

In most of our areas, water is a real problem. We do not have enough boreholes or clean water. People who are already weak cannot fetch water for themselves because they trek for about 20 kilometres to fetch water. Proper planning needs to be done so that we have enough water dams, water pans and boreholes. Water is everything; water is life. Right now, animals are dying because of lack of water and pasture. Human beings are also dying. As many Members have already said, there is no good network. When we talk of food security, what comes to our minds are human beings. For a pastoralist, the life of a cow is more important even than the life of a human being. As they feed themselves right now, many people even cook for their animals. This is food that they do not have. They end up giving to their animals the little they receive as their relief food. Proper planning by the Government and the nation can help us. We can plan if we create a Ministry of Arid and Semi-Arid Lands to take care of ASALs and their needs. In the next 20 years, and with proper planning, we can be harvesting water and planting crops. We can do irrigation where necessary so that we can at least be able to feed enough people.

The lands of our friends from this other side of the country are the country’s food basket. That food can be bought and transferred to needy areas like northern Kenya, where we do not plant and harvest enough food. That is so that people on the ground can buy enough food for themselves and their families when the need comes. Right now, people are dying and the food being distributed goes through a real process where committees have their shares and other people in between have their shares. Sometimes relief food finds its way to the market and needy people have to buy it. 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.

Member for Ruaraka, I can now see your card. It is number 036. You were misbehaving earlier on.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, you now see the kind of problems we have on the Floor. It is not an isolated problem. I think it is good for the Clerk to organise for some technicians to go around checking these facilities. Sometimes we think that we have pressed the buttons but we are not seen on the board. Members here are anxious thinking that they are not being seen. I think the Clerk should organise. That is administrative.

Honourable Member, as long as we agree, when that happens you just walk to the Clerks-at-the-Table and they should get the Serjeants-At-Arms to help you as opposed to shouting your point of order aloud.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, point taken. I am the last person to misbehave in this House. I have enough years in my distinction and my activity in this House has been fairly distinguished. I am very sorry. I apologise.

I really wanted to raise the point. It is during debate on a presidential speech and during a Motion for Adjournment when new Members learn. They will not learn some of these debating skills if sometimes people who have been here for one or more terms do not point out some of the issues. I was rising on a point of information. I wanted to inform the Member who rose and stated that, in his opinion, the Order should have concluded with a resolution of the House in some manner. Quite confidently, another Member rose and thought that some Members were out of order in so far as relevance was concerned. That was the only issue I wanted to put my mind to. Firstly, a Motion for Adjournment is a wide Motion. Members get to speak about things that are so generally related to that issue and it is just that. It ends there. It does not have a resolution. It is a Motion which helps Members to ventilate their hearts out without necessarily having a position on a resolution. A resolution must come as a matter of Motion where a Member proposes a Motion in which the House resolves to do something. You are a Member here and your role is to represent the electorate. How will your people know that you are taking a position if you do not rise and say something, however general it may be, without a resolution made on the Motion? That is the matter I wanted to raise my mind on. For the Member who thought that Members were irrelevant, it is never irrelevant for a new Member to say anything. A maiden speech is a maiden speech even when you want to thank your mother for giving birth to you to be elected to come to this House. That is the beauty of debate. A debate should be flexible and enjoyable. Therefore, you can say anything and everything that then allows you to speak.

I just wanted to tell Members what the Speaker said, as you rightly said – that, a new Member should not be interrupted. Let him speak and run his time. After that you can take him on. Even though you think that he is not relevant, when your time comes, you will rise and speak all those relevant things you want to speak. Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Ruaraka. I now call upon the Member for Mombasa County. Assist her with her microphone. She has been trying all day and yesterday.

Asante sana Mhe. Naibu Spika. Ninakupongeza kwa nafasi uliyoipata kama Naibu Spika wetu. Pongezi sana. Kuhusu maswala ya ukame na yale yanayogusia wenzetu wa Kaskazini Mashariki hasa, kuna mjadala mzito ambao umeletwa na Mjumbe wetu wa Garsen, Mhe. Ali Wario. Ningependa kuwaelezea kwa kina. Wengine wetu hapa pengine tunajadili tu ilhali hali halisi iliyoko kule mashinani hatuijui. Kuna mama ambaye mtoto wake atakapokufa, atawalisha wengine huo mwili kama kitoweo cha nyama. Hiyo ni hali tata na ngumu sana. Ningependa 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.

kuishauri Serikali. Sijui ni kwa nini tunachukua madeni mengi sana nje lakini mambo yale muhimu katika taifa hili hatuyaangalii kwa kina. Imekuwa miaka mingi tangu watu wa Kaskazini Mashariki walie juu ya ukame, watoto wao na mifugo kufa, mifugo wanahangaika ilhali hapa Bungeni tunakunywa chai, tunakula chakula cha mchana na jioni tunapotoka tunapata chai. Imekuwaje Wakenya wanahangaika sana kule Kaskazini Mashariki na katika sehemu zingine kame? Ningependa kuishauri Serikali kwamba inasikitisha sana kuwa tumeweza kukopa pesa kwa wingi mpaka imefika trilioni kadhaa. Hizi pesa tunapozikopa inafaa tuziweke kwenye mabomba ya maji kutoka sehemu ambako kuna maji na tuyapeleke hadi sehemu za Kaskazini Mashariki ili tuweze kufanya unyunyizaji ili wakazi waweze kukuza mimea, wanyama wapate chakula na watu wa Kaskazini Mashariki waseme “kwaheri” kwa hali halisi ya njaa na ukame.” Ningependa kusisitiza sana maana hili si jambo ndogo bali ni kubwa sana na linatuhusu sote. Kama Wabunge, tunafaa kushikana kwa huu Mswada maana wenzetu wako na msiba mkubwa sana ilhali wao pia ni Wakenya. Tunafaa kushauriana na pia tuangalie kile tuko nacho mfukoni mwetu ili tuwasaidie hasa wakati kama ambapo Serikali inadai haina pesa, jambo ambalo linatatiza zaidi. Janga la njaa ni dharura kubwa, kama unavyoashiria Mjadala huu wa leo. Ninaomba Serikali ya Kenya itilie maanani na kulishughulikia jambo hili kwa kina. Pia, ningependa kuwaeleza watu wangu wa Mwakirunge, ambao wamo humo humo, kuwa; ijapokua haionekani zaidi, pia nao wanahangaishwa na njaa. Baa la njaa limeshika sehemu kubwa katika taifa hili. Watu wengi ni maskini, hawana makazi na hawajui watashika mti gani. Kwa hivyo, ningependa kuwashauri tuangalie zile sehemu zilizoathirika na njaa ili tuweze kuweka msukumo utakaomaliza hili janga kabisa. Tusiwe tu watu wa kujadili swala hili kila siku ndani ya Bunge. Serikali inafaa iwajibike, pesa zikija watu waache kuitapeli na tuache kuwa na utapeli katika pesa za Serikali maanake utapeli ndio unaoleta matatizo zaidi. Pesa hizi zitumike katika sehemu mwafaka na hitajika ili tuweze kufikia malengo ya kuweza kuwa na taifa huru bila njaa. Jambo lingine ambalo ningezungumzia katika sehemu hizi ni kuhusu mayatima ambao wanahangaika sana. Zamani tulikuwa na mfuko wa mayatima. Sasa hivi na hili janga la njaa, mayatima pia wanahangaika. Kama mama msimamizi wa Mombasa Kaunti, ningependa kusema kuwa mayatima waangaliwe na wapewe mfuko utakaowawezesha kujisaidia. Nitakalolizungumzia la mwisho ni kuhusu wakulima. Inapofika wapewe mbolea, wahusika wasiangalie sehemu moja bali wakulima wote katika taifa zima. Kuna sehemu nyingi ambazo ziko na mashamba. Pengine leo sisi watu wa Mwakirunge tungekua kule Voroni tungekua tumezalisha chakula ili tumsaidie ndugu yetu Wario na watu wetu wa Kaskazini Mashariki. Lakini kwa vile…

Let us have Hon. Irene Mayaka, the Nominated Member.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. Let me first take this opportunity to join my fellow Members in congratulating you and the Speaker on your elections. I stand here as a new Member. I would like to take this opportunity to give my maiden speech as I contribute to the Motion at hand. Before you is Hon. Irene Nyakerario Mayaka. My original home is in Bogichora Ward, West Mugirango County. The ODM home nominated me to this House. The young people in our party call me Renee, and I think it is a very melodious name. I rise on the Floor of this House for the first time in my life. Since childhood, I have harboured ambitions of being a Member of Parliament someday. However, never did I imagine that I would be in the same space with some of the women that I looked up to as a young woman, like Hon. Millie Mabona who has borrowed from the South African MPs and is now referred to as Mama Millie; and also Hon. Hussein. Had it not been for the personal 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.

commitment of our political father, the Rtd. Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga, to raise the profile of young women in this country, I would still be in our village in Nyamira County. Today I want the world to witness the goodness of this statesman whom we, in the ODM family, fondly refer to as Baba . I am a proud product of the daughters of Raila’s lobby group. The group was formed in 2016 and was adopted by our party to enable young women to be mentored into political leadership. I, therefore, take this opportunity to sincerely thank my political father who has mentored us in this journey. I also take this opportunity to thank my family for always being supportive even though at first, my father, who is a retired banker, was not so sure about me quitting banking to join politics. I take this opportunity to also assure the other women that I will always take the ladder back down to them and share the lessons of my political journey. Hon. Deputy Speaker, as a young person, my commitment to this honourable House is through the Kenyan Young Parliamentarians Caucus to champion for policies and laws that will uplift the living standards of young people in our nation to match with the dynamism and robust nature of the world they live in. A few years ago, Nokia 3310 was the in thing in the world. We, therefore, must purpose to have platforms that allow young people to be innovative and catch up with the fast-growing world. To my people of Nyamira and Gusiiland in general – the land where God “showers” everyday as we like to refer to it – I would like to assure you of my commitment to serve you. Gusiiland is an area where we used to have 11 rivers but because of climate change issues, we now have only two rivers. Unfortunately, we are no longer happy because of this adverse climatic development. I assure them that I have not come here to sleep. In the next few days, I will start a process that will enable me table a Motion that will fix this issue. Hon. Deputy Speaker, the late Hon. Okoth championed to have a law that sought to legalise cannabis sativa as a medicinal plant for our people. I would also like to make a promise in honour of his memory that I will continue to ensure that his initiative develops into law. Value addition will be top of my agenda because good food from our soil is definitely healthier and better than the Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) option that is now being propagated by our political opponents. Speaking of political opponents, Kenya is greater than us. I promise to take them to task for the good of this nation where necessary, and only for the benefit of Kenya, we will unclench our fists if they unfold their hands. To the Motion at hand, I know that the National Drought Management Authority has funded studies aimed at finding permanent interventions to make sure that the issue of drought is resolved. I join my fellow Members in urging the Government to embark on a speedy process of ensuring that this issue is resolved. Even though this is kneejerk reaction, it is a solution for the time being as we seek interventions that are more permanent. If we look at the report from the National Drought Management Authority, we will see that Kenyan students have come up with interventions that seek to have permanent solutions and...

I will give you a minute to finish your eloquent remarks.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I appreciate. One of the interventions that have been spoken about is a vacuum solar water desalination plant along Athi River. We all know that at the baseline of ensuring that we resolve the drought issues is availability of water. Secondly, we have hydroponic method of growing plants, where you grow plants from pumice soil. These are some of the interventions that we should dare to make if we want to have permanent solutions for our people, who cover about 42.7 per cent in all the counties in the country. With those remarks, I submit. 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. I now call upon the Member for Turkana Central.

Thank you very much, Hon. Deputy Speaker for granting me this opportunity. First of all, I would like to pay much tribute and thanks to my constituents of Turkana Central. As I make my maiden speech, I thank the Almighty God for this special occasion. I also send my gratitude to my immediate family: my wife, children, my mother and father. I also pay my tribute to the persons who made much effort, spent their time and prayed for me. All that I would want to tell my constituents in Lodwar Township, Kerio-Delta Ward, Kanamkemer Ward, Kalokol Ward and Kan’gototha Ward is that I am committed to serve them well. Hon. Deputy Speaker, allow me, in a special way, with utmost respect, to pay my tribute to the late Hon. George Saitoti, the man who came to Turkana in 1993 as the Vice President of this country and officiated an Harambee called the “Turkana Education Fund”. The Fund paid three years of my school fees and enabled me to take my studies at one of the prestigious schools in this country – Moi High School, Kabarak. I remain thankful to my first employer, who considered and gave me the opportunity to serve at World Vision for more than nine years. I also pay tribute to my former Governor, Hon. Josephat Koli Nanok, who gave me an opportunity to serve under his Government for more than seven years. He actually became one of the pillars that helped me to drive into the political arena. In the same measure, I am also grateful to my predecessors who participated in debates and decisions that were made in this House. I begin with the late Hon. Peter Barnabas Ejore. He was an Assistant Minister in this country. I also want to pay tribute to the late Hon. Patrick Ejore. I also want to recognise Hon. Emmanuel Imana; Hon. Ekwe Ethuro; my last predecessor, Hon. Missionary John Lodepe and to my colleagues, with whom I presently share this honour for the advice and encouragement that they gave me. They are my constituents and I am sure that they look forward to my participation and representation in this House. Hon. Deputy Speaker, during my campaign, I had five agendas that I committed to serve and deliver to my constituents – resilience, education bursaries and scholarships for the right skills, universal health coverage, security, investment, environment and partnerships. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I congratulate you and the Speaker of this House. I also want to congratulate my President, His Excellency William Samoei Ruto.

I think you have managed to finish your sentence. Hon. Members, when you see the orange light, it is a sign that you need to wind up your sentence so that we can give another Member an opportunity, considering that we have many new Members who want to speak. Next is the Hon. Member for Samburu East. He seems not to be in. We can then have the Member for Lamu East. Please, proceed.

If you are not ready, Member for Lamu East, you can be the next. The Member for Igembe North can first have the Floor then we come back to you.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I already have the microphone.

Member for Igembe North, the Member for Lamu East already has the microphone. You will raise after her, kindly.

Asante Naibu Spika kwa kunipa nafasi hii ili nami niweze kuchangia Mswada huu muhimu wa ukame kuwa janga la kitaifa. 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.

Mwanzo, ningependa kuchukua nafasi hii kukupongeza kwa kupata nafasi ya kuwa Naibu wa Spika. Tunajua wewe ni mtendakazi. Tunajua kazi yako ni nzuri na tayari ishaanza kuonekana. Kusema kweli, kiangazi kinawatatiza sana watu wetu; haswa, watu wangu wa Lamu Mashariki. Kiangazi kimewaathiri watu wa Kiunga na watu wa Eneo Wodi ya Faza. Ningeomba Wabunge ama viongozi wa taifa letu wasichukulie hili janga la kiangazi kama janga la watu fulani tu maana linaathiri watu kutoka nyanja zote. Mfugaji akipata hasara kwa minajili ya ng’ombe wake kufa, hatakuwa na kitu cha kuuza ili apate faida ili imuwezeshe kupata hela za kununua mazao. Na iwapo mkulima hataweza kununuliwa mazao, itamuathiri pia maana hataweza kufanya ukulima. Hali hii itachangia janga la njaa, ambalo litaathiri afya na elimu. Endapo kiangazi ni kingi, ni lazima rasilimali ya taifa itumike. Huduma za afya zinatakiwa ziwasilishwe kwa wananchi. Ninawaomba viongozi katika Serikali hii wasione hili janga kama ni la watu wachache tu. Mhe. Naibu Spika, katika Eneo Bunge la Lamu Mashariki, ukame unasababishwa na binadamu. Unasababishwa na ndugu zetu majirani. Hivi sasa nikizungumza, watu wa Lamu tulikuwa tumejipanga vizuri. Tuna vidimbwi vya maji ambavyo tumejengea watu wa Kiunga. Lakini katika Eneo Bunge la Lamu Mashariki, ng’ombe hata kutoka Mandera wako huko. Ng’ombe zaidi ya 20,000 kutoka Garissa na Tana River wako malishoni katika maeneo ya mpaka wa Kenya na Somalia. Wametuvamia sisi watu wa Lamu. Maji na nyasi zile zingeliwasaidia wafugaji wetu hata wasingepata shida ya ukame. Lakini saa hii wafugaji kutoka kaunti jirani wamekuja na mifugo wao na kuvamia eneo hilo, na hatuwezi kuwafukuza kwa sababu ni majirani.

Nasi pia sasa tumekuwa kwa janga hilo la ukame ilhali tulikuwa tumejipanga. Kwa hivyo, nataka kuwaambia majirani zetu wa Garissa, Tana River na wale wote wanaoleta ng’ombe – hata wanaowabeba kwa malori wakiwaleta – wajue siku ile mimi napigania mabwawa na vitu vingine kupelekwa Lamu wao huwa wako mbele kupigania Lamu isipate mabwawa hayo ili wapate wao. Lakini saa hii tumeona kwamba yale mabwawa machache ya Lamu ndiyo wanayoyafuata. Kwa hivyo, Mhe. Naibu wa Spika, mimi ningeomba Serikali iweze kuangalia yale maeneo ambayo yatakuwa yakiwafaa wengine. Pesa zilitolewa yakajengwa mabwawa lakini mvua haikunyesha kule. Mvua imenyesha mahali kama Lamu, na maji yakapatikana. Sasa iwe ni mtindo, Lamu tuwekewe mabwawa na vidimbwi zaidi ndiyo wakati wa ukame majirani wetu waweze kuja kutumia maji hayo bila kutuathiri sisi.

Kwa hivyo, nyinyi mnaoniangalia vizuri, tena watu wangu majirani wa Garissa, mhakikishe, maanake nyinyi ndio wa kwanza, tukipata hivyo vidimbwi vinavuta Garissa zaidi kuliko Lamu. Na hivyo ndivyo vitu vinawafaa. Saa hii watu wangu wanatatizika. Changamoto za usalama zinaongezeka kwa sababu ng’ombe na wafugaji ni wengi kwenye misitu, na katika misitu kama Boni kuna matatizo. Kwa hivyo, mnanipatia kazi ngumu mno. Kwa sasa hivi ni wakati mgumu kwa watu wa Lamu, haswa watu wa Kiunga. Kule kwenyewe kuna shida za kiusalama ilhali watu na mifugo wanakuja kwa wingi kudhoofisha usalama zaidi. Kwa hivyo, wakati mwingine mnapopanga jambo lolote kama jambo la msaada kwa upande wa kiangazi, itabidi muihusishe Lamu maana mwafahamu kuwa sisi ndiyo wenyeji wenu. Inafaa Lamu ipate mgao mwingi zaidi ili iweze kuwakaribisha hadi wageni wakati wa kiangazi. Ahsante Mhe. Naibu wa. Spika.

Ahsante sana. I call upon the Member for Kitutu Chache North.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker for giving me an opportunity to address this august House. First of all, I thank God for the opportunity he has given me to be here today. Secondly, I congratulate you and Hon. Wetangula for being elected Deputy Speaker and Speaker, respectively. I congratulate the President and the Deputy President respectively for being 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.

elected. I thank them for being there for me during my election. I thank the President so much for believing, trusting and walking with me throughout the journey during this election.

I also thank the people of Kitutu Chache North Constituency for believing and voting for me as a young person. I want to tell them that being in this august House, I will represent them faithfully as they deserve. I also want to thank the former Member of Parliament, Hon. Jimmy Nuru Angwenyi, who has been here for more than 25 years. I understand that Members of the 12th Parliament used to call him the “Grandfather of the House.” I have so much respect for him. I really thank him. I will try to fit in his shoes because he is one person who has worked for the people of Kitutu Chache North for far too long. I want to thank the President for his resolve to have Cabinet Secretaries coming to this House to respond to Questions that will be raised by Members. This is with regard to the roads in my constituency. There is a road that was started back in 2016 and stopped in the same year. This is the road that goes from Nyamukumba to Ng’enyi, Bobaracho, Monyerero, Ragogo and Tambacha to Marani. I believe when the Cabinet Secretaries come to this House to answer Questions, it will be easier for me as a Member of Parliament to ask questions and to know why the contractor has not finished the road six years down the line. As the Member of Kitutu Chache North, I want to tell my constituents that I will work with them and make sure that whatever they want passed in the House, is done. Lastly, on the issue to do with the hustlers’ fund, I thank the President so much because with that fund coming along, the young people of this country will be able to get funds so that they can establish their own businesses. We believe that the young people of this country will benefit through this fund. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I am pleased that the President has reduced the price of fertilisers from Kshs6,500 to Kshs3500 per bag. With that reduction, farmers in my Kisii County will be able to produce more in terms of maize and other crops. This will make more food available for distribution to residents in ASALs, who are complaining of drought that has led to food deficiency. This will feed people in those areas because of the issues that they are undergoing. Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for this opportunity.

Thank you. If you are the one who has sent home the “Grandfather of the National Assembly”, then you have set the bar quite high. I now call upon the Member for Mathioya. Is that the correct pronunciation? Is the Member for Mathioya here?

Yes, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

Member for Igembe North, I forgot you for a minute but I will get back to you. Proceed, Member for Mathioya.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, thank you for giving me an opportunity to address this House for the first time. Indeed, this is my maiden speech. I want to congratulate you for your election as the Deputy Speaker and for the election of Hon. Moses Masika Wetangula as the Speaker of this House. I sincerely give my thanks to the people of Mathioya for giving me the opportunity to serve them in this House. It is an honour given that out of the 50 million Kenyans, I am part of the 350 that are serving this House. I thank my family, my wives, my children, my nuclear family, my dad and mum – Mr. and Mrs. Gichuki – for the support they gave me. They cheered me on when it was not fashionable to do so. I thank the President and the Deputy President for the numerous trips they made to Mathioya to come and campaign for me through the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party so that my dream could become a reality. Mr. President and your Deputy wherever you are, I give you my thanks. I want to thank the UDA party for the free and fair primaries or nominations because without them, I could not be in 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.

On the debate in the House today about drought, I am privileged to have worked with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), which is a United Nations body that deals with drought and food issues. For us to be able to solve the issue of drought, we have to look at the issue of water. We have different types of droughts. We have meteorological drought that is caused by factors such as tsunami, hurricanes, typhoons and others natural phenomena like landslides. I know this is happening close to home like in Mozambique and South Africa but for now, it is not affecting our country. We also have another type of drought called hydrological drought, which is caused lack of by water. If we manage our water well, we will not have issues of drought in this country. We are currently talking about drought but in three to six, seven or eight months, there will be flooding in this country yet all that water will go to waste. Some will go to Lake Victoria and some to the Indian Ocean. If we conserve that water through water harvesting using pans, dams and other things, drought will be a thing of the past. The other day when His Excellency the President was flagging-off relief food, he said he hoped that that would be the last time he would be doing so. We know that he has a PhD in Agriculture, and a Masters’ degree in Agriculture. He is passionate about agriculture. Because we have given him a chance, I am very sure that we will never again discuss drought in this House. There is also another type of drought called agricultural drought, which causes shortage of food. There are some counties or parts of the country that have excess food while others are suffering. We have counties that are even wasting food. If we can improve on our logistical and supply chain mechanisms, we will be able to move food from food-rich counties or areas that have a surplus of food commodities to counties that do not have food. We will then not have food shortages. If we are able to do this, I am sure we will be able to solve some of these problems. I know that my proposals might be extreme but we need to expand on the sources or types of food that we eat in this country. Having worked out of the country, in Cameroon, people there…

Thank you. I think we had skipped the Member for Igembe North. After him, we will have Hon. Umulkher Harun, the Nominated Member. We will then have the Member for Karachuonyo. Make sure that your cards are ready.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for this opportunity. Let me take a cue from my colleagues and congratulate you for being elected as the Deputy Speaker of this House. I also congratulate the Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Wetangula Masika. Let me also take this opportunity to congratulate the President and his deputy for being unequivocally elected. Allow me to also congratulate the great people of Igembe for giving me an opportunity to serve them as their Member of the 13th Parliament. This is a great honour and I assure them that I will not squander this opportunity. I will serve them diligently with a lot of commitment and honour. Allow me to give a little background of Igembe North. As the name suggests, Igembe North is one of the constituencies at the far end of Mount Kenya. It is the northern-most constituency in Meru. In this regard, it borders Isiolo County. All the five wards of Igembe North touch Isiolo County at one end. This, therefore, means that the marginal belt of Igembe North is quite wide. In relation to the Motion before us, we are aware that mapping has been done and some counties have been mapped as red-alert counties. I would urge the Government to make sure that, as per the sub-county poverty and drought indices, Igembe North is considered as one of the sub-counties that should be on the red-alert programme. Igembe’s economic mainstay is

, an agricultural product. Currently, miraa is not productive in three-quarters of Igembe North Constituency. Two weeks ago, one of the sections of Igembe hit the headlines 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.

100 people ate meat of a dead camel. They were hospitalised because of diarrhoea and other related problems. I call on the Government to intervene urgently so that people can be given enough food for them to feed their young ones and to also make sure that our children remain in school. I am alive to the fact that distribution of food is already taking place. I would beg that the Government makes sure that the food is taken to schools instead of giving it to individuals. At school, all school-going children will access the food and we shall have less problems in homesteads. Finally, on infrastructure, I want to assure the people of Igembe North that I know all the stalled projects concerning electricity, roads and boreholes. I will fast-track them once appointments have been made in various ministries to make sure that those projects are completed. Thank you. I can see my time is over. I want to end there.

Thank you. Nominated Member Hon. Umulkher Harun.

Thank you so much, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity. I am a young lady, nominated by the Orange Democratic Movement party. I am from Garissa County, specifically Ijara Sub-County in Hulugho, which borders Somalia to the south. We constantly hear about drought but we have not found a solution to date. Is it because we do not have the funds or is it because we are yet to come up with strategies and proper solutions? Kenya is a natural resource-based economy, meaning we are completely at the mercy of rains to direct how we feed ourselves. In that case then, what can we do? Top in my mind is whether we can have an aggressive campaign to make our country green. To that effect, the residents in counties like Wajir are not farmers but nomads, but we are still one of the biggest food consumers. My challenge today would be to first come up with solutions. We have countries like Israel that have completely found a solution to feed their people. For mangoes from Ijara Sub- county, we use water from Tana River for irrigation. Mangoes from our farms do very well. We also supply a lot of lemon and watermelons. I suggest that we have inter-county trade initiatives and ask counties to find ways to provide food for their people. The leather market, for instance, is currently at 407 billion dollars. Our animals are dying. It is, therefore, important that we have county-based tanneries and meat commissions so that when an animal dies, we are able to slaughter it immediately and that herder gets money instantly. That is one of the solutions I am thinking about because drought will always be there. We just have to find a way to create solutions. As a lawmaker, I understand we have the National Climate Change Fund yet to be operationalised. The ministries involved need to tell us where we are at. When we talk of this fund, we must not forget the National Climate Change Council which is chaired by the President. Why has it not met yet? How then as a country can we leverage on what we have like the existing finances, namely, the National Climate Change Fund and the County Climate Change Fund, to attract more finances? As a nomad and with these funds, we need to come up with solutions quickly. When we sit in this House again next year, we should not talk about drought, but maybe we should talk about how watermelons from Garissa are making their way to Central Kenya and how milk from Central Kenya is making its way to counties that do not have it. Let us think solution-based since we know the problem. We have described the problem. We need solutions. We need funds to implement programmes. Now that we know Principal Secretaries positions are being filled, can we have nomads in place so that they can also find ways to divert funds to support their people?

Let us have Member for Kiminini.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. Congratulations for being elected as Deputy Speaker of 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.

We are living in a country that does not really worry about the disaster cycle. The focus in this country remains just on response and recovery. What we have always done as a country is to ignore the portion of preparedness and mitigation. I am saying this because having had an opportunity to work with the United Nations for close to 22 years in 19 countries, officials of other countries are always very responsive and ready to save lives. We have had an opportunity even to come up with a paper while working in the presidency. We shared it with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, given that they interact with the United Nations. Up to last year, the United Nations was ready to establish for us a humanitarian city where we could keep stockpiles, from medicines to food, and come up with the capacity and even establish the Kenya Disaster Management Authority. However, we know the disaster cycle very well. In a period of every three to five years, we know there will be hunger either natural or man-made disasters. Our focus in this country has just remained on response. By the time we want to respond, there is very little food to respond and very little humanitarian items. You remember in 2018 when we had the Solai Dam emergency, it made the Government borrow around to mobilise about one billion shillings. For what we have put in place or the proposal we have done outside this House, we have had an idea on how we as experts from this country could try to bring resources together and mitigate or be more prepared to reduce what we are seeing. His Excellency the President talked about food production. But again, producing that food will not be very good if we do not have mechanisms on how to stock it. I know most multilateral organisations including the United Nations really favour Kenya due to geographical positioning. From Kenya, they would like to keep their stockpiles here. They have most of the UN agencies here and are ready to invest here, but it has always been driven from a political perspective where people sitting in different offices are not in a position to really understand that we have to support it.

I am saying that we need to take this issue urgently. We, as a country, need to move from just focusing on response and recovery to being prepared and ensuring that there is drought mitigation. Once we are prepared, even if these effects are there, they will be minimal. What is most important is to ensure that we have sufficient stock piles, human resource capacity, but not just a policy paper. I am fully aware that the Member for Kikuyu, Hon. Ichung’wah, brought a Bill in this House on disaster management. I know the Bill will be re- submitted. We need to re-look at it, so that it is not only the policy paper, but we try to build an infrastructure. We can use other multilateral agencies to build capacity, ensure that the National Disaster Management Authority works together with the United Nations and have good humanitarian stocks and food.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I want to leave it at that. As a country, we must move from just mere response and focus more on preparedness and mitigation. We know that in every period of two to five years, there will always be these disasters. From history, there will also be man- made disasters which occur after every seven to 10 years. A good example is the Solai Dam disaster. We, as a country, need to prepare not only by coming up with a policy, but also put in place sufficient infrastructure to ensure that we save lives of Kenyans.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

Member for Kisauni.

Asante sana, Mhe. Naibu Spika kwa kunipatia fursa ya kupenyeza sauti yangu katika janga hili la ukame. Lakini, kabla ya hayo, nachukua nafasi hii kumshukuru Mwenyezi Mungu kwa kuniwezesha kuwa katika Bunge la Kumi na Tatu. Kama sio uwezo wake, singekuwa hapa. Nina imani nitafanya mema wakati huu wa kipindi hiki cha miaka mitano.

Pili, nachukua fursa hii kukupongeza kwa kuchaguliwa kama Naibu Spika wa Bunge hili la Kumi na Tatu. Tuna imani utafanya haki pamoja na Spika Moses Wetangula katika 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.

Bunge hili, ili wote wapate fursa ya kuzungumza. Nachukua nafasi hii pia kushukuru familia yangu kwa kunipa moyo na nguvu wakati wa kampeni, ili nisirudi nyuma mpaka nikapata ushindi. Nawashukuru sana. Pia, nichukua fursa hii kuwashukuru wangwana wa Kisauni kwa kunichagua kuwa Mjumbe wao na kwa kuniamini ili niweze kuwaakilisha katika Bunge hili la Kumi na Tatu. Nina imani kwamba wako katika mikono salama na nitakaa na wao. Tutasaidiana kwa hali na mali kuhakikisha kwamba Eneo Bunge letu la Kisauni linasonga mbele. Baada ya kunipumzisha katika Bunge la Kumi na Mbili, nashukuru kwa sababu waliniamini na wakaona kwamba wamekosa huduma zangu, na nirudi katika Bunge la Kumi na Tatu.

Namshukuru Mhe. Rais kwa kurudisha huduma za utendakazi wa bandari kwa Wapwani. Tunawaomba wawekezaji warudi ili watumie fursa hiyo ili vijana wetu wapate ajira. Pia, bandari irudishe ile mfumo wa zamani wa ‘white card’ ili watoto wetu waendelee kupata ajira. Watoto wetu wamekaa mabarazani. Tuna imani kwamba ikiwa watarudisha hiyo ‘whitecard’ itatusaidia zaidi ili watoto wengi waajiriwe. Kutakuwa na moyo na hata wao watakuwa na ufahamu kwamba baada ya muda fulani, watarudi kufanya kazi na wengine watabadilishana baada ya miezi mitatu.

Suala la maskwota ni tatizo kubwa Pwani, hasa Kisauni. Nina imani Serikali hii ya awamu ya tano itashughulikia suala hili. Moja katika ahadi walizozitoa ni kwamba wataumaliza uskwota na tunasubiri kuona hilo jambo likitekelezwa.

Upande wa Kisauni, amri za kufukuzwa nyingi zimetoka. Hatuingilii mahakama lakini tunaomba wawe na utaratibu wa fikra kwamba unapotoa amri ya kufukuza nyumba zaidi ya elfu moja, unaleta matatizo makubwa. Wanaoteseka ni akina mama na watoto wakati nyumba hizo zinabomolewa. Wale ambao wanadai kuwa zile ardhi ni zao walikuwa wapi wakati ambapo watu walikuwa wanajenga msingi, wakajenga hadi wakaweka paa na stima? Mbona watu hawa wakuje wakati mtu amelala kusema ni kwao? Kwa hivyo, naomba mahakama iwe inaangalia sana swala hilo. Katika upande wa ukame, ningeomba kwamba ukame uwe janga la kitaifa kwa sababu kuna watu wanapata dhiki kubwa wanapoenda hatua ndefu kutafuta maji. Mifugo wanakufa barabarani wanapokosa lishe. Ni vyema taifa liwe na mipango. Wasingoje mpaka wakati kuna ukame wa jua kali ndiyo wazungumze. Kuwe na mpango katika kila kaunti ili kuwe na namna mbadala ya kila jambo. Kama ni water bowsers ama chakula katika maghala, wakati kuna jambo kama hili, kila kaunti ihakikishe inatatua jambo hili. Wasingoje mpaka janga liwe kubwa, tuwe tunakuja kuweka bendera juu ya malori hapa Nairobi ilhali kufika huko pia inagarimu siku kadhaa. Kwa hivyo, mimi naomba mipango hii iwe inashughulikiwa kikamilifu. Kisauni ni sehemu moja kame pia kwa sasa. Ningeomba pia katika yale majina ama ile miji iliyohesabiwa wasitenge Kisauni. Jua limewaka sana kule. Ikiwa chakula kitapeanwa, watu wa Kisauni pia waweze kupata. Kwa haya mengi, nasema ahsante sana. Ikiwa itawezekana, naomba ‘nidoneti’ muda wangu uliobaki kwa Mheshimiwa Mishi hapa. Ahsante sana.

Member for Mbeere South.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity. My name is Eng. Nebart Muriuki, a born-again Christian from Mbeere South. Let me join my colleagues in thanking and congratulating you and the Speaker for being elected to lead this 13th Parliament. This is my first time in this House. For me to be here, I would say it was a struggle for the people of Mbeere South. If I may tell this House where I am coming from, in Mbeere South, I was the founder Member of UDA and I promoted it aggressively. The electoral process of this country put me off, but the people of Mbeere were determined to have me in this House because they have confidence that I can deliver. 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. Deputy Speaker, I want to thank my people of Mbeere South because they had to fight the tides and waves of Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya Kwanza to bring me to this House as an Independent Member. The message which the people of Mbeere South sent through this election was that Mbeere South is committed to work with the President because they overwhelmingly voted for him too. Embu County is all Kenya Kwanza except for Mbeere South where I am an Independent Member. The message they gave me as I came to this House is that I must work with the Government so that I can deliver on the promises that I made to them. I want to thank them very much for standing with me and ensuring that I come to this House. I want to thank them for the confidence and the trust they have in me. I trust that this 13th Parliament is going to be different from other Parliaments. We must enact laws which are going to facilitate provision of services to our people. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I have been listening to the debate and many Members are talking about problems. However, one speaker has made a very good presentation that since 1965 to date, we are still talking about the same problem of drought. Mbeere South, a semi- arid and one of the largest constituencies in Embu County, and also the most underdeveloped in that county, has been having the same cycle of drought and hunger.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, as I speak, the relief food that was supplied has not reached every corner of Mbeere South. This morning, I got a call that some schools have not got any food. Others are having problems with water. Yesterday, I had to supply water to a school because there was no water. In this country, we build capacity but we do not make use of it. Mbeere South has five dams which are neither used to supply water to the area nor used for irrigation. As I speak, we are experiencing drought in that sub-county yet we have the capacity to do irrigation and even to provide people with clean water. This problem is not only in Mbeere South. We should also look at other areas in the country where capacity has been built, but is not being put to work. For instance, the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), how many…

Member for Magarini.

Asante Mhe. Naibu Spika. Kwanza, nachukua nafasi hii kukupongeza kwa kuchaguliwa kuwa Naibu wa Spika wa Bunge hili la Kumi na Tatu. Vile vile, kwa haraka, nachukua fursa hii kuwarudishia shukrani watu wa Magarini kwa kuwa iliwapendeza kunichagua kwa mara ya nne kuwawakilisha na kuwafanyia maendeleo. Swala lililo mbele yetu la ukame ni swala sugu ambalo linahitaji kufanyiwa mipango kabambe. Tunapaswa kumudu sehemu kame zote ili ziweze kubadilika na kuwa za manufaa kwa wananchi wetu. Mfano ni eneo la Chakama katika eneo Bunge langu. Ndio, sehemu hii ni kame lakini ardhi ile ina maji ya kutosha. Kinachohitajika tu ni Serikali kuchukua mikakati inayofaa na kuchimba visima ambavyo vinaendeshwa na nguvu za jua na hivyo kunyunyiza maji kwa mashamba na watu waweze kupata chakula cha kutosha. Vile vile, sehemu zingine kama vile Kanagoni ambazo zimepakana na Mbunge aliyeleta Mswada huu ni sehemu kame. Lakini, ndani ya ardhi hizi, kuna maji ya kutosha ambayo yakiwekewa mikakati inayofaa yanaweza kusaidia wananchi kujiendeleza na kupata chakula cha kutosha. Nikimalizia, tunao mradi mkubwa ndani ya kaunti za Tana River na Kilifi ambao hautusaidii kwa njia yoyote ile. Nitamuuliza mwenzagu, Mhe. Ali Wario, tulete Mswada ambao utarudisha mradi huo kwa kaunti hizi mbili ili tuweze kuutumia vyema na watu wetu wasiwe wa kuhangaishwa na njaa kila wakati. Watoto wengi wameacha kusoma kwa sababu ya ukame na njaa. Shule nyingi zinaelekea kufungwa kwa sababu wanafunzi ni haba. Mheshimiwa Naibu Spika, ninaamini ya kuwa Serikali ya Rais William Ruto inaenda kubadilisha maisha ya jamii kwa kuzingatia yale ambayo wameyapanga kwa kuhakikisha ya kwamba wanayafanya yawe ya kweli. 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.

Tukizungumzia hazina hii ya wachochole, ikiwa itatumika vizuri na ufisadi tuweke kando, kwa hakika vijana na akina mama wataweza kufaidi na kuwa na maendeleo. Kwa hayo machache au mengi, ninasema asante Mheshimiwa Naibu Spika, hata kwa kuweza kuniona na kunipa nafasi.

Member for North Horr.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. I would first like to thank the Almighty God for giving us the opportunity to be here. Secondly, I would like to thank my family, and the great people of North Horr for electing me to this august House. I want to contribute to the current Motion on the Floor on the issue of drought. Drought has become a vicious circle. It happens every two years, and continues to claim lives, and the livelihood of the people. Unfortunately, drought has become the order of the day. In my constituency, people are dying. In the past week, five elderly people have died. It is not an exaggeration, but a reality. About 70 per cent of the livestock have already perished. Unfortunately, the kind of intervention we are seeing on the ground is quite insignificant looking at the impact of the drought. Hon. Deputy Speaker, looking at the current trend, we foresee a situation whereby, come December, we will not have people to represent. We will only have rocks and sanddunes to represent. It is high time this House acted and came up with a special House Committee to look into the issue of drought in this country. Some schools have been closed and others are running intermittently. So, basically, there is a real danger. If the Government will not take any action, we are going to lose the entire population in northern Kenya. I would like to appreciate and commend the efforts of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). Were it not for them, we would have lost the entire people in northern Kenya and other ASAL counties. The UN agencies and donor communities have been fast- tracking and proactively moving forward by providing live saving interventions for the people in northern Kenya. Hon. Deputy Speaker, the resources that NGOs are using come from foreign governments. I do not see the reason why local NGOs in this country are not financed by the Kenya Government. If foreign countries are able to entrust their resources with the local agencies, why then can the Government not entrust its own local institutions to provide resources and services to the people? They have proved to be efficient, proactive and it is high time they looked outside the box to see to it that by being effective, they need to be supported because they have gone extra mile to reach areas where the Government is not able to. We have been talking about the issue of drought year in, year out. There is a lot of potential in the ASALs counties. If Egypt as dry as it is is able to export fruits, rice and other food products, why is Kenya not able to produce its own fruits and food to feed its people and export extras to other countries yet we have more potential than Egypt and other dry countries? What this country needs is to think outside the box. They should know that ASAL areas have a lot of potential. People think that northern Kenya and other ASAL counties lack capacity to produce food. Look at what is happening in Galana-Kulalu Project, although it was mismanaged, we have no similar projects in all the counties in this country. If it was properly managed, we would afford to feed our own people and export to other countries and earn foreign exchange. While we are enjoying air-conditioned House here, our people are languishing in hunger and dying. It is not an exaggeration and it is high time we thought about how we can support our communities by coming up with special House Committees to look into this issue of drought. It is a disaster that is taking lives and livelihoods. Through your 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.

office, Hon. Deputy Speaker, I really urge this House to come up with a special House Committee. Thank you very much.

Member for Likoni Constituency.

Asante sana, Mhe. Naibu Spika. Kwanza ningependa kukupatia hongera kwa kuweza kuwa Naibu Spika wa hili Bunge la kitaifa. Umeweza kuweka nyota ya kina mama ing’are sana katika taifa letu la Kenya. Pia, ningependa kuwapongeza Spika Mhe. Wetangula na pia Mhe. Kingi ambaye ameweka historia kuwa Spika wa kwanza kutoka Pwani, Kaunti ya Kilifi. Hongera sana. Niwashukuru pia wakaazi wa Likoni na wapiga kura kwa kuweza kuwa na imani na mimi kuweza kunirudisha tena kuwawakilisha ili niweze kuendeleza maendeleo endelevu. Haswa leo ningependa kuzumgumzia Hoja hii ya tharura ambayo inazungumzia janga la njaa na niseme ni ukweli takriban zaidi ya watu milioni tatu hivi sasa wamekosa usalama wa chakula katika taifa letu la Kenya. Ukiangalia katika Mkoa wa Pwani, sehemu za Tana pale, sehemu za Kilifi, Kwale na pia upande wa North Eastern, ambapo ni kule tuseme Kaskazini Mshariki na pia sehemu za Ukambani na sehemu zingine za Kenya, tumeweza kuwa na ukame na kiangazi kikali sana. Hii ni kwa sababu ya mabadiliko ya hali ya hewa. Swala hili limekuwa swala nyeti na la kilimwengu ambapo inahitajika tuweze kuangalia sera mahususi ambazo zitapambana na hali hii ya hewa ambayo inatuletea ukame wa hali ya juu sana. Tuweze kuangalia nchi ambazo zimeweza kustawi ama kubobea, kwa mfano Misri na Israeli. Hizi ni nchi ambazo zimekuwa na ukame na zimekuwa za jangwa lakini tunaona ya kwamba wanaweza kupata mazao, chakula na wanaweza kuwa na usalama wa chakula katika taifa lao. Ningependa kuzungumzia madhara yanayotuvika tukiwa na janga la ukame. Tunakuwa na ndoa za haraka kwa sababu mabinti wetu wanatembea kilomita nyingi wakitafuta chakula. Hivyo wanaweza kupambana na wale mababa wa sukari na kuweza kupata ndoa za haraka. Hili ni jambo ambalo pia linaadhiri elimu katika taifa letu la Kenya. Wanafunzi pia wanashindwa kwenda shule kwa sababu ya njaa, hivyo pia elimu inaweza kudorora. Vile vile, tunaona misafara ya mifugo ikitoka sehemu kadhaa kwenda kutafuta mahali ambapo wanaweza kupata nyasi ama chakula. Jambo hili linaleta uhasama katika jamii zetu na kuleta shida na vita vya kikabila. Kwa mfano, kuna ngamia wengi wanaotoka katika sehemu ya Tana River, sehemu ya Mashariki Kaskazini, wanaotembea mpaka kule Taita Taveta na Kilifi. Hivyo basi, wakaazi wa kule wanaweza kuona ya kwamba huo ni uchokozi na kunaweza kuwa na uhasama wa kijamii. Haya yote yanaletwa na janga la chakula la kitaifa. Mheshimiwa Rais katika Hotuba yake aliweza kuzungumzia kwamba ni lazima tujenge uwezo wa kulima, uvuvi na tuhakikisha uchumi wa samawati ambao tunaita blue economy uboreshwe ili pia tuweze kupata chakula. Leo uchumi wa samawati unaweza kuleta kilimo cha samaki ambacho hakitakuwa lazima tu kwa wale wanabahari ama ziwa. Hata kule ambapo hakuna kunaweza kutengenezwa mabawa na njia za kilimo cha samaki. Hiyo pia ni njia moja ya kuhakikisha kwamba tuna usalama wa chakula. Kule Pwani, maeneo ya Kwale, Kilifi na Mombasa, tunakosa maji na tuna ule mradi wa Mzima Springs II. Mkoloni alianzisha Mzima Springs I lakini haiwezi kutosheleza hivi sasa asilimia ya Wakenya ambayo imeongezeka marudufu. Kwa hivyo, lazima Serikali iliopo iangalie Mzima Springs II ili tuweze kuboresha chakula. Vile vile, tuwe na sera za kupambana na majanga ya kitaifa. Vile vile, vyakula vya misaada viende kwa wale ambao wanahusika, isiende kwa watu ambao hawahusiki. Vile vile, tuwe na mpangilio ya chakula kwa watoto wetu wa shule ili tuweze kuboresha elimu haswa kwa wakati huu wa janga hili ambalo tuko nalo. Vyakula vyetu vya utamaduni kama ugali, mchele na vyakula vya nafaka viwekwe kwa bei ya chini kwa sababu Mhe. Rais alisema ataaangalia mahasla.

Member for Runyenjes. 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. Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to contribute to this Motion. First and foremost, I want to congratulate you for being elected as the Deputy Speaker in the 13th Parliament. Secondly, I wish to thank my people of Runyenjes Constituency for giving me a second opportunity to serve them. I wish to assure them that I will do it with more dedication and commitment.

Yesterday was a very sad day in Runyenjes where we laid to rest some seven people who perished in a fire tragedy. At this point, I would like to ask the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to fast-track the investigation so that we can understand what happened.

I wish to contribute on this matter of drought situation in the country. Kenya has not been able to feed its people properly. We cannot move forward as a country. Approximately five million people are starving. The Government of Jomo Kenyatta gave relief food. The Government of President Moi gave relief food. The Government of Mwai Kibaki did the same. The Government of Uhuru Kenyatta gave relief food. The Government of William Ruto must do things differently. We say in English that, it is only a fool who does the same thing the same way and expect different results. Why do we have this situation right now? It is because of climate change. Kenya has only approximately 20 per cent of its land that receives sufficient rainfall. About 80 per cent does not receive sufficient rainfall. It means that it is only people who live in those areas that receive sufficient rainfall that can give us food, but they are too few to give us sufficient food. All over the world, we have success stories of countries that have managed to give enough food. For instance, India has over 1.4 billion people and it gives enough food to its people. China has 1.3 billion people and it feeds all its people. That never used to be. They put a lot of their land under cultivation. In India alone, 51 per cent of its land is under irrigation. In China, 41 per cent is under irrigation. In Egypt, which is a desert, they have been able to supply the world with rice. It means that if we must move on as a country, we must stop relying on rain for farming. We must go the irrigation way. If, for example, the dam proposed for construction at Thuci within my constituency is constructed, it would mean that four constituencies, namely, Runyenjes, Chuka/Igambang’ombe, Tharaka and Mbeere North can sufficiently do farming. So, I urge the Government of Kenya, led by His Excellency the President William Ruto, to give priority to irrigation farming. If we do this, in a few years, Kenya will adequately supply its people with enough food, and possibly, even get enough to give to neighbouring countries. With those few remarks, I thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

Let us have the Member for Njoro Constituency.

Thank you very much, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for granting me this time. Let me first start by thanking the Almighty God for giving us this opportunity. Let me also take this opportunity to thank the people of Njoro Constituency for re-electing me as their Member of Parliament. Let me also take this time to thank Kenyans for electing our able President William Samoei Ruto. I also take this time to congratulate you as our Deputy Speaker. In the same line, I also thank Kenyans for electing women and electing Charity Kathambi Chepkwony as a Member of Parliament for Njoro Constituency. Let me go to today’s topic in relation to drought. When we talk about drought in this National Assembly, what comes to my mind is to remind Members of Parliament and the country that this is part of climate change. Climate change is real, and it is affecting us. We have seen floods and are now talking about drought as a Motion in this Parliament. We have experienced many challenges. My issue is that as we talk about drought, it is now almost 60 years since Independence. Now that we have elected a very capable Parliament and Government led by His Excellency President William Samoei Ruto, I propose that we now talk about short-term and long-term ways of mitigating drought and adopting solutions for the country. 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.

When we talk about drought, most people might think that Nakuru County is not as affected as other areas in the northern part of Kenya. But I would like to say that I come from a constituency where three out of six wards are experiencing drought, and even the other three remaining wards still have some affected areas. I confirm that currently in some areas in my constituency, there are some students who cannot attend classes because they cannot even get food to eat. Therefore, as we talk about drought in this country, it should be noted that if this country does not take serious measures, this might be a story. But for now, I have a lot of hope that the Kenya Kwanza Government will take serious measures. Let me also congratulate His Excellency the President for taking action in relation to agriculture. The Government has taken an intentional action to ensure that we have affordable fertilisers. We expect smart agriculture to be introduced in this country. Since the President will be one of the persons who will lead the Climate Change Council, I hope he will effect smart agriculture to ensure that we minimise or end drought in this country. That will make this country better. Lastly, thank you for giving me this opportunity. This is a good Motion that we should all act on to ease the pressure of drought in this country. Thank you.

Member for Teso South.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for this opportunity. I have been waiting patiently. Yesterday the Leader of the Majority Party donated one minute to me and I was only able to thank the people of Teso South for giving me another opportunity to serve them in the 13th Parliament, having given me the first opportunity to serve them in the 11th Parliament. Allow me to congratulate you and the Speaker on being elected to the position of Deputy Speaker and Speaker, respectively. Let me also take this opportunity to congratulate the President and the Deputy President on their election.

Let me weigh in on today’s Motion on drought. I want to agree with Members who have already spoken that the drought being experienced in this country this time round is the worst ever. It has not only affected the ASAL regions, but it has been felt across the country, including in Busia County and in particular in Teso South where I come from. I want to confess that a number of families in Teso South sleep on a cup of porridge a day. They can hardly afford two kilogrammes of unga to provide a meal for their families. Whereas we know that the ASAL regions are the most hit by drought, I know there is a pocket in every county or sub- county experiencing the impact of the prolonged drought across the country. As we plead with the Government to intervene and provide relief food and support to the affected regions, I also plead that some of the food donations be sent to Busia County, Teso South and all those areas across the country where families are affected most by the prolonged drought.

It is high time, as a country, we focused more on coming up with lasting solutions that will address this problem so as to alleviate the suffering of the people across the country. There is need, going forward, for us to look at more techniques of water harvesting. There are times when we get a lot of water and it all goes to waste. The National Drought Management Authority should develop policies and programmes that will address these issues and promote water harvesting techniques. We should also enhance water tracking in ASAL regions and provide more storage facilities so that water is available in all affected regions.

There is need to have a livestock-buying programme, especially during drought. We can sell the livestock and use the money to support the families most affected by drought. This is a serious issue. We must seriously consider all avenues on how to mitigate it so that Kenyans do not continue suffering because of drought in this age and time. Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity.

Let us have the Member for Kwale County.

Asante sana Mheshimiwa Naibu Spika kwa kunipatia nafasi hii adimu ili nizungumze katika Bunge hili la Kumi na Tatu. 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.

Aliye mbele yenu ni Mheshimiwa Fatuma Masito, kiongozi kutoka Kwale. Pili, nashukuru Mheshimiwa Naibu Spika kwa kuchaguliwa Naibu Spika wa Bunge hili. Pia, nampa kongole Mheshimiwa Wetangula kwa kupata nafasi hiyo ya Spika. Tatu, nashukuru wananchi wa Kaunti ya Kwale kwa kunipatia nafasi hii, kwa kunichagua tarehe tisa mwezi wa nane na kusema, “Fatuma Masito, nenda katika Bunge la Taifa ukatuwakilishe”. Wenyewe wananiita Samia Suluhu. Fatuma Masito amezaliwa katika Kaunti ya Kwale. Nimesoma katika Kaunti ya Kwale. Nimeolewa katika Kaunti ya Kwale. Nafanya kazi hii ambayo nimetumwa katika Bunge hili la Taifa ndani ya Kaunti ya Kwale. Nikisema hivyo nina maana ya kuwa ninaielewa Kaunti ya Kwale vizuri sana. Hoja iliyo mbele yetu imeletwa na ndugu yetu, Mheshimiwa Ali Wario, na inasema kuwa janga la njaa au ukame litangazwe kuwa janga la kitaifa. Kaunti ya Kwale ni moja ya kaunti ambazo zimekumbwa na janga hili la ukame. Tukiangalia sehemu za kaunti ndogo za Kinango na Lunga Lunga, na baadhi ya sehemu za kaunti ndogo ya Matuga, zinaumia sana. Sehemu hizi zimepigwa pakubwa na janga hili la ukame. Kuna sehemu iitwayo Marere ambapo maji yanakauka. Maji haya ya Marere yanatoka Kwale lakini yanatumika katika kaunti nyingine. Wananchi wa Kwale wanakufa kiu kwa sababu inasemekana kuna sheria ya miaka ya sitini ambayo inasema maji haya yatatumika katika sehemu nyingine za taifa hili kwa kuwa maji ni haki ya Mkenya yeyote yule. Lakini Mkwale anaumia. Napata kuwa kuna vidimbwi vikubwa vikubwa sehemu nyingine za Kenya, lakini bado Kaunti ya Kwale haijabahatika kupata vidimbwi hivyo vikubwa kusaidia kaunti ile.

Sehemu kubwa ya Kaunti ya Kwale ni ya ukulima. Hata hivyo, ukulima hauwezi kufanyika kwa sababu hakuna maji. Katika ile hotuba ya Rais, naomba Kwale iwe kati ya kaunti zitakazotambuliwa na kusaidika. Ndio maana niko hapa ili niwakilishe wananchi wa Kwale walio na kilio kikubwa. Hivi sasa, ninapozungumza, kuna wanyama wameletwa sehemu ya Kwale. Maelfu ya ngamia na ng’ombe ambao wametoka sehemu tofauti tofauti wako Lunga Lunga na Kinango. Kwa sababu sisi Wakwale ni wakarimu, tumenyamaza lakini tunaumia. Imezidi kutuumiza kwa sababu ya janga hili. Imezidi kufagia nyasi, mifugo na hata mchanga wetu. Endapo mvua itanyesha wakati wowote kutoka sasa, basi Kaunti ya Kwale itakuwa katika zile kaunti zitakazoathirika na mmomonyoko wa ardhi. Nikiangalia, kaunti nyingine ziliboreshewa mimea yao katika Serikali iliyopita. Mfano wa hii mimea ni pamba, kahawa na majani. Kaunti ya Kwale ina mimea takribani kama mitatu: Korosho, mnazi na mzingefuri, lakini haijawahi kuboreshwa. Haijapatiwa pesa ya kuboresha mimea hiyo hata siku moja. Ndio maana Mhe. Naibu Spika, watu wa Kwale walinichagua wakasema niende katika Bunge la Kitaifa nikawalilie kilio chao. Ninaomba Serikali hii isaidie watu wa Kwale. Ninaunga mkono Hoja hii ambayo inasema janga la ukame litangazwe kama janga la kitaifa.

Asante sana, Mhe. Naibu Spika. Nakupa kongole. Wewe ni mfano mkubwa kwa wanawake.

Asante sana.

Hon. Members, the time being 7.00 p.m., this House stands adjourned until Thursday, 13th October 2022 at 2.30 p.m.

The House rose at 7.00 p.m.

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Clerk of the National Assembly Parliament Buildings Nairobi 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.