Thursday, 25th July, 2024

Clerk, do we have quorum? Serjeant-at-Arms, kindly ring the Quorum Bell for 10 minutes.

Order, hon. Senators. Senate Minority Leader, kindly proceed to take your seat. We have quorum now. Therefore, we will proceed with today’s business.

Clerk proceed to call the first Order.

Senate Majority Leader, proceed.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to lay the following Paper on the Table of the Senate, today, 25th July, 2024-

The office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) annual report for the Financial Year 2022/2023.

I thank you.

Next Order.

Services, Senate.

Statements pursuant to Standing Order No.52 (1) . Sen. Miraj, proceed.

Request for Statements pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) .

Sen. Faki, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, sir. I rise pursuant to the Standing Order No.53 (1) to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on Lands, Environment and Natural Resources regarding the ownership of freehold land by non-citizens in the Republic of Kenya.

The immediate former Cabinet Secretary for Lands, Housing and Urban Development recently issued a statement in which she stated that foreign residents were not allowed to own freehold land in Kenya.

This statement has caused panic, fear and despondency, not only to the foreign residents who have invested in Kenya, but also to Kenya citizens, especially in Mombasa and the coast region, where there are many foreigners who own land and businesses.

Article 65 (1) of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, provides that a person who is not a citizen may hold land on the basis of leasehold tenure only and any such lease, however, granted shall not exceed 99 years. However, the land registrars are refusing to deal with land transactions leading to confusion among members of the public.

In the Statement, the Committee should-

Services, Senate.

Order, Hon. Senators. May the Senator from Mombasa County be heard in silence?

Thank you Mr. Speaker, Sir. The County of Mombasa has since the inception of the devolution attracted adverse reports from the Office of the Auditor- General on the on matters human resource.

Currently, the recurrent expenditure on human resource is about 48 per cent of the total budget of the County. This is contrary to the provisions of the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act.

In the Statement the Committee should-

What is your point of order Sen. Onyonka?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am wondering--- The system is not working. I do not know whether HANSARD is also working or not.

Clerk, can you confirm if the system is working or we are on our own? Hon. Senators, the HANSARD is okay. Senator of Mombasa, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I think I will have to start all over again. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on Labor and Social Welfare concerning the status of the Human Resource Department of the County Government of Mombasa.

The County Government of Mombasa has since inception of devolution attracted adverse reports from the Auditor-General on matters human resources. Currently, the current expenditure on human resource is about 48 per cent of the total budget of the county. This is contrary to the provisions of the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act.

In the Statement, the Committee should-

Sen. Wakili Sigei.

Services, Senate.

Sen. Richard Onyonka, please, proceed.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise, pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on Roads, Transportation and Housing on the leasing of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport under the Build, Operate and Transfer Model of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to a private company.

In the Statement, the Committee should-

Services, Senate.

Statement Pursuant to Standing Order No.57 (1) . Senate Majority Leader, you may proceed. Okay, proceed, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale on behalf of the Senate Majority Leader.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Pursuant to Standing Order No.57 (1) , I hereby present the Business of this Senate for the week commencing Tuesday, 30th, July 2024. The status of the legislative business before the Senate is as follows-

Forty-nine Bills are pending conclusion in the Senate, of which 42 are at the Second Reading Stage while seven are at the Committee of the Whole; 20 Motions are pending conclusion; 21 Petitions are due for reporting; and 378 Statements are under consideration by respective standing committees.

While I am delighted that some progress has been made on the debate on Bills at the Second Reading Stage, there is a build-up at the division level which we must address.

As indicated in today's Order Paper, Orders No.8 to 16, we have pending business awaiting decision by division. I request the Majority and the Minority Whips to mobilise the requisite number of delegations for the voting to be undertaken.

With respect to business for the coming week, the Senate Business Committee (SBC) will meet on Tuesday, 30th July, 2024 to consider the business for the week. The tentative business for Tuesday will include business not concluded from today’s Order Paper as well as business indicated in the Notice Paper attached to the Order Paper for today.

At its meeting on Tuesday 23rd July, 2024, the SBC resolved to prioritise consideration of select

committee business. I request respective Committee Chairpersons and Movers of the business scheduled to prioritise plenary sittings to prosecute their business.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the tentative business for Wednesday, 31st July, 2024, during the Morning Sitting, will include business not concluded in the Order Paper for Tuesday 30th July, 2024, and the following Motions-

Services, Senate.

Meetings of the Forum of Parliaments of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region held in Livingston, Zambia, from 15th to 19th April, 2024.

and Electricity Supply in Kenya.

honour Senate Summons.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the business for Wednesday, 30th July, 2024, during the Afternoon Sitting, will include business not concluded on the Order Paper for Tuesday 30th July, 2024 and the following businesses-

(National Assembly Bills No.70 of 2023).

and Oil Crops Development Bill (Senate Bills No.47 of 2023).

Assembly Bills No.45 of 2022).

(vii) The National Construction Authority (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bills No.59 of 2022).

(Conservation and Management) (Amendment) Bill

(Senate Bills No.49 of 2023).

(iii) The Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill (Senate Bills No.53 of 2023. (iii) The Early Childhood Education (Amendment) Bill (Senate Bills No.54 of 2023).

Management in the Infrastructure Development of Projects in Kenya.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the projected business for Thursday, 1st August, 2024, will be business not concluded in the Order Papers for Tuesday, 30th and Wednesday, 31st July, and any other business scheduled by the SBC.

I thank you and hereby lay the Statement on the Table of this Senate on behalf of the Senate Majority Leader, Senator for Kericho, Sen. Aaron Cheruiyot, MGH, MP.

Sen. Wakili Sigei, having explained yourself, your Statement is restated. You may proceed to read it.

Services, Senate.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for recommitting my Statement, which I came in shortly after you had dropped.

I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on Roads and Transportation regarding stalled and or abandoned infrastructure projects in Bomet County.

Several incomplete and abandoned infrastructure projects in Bomet County represent a significant waste of public resources and have deprived residents of Bomet of the services and benefits they rightfully deserve. I would like to highlight the specific projects that have remained incomplete or abandoned between three to 10 years, leading to substantial waste of public resources.

Let us move on to the next Order.

Services, Senate.

That Order is deferred.

That Order is deferred.

That Order is deferred.

Services, Senate.

That Order is deferred.

That Order is deferred.

That Order is deferred.

That Order is deferred.

Services, Senate.

This Order is deferred.

That Order is deferred.

Services, Senate. Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA), laid on the Table of the Senate on Wednesday, 8th May, 2024.

The Senate Standing Committee on Health is established under Standing Order No.218 (3) of the Standing Orders. It is mandated to consider all matters relating to medical service, public health and sanitation.

On 15th May, 2023, Hon. Felix Koskei, the Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service, released a press statement regarding allegation of Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) in management and administration of various medical programmes being undertaken by Kenya in conjunction with development partner.

In the statement, the Head of Public Service noted that the regular verification exercise of Global Fund has revealed alleged maladministration on the part of KEMSA with regards to procurement of treated mosquito nets for vulnerable household.

In line with the Government commitment to promote accountability and openness in the management of public affairs, the statement went further to announce the termination of the then Principal Secretary, the State Department of Public Health and Professional Standard, Ministry of Health, and the provocation and consequent constitution of KEMSA board, the suspension of the then Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of KEMSA, the appointment of an acting CEO and suspension of various staffs at the agency.

In regards to that, the Committee noted key issues of determination and centered the following issues-

Insecticidal (LLI) nets.

between the Global Fund and KEMSA.

line Ministry.

Health (MOH) and KEMSA officials.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, as a Committee, we interrogated the key institution related to the inquiry on that issue, that is MOH, Ministry of Economic Planning and National

Treasury, KEMSA, Public Procurement Regulatory Authority and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) as the Global Fund agent. On that inquiry, we got these recommendations-

to amend the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act.

evaluation process in a donor funded program from further considerations and consideration by the donors to minimize potential abuse.

public and donor driven procurement, where applicable.

Services, Senate.

Global Fund to prioritize user department in case the Ministry of Health is a principle rather than subsidiary in the programme related to the mandates.

transfer of its responsibility and function to the Ministry of Health.

receive its own direct votes head for the operationalization.

Clerk, confirm that we have the requisite number for the putting of the question.

Hon. Senators, we have the requisite quorum. I will proceed to put the question.

Next Order.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I request that we get to the next speaker as I sort myself out.

Proceed, Sen. Cherarkey Samson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. It is understandable when you know it is approaching the weekend.

I rise to support the Local Content Bill, 2023. The issue of extractive minerals and control of any natural resource anywhere across the world continues to evoke serious reservations, especially when the local communities are not involved especially on minerals and oil. When you visit the Delta State, where the dollar billionaires from Nigeria are, it is always unstable.

Services, Senate.

They call it oil gas. Countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has all the minerals available in the world and the rainforests but stability continues to be scarce like a snowball in hell. I was watching a documentary and those of us who have been very keen on natural resources, would realize why part of Delta region in Nigeria remains unstable. I watch in one of the leading channels people being interviewed and complaining that the exploitation and extraction of natural resources has not benefited the local population in as much as it has made dollar billionaires from that region.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, you know there is a famous saying in Nigeria that when you board British Airways, you do not turn to your right, but only to your left and they only use first and second class. They do not go to economy class when they are boarding a plane. This is because of the beauty of natural gas and oil that is in Nigeria and other countries across Africa. Somebody quipped somewhere that we do not have oil gas in Kenya until the day Turkana under the Tullow oil programme was exploited.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, you were a governor then. You realized that there was then a lot of uncertainty in the management of Tullow Oil. I remember it was reported in the media at some point that the local population even blocked the lorries from transporting the crude oil from Turkana to be exported. People who have lived long enough, like Senior Counsel, Sen. Omogeni is familiar with such.

The issue of natural resources and other hydrocarbon resources are very critical. There was an issue in Tanzania on where to get the gas into Kenya. We repackaged, especially cooking gas, to make it affordable. We are in the era of environmental conservation and protection, where we are now discouraging use of firewood. We do not want to destroy and exploit the forests in the country. Therefore, the exploitation and extraction of natural gas to be used for cooking and other industrial purposes is very critical.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, when you look at our Constitution on environment and natural resources, especially Article 69, the state has been obligated to ensure the extractive of natural resources from minerals, oil, gas, and hydrocarbon extractives. I do not know whether we are over-legislating or legislating on this Bill but we still have a lot to go through on the Constitution that we passed in 2010.

This issue of local content is under Article 69. I remember in the previous session, I saw this under the Chairperson of the Committee on Energy, the former Senator Agnes Zani. She was very passionate about The Local Content Bill at that time.

We need to bring out all those issues, including mining. Under the Mining Act, 2010, we have a process where 70 per cent of the revenue in the extractive process is taken to the national Government, 20 per cent to the county government and 10 per cent to the local community.

We must bring it under one Bill, so that we do not just have the Mining Act. I am happy that the former Cabinet Secretary, your colleague and neighbour, Hon. Mvurya, was very vast with the issue of the Mining Act.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we also have a concern on the issue of gold in Nandi. We have gold in Karebe, but my people have never benefited. We only see choppers coming in and out and the gold is being taken away. We do not know how many kilos of gold are taken and there has never been proper use of that natural resource.

Services, Senate.

The issue of gold is a concern even in Migori, but Nandi is the largest producer of gold in Kenya. I am surprised that a gold refinery was being built in Kakamega yet when you go to Kakamega ---

The Senate Majority Leader, you should lead by example. You know the Cabinet Secretary nominee for Interior and National Administration.

The Cabinet Secretary nominee is a friend of Sen. Cheruiyot, so I do not know why he wants to give out that position and it is already occupied. I know in the second coming of the Kingdom, Sen. Sifuna might be a beneficiary, of course, after discussing with the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Central Committee and Parliamentary Group on that issue.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, what we are just saying is that, for example, Nandi is the largest gold producer, including Kilimapesa, part of Coast and Kitui. This country also has rubies and we have a lot of mineral exploitation and extraction. Therefore, I know there is a gold refinery being built in Kakamega.

We are also proposing for a gold refinery to be built in Nandi as it is the leading gold producer in the country. I have seen it by myself and I have numbers. The company that is there pays almost Kshs300 million through tax but when you go to Kakamega, they are what we call, mundane. Therefore, that belt of gold goes through Vihiga to Kakamega, hence under Article 69 of the Constitution, we must also ensure that the exploitation meets the environmental standards and this Bill has tried to ensure that.

I am happy that at the Coast, we now have the mining and blue economy, where we need to take care of biodiversity. We must be compliant such that when we are doing mining along the coastal part of this country, the biodiversity and genetic resources must be protected. If you can recall the issue of fishing in international waters, we have some countries that have been blacklisted for overfishing and using trawlers that are not agreed and therefore, they destroy biodiversity and genetics.

Article 69 of the Constitution has developed a premise upon the Local Content Bill. Everything is local. You must listen to what the people are saying. The only way to make the minerals valuable for the ordinary mwananchi down there where the exploitation of minerals is done, be it the extractives like oil, gas and hydrocarbon, is to ensure that 50 per cent of the revenue goes to the national Government be it gold, oil or

Services, Senate. gas. The 20 per cent should go to the county, then the 30 per cent should go to that local community.

Additionally, if you recall, most of the water comes from Murang'a and we were developing a tunnel that will bring water from Murang'a to Nairobi to satisfy the needs of the people in Nairobi. Why is it that when you go to Murang'a, the people of Murang'a for example, do not have sufficient water yet people from Nairobi are benefiting from it? This is similar to Nandi County in Emgwen and Chesumei Sub- County, our water is being used in Kakamega. However, when you go to Kiptuya Bay and around Kapkangani areas, they do not have water.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the essence is at least having the local content being valued by those people. I am happy with the Senator for Murang'a, my brother, Sen. Joe Nyutu, as he should follow up on this because at the end of the day, we end up taking the whole water to Nairobi but when you go to Murang'a Water and Sanitation Company, it becomes a problem. We must listen to the ground so that we do not attract the unnecessary wrath from the people.

When you look at Clause 3, Kenya is still very clean because it talks about the exploitation of gas and other petroleum resources. We need to resolve the issue of Tullow Oil. I know the capacity and the projection that we wanted especially in Turkana. We must ensure that the people of Turkana are beneficiaries. The Committee on Energy should ensure that if Tullow Oil is mining and extracting petroleum and oil at least it should give value to the people of Turkana.

My proposal has always been very simple. Under local content, let us review the revenues from 70 per cent. Let us give 15 per cent to the national Government, 30 per cent to the local community and then 20 per cent to counties, because at the end of the day when you are exploiting these resources, you might end up destroying the roads and water sources as a lot of processes is undertaken when exploring the minerals.

When you look at Clause 11, it talks of their assessment of local capabilities and under Article 10, we must look at public participation too together with Clauses 9 and 10 which talk about the establishment of a Local Development Committee.

The Mining Act talks about the Mining Development Committee and that Committee is very important. For instance, if you are generating revenue and you are saying 50 per cent of this revenue will go to the national Government, 30 per cent should go to the local community and maybe 20 per cent should go to counties in terms of division of that revenue, for the 30 per cent, you must have a gazetted Local Content Development Committee.

I hope the Mover of the Bill is noting. We already have a Mining Development Committee under the Mining Act. Now you want to establish a Local Content Development Committee. It will be what we call overlapping of duties. Is it possible to amend the Mining Act 2015 and the Mining Rules, 2015 to ensure that we do not need to establish a Local Development Committee and establish a Mining Development Committee?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, in principle, I agree that this Committee should be there, such that the revenue that is developed can be shared. For example, when we were pushing for Karebe Gold reforms, we wanted a gazetted Mining Development Committee that out of

Services, Senate. almost US dollars 200 million that were being generated by the company for some time, even if they get 10 per cent which is about US dollars 200,000 which is around Kshs20 million, they were able to sit down and agree in terms of dispensary around Chemase, in terms of roads around Kibisem or other areas within Chemelil, Chemase and other parts of Nandi County. Therefore, the establishment of that Committee is very important, but of course, I hope the drafter of the Bill ensures that the Local Content Development Committee can function properly and add value.

Since I had only four points, let us go to Clause 26. It talks about employment and development plans. The challenge we have is that most of these expatriate or foreign companies walk into the country and just work with import expatriates yet we need to develop that technology. Why should you fly somebody from India to do that work?

We must agree on the local content that when an expatriate comes to Migori or at Kilimapesa and is doing extractives of the minerals in Kilimapesa where my brother Senator--- Maybe I have been away too much but of late, my brother, the Senator for Migori, appears relaxed nowadays and he is always smiling. I do not know if it is because of the Azimio La Kenya Kwanza Government or what is happening.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, when you go to Kilimapesa Gold Mine in Migori region, and give the company to an expatriate, it is their duty under this law to develop the technology of those people. It does not make sense that we have to fly an oil engineer all the way from China or America in the 21st Century while we can develop our technology. I agree with Clause 27 on education and training for locals. I remember, mining of gold use mercury cyanide. I realize that the companies are not doing the training to ensure that the people we have in place are trained adequately.

We must agree that we must train our people. For example, if today a gold mine is decommissioned, how does the local community handle chemicals, oil, minerals and other extractives? We must develop capacity through training. If you do not do public participation, like in the Kiambu case of 2013, the courts pronounced themselves that public participation is no longer an option. Nowadays, it involves civic education and training for the locals. This is very important.

I agree with Clause 30 that the transfer of technology is very critical. It should be done under the guidance of the Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs. When the nominees of Cabinet Secretaries are confirmed, they should set out a strategic plan on how they can ensure there is local content.

In conclusion, because I want to allow my colleagues to contribute, what is the value to the ordinary mwananchi when you have oil in Turkana, or gold in Nandi, or rubies and other extractives? Whom does it benefit? It is very important that we look at it. Some of the conflicts we see is because of natural resources. We are now giving opportunity---

I request the Mover, Sen. Wamatinga, to amend the Bill and ensure that the Local Content Development Committee gives 50 per cent to the national Government, 20 per cent to counties, and then 30 per cent to local communities, so that they can plan themselves. That is very important going into the future.

I agree with the issue of licensing fund for training and development. This is a straightforward Bill that will come in handy. The upshot is that I am happy it has adhered

Services, Senate. to the principles of Article 69 of the Constitution on the issue of sustainable exploitation. The caveat is that we must ensure sustainable exploitation.

We are struggling with two things; we want to be compliant in terms of environmental protection and conservation, and we want to be compliant in terms of exploitation of natural resources to benefit. We must ensure that it is sustainable. The word is, “sustainable exploitation of resources” within that region.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, with those many remarks, I beg to support. I will bring amendments.

I thank you.

Sen. Osotsi, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for the opportunity to make my contribution to the Local Content Bill (Senate Bills No.50 of 2023) . This Bill is very critical and long overdue because we need to have a clear framework to facilitate the process of local ownership, control, and financing of activities related to exploitation of minerals. This is a very important Bill.

As the Member who has been on the Floor has said, we will be seeking to improve it further so that we ensure it serves the local communities and all the stakeholders.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, as I am speaking to this Bill, tomorrow my county will be launching the granite factory at a place called Buyangu. It is a partnership between the Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs and an investor. This Bill comes at a very appropriate time that this project is now being officially launched.

This project has been on for several years. I thank the Governor of Vihiga County, Hon. (Dr.) Ottichilo, for having played a big role in ensuring that this project takes off, from the days when he was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Emuhaya Constituency. The project is going to be launched tomorrow.

While I appreciate that this project is going to employ thousands of our people and also improve the economic position of our people, especially in Emuhaya and Luanda constituencies, I have had an engagement with the Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs on this issue. There are grey areas, which I hope the Ministry is going to address.

When we have a situation where a county government engages an investor and the national Government. t is important that Article 187 of the Constitution has to be complied with so that the interests of the county government, the interests of the national Government and the interests of the investor are captured.

When we have a situation where a county government gives land for the project, and then ends up not having any agreement with the investor and the national Government, I find that to be not in order.

I have raised a concern because the people of West Bunyore gave their land through the county government, and then the national Government took over the land for this project, which is fine. However, the people need to be compensated for their land, or at least, we need to have an agreement as per Article 187 so that the community benefits from that arrangement.

Services, Senate.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, allow me to talk about this project because this Bill is referring to that project. Having looked at the specific agreement signed between the national Government and the investor; a lot needs to be done. While I fully support the project, the Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs should ensure all the gaps in that project, including the issue of land ownership and sharing of proceeds from this investment must be within the law. How shall the local community, the county government, the national Government and the investor benefit? That clarity is very important.

Moving forward, I hope this Bill will address that problem. We need to have a specific agreement that captures the interests of all the stakeholders. When I went through the file at the Ministry, I realized that there is no specific agreement that captures the interests of all the parties. It is just a tender document and an award letter. That is not proper because, in the end, we will end up not getting the benefits going to the various stakeholders in the process. This Bill provides a framework under which such arrangements, like the granite factory, will be reinforced so that the communities, the county governments, the national Government and also the investor benefits. This Bill is long overdue. I congratulate the Mover for coming up with it because it is going to help us in our various counties.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, even as we talk about minerals, each year, we have passed some conditional grants to the counties and every year, we have that aspect of mineral royalties. We wonder why some counties do not get mineral royalties.

In my county, a lot of gold activity is happening and the same happens in Kakamega County where Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale represents. However, in this House when we come here to pass the conditional grants, our counties do not get mineral royalties. What happens, Mr. Speaker, Sir?

Is it that the gold mined in our counties is not accounted for or not? If it is not accounted for, who is responsible? We cannot have a situation where in our areas, we have minerals being mined and our communities do not enjoy mineral royalties.

This Bill should address this issue of mineral royalties. I will be seeking amendments so that we do not have a situation where we have mining activities happening in our counties and our people cannot get benefits through royalties from mineral activities.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, this Bill also talks about the role of the national Government and the one for county governments. It is important to give clarity because some of the agreements that have been signed so far are not clear on what county governments are going to do on matters of minerals, like the gold in our counties. I brought a question here on the issue of gold mining in Vihiga County. I got surprised that the County Government of Vihiga is not aware of what is happening in their backyard.

Some unscrupulous people, some from China and other places have invaded my county. They are mining and people are staying on top of big holes and this is a disaster in waiting while the County Government is doing nothing about it. The national Government is doing little about it. They responded to my Statement here that they were going to do something and temporarily, they chased away the company that was mining. After a few weeks, the Chinese came back and started doing the same thing.

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Mr. Speaker, Sir, I hope the Ministry of Mining and Blue Economy which is going to be under Hassan Joho is going to do a better job than what we have been seeing. What we have been seeing in this Ministry was laxity and corruption through cartels of miners who came to our counties to invest.

What is your point or order, the Senate Minority Leader?

Asante, Bw. Spika, Seneta Osotsi ni rafiki na ndugu yangu na tunasikizana sana. Hoja yangu ya nidhamu ni kwamba, ifikapo mambo na sheria za Bunge, hawezi kumtaja mtu ambaye hakuitwa na Bunge ama, hakujakuwa na taarifa fulani kwamba aje na hakuja, halafu yeye anamtaja kwa njia ambayo si ya kisawasawa.

Mimi nauliza kama ni haki kumtaja mtu kabla hajaitwa katika Bunge kwa njia mbaya na hajapata nafasi ya kujitetea?

The Senate Minority Leader, I do not think hon. Joho was named in bad light. Hon. Osotsi said he hoped that the incoming Cabinet Secretary and the name of Hon. Joho was dropped.

That is not bringing the name of Hon. Joho in bad light. He hopes that the incoming Cabinet Secretary for Mining and Blue Economy will do a better job because, according to his opinion, there was laxity. His hope is that this time around, with Joho at the helm of the Ministry, he hopes that things will be different I do not think he is out of order.

Proceed, Sen. Osotsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for protecting me. I made that statement in good faith because we all know that Hon. Joho is capable of doing a better job. I was just saying that he is the right person to clean the mess in the mining sector. I hope he starts with Vihiga---

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

What is your point of order, Sen. Chimera?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise under Standing Order No. 105. Is the Senator for Vihiga, Sen. Osotsi, in order to imply that the immediate former Cabinet Secretary for Mining and Blue Economy, Hon. Salim Mvurya was presiding in a corrupt Ministry before the Cabinet shake-up? Can the Senator substantiate factually whether there was corruption in the Ministry, either reported or unreported?

Sen. Chimera, I have listened to Sen. Osotsi so keenly here. At no one time did he allege the issue of corruption. He said, according to his opinion there was laxity in the Ministry and he hoped that this time around, things would be better.

Proceed, Sen. Osotsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for protecting me. Hon. Chimera is my good friend but I have not mentioned the name of my good friend, Salim Mvurya, in any way. I only talked about the Ministry. The Ministry is not an individual.

I was talking about the role of county governments. This Bill makes it clear that what county governments are going to do on managing the local content through various committees and the specific functions which the county governments are going to do.

Services, Senate.

This is very progressive and it will help us in addressing some of the challenges I have talked about, like the issue of mineral royalties and coming up with local content plans so that communities’ interests are ring-fenced in every project that is undertaken in our counties.

This Bill also talks about the performance of the local content because some investors do not observe the local content regulations and midway, they may decide not to honour the statutory requirements of sharing the benefits of the proceeds from resources. This is also going to strengthen the process of managing the local content in our country and our various counties.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, this Bill also goes further to talk about the strategies for local content development. It is important that an operator in an area should abide with the process of how he is acquiring goods and services. We shall provide a fair opportunity to all local persons who participate in the provision of goods and services in relation to extractive activities that are undertaken by that operator.

I had given an example of the granite factory. Some of this granite will be sourced from various homes. This law will guide how the investor or the operator will get this from the local community and compensate the adequately.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, there are quite a lot of good provisions here. However, we will have an opportunity to look at them and fine-tune where we think it is important to clarify some them, particularly on the roles of committees. What will the committees at the county and national level do? How will that support the process of ensuring that all stakeholders receive adequate benefit from this process?

With those remarks, I support with amendments.

Sen. Joe Nyutu, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise to support the Local Content Bill (Senate Bills No.50 of 2023) . Sen. Cherarkey has spoken before me and referred to my county of Murang’a, which feeds Nairobi City County with water despite of the fact that most of our residents do not have adequate water for drinking and farming.

Although this Bill relates to mining of minerals and petroleum, I am encouraged to support it because we will be involving the locals in the exploitation of resources in the counties. Clause 4 of this Bill states that-

“The object of this Act is to-

Services, Senate.

This participation as envisaged here is very encouraging and that is why I feel we should support this Bill. Speaking of Murang’a County - where I am elected - we have an area in Maragua Constituency called Gakoigo where we produce very good clay soil. This soil is important in making pots and even energy-saving jikos. This is a product that is available locally. If regulated properly, will benefit the people in that particular area and others.

Clause 7(iv) (b) of the Bill states- “In ensuring that the national Government fulfils its obligations under section 6, the Committee shall-

implementation of strategies for the development of local skills, business know-how, technology, financing, capital market development and wealth capture and distribution.”

This is also very progressive because most of our people lack skill. If we develop their business knowledge, technology and finance skills, we will be promoting them to conduct their business in a more skilled way and resulting to higher benefits and profits.

The participation of the locals is of paramount importance and that is why I support this Bill. When we develop skills through this particular Bill, we will also be curing some of the age-old traditions. For example, through this Bill, if we can identify minerals in the bandit prone areas where we have cattle rustling all the time, we can develop the skills of those young men and women. I am sure we will arrest such problems that have been occurring over the years.

I am concerned about the membership of the committee. I have gone through Clause 12 and I did not see any provision where the locals will be able to produce a member to the committee. That is one thing that Sen. Wamatinga should consider. If we are talking about local content, then we should have representation from the locality. With those few benefits I have seen resulting from this Bill, I support. However, I propose that the membership provision be adjusted or amended to include a member from the locality.

I support.

Sen. Oketch Gicheru, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to share a few thoughts on this very important Bill. I commend Sen. Wamatinga for bringing it. Generally, when we think of mining oil and gas, there is nothing that can bring inclusive growth at the scale we need to deal with in this country like envisioning a local content framework in the public policy space

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we are talking at a time that the country has just experienced a serious uprising of young people who are desolate and do not have jobs. Many of us have now focused on the jobs conversation. Now, we have to start talking about income conversations. Where jobs are not possible to find, income certainly should come for the purpose of helping young people. The extractive sector is, indeed, the place to anchor this job creation, especially when you think about host communities that are blessed with these resources such as minerals, oil and gas.

Services, Senate.

As a Senate, when we visited Turkana County last year during our Senate Mashinani, you could see the immense potential of the oil industry in the county. However, you could also see it juxtaposed with the idea that many young people there still do not have job opportunities in equal measure. Therefore, I support this important Bill.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I recognize that the role of devolution is extremely missing on this Bill. The truth is the minerals; oil and gas are mainly industries that are found within the borders of our local communities. Therefore, these extractive sectors end up affecting the ecosystem of those communities, which then affects the entire economic population of the counties.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, if you are going to have a proper structure and framework that can make the local content of these industries broader, then it has to be housed within the structures of the local communities which are then empowered by counties.

I say this because I come from Migori County where gold mining is a very big industry. Some urban cities and urban areas have emanated from being discovered as areas of economic production that then have grown from scratch through mining activities. For example, Macalder Mines and Osiri Matanda are emerging, developing areas in Nyatike Constituency entirely because of gold mining.

Masara Town has emerged because of mining activities and the vibrancy there has become due to mining. As a result of mining activities in that area, there are other potential economic activities that sometimes suffers the consequences of mining there.

For instance, cattle farming is a big industry for the people of Nyatike Constituency. However, the mining that goes around there does not allow economic diversification to happen. Everybody first focuses on mining in Osiri Matanda, in Macalder Mines and coming to Masara Mines in Migori County.

The mining exercise itself, through the industrial process that is going on there, if unchecked end up affecting other economic activities there. Both by design and by choice of people who live in those communities, it becomes extremely difficult to reinforce economic diversification.

That tells you just how important Clauses 6 and 9 all through Clause 12 of where the committee is been talked about. It must be mainstreamed within the framework that works for counties. For instance, we know that under Section 20 of the Urban and Cities Act, we have an establishment of municipalities that are given some fundamental rights in terms of how different economic permutations in our counties work.

I come from Rongo Constituency, where they have got a municipality. If the municipality structure is not given a voice in terms of the economic permutation that is affected by money, we would miss out very strongly on the economic diversification that is supposed to happen in these areas.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I support this important Bill. However, I would want that perhaps Sen. Wamatinga can take notes, especially on the roles of the national Government vis-à-vis the role of county governments as stipulated under part 2 of this Bill. The Bill should be able to invent the proper structures that are within counties already that need to take a key role in terms of just thinking about how local content should be developed within the county structures.

Services, Senate.

Local content is a key area around policy. It is a policy that will anchor the various elements of local content development in our counties and within the borders of our country.

The local content policy leaders must then emanate within the structures of counties so that when you think about this kind of committee, they can think about research and development institutions that can anchor the design and implementation of different policies that can enable the community to benefit from the proceeds of this minerals.

On issues of sustainability of the knowledge in the mining, oil and gas industry, as some Senators have spoken about here, the capacity element of companies that then come and do extraction in our local communities, their capacity is informed by different capital and different resources that they have.

In Migori County where I come from, I have seen several Chinese people coming to extract gold. They come with the knowledge, equipment, and the entire infrastructure. However, that knowledge is not sustainable and transferable. It is limited because they come as private players without a proper local content policy in terms of a vision framework that allows them to share that knowledge.

If one goes to Masara, Macalder and Osiri Matanda, the local people there are still doing artisanal mining. They lack even simple knowledge of knowing where the gold is. They lack knowledge about the geospatial mapping of where to exactly get the gold. They still have to use rudimentary forms of mining to the extent that even endangers life.

You have seen this in several places in this country, even in Ikolomani, where Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale comes from, Rongo, and Migori, a number of our people very well- meaning going to mine without the knowledge. They then end up dying in the mines. It is not just the issue of capital in terms of investing, but also knowledge.

When foreigners come to our places, they have some basic ways of knowing through some geospatial mapping that they will exactly this point. They say I will exactly extract this kind of gold, which local people do not know. When they leave, that knowledge is not transferable.

This also, indeed, comes with the idea of business participation and business registration. This Bill should have also included the element of business registration for these local businesses. In most cases, you find that in mining communities such as in Kakamega and Migori in general, I have seen people mining without having a business organization. It is mining for survival.

It has become so subsistent to the extent that everybody who is extracting finds this very difficult to have a local business that can encourage them to organize to unionize and even to bargain for the prices of the commodity that they are having.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I see that some Senators are concerned that I am talking here, but Sen. Cherarkey is getting all the credit on our screens. I hope that Kenyans now know how to distinguish between my voice and the voice of Sen. Cherarkey. They should also recognize the knowledge gap because I come from a serious extracting sector so the content will generally just come.

Services, Senate.

I think there is a technical problem with our screens today. So, we have to make sure that it is not Sen. Cherarkey interpreting my knowledge to the public, but that can be dealt with.

The Speaker (Hon. King): What is the point of order, Sen. Cherarkey?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, as a statement of fact, is it in order for Sen. Oketch Gicheru to allege and state that he is more brilliant than I am while the obvious is known?

Is he aware that I hold a degree in law? I also went to the Kenya School of Law and hold an LLM. I have not said other papers to my name, but what is known. Is it in order for him to allege that there is a knowledge gap while he is not my peer in any forum; academically, age wise, culturally, dressing and even mannerisms?

Hon. Senators, both Sen. Eddie and Sen. Cherarkey, you are totally out of order. We are not here to weigh each other against how knowledgeable we are. Sen. Eddie, I want to believe that you are saying that on a light note. If you meant it, then you have to withdraw.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I was sharing a matter of fact. The facts are that the knowledge around gold mining can only be shared strongly between the Senator for Kakamega, “the bullfighter” and myself because we have mines. I was just trying to help my senior ranking Member, Sen. Cherarkey, to understand how mining happens in Migori County. I was very specific to Migori and Ikolomani constituencies.

Sen. Eddie, is it your contention that you have more knowledge regarding this area of minerals as opposed to the Senator for Nandi?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, it started when Sen. Cherarkey appeared on the screen when I was specifically talking about Migori and Kakamega counties. So, I was limiting the knowledge to Migori and Kakamega because those are the places I have visited in terms of mines. Sen. Cherarkey is very far away from those places. So, he does not understand how the mines work.

You are not in any way trying to undermine his general knowledge in this area?

I did not undermine him in any way.

Proceed and conclude.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is also important that this Bill allows for formation of these committees in a way that allows for development of resource corridors harboured within counties. Without these resource corridors, the policy framework for local content will sometimes not help in mainstreaming training skills and re-skilling within the structures of the counties. For instance, we know that Technical, Industrial, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training (TIVET) institutions and a number of other training institutes within our counties sometimes offer courses that are general to the entire population. They are not really focused on the economic permutation of those particular local communities.

I would like to see mainstreaming skilling and re-skilling of people in the mining sector in places such as Uriri, Nyatike, Kuria West and Kuria East in Migori County. I would also like to see TIVET institutions in Kakamega giving skills and re-skilling

Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is also important that this Bill allows for formation of these committees in a way that allows for development of resource corridors harboured within counties. Without these resource corridors, the policy framework for local content will sometimes not help in mainstreaming training skills and re-skilling within the structures of the counties. For instance, we know that Technical, Industrial, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training (TIVET) institutions and a number of other training institutes within our counties sometimes offer courses that are general to the entire population. They are not really focused on the economic permutation of those particular local communities.

I would like to see mainstreaming skilling and re-skilling of people in the mining sector in places such as Uriri, Nyatike, Kuria West and Kuria East in Migori County. I would also like to see TIVET institutions in Kakamega giving skills and re-skilling

Thank you, Senator. Proceed, Senate Majority Leader.

Thank you, Senator. Proceed, Senate Majority Leader.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I join my colleagues in giving my thoughts on the Local Content Bill (Senate Bills No.50 of 2023) . It is a Bill that will provide a framework to facilitate local ownership, control and financing of activities connected with exploitation of gas, oil and other petroleum resources to provide framework to increase local value capture along the value chain in the exploration of gas, oil and other petroleum resources and for connected purposes.

This Bill has been in Parliament for a while. I think this is the third attempt to legislate on this issue of local content. Unfortunately, each time this Bill comes to Parliament, there are significant changes that happen to it that sometimes it loses its objects. The initial idea was to involve the local communities in any resources found within a specific jurisdiction. Perhaps this is where we will require the services of the committee to provide clarity.

If you read the object of the Bill I am referring to, you will be forgiven to imagine that it only speaks about oil and gas alone because that is the title that has been given to the Bill. The committee will need to provide clarity later when we are doing amendments.

It is only when you read deeper into the preliminary parts of the proposed Bill in the definitions and the interpretation that they define better that the extractive industry here means oil, gas and mining sectors in Kenya. A plain reading of the title can easily confuse.

That is not the real essence of what we intend to do with this Bill. We must ask ourselves one question even before going into its ins and outs; what are we trying to achieve?

Madam Temporary Speaker, mining as a sector contributed Kshs120 billion to the Kenyan economy in the last financial year. The desire of the Government, if you read the Kenya Kwanza Manifesto, is to grow it towards double digit. To make it almost 14 to 20 per cent as a contribution to our Goss Domestic Product (GDP) .

Let us not lie to ourselves, to do that is not much about what local people can get, but who you can attract to come and invest here for the locals to benefit. This is not the main problem of this mining or exploration sector in the country.

I like the fact that this Bill speaks to safeguarding local interest. I wish we had merged this conversation and made it attractive for the people with the resources who want to come and mine the petroleum gas, or whatever mining activities that are being done in our various parts of the country. When we attract them, we find ways of safeguarding our locals. The problem is that we are speaking about ensuring the locals are not exploited and are benefiting from the industry. However, we do not even have that industry.

Sen. Osotsi while speaking earlier asked how comes Vihiga and Kakamega counties do not get conditional grants from the mineral rights. It is because many of the mining activities he is describing and boasting proud of are artisan mining. They are not captured anywhere in the records of this country. These are just young men and women with sacks trying to do mining by use of their hands. It is not as an industry the way we understand it.

The greater challenge to us and this is perhaps what I want to challenge the committee that is handling this particular Bill--- Probably, it is her intention that we, first

Madam Temporary Speaker, I join my colleagues in giving my thoughts on the Local Content Bill (Senate Bills No.50 of 2023) . It is a Bill that will provide a framework to facilitate local ownership, control and financing of activities connected with exploitation of gas, oil and other petroleum resources to provide framework to increase local value capture along the value chain in the exploration of gas, oil and other petroleum resources and for connected purposes.

This Bill has been in Parliament for a while. I think this is the third attempt to legislate on this issue of local content. Unfortunately, each time this Bill comes to Parliament, there are significant changes that happen to it that sometimes it loses its objects. The initial idea was to involve the local communities in any resources found within a specific jurisdiction. Perhaps this is where we will require the services of the committee to provide clarity.

If you read the object of the Bill I am referring to, you will be forgiven to imagine that it only speaks about oil and gas alone because that is the title that has been given to the Bill. The committee will need to provide clarity later when we are doing amendments.

It is only when you read deeper into the preliminary parts of the proposed Bill in the definitions and the interpretation that they define better that the extractive industry here means oil, gas and mining sectors in Kenya. A plain reading of the title can easily confuse.

That is not the real essence of what we intend to do with this Bill. We must ask ourselves one question even before going into its ins and outs; what are we trying to achieve?

Madam Temporary Speaker, mining as a sector contributed Kshs120 billion to the Kenyan economy in the last financial year. The desire of the Government, if you read the Kenya Kwanza Manifesto, is to grow it towards double digit. To make it almost 14 to 20 per cent as a contribution to our Goss Domestic Product (GDP) .

Let us not lie to ourselves, to do that is not much about what local people can get, but who you can attract to come and invest here for the locals to benefit. This is not the main problem of this mining or exploration sector in the country.

I like the fact that this Bill speaks to safeguarding local interest. I wish we had merged this conversation and made it attractive for the people with the resources who want to come and mine the petroleum gas, or whatever mining activities that are being done in our various parts of the country. When we attract them, we find ways of safeguarding our locals. The problem is that we are speaking about ensuring the locals are not exploited and are benefiting from the industry. However, we do not even have that industry.

Sen. Osotsi while speaking earlier asked how comes Vihiga and Kakamega counties do not get conditional grants from the mineral rights. It is because many of the mining activities he is describing and boasting proud of are artisan mining. They are not captured anywhere in the records of this country. These are just young men and women with sacks trying to do mining by use of their hands. It is not as an industry the way we understand it.

The greater challenge to us and this is perhaps what I want to challenge the committee that is handling this particular Bill--- Probably, it is her intention that we, first

Services, Senate. of all, address how to secure benefits for the local community that hosts whatever is being mined or whatever is being extracted in the extractive industry.

It is a good thought because that is also part of the problem. I know for a fact, speaking to many people who have come to the country that if you go now to the Ministry of Mining, chances are that you will run into an investor or somebody that looks well-to-do and with a group of villagers in toe. If you go to the boardroom of the Ministry of Mining, there are many such people there, every single day.

You will ask them what is it that you people are here to do. They will say these are the community owners of where I have mining rights to and I have been granted consent by the community. These are the representatives. Therefore, there is no gainsaying for a fact that, indeed, you need to sort the issue of community interest. How do you tie them?

Madam Temporary Speaker, you must also marry that with the fact that if you are not very careful on how you grant these rights to the community, it is easy not to inspire the confidence of investors. We know between us and the four walls of this Parliament that we do not have either technical or financial capacity to grow the extractives industry to the level that we aspire to get it as a country.

I urge the committee handling this Bill to either marry the two or handle it the same way you have brought the Bill here, encouraging us to look on the interest of the local community. Can they immediately merge into this particular Bill or separately in another Bill?

Ensure that you also counterbalance the commitment that you are giving to the local community with incentives for the people with the money and the knowledge run this industry. If you do not provide the guarantees for them, if we do not become sensitive and attractive for business, we will just have a good law that will just gather dust in our shelves.

Nobody will come here if they are told that even if you get a license in Nairobi, you cannot go to Migori and mine the gold that Sen. Eddie is talking about. Of what use is that to an investor? Of what use is it to the people of Narok at Kilimapesa if we do not provide that particular incentive to the investors? The people can stay with their gold the same way it has stayed for the thousands of years it has been there.

I contend and hold the view that while this is a good and a positive step to begin with - I will speak to the benefits whatever little additions I have to the Bill - I think this is only 20 per cent needed for that industry to thrive.

I will give an unrelated example. Business processing of services, the young people that we are encouraging to work. You know the President has been speaking about digital hubs across the country where we are training our young people by use of computers to work for companies that are set out of the country. It is an industry that has been trying to thrive and setting foot in Kenya.

This is an industry that is dominated by Philippines and India. However, Kenya has such a good competitive advantage for the simple fact that Kenya has young and literate population who speak very good English compared to the Filipinos and Indians. Therefore, many of those companies are working hard to set up in Kenya.

Sorry to interrupt you, Senate Majority Leader. Technical team, thank you for updating the transmission. Please make sure we can see the most current proceedings in the Senate. You have been transmitting what is immediately passed.

Thank you. You can proceed, Majority Leader.

Madam Temporary Speaker, let me give an example of Clause 28 of the Bill. It speaks of an operator, which is a company that is carrying out the business of these extractives. Number one, it shall give first consideration to the employment of local persons who have requisite expertise or qualification in various levels of the extractive in accordance with this Act. It then says

Madam Temporary Speaker, let me give an example of Clause 28 of the Bill. It speaks of an operator, which is a company that is carrying out the business of these extractives. Number one, it shall give first consideration to the employment of local persons who have requisite expertise or qualification in various levels of the extractive in accordance with this Act. It then says

Services, Senate. minimize the employment of foreign personnel. These are what I call potential areas of conflict that we need not to legislate.

I completely hold a different view on this particular issue because employment is a very sensitive issue and in a country that is defunct of employment opportunities such as Kenya, the minute you start legislating things such as this, then you are setting up investors and no investor will set foot in this country.

This thing is so serious. I saw in the neighbouring county of Nandi, that an investor who runs a tea factory the other day, was being taken to task in all this madness that has been going around of young people demanding opportunities. They are being told that your Chief Executive Officer (CEO) must be a local from this county not even from the region or the tribe. The minute we begin to legislate things such as what is in Clause 28, about expertise, this is not a matter that you want to speak to and put in law.

I hold the view that the minute you legislate and want to put it into law, these are what you call the turn-offs to an investor. If I am putting my one, two, three, four or five million dollars on this very expensive equipment either for exploitation of gas, oil or even mining of gold, that despite the investment that I am putting in, you want to dictate to me who I employ.

I do not think as an investor, I will take the risk to come to your country because tomorrow you will be taking me to court if I tell you that these machines can only be operated by specific people. You will say, no, he is a graduate. It is not just about the issue of graduating and having the expertise. What experience and capabilities culturally, do we agree with? Do we share the same values? Therefore, these are things that are either left to regulation or licensing conditions, but not to be elevated to the level of a statute. I continue to insist that as Parliament, we must learn to listen to the industry.

Madam Temporary Speaker, you were there the other day, when we came from Mombasa where we had a roundtable with the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA). Part of the criticism that they continue to give to us as legislators and as lawmakers of the country is that we listen to the Government side alone. Many times, we make laws with the Government, the Executive and the people in mind without considering that there has to be a counterbalance. You can protect the people, but if the industries are not there, what happens?

As legislators, we must rise to the occasion and appreciate the need to ensure that we balance both the needs of the investors; the people that are coming up to set these industries and the local communities such as what we are speaking to. I pointed out the deficiency in terms of the operation of this Bill in Clause 28.

The last one is Clause 30, which speaks to the transfer of technology and research plan that–

“The Cabinet Secretary shall, in consultation with the Committee and in collaboration with relevant State agencies and county governments –

operations in the extractive industry; and,

plan.”

Services, Senate.

Although it appears plain some of these things are patented. This is a competitive industry. If you go deep into detail about how the mining and extractive industries work, you may think it is just a simple matter of sinking in the machinery and coming out with whatever you are extracting. However, in terms of strategy and practice, what one company does is not the same thing as what another company does.

These are matters of patent. Companies have spent their money; they have researched and they can achieve different factors depending on the resources that they have deployed if they are granted the opportunity. Thus, to demand them and grant this issue of the transfer of technology is not a bad thing. I agree with the need to secure that, but we must maybe tighten that conversation so that it is upon certain agreed conditions with the investor.

There are many other things that I would wish to speak about such as the issues on research. For example, under Clause 35, you need to submit your research and development plan for five years and so on. I would rather that this conversation be complete by ensuring that apart from securing the locals in the Bill, we listen to the industry as well in terms of how willing they are to contribute.

This is a good start because it is an attempt at ensuring that nobody exploits our people as is the case. This is an industry, for example, the extractive industry, that if we are to spend significant time, energy and resources, we will help to grow Kenya's economy to the next level. All these issues that you are struggling with on taxes and revenue-raising measures if we concentrated and did better in this particular industry. The country can even accelerate and grow to a better stage than what is available presently.

It bothers me that there are various countries across the region whose economies are not even as diverse or advanced as Kenya's, but as a share of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP), mining contributes more than what we earn. We need to study the mining reports even from across the continent. I am not speaking of South Africa and Congo, countries that are way advanced in the extractive industry. I am speaking of the neighbouring countries, even as young Republics as South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda on what they get out of the extractive industries.

We need to become better at how we manage this particular situation by ensuring that we protect the local communities as is being explained in this particular Bill. Nonetheless, I want to repeat for emphasis's sake, that we still have not thought of ways of attracting, investors who can come and put their resources, into this.

There are other issues as well that we need to address. I know, for example, that in some parts of this country such as Kwale, Homa Bay or Kericho which has got significant deposits of rare earths. They are untapped and there is no activity going on there. There are people with licenses to explore and have overstayed with those particular exploration licenses.

We must address that particular need and ensure that we sort out whatever local issues exist. If there are people who are not comfortable and are not assured of how they are going to be compensated or benefit, that is part of what we need to study in this particular Bill so that our counties can earn better.

It is out of growing industries such as this that we will save ourselves the burden of the revenue-raising measures that we have relied upon, which is purely on taxation and

Madam Temporary Speaker---

Sen. Kinyua, what is your intervention? One minute, Senate Majority Leader.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I am struggling to recognize my Majority Leader on that screen. You can see right now he is speaking and he has stopped speaking. I do not want to blame him, but I want to say that we have raised this issue of transmitting and our Senate system in the Committee on Budget and Appropriation time without a number, but our request has fallen on deaf ears.

It is true that as we speak, they are struggling to work hard to try and help the situation. The system is not only in the High Dependency Unit (HDU) , now it is in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) . The Constitution provides that we are supposed to be open about what we are discussing here.

Right now, the Senator for Kericho County is not being recognised by people in Kericho because the pictures are blurred. When I was at the lounge, when the Senator for Kericho County was speaking, the Senate Majority Leader, what was appearing on the screen was the Senator for Murang’a County, Sen. Joe Nyutu.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I ask the Budget and Appropriations Committee to give this House money, particularly for that purpose because transparency is a requirement of the Constitution. I do not want to waste more time. I just wanted to help you because I heard you ordering the people who are controlling the systems. They are not the problem. The problem is the system itself.

Thank you.

Thank you, Sen. Kinyua. I can see you are still speaking while in actual fact, you are seated. There is a delayed transmission of the pictures. To avoid having such technical hitches, I hope the secretariat will take it up.

The Clerk is instructed to check into that issue to ensure we have transmission that meets the constitutional threshold of accountability in transmission of information and proceedings that are being carried out in the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader, you can conclude your speech.

I had concluded, Madam Temporary Speaker.

Sen. Kinyua has done a good job. I thought I voted for commissioners to represent me and ensure that the systems work. However, I understand the challenges they are facing. We must put in concerted effort to ensure that we resolve this issue because what happens in this House is increasingly becoming embarrassing.

Madam Temporary Speaker, with those main remarks, I support the Bill with amendments on deletion of Clause 28 and a more elaborate drafting of Clause 35 and the other general thoughts that I have shared about it.

I had concluded, Madam Temporary Speaker.

Sen. Kinyua has done a good job. I thought I voted for commissioners to represent me and ensure that the systems work. However, I understand the challenges they are facing. We must put in concerted effort to ensure that we resolve this issue because what happens in this House is increasingly becoming embarrassing.

Madam Temporary Speaker, with those main remarks, I support the Bill with amendments on deletion of Clause 28 and a more elaborate drafting of Clause 35 and the other general thoughts that I have shared about it.

Thank you, Senate Majority Leader. We can now have Sen. Mungatana.

Asante sana, Bi. Spika wa Muda, kwa kunipa nafasi hii ili nitoe mawazo yangu kuhusu Mswada huu unaopitisha sheria inayosema kwamba kila mtu anayewekeza kwa sekta ya kuchimba madini, ahakikishe ya kwamba wananchi wa kawaida wa sehemu hiyo wanapata nafasi yakujiendeleza.

Jambo la kwanza ni kuwa sielewi kwa nini Mswada huu unaongelea kuhusu mafuta na gesi yanayotolewa ardhini peke yake. Napendekeza jina la Mswada huu ligeuzwe ili lijumuishe wawekezaji wote wanaochimba madini kutoka ardhini. Nasema hivi kwa sababu Mswada huu ni mzuri.

Mama Spika wa Muda, ukiangalia sehemu ya Charidende na Bangali kule Tana River, kuna madini yanayotumika kutengeneza cement. Madini haya yanayotwa gypsum na yanatoka sehemu hiyo ya Tana River. Ikiwa wawekezaji wangekuwa wanafuata mapendekezo ya Mswada huu, basi jambo lingewafaidi sana---

On a point of Order, Madam Temporary Speaker.

What is your point of order, Sen. Oketch Gicheru? Resume your seat Sen. Mungatana.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I know you have partly advised, but not ruled on this matter. However, I stand on this matter again under Standing Order No.245. What is going on in this House in regards to broadcasting is a very serious issue. Standing Order No.245 (2) says that the broadcasting of the proceedings of the Senate shall comply with the rules set out in the Sixth Schedule of this Standing Orders.

If you read Schedule Six under Television Broadcasting, it talks about the dignity that this broadcasting comes with. If you look at the tradition of this Act, sometimes we retreat to the Senate Lounge to follow these proceedings. When you are in the House and someone is talking and you are looking at the screen, you have the feeling that somebody is drunk. It is not dignified and honorary to the Members of this House. I am imagining if this is going on at the lounge, it looks even crazier.

Madam Temporary Speaker, sometimes technological problems appear. Would you perhaps rule, by request, that the system be shut down now? The recording can proceed for future references. However, the system here and the other side is shut, so we can have a proper account of what we are following in the House as well as in the lounges. Otherwise, it is against the Sixth Schedule on dignity to the Senators who are contributing at any given time.

I thank you.

Thank you, hon. Senator. Indeed, I had noted that the transmission was not being done properly. As you can see, it is delayed and reporting after the event. I believe it is not meeting the standards that are set out under Standing Order No.245 and the Sixth Schedule of the Standing Order.

As the Senate Majority Leader had also rightly noted, it could cause embarrassment to the Senate. When Senators are diligently executing their tasks and addressing the Motions that are before this House, especially the current debate which is

Thank you, hon. Senator. Indeed, I had noted that the transmission was not being done properly. As you can see, it is delayed and reporting after the event. I believe it is not meeting the standards that are set out under Standing Order No.245 and the Sixth Schedule of the Standing Order.

As the Senate Majority Leader had also rightly noted, it could cause embarrassment to the Senate. When Senators are diligently executing their tasks and addressing the Motions that are before this House, especially the current debate which is

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for your guidance to the House, the secretariat and the Clerk.

As a former broadcaster and someone who understands how these things work, out there where people are watching what we are saying, there is no problem. The only thing is that there is a delayed version of what we are saying, but they can see someone say whatever they are saying. The only problem here is the delay we are having in the House.

That is why I agree with the Senator for Migori. Instead of us seeing the delayed version of us, they can shut the monitors and we continue discussing without looking at whoever is speaking here. Outside there at homes, people are seeing us the way we are supposed to be seen. So, they are wondering what we are discussing because there is no problem being seen at home. If they can shut down the screens, we will not see the delayed versions of us here, so that we go on discussing.

Sen. Karungo, I have already given a direction and it is the Chair who gives direction of what happens in the House. I believe this direction is good enough to guide the proceedings.

For the Senators, I am equally concerned about the delayed transmission. This is because it is a bit distracting when you are watching the previous speaker who is not on the Floor. However, we will proceed on and request the secretariat to see how they can

Sen. Karungo, I have already given a direction and it is the Chair who gives direction of what happens in the House. I believe this direction is good enough to guide the proceedings.

For the Senators, I am equally concerned about the delayed transmission. This is because it is a bit distracting when you are watching the previous speaker who is not on the Floor. However, we will proceed on and request the secretariat to see how they can

Bi. Spika wa Muda, hoja yangu ya nidhamu siyo juu ya hayo. Langu ni unielekeze kwa sababu nimemsikiza Seneta wa kutoka Tana River akisema Mama Spika. Sijui kama ni lugha inayofaa kwa sababu, jina mama ni neno la heshima na sina shaka rohoni. Lakini, akikuita Mama Spika, inakaganya wale wanaosikiza kutoka Laikipia na wanaweza sema, yule aliyeketi pale, ni mama wa Spika.

(Kicheko) Ninajua jina la mama ni jina la heshima. Anahitaji kusema Bi. Spika.

Kiswahili sanifu zaidi kitakuwa ni Bi. Spika. Seneta Mungatana, unaombwa utumie hicho Kiswahili sanifu.

Bi. Spika wa Muda, ni ile heshima kubwa niko nayo kama alivyosema na ndio maana ninakuita, Mama Spika. Lakini, nimekubali kusema, Bi. Spika.

Jambo la kwanza ni kwamba Mswada huu hii ni nzuri sana sababu unahusisha shida ambayo tunapata. Nilikuwa nimetoa mfano wa Tana River, sehemu ya Charidende na Bangali tunachimba madini aina ya gypsum. Wale waekezaji wanachimba gypsum inayotumika kutengeneza simiti. Hata hivyo, wanawachia wananchi wa kawaida shida nyingi. Sehemu hii ya Mswada ambayo inahusisha---

On a point of order, Madam Temporary Speaker. Madam Temporary Speaker

: Sen. Orwoba, what is your point of order? Just resume your seat, Sen. Mungatana.

Bi. Spika wa Muda, ningependa kumkosoa Seneta Mungatana kwa sababu anaongea Kiswahili. Jina ambalo linatumika kwa gypsum ni jasi. Asante.

Seneta Danson Mungatana, ni kama umekosolewa na umeelezwa inaitwa jasi. Endelea na Kiswahili sanifu kama unataka kutumia lugha ya Kiswahili.

Sen. Orwoba, what is your point of order? Just resume your seat, Sen. Mungatana.

Bi. Spika wa Muda, ningependa kumkosoa Seneta Mungatana kwa sababu anaongea Kiswahili. Jina ambalo linatumika kwa gypsum ni jasi. Asante.

Services, Senate. hichi cha Mswada huu mkono. Kwa sababu, tungependa wawekezaji wote kabla hawajapewa leseni na kaunti, wawe na mipangilio kamili inayosema kwamba mwananchi wa sehemu hio, atafaidika namna gani.

Kipengele cha 26 kimenipendeza sana kuhusu Mswada huu. Kinasema ni lazima mwekezaji aweze kuweka mipangilio kamili ya kusema wananchi wa pale watapata kufundishwa namna ya kuchimba yale madini na kuongeza ujuzi. Wakati huu watu wetu wa sehemu zote ambapo kuna madini yanayochimba hawana ujuzi wa kufanya kazi hiyo wao wenyewe.

Bi. Spika wa Muda, watu wanatoka nje, wanakuja wanachimba madini, watu wanaambiwa tu, chimbeni ila hawafundishwi ujuzi kamili. Kusema ukweli wakiyachimba madini pale, sisi tunabaki na mashimo peke yake. Hatubaki na ujuzi unaotakikana tubaki nao.

Bi. Spika wa Muda, sheria hii ninayounga mkono inasema katika Kipengele cha 29, kuwa mtu yeyote ambaye ni mwekezaji ama anachimba madini ni lazima aweke mpangilio kamili wa watu wangapi atakaoajiri kazi katika matarajio yake. Kusema ukweli sheria hii imesema na kulenga ndipo.

Tukipitisha sheria hii na tuweke mabadiliko, wananchi wetu haswa wa sehemu tunazochimba madini kama kwetu Kaunti ya Tana River watafaidika sana, kwa sababu kwa wakati huu watu wetu hawapati chochote. Wanaajiriwa kazi zisizoeleweka na hawapati ujuzi wowote. Hakuna mipango kamili ya mwananchi kupata manufaa yeyote. Wawekezaji hawa wanapoondoka tunabaki na mashimo ambayo mbuzi na ng’ombe wetu wanaanguka ndani.

Bi. Spika wa Muda, sheria hii inasema kabisa kwamba imejihusisha na mambo ya environment katika Katiba ya Kenya. Inasisitiza vile wananchi wanafaa kutumia na kufaidika kutoka kwa mazingira yao. Wakaazi wa Kaunti ya Tana River wanatumiwa vibaya na wawekezaji wanaochimba madini. Naiunga mkono sana sheria hii. Katika kaunti hii, sio Gypsum pekee inachimbwa. Wakati Waziri Mhe. Mvurya, aliondoka katika Wizara ya Madini, alizuru kaunti yangu na kutueleza kwamba kuna map ambayo imechorwa na Serikali.

Kaunti ya Tana River ina madini ya kutosha lakini bado hawajapata wawekezaji. Jambo hili linaonyesha kwamba wakati ujao kutakuja wawekezaji wa kutosha sehemu yetu ya Tana River, na wakija tunataka sheria hii itekelezwe. Wakati huo tutapendelea vipengele hivi ambavyo vinasema wananchi wa kawaida lazima waajiriwe kazi, wapewe shares na wafunzwe ili wapate ujuzi wa kazi ya kuchimba madini, viwepo katika makubaliano kati ya mwekezaji na mkaazi wa Tana River.

Katiba yetu ya Kenya na sheria hii imetafsiri maana ya ardhi ya wananchi. Ibara ya 62 ya Katiba inanena na kutasfiri maneno ya ardhi ya umma. Madini yote yametafsiriwa kuwa ya ardhi ya umma. Hivi ni kusema kuwa hapa Kenya, mwananchi yeyote ambaye amepata madini ikiwa katika ardhi yake iliyo na title deed, ukweli ni kwamba madini yale ni ya Serikali. Public land au ardhi ya umma imetafsiri kuwa madini yote ni mali ya wananchi.

Katika sheria hii, kipengele cha mwanzo kinasema sheria hii imewekwa chini ya maagizo ama principles za Katiba ya Kenya kuhusu ardhi ya umma. Madini haya yatakayopatikana sehemu za Tana River, basi hayatakuwa kutoka kwa ardhi ya mtu

Bi. Spika wa Muda, kule kwetu, sehemu ya Chardende, sheria inayopendekezwa katika Mswada huu ingetufaa sawasawa kama inazungumzia juu ya madini yote pamoja na gesi au mafuta.

Kwa hivyo, nimesema ninamkosoa Seneta mwenzangu na ningeomba wakati wa marekebisho ya Mswada huu, tubadilishe jina lake ili kujumuisha madini ya aina yote yanayochimbwa ardhini. Vipengele vyote vilivyo katika Mswada huu vikitekelezwa wakati huu tunachimba jasi, wananchi wetu wangepata manufaa zaidi.

Bi. Spika wa Muda, nimefurahi sana ukiangalia Kipengele cha 22. Kinasema kwamba kila mwekezaji atakayekuja kuweka mali yake ni lazima atengeneze mipango kamili kabla hajapewa leseni. Ni lazima aeleze jinsi gani wananchi wa sehemu hiyo kunakochimbwa madini watakavyofaidika.

Ukiangalia wale wanaochimba jasi sehemu ya Charidende na kwingineko Tana River, hakuna manufaa wananchi wa kawaida wanapata. Kwa hivyo, ninaunga kipengele

Services, Senate. hichi cha Mswada huu mkono. Kwa sababu, tungependa wawekezaji wote kabla hawajapewa leseni na kaunti, wawe na mipangilio kamili inayosema kwamba mwananchi wa sehemu hio, atafaidika namna gani.

Kipengele cha 26 kimenipendeza sana kuhusu Mswada huu. Kinasema ni lazima mwekezaji aweze kuweka mipangilio kamili ya kusema wananchi wa pale watapata kufundishwa namna ya kuchimba yale madini na kuongeza ujuzi. Wakati huu watu wetu wa sehemu zote ambapo kuna madini yanayochimba hawana ujuzi wa kufanya kazi hiyo wao wenyewe.

Bi. Spika wa Muda, watu wanatoka nje, wanakuja wanachimba madini, watu wanaambiwa tu, chimbeni ila hawafundishwi ujuzi kamili. Kusema ukweli wakiyachimba madini pale, sisi tunabaki na mashimo peke yake. Hatubaki na ujuzi unaotakikana tubaki nao.

Bi. Spika wa Muda, sheria hii ninayounga mkono inasema katika Kipengele cha 29, kuwa mtu yeyote ambaye ni mwekezaji ama anachimba madini ni lazima aweke mpangilio kamili wa watu wangapi atakaoajiri kazi katika matarajio yake. Kusema ukweli sheria hii imesema na kulenga ndipo.

Tukipitisha sheria hii na tuweke mabadiliko, wananchi wetu haswa wa sehemu tunazochimba madini kama kwetu Kaunti ya Tana River watafaidika sana, kwa sababu kwa wakati huu watu wetu hawapati chochote. Wanaajiriwa kazi zisizoeleweka na hawapati ujuzi wowote. Hakuna mipango kamili ya mwananchi kupata manufaa yeyote. Wawekezaji hawa wanapoondoka tunabaki na mashimo ambayo mbuzi na ng’ombe wetu wanaanguka ndani.

Bi. Spika wa Muda, sheria hii inasema kabisa kwamba imejihusisha na mambo ya environment katika Katiba ya Kenya. Inasisitiza vile wananchi wanafaa kutumia na kufaidika kutoka kwa mazingira yao. Wakaazi wa Kaunti ya Tana River wanatumiwa vibaya na wawekezaji wanaochimba madini. Naiunga mkono sana sheria hii. Katika kaunti hii, sio Gypsum pekee inachimbwa. Wakati Waziri Mhe. Mvurya, aliondoka katika Wizara ya Madini, alizuru kaunti yangu na kutueleza kwamba kuna map ambayo imechorwa na Serikali.

Kaunti ya Tana River ina madini ya kutosha lakini bado hawajapata wawekezaji. Jambo hili linaonyesha kwamba wakati ujao kutakuja wawekezaji wa kutosha sehemu yetu ya Tana River, na wakija tunataka sheria hii itekelezwe. Wakati huo tutapendelea vipengele hivi ambavyo vinasema wananchi wa kawaida lazima waajiriwe kazi, wapewe shares na wafunzwe ili wapate ujuzi wa kazi ya kuchimba madini, viwepo katika makubaliano kati ya mwekezaji na mkaazi wa Tana River.

Katiba yetu ya Kenya na sheria hii imetafsiri maana ya ardhi ya wananchi. Ibara ya 62 ya Katiba inanena na kutasfiri maneno ya ardhi ya umma. Madini yote yametafsiriwa kuwa ya ardhi ya umma. Hivi ni kusema kuwa hapa Kenya, mwananchi yeyote ambaye amepata madini ikiwa katika ardhi yake iliyo na title deed, ukweli ni kwamba madini yale ni ya Serikali. Public land au ardhi ya umma imetafsiri kuwa madini yote ni mali ya wananchi.

Katika sheria hii, kipengele cha mwanzo kinasema sheria hii imewekwa chini ya maagizo ama principles za Katiba ya Kenya kuhusu ardhi ya umma. Madini haya yatakayopatikana sehemu za Tana River, basi hayatakuwa kutoka kwa ardhi ya mtu

Thank you Senator. Sen. Kisang, ’ were you standing up before you were called.

Services, Senate.

Katika makubaliano ambayo wataandikishana na wananchi, mambo haya yawe pale bayana. Watu wajue kuwa kumefanyika Environment Impact Assessment Report ili wananchi wawe wanajua kutakuwa namna gani wakati madini haya yananza kuchimbuliwa sehemu hiyo.

Kwa hayo machache, ninashukuru kwa kunipa nafasi hii. Ninaunga mkono.

Services, Senate. 20 per cent to the GDP. In Kenya, we have a lot of resources. It is only that we have not taken time to explore and encourage investors to invest in this sector.

As a country, in Kwale, Tana River, Taita-Taveta counties, there are so many minerals. If you go to Elgeyo-Marakwet County, my colleagues have talked about gold in Kakamega and in Migori Counties. At the level of exploitation, at the level of exploration, it is very low.

I have even seen another one in Marsabit County, where there is a fight almost between the Ethiopians and the people of Marsabit on the Kenyan side, fighting over some gold exploration.

We need to map out and encourage investors to come up with the equipment, so that we have industries, instead of just the local artisans exploiting these minerals. We have lost many of them because they do not have good skills. Every two weeks, three weeks, or a month, we are seeing people dying or being rescued in Migori, Kakamega or even in Vihiga County, because they do not have the skills.

As a committee, we have put in an advert outside there to the public. It is unfortunate that we received some memorandums, but not enough. Most of the investors, and even the locals where we are doing these explorations did not come to the Committee to give enough information to help us.

There are amendments that we are proposing. I believe in the Committee of the Whole, we will be moving amendments to ensure that the concerns raised by members are taken into account. As a committee, we are not going to compromise, especially on the employment of the locals. Kenyans have gone to school. We have graduates in almost all the fields. We have engineers, geologists and petroleum engineers.

It is important that when investors come in, we ensure that they respect and employ people from the communities. We just give them maybe the key specialized employment opportunities.

In Elgeyo-Marakwet County, we have a fluorspar company, where an investor was there for close to 30 years. After 30 years, the agreement lapsed and now we have, at least through the Ministry of Mining and Blue Economy, a new investor who is putting in close to Kshs5 billion.

In that Kshs5 billion, we have said majority of the employees should come from the community, or at least from Kenya. We do not encourage expertise from outside the country when we already have the local knowledge and skills.

It is good to encourage the investors when they come to the country, that the first position that they need to give out to the communities is the head of Human Resource (HR). The head of HR will know when they are doing interviews and ensure they vet properly and employ the locals, and eventually other Kenyans.

Where we do not have sufficient skills, the investor must and should transfer skills in terms of training by taking our people to our colleges or out of the country to acquire specialized skills.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I know there are roles that county governments will play. There are also roles that will be played by the national Government and the local communities. We know anything that is below six feet is not yours, but belongs to the Government. I think that is why people are buried six feet under.

Madam Temporary Speaker, it is because I have been around. Thank you, madam Temporary Speaker for the opportunity that you have given me to contribute to this Bill. This Bill is before our committee, where Sen. Mungatana is a Member.

Sen. Mungatana, I believe that as we finalize on the amendments, we also look at including the title, because you have said the title needs also needs to change, so that people do not just think that this is the extractive industries, only oil, gas, and petroleum products.

The Bill seeks to provide a framework in the development of, and adoption of, local content through ownership, control, and financing of activities connected with the exploitation of gas, oil, and other extractive or hydrocarbon resources.

One of the issues is the development of local economies, and secondly, stimulation of industrial development within the communities---

I think the Parliamentary Service Commission, our Commissioners and the Secretariat need to be serious, especially with this system. This thing came up sometimes last year. I am an IT expert; one of the good ones in the country, and we said there are so many solutions in this country.

I was in Zambia about two months ago. The Zambian Parliament has a very good system done by the locals. When you start speaking, even your clock starts counting. It is not only where the Secretariat alone is. It is displayed there, so that as you speak, they do not have to put that light on. You see yourself and know how you can summarize your issues.

I hope that in this Financial Year 2024/25, they are putting enough resources to do the solution. The systems are not expensive. It is not that Kshs200 million or Kshs300 million. You can get a good system under Kshs200 million.

Madam Temporary Speaker, it is unfortunate that the former Cabinet Secretary for Mining and Blue Economy has been transferred to another Ministry. In less than two years, the Cabinet Secretary and his team told us that they were able to map the country and identify where we have minerals in the country within a very short time. They were able to contribute close to around Kshs140 billion to the economy, but before that, it was less than Kshs100 billion. So, there were good plans.

I hope that as Hon. Joho takes over, he needs to move in the same direction. He should encourage also investors to move to the sector, so that we can contribute that 14 to

Services, Senate. 20 per cent to the GDP. In Kenya, we have a lot of resources. It is only that we have not taken time to explore and encourage investors to invest in this sector.

As a country, in Kwale, Tana River, Taita-Taveta counties, there are so many minerals. If you go to Elgeyo-Marakwet County, my colleagues have talked about gold in Kakamega and in Migori Counties. At the level of exploitation, at the level of exploration, it is very low.

I have even seen another one in Marsabit County, where there is a fight almost between the Ethiopians and the people of Marsabit on the Kenyan side, fighting over some gold exploration.

We need to map out and encourage investors to come up with the equipment, so that we have industries, instead of just the local artisans exploiting these minerals. We have lost many of them because they do not have good skills. Every two weeks, three weeks, or a month, we are seeing people dying or being rescued in Migori, Kakamega or even in Vihiga County, because they do not have the skills.

As a committee, we have put in an advert outside there to the public. It is unfortunate that we received some memorandums, but not enough. Most of the investors, and even the locals where we are doing these explorations did not come to the Committee to give enough information to help us.

There are amendments that we are proposing. I believe in the Committee of the Whole, we will be moving amendments to ensure that the concerns raised by members are taken into account. As a committee, we are not going to compromise, especially on the employment of the locals. Kenyans have gone to school. We have graduates in almost all the fields. We have engineers, geologists and petroleum engineers.

It is important that when investors come in, we ensure that they respect and employ people from the communities. We just give them maybe the key specialized employment opportunities.

In Elgeyo-Marakwet County, we have a fluorspar company, where an investor was there for close to 30 years. After 30 years, the agreement lapsed and now we have, at least through the Ministry of Mining and Blue Economy, a new investor who is putting in close to Kshs5 billion.

In that Kshs5 billion, we have said majority of the employees should come from the community, or at least from Kenya. We do not encourage expertise from outside the country when we already have the local knowledge and skills.

It is good to encourage the investors when they come to the country, that the first position that they need to give out to the communities is the head of Human Resource (HR). The head of HR will know when they are doing interviews and ensure they vet properly and employ the locals, and eventually other Kenyans.

Where we do not have sufficient skills, the investor must and should transfer skills in terms of training by taking our people to our colleges or out of the country to acquire specialized skills.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I know there are roles that county governments will play. There are also roles that will be played by the national Government and the local communities. We know anything that is below six feet is not yours, but belongs to the Government. I think that is why people are buried six feet under.

Thank you, Sen. Kisang.’ Sen. Karungo Thang’wa Paul, proceed.

Services, Senate.

We also encourage Members to go through the Bill. If you have any amendments, you can come up with them because I believe we still have time. We will listen and discuss as a House. As a committee, we will also give you proposals by the public, through the memoranda while we were doing public participation.

This is a good Bill. We urge Members of this House to keenly read and make contributions before we pass it. We should not abort it. Just like the Senate Majority Leader said, this is the third time we are making an attempt to pass this law to help our people.

It is not a Bill to attract investors. We are also trying to see how to help the locals in places with minerals to also do business. We encourage financial institutions to also advance resources to our local business community, so that they can do these particular businesses.

Madam Temporary Speaker, with those few remarks, I beg to support the Bill because it is important. We should pass it so that our people can benefit like yesterday.

Services, Senate.

Madam Temporary Speaker, in this country, who has the capacity to drill oil? If you say that you are not inviting investors who have state-of-the-art equipment, oil and mineral detectors, we might end up having gold that is down the ground that is not helping the community. As we look into this Bill, let us look at everything that is restrictive, so that we can help our people partner with foreign investors and bring this kind of mining business to this country.

Nevertheless, the Bill is looking to promote local participation and value addition because not so many people know and understand what mining is. A couple of days ago, it was reported all over that there was a red alert in Kiambu County when a trailer overturned and people stole some drums containing sodium cyanide. Whoever took that stuff had no idea what that thing is because we have not been trained or educated on what involves mining.

When you promote local participation, we will be able to train people and make sure that they understand the resources that are under the earth, so that when we partner with those people who will be bringing that kind of investment, they will be involved.

Madam Temporary Speaker, the Bill also establishes a Local Content Development Committee. The chairman of this development committee will be appointed by the Cabinet Secretary for Mining and Blue Economy. As we speak, we do not have any cabinet secretary at the moment; we only have an Acting Cabinet Secretary, who is hon. Musalia Mudavadi. I believe the nominees will be thoroughly vetted for people to know whether they understand the job ahead of them.

I was looking at the Constitution to see why the Senate does not vet Cabinet Secretaries. I found it is true that the Constitution says they should be vetted by the National Assembly. If we were to vet them, I would have so many questions to some of those nominees, especially on this issue of mining. The nominee for this portfolio, Hon. Hassan Joho, hails from the Coast. I have seen a video of him going round, with him swearing over his life that he will never engage the President of the Republic of Kenya.

I have not seen him leave this country or earth, so I know it is not his reincarnation; it is still the same person. If I were a committee member who vets such a character or person, the first question would be, you swore never to talk to the President. Do you still stand by that statement that you made?

We want to have people who understand the mandate and the people they work with. You cannot be in the same Cabinet with the President, yet you swore that you will never speak to him, over your dead body. Since you are alive, that is one question I would want to see whether the National Assembly will ask.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I know this Bill is providing a preference for local companies. That is a good thing, but as I said before, these local companies must have the ability. If they do not have the ability, they should be allowed to partner with foreigners or other investors that have the ability. If we say we reduce the investors by the name of foreigners, we might be doing injustice to the local people. They will never enjoy the resources because the resources will always be under the ground.

The Bill is promoting capacity building and knowledge transfer. I talked before about the sodium cyanide, that some people took advantage of when the truck rolled somewhere in Rironi in Kiambu.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to also weigh in my support to the Local Content Bill for its introduction to the Senate.

When you hear the words “local content”, the first thing that comes to your mind is entertainment and creation of content online. It is good to tell the Gen Z and everybody who is watching that we are not talking about that in this particular Bill. What we are saying is that when resources are dug up, Kenyans must benefit from them. The Bill is just talking about community engagement and domestic value addition.

I know we will have an opportunity to amend this Bill because when I look at it, it has some unintended consequences. After reading the whole of this Bill, it has restrictive requirements that might reduce investment attractiveness.

As a Member of the Committee of Tourism, Trade and Industrialization, we visited the counties of Migori and Busia. When we were in Busia, some people were complaining that there could be some people who have invaded Busia and Migori counties and are now mining gold.

When I asked them how their areas can be invaded yet they can see the people, they said you cannot see them because they could be coming from the neighbouring countries and go over 100 meters underground. The people there are afraid that their gold is gone.

People come to this country and go 100 meters below the earth to mine gold. When I asked them how they do that, they said that people from neighbouring countries have better equipment, they are well-trained and know what they are doing.

In Migori and Busia, people are using manual ways of digging 100 meters down the ground. They are using manual ways of taking air all the way to 100 meters. When we say that we are discouraging foreigners or investors, they may never have an opportunity to mine their minerals, gas or oil.

Thank you, Senator. Sen. Kisang’, what is your intervention?

Madam Temporary Speaker, I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.41. I am not used to this, but from what I can see around the House, it looks like we do not have quorum.

Thank you, Senator. Sen. Kisang’, what is your intervention?

Clerk, you will confirm whether we have quorum. While you do so, I want to request the HANSARD to make sure that with respect to the interventions that were made on the broadcasting and the clarity of the broadcasting, the relevant Standing Order should be Standing Order No.245 and not Standing Order No.45. Please, make sure that is updated.

In the meantime, Clerk, you can confirm whether we have quorum. The House has no quorum, so I will ask the Serjeant-at-Arm to ring the Quorum Bell for 10 minutes.

Hon. Senators, having failed to attain the quorum at the expiry of 10 minutes, the House stands adjourned pursuant to Standing Order No.41 (2) (a) , until Tuesday, 30th July, 2024, at 2.30 p.m.

The Senate rose at 5.41 p.m.

Clerk, you will confirm whether we have quorum. While you do so, I want to request the HANSARD to make sure that with respect to the interventions that were made on the broadcasting and the clarity of the broadcasting, the relevant Standing Order should be Standing Order No.245 and not Standing Order No.45. Please, make sure that is updated.

In the meantime, Clerk, you can confirm whether we have quorum. The House has no quorum, so I will ask the Serjeant-at-Arm to ring the Quorum Bell for 10 minutes.

Hon. Senators, having failed to attain the quorum at the expiry of 10 minutes, the House stands adjourned pursuant to Standing Order No.41 (2) (a) , until Tuesday, 30th July, 2024, at 2.30 p.m.

The Senate rose at 5.41 p.m.