Order! Hon. Senators, we need to determine if we have a quorum.

I am informed that we do not have a quorum. I order that the Division Bell be rung.

Hon. Senators, we now have a quorum. Let us proceed with this morning’s business.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, on behalf of Sen. (Prof.) Anyang’- Nyong’o, I beg to give notice of the following Motion:- THAT, given the role that Harambee (voluntary contributions) has played in the development of our nation since Independence; aware that the original intentions of Harambee have been adulterated over time through corruption, deceit, bribery and misuse of funds raised; recognizing that elected leaders are those most affected by Harambee invitations, thereby bearing the maximum burden of voluntary contributions for The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Thank you, Sen. Kanainza. Let us move on to the next Order.

Kwa Hoja ya nidhamu, Bw. Naibu Spika.

What is it, Sen.(Dr.) Khalwale?

Bw. Naibu Spika, jana Hoja hii ilikuwa katika orodha ya mpangilio wa shughuli za Bunge hili. Ilikuwa imechapishwa kwa lugha ya kiingereza. Nilikuwa nimesimama nikiomba kwamba Bunge letu la Seneti lifikirie iwapo tunaweza endelea na Hoja hii. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Order, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale! You can only make those comments after the Motion has been moved. Do I also have to speak in Kiswahili language?

Bw Naibu Spika, ni kwa sababu nimeona Hoja hii imeorodheshwa katika lugha ya Kiswahili.

Hiyo ni sawa. Lakini mimi naweza zungumza kwa lugha ya Kiingereza, sivyo?

Bw. Naibu Spika, ungependa nizungumze kwa lugha ya Kiingereza?

Ukipenda.

I can use both languages.

You can contribute in English language, it does not have to be in Kiswahili language. But I am saying the Motion has not yet been moved. Do you not think we should allow the Motion to be moved so that we can discuss it?

Bw. Naibu Spika, that is the procedure. Lakini wasi

how then do you move from there?

Which language do you want to use?

Bw. Naibu Spika, wasi wasi wangu ni kwamba tukiruhusu Hoja hii ipendekezwe na Seneta Mbura, itakuwa ni kinyume. Hii ni Hoja ambayo imepitwa na wakati. Vile unaona Seneta Mbura anataka Bunge la Seneti---

Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, with a lot of respect, you had raised that matter yesterday. I stopped it because the Motion had not been moved. We need to have the Motion moved then if you wish to bring a preliminary objection; you can do so after that. At the moment, the Motion is not the property of the House. That is how I would like to look at it at the moment. Do you agree that we should proceed that way? Having said that, it appears that the Mover of the Motion is not here.

Hon. Senators, since the Mover of the Motion is not here, if we proceed under the relevant Standing Order, I will drop the Motion. So, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale you cannot proceed to put a preliminary objection to it. That is it as pertains to this Motion.

The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move:- THAT, aware that Kenyans living in counties in arid areas such as West Pokot, Turkana, Baringo, Samburu, Garissa, Mandera, among others, are pastoralists who depend on livestock for their livelihood; concerned that over the years, pastoralist communities have continued to suffer loss of their animals due to diseases that are preventable; cognizant of the fact that efforts by past Governments to address the problem have not yielded desirable results; the Senate urges the National Government to urgently put in place an effective policy to create livestock disease free zones in the counties in pastoralist areas. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for a long time, the pastoralists have suffered as a result of lack of effective policy being in place to safeguard their livelihoods. Over 60 per cent of all livestock found in Kenya are in the counties in the pastoralist zones. I am talking about Kenya Disease Free Zoning Programme that is required to safeguard this economic activity that these Kenyans engage in. You will note that it is only livestock farming that can be done in these areas unless we introduce irrigation that we were talking about the other day. The disease free zoning, if implemented, will be able to facilitate access of our livestock and livestock products in the local market, regional and international markets. This is because there are some sensitive diseases that can affect the market. Some of these interventions are meant to eradicate some of the dreaded sensitive diseases that affect our livestock. We need to upgrade livestock breeds and sustainability of suitable range lands and development of livestock farming policies that may be required. This disease free zoning, if implemented will uplift and move the counties to guarantee markets for their animals. I know that some strategies have been put in place over a period of time, but they have never been sustained.

Gentlemen at the front, please, you can continue to consult, but do it, in low tones, noting that the Senator is moving his Motion.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. You will also note that the livestock industry in Kenya plays a very crucial role in contributing to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to the tune of 10 per cent. If we do not sustain this and if we do not put measures such as the one I have mentioned, that is, the Kenya Disease Free Zones, we will be affected because even the food security that we talk about will not be The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for the opportunity to second this Motion. I would like to appeal to Senators to support this Motion because it is very important to some parts of this country, especially the arid and semi arid areas which comprises two thirds of this country and more than a quarter of the population. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, what we have is a situation where people have been left to run their lives at their own whims without any policy framework support from the Government. We know very well that before and after Independence, this country was divided into high and low potential areas. We know the Sessional Paper which was referred to yesterday was biased towards the so-called high potential areas. That is where agriculture is well developed. This is because they have good infrastructure when it comes to the roads. I am biased towards the roads because that is what I know. We have the rural roads development which was biased towards access to markets for farm produce. That is a good idea. Those of us from the pastoralist areas have no problem with that. We know very well that even if you grow whatever crop, be it tea or coffee, if you do not have the roads and the marketing structure like the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA), the Coffee Board of Kenya (CBK), the Pyrethrum Board of Kenya (PBK) and the National Irrigation Board (NIB)--- If we do not have that, the coffee and tea farms will turn into bushes. That is why the Government should provide the infrastructure for the sector to flourish as one of the major economic drivers of this country; as a foreign exchange earner and as a source of employment. On the other side, the livestock sector has not received similar attention and I dare say that even the livestock we are talking about in the current set up is the beef and dairy industry which is under the ranches which fall within the high potential areas. Those of us who do free range livestock production have just been left to our own whims and that is why we fight for it. The Government should come up with the necessary policies to make sure that it becomes a meaningful source of livelihood to the people. There is need to also target the other animals like sheep, goats and camels that do well in the arid and semi arid areas. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we know very well that it is the responsibility of every county Government to establish the necessary support infrastructure for its people in order to do business that will improve their socio-economic status. This is a function of the national Government because it is talking about policy formulation. I believe policy formulation in the agricultural sector is still bestowed on the national Government and The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I stand to support this important Motion. It is important to note that Kenya is a beef country. Millions of animals are roaming around the arid areas of this great Republic. However, the quality of the animals leaves much to be desired. This is because we are not disease-free. You will recall that there were days when Kenya took veterinary services very seriously. Those are the days that engineer spoke about when even the facility in Kabete was being developed. That is how the use of laboratories in Kabete started. This was started because Kenya was embracing livestock as a way of economic growth. During those days, I remember that we used to have holding grounds for livestock in every area. There were areas reserved for livestock to be kept after vaccination so that they are disease-free as this Motion requires. After that, those animals would be taken out for export or slaughtered at the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC). Those are the days when the KMC was established. It was established because Kenya was poised to be a beef producing country. However, what happened? The holding grounds I am talking about were grabbed and became people’s parcels of land. Even the KMC’s grounds were grabbed and what remained of it is a skeleton. There used to be a huge holding ground at the KMC in Athi River where livestock was brought in, disease free, and kept in those grounds until it was ready for slaughter and for export. However, all that land was grabbed and the KMC was left as a building. When one took livestock there, they only slaughtered them on the same day. Therefore, one had to bring a few. The livestock had to come directly from farms because the holding grounds had been grabbed. So, it is greed that has killed the livestock industry which is very important. When Professor was moving this Motion, he said that this country loses over Kshs22 billion annually due to neglect in this vital industry. It is only last year that all laws were amalgamated. However, I remember the laws pertaining to animal disease control were very strict. Quarantines were issued and nobody would dare to break the quarantine. Once a disease was discovered, the veterinary officers had authority to declare quarantine in an area and livestock would not move. That is how animal diseases were controlled. Those laws are still there. I talked about greed creeping into the society and killing the industry. Again, the laws being there, issues of quarantine were ignored. Another issue that cropped up was the introduction of the imposed policies on the international community that the Government should not play any roles in veterinary services. Veterinary extension officers were removed and what remained were skeleton veterinary officers whom we had to pay so that they attend to our livestock. That was the The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker Sir, for giving me a chance to say one or two words regarding this very important Motion. Let me start from the outset by saying that I strongly support this Motion. I am not so sure, listening to the Mover of the Motion, how we will go about as a country tackling some of the challenges he raised with regard to the focus of the areas; the arid and semi-arid areas which are also referred to as the pastoralist areas. We could talk about disease free zones and we need to say whether we should take over all the animals or the few that are taken to the slaughterhouses like the KMC, among other places, so that they are kept disease-free. We should also see whether we are talking about all the livestock as it used to be apparently during the colonial days. The colonialists used to make sure that disease control through the veterinary department was taken very seriously in the areas they were focusing on. The Mover also mentioned a situation where animals were brought from the pastoralist areas and taken to a central place called the KMC. I am not sure whether it is still operational. Very many animals used to die. This is a challenge to the Senate. Looking at this Motion, we need to check whether the problem was the diseases or the drought situation that forced the people there to bring animals in big numbers. The animals would get there so weak that when exposed to any change of situation that would cause them to die. I think there are quite a number of other challenges, over and above, the disease control itself. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, from the outset I support this Motion and congratulate Prof. Lonyangapuo for bringing it. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in this country we have been talking about our economy not doing well. We have always talked of not moving into the single digit simply because we really neglected an industry which should have turned this economy into a double- digit and maybe the best in Africa. Speaking from the pastoralists’ point of view, the Governments of the former Presidents may have just left the pastoralists on their own. Even if policies were there, they were not followed. That is why you will find that if one requires veterinary services, it will be upon that individual to go maybe to Kabete to get vaccines for the animals. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, likewise, the policies on land have encouraged the reduction of land meant for pastoralist activities. I will give an example of Kajiado County, which I expected the Mover of the Motion to also include. How did Ngong come to be what it is now? That is actually where we had the first slaughter houses before even The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also congratulate Sen. Lonyangapuo for bringing this important Motion which, ideally, should be expanded to cover all arid and semi-arid areas of this country. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the problem that we have is not lack of policy. The policy is actually there. If you may recall, before Independence, this country was a major producer and exporter of beef and other animal products. In fact, immediately after Independence, the Government of Botswana borrowed from Kenya the establishment of a meat commission from the KMC. Botswana is now the number one exporter of beef and The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Sen. Fatuma.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I stand here to support the Motion. I believe the speakers before me have mentioned several issues that affect the pastoralist communities. But I would like to contribute by saying that although we have The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Sen. Ongoro.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I also rise to support this Motion. I want to thank Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo for introducing this very timely Motion. Interestingly, I took time to find out what his name means, because I know all African names have a meaning. My findings tell me that the name “Lonyanyapuo” actually means a big, multi-coloured bull with big curved horns. Now that this community even names their sons after the manner in which livestock are perceived, this actually tells you the importance they attach to their animals.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me repeat that, now that Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo has just walked in. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir.

What is your point of order, Sen. Mugo?

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. Is the hon. Senator in order to keep on repeating that we depend on the former colonialists and yet Kenya provides over 95 per cent of its own Budget? We only need very little help from outside to run our education, health and all other sectors, including agriculture. Seriously even when we import maize, Kenya pays for it. So, we should give ourselves a bit of credit. For us, we appreciate our development partners---

Sen. Mugo, are you debating or are you on a point of order?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it was a point of order. I will contribute later.

Thank you for your sentiments, Sen. Mugo. I still want to confirm and reaffirm my statements. The fact that you have stated that as a nation, we still import food from the West, whether we pay for it or not, that is not Independence. We need to generate our own food. We need to be self-dependent for our own well-being. With those few remarks, I support.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, while I stand to support the Motion, I would like to make one or two points that are relevant to this Motion by my friend Sen. Lonyangapuo, otherwise called the bull with big curved horns. I think this Motion comes with our National Livestock Policy. As Sen. Wetangula pointed out, how many institutions have we established to do research in the livestock and agricultural industry? If we trace the history of these institutions, you will find that they date from colonial times. We had a very strong settler community here which wanted the state to serve farmers effectively in their enterprises. The farmers were both The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I stand to support this Motion. I want to start by saying that one of the challenges we have faced in this country is that we look at issues based on our communities. You find that if I am an agriculturalist, then I will have to fight for what is so much on my side and I will forget that there is something called livestock. When it comes to business, I will leave the pastoralists to deal with the livestock but I will be the one to go to north eastern and buy the cattle and come and sell. Therefore, again, I am the beneficiary just the same way the coffee farmers from Mt. Kenya area would do the farming and everything else, but it is somebody else who will come, buy it at a cheaper price and go to sell it and benefit more than the farmer. Therefore, we need to start from there; if this indeed is my country and the Constitution gives me the right to live anywhere in this country and, therefore, I can go to north eastern and become a pastoralist because I will have to keep livestock, I have to take care of that. That is when we will start appreciating that Kenya is our country. Madam Temporary Speaker, our Government is now three months old and I know there are a lot of teething problems and a lot of promises that had been made. But I know and I believe that after one year, Kenyans will appreciate the Jubilee Coalition Government because these are some of the ideas in their manifesto. They are very clear. They did not just go out there to get votes, I know they meant it. When you look at the President and the Deputy President, they were very clear on what they really wanted to see. The Deputy President was once a Minister for Agriculture and he knows the challenges and what he did in that short period he was a Minister. Indeed, he turned things round and I know we are going to turn things round in agriculture and livestock. What we need to ask ourselves is; are we now going to separate politics and development? I think that is where we are as Kenyans and it is a big challenge in this country. We are not only looking at politics when it is finishing us and forgetting that Kenyans need service. When you look at the Constitution, it is very clear; the county governments are supposed to deal with abattoirs, animal immunization, et cetera . How do we assist the county governments, in terms of their budgets, to ensure that they have also budgeted for some of these things? I know we need to have a clear guideline and framework, If we missed it in the Constitution, it is because of the same politics. When we looked at the Ministry of The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Madam Temporary Speaker, first and foremost, on my behalf and on behalf of the people of Mombasa County, we want to wish the entire Muslim fraternity here in Kenya and the world over a fruitful Ramadhan. May the Lord count his mercies and forgive our sins. I rise to move an amendment to this Motion after consultation with the Mover of this Motion. I beg to move that the Motion be amended as follows:- (a) In the first line by inserting the words “and semi-arid” between the words “arid and areas” in the first line. (b) By deleting the words; “such as West Pokot, Turkana, Baringo, Samburu, Garissa, Mandera, among others” in the first and second line. (c) By deleting the words “in the counties appearing between the words “zone” and in the last line “pastoral areas”. So that the Motion can read as follows:- THAT, aware that Kenyans living in counties in arid and semi arid areas are pastoralists who depend on livestock for their livelihood; concerned that over the years, pastoralist communities have continued to suffer loss of their animals due to diseases that are preventable; cognizant of the fact that efforts by past Governments to address the problem have not yielded desirable results; the Senate urges the National Government to urgently put in place an effective policy to create livestock disease free zones in pastoralist areas. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. I second the amendment knowing very well this now becomes a national issue. It does not only affect the counties. This is something that will help the whole country and, indeed, the 47 counties are the beneficiaries of the same. I just want to say the amendment makes us now look at the Galana Ranch that we had in Malindi those days and how we can rebuild as we work with the Government. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Hon. Senators, the proposed amendment is properly and procedurally before the House according to Standing Order Nos.53(1), 53(2) and 54. I will now proceed to propose the question.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for allowing me to contribute to this very important Motion that touches on the lives of very many Kenyans including those of where I come from. For the benefit of the House, I would like to say that even if we put this under the arid and semi-arid lands, this still does not cover the whole country. The arid and semi-arid lands cover around 24 original districts. So, in my understanding, this is still a Motion that affects counties. However, I stand to be corrected. It could cover a number of counties in the country but not all the counties fall under the arid and semi-arid lands. There are areas that do not fall under any of these categories. I do not want to spend more time on that but it is crucial for us who come from areas where we keep livestock. When I listened to many contributions, including that of Madam Speaker who appeared to be a very serious pastoralist, you are not an ordinary lady Senator. I admired the passion with which you and a number of Senators from other parts of the country had while sharing how the livestock sector has been neglected over time. I will call this a new dawn. If Senators across counties can rally their support behind this Motion that was brought by Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo and if this Motion was brought many years ago, it would have changed the lives of many Kenyans including our national economy. When the new Jubilee Government was constituted, I felt that one area where there was a gap was when they lumped the Ministry of Livestock Development with the Ministry of Agriculture. If there was any seriousness on the part of the Jubilee Government, they would have continued to retain the Ministry of the Development of Northern Kenya because it was a relevant Ministry. We feel that agriculture will continue to dominate or take precedence over the livestock Ministry. That aside, development in general is understood by many practitioners in different respects. However, I want to point out that pastoral development is unique. Provision of services to people in livestock keeping areas including education, health and water, is done in a very unique way. Those policy makers and planners who have done it for over the last five decades did not realise how this could be done. They thought about formal systems the same way we heard that extension services have to move along with the people. Education services have to move along with the people. Health services have to be done in a mobile manner. I want to point out that our policy makers and planners for development in this country did not appreciate the set up in those areas. Pastoralists are under pressure. One of the Senators who spoke said, I think it was Prof. Anyang’-Nyong’o, people in Maasailand are under threat and livestock keeping is facing extinction. The same applies to northern Kenya where I come from. The Government has created over 100 locations at the expense of the people who keep livestock. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Thank you very much, Madam Temporary Speaker. I wish to thank the Professor for this very good Motion. Madam Temporary Speaker, we have what we call zoonotic diseases, which are normally caused by the animals and passed on to human beings. So, by ensuring that our livestock are free from diseases, we will also be doing a lot of justice to Kenyans. Therefore, there is need for a lot of awareness amongst the livestock farmers, starting with the counties. Livestock shows, similar to the agricultural shows, should be conducted, so that farmers can learn from one another. Madam Temporary Speaker, as Sen. Mositet said, veterinary doctors seem to be idle in the country, because they do not have much to do, as far as livestock is concerned. Therefore, laboratories should be set up for them to conduct research. Also, there should be adequate information on livestock diseases, so that farmers can know which diseases are more contagious and can also affect people. Madam Temporary Speaker, with those remarks, I beg to support.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. I rise to support the Motion as amended. I also thank the Mover of the Motion for bringing this very important issue in the economy of our country. Madam Temporary Speaker, livestock as a subsector is very important in our economy. A large area of our country is suitable for livestock keeping. A majority of the population in our country also depends on livestock. When I talk about livestock, I am not restricting myself to the livestock in the arid and semi-arid areas. Even in the so- called high-potential areas, livestock still is a very important economy. Madam Temporary Speaker, within the agricultural sector, the high-potential areas have been used almost to the maximum – I mean crop husbandry. The only area The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I rise to support this Motion and congratulate the Professor for bringing it to this august House. I know that West Pokot is one of the counties that really have a lot of interest in this Motion. Madam Temporary Speaker, one major objective of zoning is to improve the quality of livestock products and make them very competitive. I think that, that has already been alluded to by the previous speaker. We used to rank highly in the export of both dairy and meat products, but this has really dwindled because we have had numerous challenges that we seek to correct. Madam Temporary Speaker, I know that knowingly or unknowingly the Mover has borrowed really heavily from the Vision 2030 flagship project of the Ministry of Agriculture that sought to create disease free zones in two areas, that is, the Coast and Isiolo region. If you look at the Mid-Term Plan for the Vision 2030, you will realize that the other one for Isiolo has already been shelved for environmental reasons. As suggested by the Senator for Wajir, we need to also look at and examine what the Ministry is already doing, so that we are able to synchronize our efforts with what is already going on. Madam Temporary Speaker, one of the biggest tests of the Jubilee Government is job creation. This is because unemployment among the young people is skyrocketing. It is already a bomb exploding, as demonstrated by the number of young people who have resorted to very funny ways of making a living. I was hoping that the amendment by the Senator for Mombasa would actually open up this Motion to cover not only the ASALs. This is because I think that livestock, however, minimal or restricted it is in some regions, is still a very big contributor to the economy. In Murang’a County where I was born, the Governor already has a programme which is meant to make sure that every young person is an owner of a dairy cow. This will not only reduce the rural-urban migration, but also make sure that agriculture and livestock look very lucrative. As a result, young people can venture into them and make a living. They will move away from poverty and desperation to where they want to be. Madam Temporary Speaker, I also want to urge the Mover of the Motion that we know very well that veterinary policy is left at the national Government. But at the same time, we need to loop in the county governments, because they are the ones charged wholly with the function of ensuring that disease control is executed in the counties. Even when we were growing up, not only did we have cattle dips, but also veterinary officers who were all over. They were covering a sub-location using motorbikes. You were sure that whenever your cow was sick, you would get assistance, just by making a call or even visiting them because we used to know where they were. I think that we need to enable The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

We now proceed to debate the Motion as amended. The new Motion now reads as follows:- THAT, aware that Kenyans living in counties in arid areas are pastoralists who depend on livestock for their livelihood; concerned that over the years, pastoralist communities have continued to suffer loss of their animals due to diseases that are preventable; cognizant of the fact that efforts by past Governments to address the problem have not yielded desirable results; the Senate urges the National Government to urgently put in place an effective policy to create livestock disease free zones in pastoralist areas. Sen. Obure.

Thank you very much, Madam Temporary Speaker, for the opportunity to support this Motion as amended. Madam Temporary Speaker, the areas we are talking about, the Arid and Semi- Arid Lands (ASALS), actually constitute approximately 70 per cent of the landmass of Kenya. The occupation of Kenyans living in these areas is pastoralism. This is their lifestyle and that is how they derive their livelihoods – from livestock. These are the areas which we have commonly referred to as “marginalized areas” of our country, generally characterized by high incidents of poverty, hopelessness, lack of job opportunities and so on yet we talk about Vision 2030, envisioning a high quality of life for all Kenyans, moving towards a higher status for our economy and yet 70 per cent of our landmass is virtually undeveloped, where a large portion of the population also live. Madam Temporary Speaker, if you want to achieve Vision 2030 and if we seriously want to change the quality of life of our people, we must now begin to refocus our agenda and priorities. Let us begin thinking seriously about how we can exploit the potential which exists in these so-called “marginalised” areas. We must begin to think of how to improve the earnings of Kenyans. We must begin to seriously think about how to utilize the vast land available in these areas because that is a national asset. Yesterday, we had this Motion which was urging the Government to take the bulk of that land and use it for irrigation purposes. If we did that and if we did a bit of what Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo is asking for – creating disease free zones in these areas – there is a huge potential which we will be exploiting. We will be creating jobs, we will be reducing The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Sen. Karaba.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for allowing me also to contribute in support of this Motion. This Motion should have come very early in the life of Parliament because according to me, we are discussing our people and we are also discussing a region. Madam Temporary Speaker, as it has been stated here earlier, ASAL regions in Kenya cover not 70 per cent – as I know – but it is precisely 88 per cent of the area of the country and only 10 per cent – according to my geography – is arable. Actually, 12 per cent is what most Kenyans depend on. It, therefore, calls for urgent reasoning as to what should be done to the 88 per cent of the country’s total area so that we can exploit the opportunities therein. One of the greatest opportunities in this region is livestock or pastoralism. But notwithstanding the fact that the Government, in the earlier years had made quite some effort by trying to control the diseases, that was done in the 1911 Maasai Agreement which forced Maasai cows to be limited to the northern corridor as a result of the construction of the railway line to Nanyuki. The Maasai were supposed to be in those areas and not to mix with the whites, who were in the suburbs. So, you can just see the attempt here is that colonialists did not want the ‘natives’ at that time to mix with the animals of the whites so that the natives’ animals could not spread diseases to the southern reserves. That is what made pastoralism in Kenya even worse because whites The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Madam Temporary Speaker, first and foremost, I want to wish my colleagues in the Senate and in Kenya generally a very good month of Ramadhan, good health to all of them and prosperous time. From the outset, I want to totally disagree with my brother from Kirinyaga County that livestock industry is better now than it used to be long ago. Other than in the last few years when Sen. (Dr.) Mohamed Kuti was the Minister for Livestock, the livestock industry has gone down the drain. During the colonial time, there was very strict reinforcement of movement of livestock and in that manner, it was possible to control diseases. Right now, you will find that movement of livestock from one area to another is so prevalent that diseases are all over. Also during the colonial time, we used to have Livestock Marketing Board (LMB) whose job was to buy livestock from farmers and keep them in holding grounds, inoculate them, keep them for three months, take the blood samples, examine for any disease, treat them and then allow them to move to the market. During the colonial times, both the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) in Athi River and KMC, Mombasa, used to operate daily and livestock used to be brought to those industries. At the moment, these industries have collapsed. The one in Mombasa has been completely shut down and it is not operating. As a young man, I remember that my father was a stock trader. He would take cattle to Lamu to a holding ground, where they could be held for three months and after being found to be disease free, they would be driven to Lamu. There used to be a ship called Bonanza which could take them from Lamu to other countries, but all these things are dead now. Therefore, I want to agree with my brother here that there is need for this Government at this time to do better than it has done before. I was in the Cabinet with Sen. (Dr.) Kuti and we used to cry for money to buy livestock during droughts and we could not even raise what we wanted but when it comes to agriculture, there is always plenty of money. Even AFC loans were written off. The farmers would take loans from AFC to plant wheat and if the harvest was not good, the loans were written off. That is what happened. Therefore, to be able to help people whose livelihood depends on livestock, there is need for the Government to, first and foremost, enforce livestock movement and also ensure that there are livestock disease free zones all over the country. Madam Temporary Speaker, people have suffered greatly because even the size of animals has changed. Cattle used to be very big but nowadays, they are as small as donkeys because of in-breeding. We should put measures in place to improve the rearing of livestock so that we have a better breed than we have right now. With those few remarks, I beg to support.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo for bringing up this very important Motion which touches on the lives of pastoralists, whose mainstay is actually livestock. I would like to take you back to the history of livestock in this country. Livestock rearing has been with us all through but the formal farming started being organized during colonial days in 1890s. The country was divided into the uncontrollable, into outer, and The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Hon. Senators, according to the Standing Orders, this Motion is allowed three hours debating time. It started at 9.10 a.m. and must end at 12.10 p.m. Because of that constraint of time, I now call upon the Mover to reply.

Madam Temporary Speaker, as I stand to reply, I want to thank my colleagues for speaking to this Motion and interrogating it. We have heard that it is the livestock sub-sector that is going to improve and add to the gains that we anticipate to receive in the Vision 2030. We are calling upon the Government to identify where we lost it. We should make sure that extension officers are closer to the people and relevant vaccines are available where needed. You note that the previous laboratories that used to be strategically placed around the country have gone down and they need to be revived. Quarantine stations that I have previously talked about also need to be revived. The holding grounds where human beings are now staying must be vacated in consultation with the relevant county governments. These areas should be restored to their previous status. Disease barriers and inspection points should also be activated. In doing this, we are looking at the whole country. By just eliminating the stubborn diseases in these areas, it automatically translates that these other areas which have not been mentioned will be safer because they are already practicing zero-grazing while some are doing dairy farming. They are spending a lot of money to fight diseases like East Coast Fever (ECF). It takes not less than Kshs8, 000 for a dose. It is going to be easier to manage them. I want to thank everybody and to say that this is the way to go. We shall be asking the Senate Committee on Implementation to make a follow up of the Motions that have been passed here that touch on the lives of the people in the rural areas. When the aspirations of the Motions are achieved, they will open up jobs for the young people that are moving around. I beg to move.

Hon. Senators, I want to state that this Motion as amended does not affect counties and so I will proceed to put the question and it will be by simple majority.

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Hon. Senators, it is now time for interruption of business. The Senate, therefore, stands adjourned until this afternoon, 10th July, 2013 at 2.30 pm. The Senate rose at 12.05 p.m. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.