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{
    "id": 1129136,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1129136/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 531,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kibwezi East, WDM-K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Ms.) Jessica Mbalu",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 432,
        "legal_name": "Jessica N. Mbalu",
        "slug": "jessica-mbalu"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I also rise to add my voice to the Kenya Roads (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No.13 of 2021). It is a very short amendment to the principal Act. I would like to thank the Chairperson and his Committee for this Bill. One thing that I find important and that will help our country is the qualifications of the director-general. In the proposed amendment to the Kenya Roads (Amendment) Bill, a person who qualifies to be a director-general should hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering and a master’s degree from a university that is recognised in Kenya. At one point, I heard the views of the Leader of the Majority Party. However, given that engineering is a very important field and we are dealing with roads, we know what can happen if roads are not constructed properly, especially in terms of monitoring and directing. I agree with the proposed amendment to Section 14(a) that the director-general should have a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering and a master’s degree from a university recognised in Kenya. Again, I agree with the Leader of the Majority Party that not all professions require every other director to hold a degree from the same field, but this is a special case. For one to qualify for the position of director-general, the proposal by the Committee is that he or she must be registered with the Engineers Board of Kenya. I am sure that is acceptable to all. There is also the issue of increasing the term of office from three years to five years. As others have said, if you do a good job, you will retain your office. However, you also need expertise and knowledge in the area. I was thinking about tenders for construction of roads that were advertised in 2016 in my constituency. We had to ask why the procurement process was stopped and why it was lagging behind. With that extension of time, which I support, I am sure the director- general will be able to visit the place. For example, there are two roads in my constituency that should be looked into by KeRRA and our NG-CDF members who make decisions. Those two roads have been left behind. We really pushed for an extension of works on the same roads. If the term of the director-general was extended so that he continues working together with the so-called regional managers from my area and the constituency road managers, they could easily satisfy our people. On our part, we would do public participation to better understand the area. 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."
}