Nairobi Women Representative, Esther Passaris has come out in defence of Mumias East MP Peter Salasya, who was criticised for stating that he was not elected to advocate for climate change.
In an interview on Wednesday 6, Passaris stated that the climate issue was neither a pressing concern to the MP himself nor his electorate.
“When you look at Mumias, the area he represents, they are farmers. Their issues have more to do with the mismanagement of the (sugar) institutions rather than the climate effects on their crop,” the Women Rep stated.
While noting the significance of mitigating climate effects, Passaris explained that some Kenyans saw little correlation between climate change and their immediate basic needs.
“Unemployment is a big issue for most of our youth. And when the youth are dealing with unemployment, they are unable to relate it to climate change,” Passaris opined while appearing as a panellist on NTV.
The Women's Rep maintained that Salasya has a duty to cater to the needs of his constituents whose concerns were unrelated to climate change.
“The citizens that voted for him are more concerned with housing, medical facilities, bursaries, and jobs,” Passaris, a member of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party alongside Salasya, explained.
Cycling back to the significance of tackling climate change, the woman representative attributed several challenges facing Kenyans to climate change.
Highlighting health, food, and housing, Passaris pointed out that the effects of climate change contributed to health complications, scarcity of food due to longer periods of drought and floods, and increased housing expenses to cope with fluctuating temperatures.
“Every leader relates to his citizens based on his citizens’ needs. So for him (Salasya) the needs of his constituents are different from climate. But the fact is everything is interconnected and interrelated,” she observed.
Peter Salsya, in a video that was shared widely, was captured struggling to explain the goals of the inaugural African Climate Summit held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC).
The summit hosted by Kenya's President William Ruto aims to address the increasing exposure to climate change and its associated costs globally and particularly in Africa.
"By the way, climate change is real because of global warming. I think I was in Mombasa last week, and it was so cold. So, I asked them what was not happening. They told me that the sun was getting hotter and ice was melting," Salaysa, who was part of the Kenyan lawmakers attending the event, jumbled.
Later, he tweeted that he travelled to Kisumu with fellow MPs to address more pressing issues besides climate change.
"Currently in Kisumu with my fellow MPs to deliberate on matters of sugar in the country. Mambo na #climate am not privy to it. I leave it to scientists and expertise. Watu wafwate maagizo being given at KICC. (I am not privy to climate change effects. Let's follow scientists' advice)."
Meanwhile, Global Warming refers to the rise in global temperatures due mainly to the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, whereas Climate Change is the increasing changes in the measures of climate over a long period – including precipitation, temperature, and wind patterns.
