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{
    "id": 1198378,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1198378/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 15,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. M. Kajwang’",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13162,
        "legal_name": "Moses Otieno Kajwang'",
        "slug": "moses-otieno-kajwang"
    },
    "content": "That, the said islands on Lake Victoria have since time immemorial suffered from the lack of a public ferry to ensure safe and secure access of the islands and the mainland by the residents which has led to an increased cost of transportation of goods and services to and from the island thus affecting the cost of living in the island and the cost of doing business between the islands and the main land and more importantly, loss of lives in the use of unsafe water transport methods; That, due to lack of a reliable public ferry, even the operations of the only private ferry that operated within the islands was suspended on 21st December 2021, almost one year ago, following non-compliance with Kenya Maritime Safety Regulations; This has adversely and negatively affected movement between the islands and the main land leaving the residents and school going children to rely on other forms of transport including wooden boats which are not only insufficient to ferry high volume and heavy cargo from one island to another and to and from the main land but are also highly risky and dangerous to life and property; That, the Government initiated a number of public projects on the said islands like construction of classrooms to promote Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) and other public installations including Kenya Power off grid generators, which are unlikely to receive enough fuel, public schools that have experienced delayed acquisition of essential learning and non-learning facilities and materials; That, a continuous lack of a reliable public ferry is adversely affecting development and growth of the said islands considering that they have a good potential to contribute to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country through blue economy, lake transport, tourism, cage fishing, livestock farming and other forms of business; That, we the petitioners, wish to confirm that as per Standing Order No. 235 of the Senate, this matter is not pending in any court of law or any other constitutional or legal body; That, the efforts to have this matter resolved urgently through the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure and the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), though on going, has not yielded any immediate solutions; Therefore, your humble petitioners pray that the Senate through the Committee on Transport and Infrastructure consider the following- (i)With a view to return normalcy in people and cargo transportation between the said islands and the mainland, the Government through the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure should support the current private investors through Public Private Partnerships (PPP) to ensue compliance with the safety maritime regulations; (ii)That, in the meantime, the Government through the Kenya Ferry Services (KFS) now under the KPA, should allocate and install a fully equipped public ferry to ply the Mfangano Island, Rusinga Island, to Mbita Route free of charge and as a constitutional right for the people of Mfangano Island ferry being a road extension; (iii)The Government through the National Treasury and the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure through the KFS now under the KPA to immediately procure a public ferry with the Kshs3 million, allocated for the same in the current Financial Year 2022/2023 under vote 0204000 and purchase or construct a new free public ferry with a view to ensuring safe and secure lake transport within and without the island;"
}