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{
    "id": 136227,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/136227/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 470,
    "type": "other",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, architectural drawings are wanting in some cases. That is why you will find buildings collapsing during construction. We have lost lots of lives because of that. Even if the architectural drawings are right, you find that the supervision is also wanting in the sense that even what was provided for by the architect or structural engineer, whoever is doing the construction will not be following the details in that design. I think it is incumbent upon the Minister to strengthen the role of supervision of construction of buildings once they have been authorized by the relevant local authority whom I also have got doubts as to whether they have the capacity of doing so. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, we have so many Government houses. Thank goodness, they are all over the country. However, if you look at their state and condition, it is deplorable. If those buildings were properly maintained, they would last for many years and serve this country more. I want to urge the Minister to strongly advocate for a maintenance section, the same way this House impressed on me to have the same. It should be a section that is proactive for Government houses and offices. These buildings should be properly maintained. When the roofs leak, they should be repaired quickly. When they require paint, they should be painted. Otherwise, they will be an eyesore for us all the time. That is my plea to the Minister so that we have neat residential houses and office buildings. As it is, in some cases it has taken long for attention to be given to them and they fall as a result of such neglect. We are then forced to use huge amounts of public money to repair them, yet if we were to do basic maintenance, we could use less money. We could also have decent housing for our people. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, the other issue is that of constructing houses for individual use in rural areas. I think the Ministry should finance institutions that fund mortgage. These include the National Housing Corporation (NHC), the Savings and Loans Mortgages and the Housing Finance Company of Kenya (HFCK) in order to make the mortgages affordable to the people in the rural areas. I assure you that if we do that, in the long run, we will have decent houses for our people. I congratulate the Minister for slum upgrading. With those very many remarks, I beg to support."
}