Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1279645,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1279645/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 90,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kikuyu, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Across the country, governors pretend to be rehabilitating and maintaining the same roads which Members of Parliament maintain through the Constituency Roads Committees. This is not unique to one county like Siaya or Kiambu, but it cuts across board in the whole country. In my own county, Kiambu, I have seen the Governor pretending to maintain a road maintained by KeRRA. It is the road from Nachu to Lusingeti, Ndacha, Mbomboini all the way to the SGR Station. He grades it and leaves the people suffering under a hail of dust. He also pretends to be excavating murram in the neighbourhood. Since time immemorial or during the colonial times when white settlers settled in Kikuyu white highlands, there has never been any discovery of murram. What they excavate from Kikuyu is soil that looks like murram which they pretend will maintain the roads. This is a matter of concern not just to the Member for Nyando but to all Kenyans. They will tell you that they get no value for the money which goes towards maintenance of murram or non-bitumen roads in their backyards other than what they see KeRRA doing. Therefore, we must ensure that the Cabinet Secretary and, indeed, Director-General of KeRRA allocates more resources out of the Fuel Levy to the Constituency Roads Committees because this is where people get value for money. Hon. Speaker, this happens because Members of Parliament are not implementers of these projects and have no executive authority. So, they are not able to offer real and meaningful oversight. It is unlike the situation for governors, who are executors and implementers of these projects. Therefore, they are keener on deriving kickbacks from contractors than delivery of services. Kenyans will tell you that Members of County Assemblies (MCAs) kneel before their governors so as to get deals to maintain murram roads. This must come to an end. This morning, we had an engagement in the HBC on our role as Members of Parliament. So, the next time we ask the Cabinet Secretary to appear before this House, we must seek to know the classification of roads maintained by county governments in the counties, which ones are under KeRRA, and how much money goes towards maintenance of the murram roads. You will be shocked, in the last two or three months, close to Ksh11 billion has gone towards the maintenance of the roads. You can imagine how many kilometres of roads this money can tarmac. The other day, you heard the President speak about a lady who could not be moved from the Procurement Department in KeRRA. She was very powerful because of the corruption that pertains to the roads sector. I want to implore that as we seek to have more resources, please make sure, in your own counties and regions, you offer proper oversight so that people do not use soil in the pretext that it is murram road. Also ensure that people do not grade roads that have already been constructed and then pretend to be maintaining the same roads so that their constituents see the value of funds that that have been allocated to maintain those roads."
}