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{
"id": 1443813,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1443813/?format=api",
"text_counter": 199,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Kipchumba Murkomen",
"speaker_title": "The Cabinet Secretary for Roads and Transport",
"speaker": {
"id": 440,
"legal_name": "Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen",
"slug": "kipchumba-murkomen"
},
"content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I will read the answers a bit faster because most of the answers to the questions relate to the nonexistence of budgetary allocation for the roads to be done. This is important for the state of the nation, the Ministry and our roads. The reason this Government has been accused of miscommunication is that for the last two years, we have behaved like an African father who does not tell his children the exact state of his pocket. This is in the hope that in the fullness of time, you will get something and satisfy your children. Unfortunately, the impatience of your children can easily eat you because you have been trying to hide the truth of what it is. I have decided that we lay it bare, so that the people of Kenya know the state of their infrastructure, their accounts and budgets. This is so that they will know whether they will be ready to make sacrifices in other sectors to complete the roads. The last statement on this issue is that this is a systemic historic problem. Some of you sitting here were in the National Assembly during the Jubilee administration, which I am glad to have been part of it. You kept on increasing the number of roads and approving the budget for roads without a clear plan of how these roads will be completed before starting a new one. That is why when this administration came to office, we made it clear to the country that we were not going to start new projects until we complete the projects that were in place. This disease would have been carried forward continuously year after year, and we would be living a lie. That is why we must confront the reality on the ground. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I will now go straight to respond to Question No.45. The delay in the completion of Wang Arot-Kamito Road and Maseno-Kombewa- Kalandini Road (D245) and Maseno Town Roads (RWC119) projects were caused by the contractor’s withdrawal from the site due to the severe financial distress from the accumulation of the pending bills. The current pending bill for this project is Kshs203,476,681.90 and the allocated budget for the last financial year, which has just ended, has been exhausted with a payment of only Kshs56,370,000. The budget for the project for this coming financial year is Kshs70 million. You can see that the budget for this financial year is Kshs70 million still chasing the balance of the Kshs203 million, which is the pending bill. Meanwhile, the Ministry is engaging the contractor to prioritise maintenance work to ensure motorability at affected sections ahead of the full resumption of the works. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the delay in the completion of Bondo-Wiawi- Kibanga-Liunda Beach Road, which is C-843 road project, is due to the contractor's withdrawal from the site citing delays in payment of interim payment certificates for the certified works. The Ministry, through the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) has engaged the contractor to resume works following partial payment on the previously owed amounts. The contractor has committed to mobilize and resume operations to ensure the project's completion as modalities are put in place to clear the outstanding amount of Kshs33,777,596.69. In the last financial year, the contractor was paid Kshs61,171,999 out of the allocated Kshs70,800,000. The Ministry aims to clear the balance in the next tranche of disbursement from the National Treasury. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}