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{
    "id": 1412533,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1412533/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 259,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Samburu West, KANU",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Naisula Lesuuda",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Adjournment on the increased numbers of accidents on our roads. I thank Hon. Oscar for bringing this Motion. I want to add to what my colleagues have said. It is very devastating and painful to lose many people every single day on our roads. Even one life lost is too much. Seven people were buried in Makueni yesterday. I can only imagine the pain that family is undergoing as it buried the seven members in one day. As Hon. KJ has said, we have to look at ourselves as Kenyans. We have very bad manners when it comes to the way we drive and cross roads. We do not follow traffic laws if there is no police officer. It is a matter of training and changing our mindset as Kenyans in terms of valuing our lives and the lives of others. It has been said that the Government’s role in enforcement of traffic laws is very important to ensure that we reduce the number of accidents. If you go to the developed world, it is not so much about what people would like to do, but it is about enforcement. You automatically know that you will lose your driving license for a year or two if you make many mistakes. Because of the cameras on the roads, you will get your fine waiting for you at your doorstep. People will then tend to follow the laws of the country. We are not short of laws and policies. We cannot run away from enforcing them so that people can correct their bad manners and ensure that we follow the law. Go to a country like Rwanda, which is our neighbour. We have said it many times. We should not compare ourselves to other countries. Other countries should be learning from us. There is discipline in Rwanda, right from boda bodas. Traffic laws are enforced by ensuring that they wear helmets and even passengers have helmets. They stick to their lanes. We should ensure that traffic laws are enforced and corruption is eradicated. Once corruption is entangled with law enforcement, it becomes impossible for proper enforcement to be done. I do not want to belabour the point. It is just unfortunate that we only talk about these issues when many accidents have occurred. That is when we see officials from the responsible ministry, and even we ourselves in Bunge talking about road accidents. This should be done every day, even when we do not have accidents. We should follow the law and enforce traffic laws every day and not wait until there are many accidents across the country to start trying to bandage a wound. Thank you for this opportunity. I hope we will change our mannerism and enforce traffic laws in our day-to-day lives."
}