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"content": "Some areas have been left out in terms of development of our road network for many years. If you look at our country, the only key concern has been our connection with Uganda. The Voi-Taveta Road connects us with Tanzania. It is a pity that, that road is not in good condition. We have other regions like North Eastern Province and Eastern Province whose roads would easily connect to Somalia, Ethiopia and Southern Sudan. Therefore, if all these roads had been done and we were also connected to these regions, this would definitely develop our country in terms of trading with our neighbours. I am appealing to the Ministry to look into this issue of constructing roads connecting us with our neighbours, so that we can improve our trade and the performance of our economy. Mr. Speaker, Sir, having said that, I would like to highlight some of the areas which the Committee found were left out and we thought if the budget could allow, the projects would be useful. As I just said earlier, the road from Mwatate to Taveta was left out of the budget because of under-funding, as per the Ministryâs request. The issue of this road needs to be addressed. The road connecting Turbi to Moyale also needs to be addressed. The roads that need attention are; connecting Eldoret - Ziwa â Kitale Road, Kibwezi-Kitui- Mwingi-Isiolo Road which connects to Ethiopia and Southern Sudan, the road connecting Eldama Ravine-Nyaru-Eldoret Road, Isebania-Kisii-Ahero which would also connect us to northern Tanzania and the Mombasa by-pass to Kipevu from Ndongo Kundu. If this road is done, it will help to open up this area. The other project which we found was important but was left out was the dualing of the Outering Ring Road and Ngong Road. We also have Isiolo â Garbatula â Modogashe Road, Marigat â Lorup Road and Makutano â Sagana Road. We found out that had these projects been taken on board, we would have required about Kshs6 billion. I am sure Kshs6 billion is not a lot of money. If some money could be allocated from somewhere or if we could get some donor funds, I would urge the Minister to address these projects urgently so that they can connect those essential areas and therefore, spur development in our country. Mr. Speaker, Sir, one of the observations by the Committee is that, there have been delays in the completion of projects by the Ministry of Public Works and contractors. This needs to be addressed because if a project is supposed to take six months, it should take six months. If it goes beyond that, there is a delay in work and a possibility that the cost would go up. The Committee would like to see the Ministry have speedy completion of projects so that we do not have extra money spent on projects. The other area of concern is that of pending bills. We observed that the Ministry has pending bills of Kshs8 billion. Either way, if you pay those bills and move on with a clean bill of health, you will have a budget less Kshs8 billion. At the same time, if you keep carrying forward these pending bills, it will still impact negatively. Therefore, our thinking is that the Ministry should clear pending bills so that we can move forward. That way, the money allocated can be used to implement new projects. Mr. Speaker, Sir, another area of concern is the issue of transparency, regarding allocation of funds to regions. Members would like to see a transparent way of allocating funds to the various regions in the country because all the regions need equal"
}