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{
    "id": 1031423,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1031423/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 378,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Isiolo North, KPP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Hassan Hulufo",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13348,
        "legal_name": "Hassan Oda Hulufo",
        "slug": "hassan-oda-hulufo-2"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me an opportunity to speak to this Report. I support the Report. As Members of Parliament, we represent the interests of all Kenyans. So, when Hon. Abdullswamad, along with other coastal MPs, raised these issues; that, importers were being forced to use the SGR and in the process Kenyans at the Port of Mombasa and the various towns along the Mombasa-Nairobi Highway were losing jobs and livelihoods, we were touched. I actually decided to stay in the House until I contribute to this Report. If the recommendations could not have gone the way we wanted, I was ready to oppose it. But as it is now, it is good that the Government has listened to the concerns of the stakeholders and now the importers are free to choose the mode of transport that they should use. The Report also states clearly that SGR and Kenya Railways should be ready to compete with other transport services. I am sure they will be forced to provide incentives for the importers to choose the SGR and not the other alternative modes of transport, and that is the way to go. I am glad because transporters traverse various counties. There are those who use road transport because the SGR does not stop anywhere near their areas of operations. From Mombasa County, trailers go through Taita Taveta, Makueni, Machakos and Nairobi. Along this stretch of close to 500 kilometres, there are townships where economies and the livelihoods of the people who live there largely depend on these transporters. Therefore, this Report actually restores the hope of those people. Most of these towns had begun becoming ghost towns. In future, if the Government comes up with projects like SGR, it should consult the people with a view to entice them to appreciate Government service rather than give directives on what mode of transport people should use. I am glad that the Report also touches on the issue of idle assets of Kenya Railways, which are all over the country. These assets should be put to use and the income from them should be used to develop the rail network further. We also want the SGR to be extended not only in the direction of the lake but also beyond the neighbouring counties. In future, the Government should probably consider extending SGR through Mount Kenya to northern Kenya and other parts of the The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}