HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 1446308,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1446308/?format=api",
"text_counter": 205,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Wambua",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 13199,
"legal_name": "Enoch Kiio Wambua",
"slug": "enoch-kiio-wambua"
},
"content": "It is absorbing many young people and for that reason, every legislation that we pass, either in this House or in any legislative assembly, even in the counties, there must be a law that is a lot more facilitative than restrictive. It should be a law that facilitates the growth of the sector and creates avenues for expansion and growth of the sector. Having said that, I will not miss this opportunity to thank the former President, the late Mwai Kibaki, for thinking through this very important sector and opening up our borders for the importation of motorcycles. Were it not for the initiative of the former President, then I would not know what we would be doing with the millions of young people who are now engaged in that sector. Therefore, we should carry that vision of the former President forward in whatever legislation we are going to come up with. Let me just mention a few things on this Bill by our brother, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale. First, when it comes to the issue of the regulation of motorcycles, I have heard my colleagues speak about this, so I will not spend a lot of time on it. At some point, when we go into Third Reading, we may want to engage a lot more on this matter of the board, the County Motorcycle Transport and Safety Board. Engage, discuss and agree on two issues; one, the composition of the board and two, the functions of the board. I say this because when you look at the composition of the board as proposed in this Bill, it appears like a department of the county government. It is an extension of the executive of the county governments and yet, this is private business. When the operators in this private business encounter challenges, they should approach the executive in their counties for a resolution of the challenges that they face. Now, if the board is in itself an extension of the executive in the counties, then when there are challenges, it would be very difficult for the county executives to approach themselves to resolve those challenges. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, looking at this, I would have wanted to see the involvement of the riders. They have a voice in their business and their jobs. There must be a representation of the riders in this board. There would be need for a representation of the owners because it is not all the time that the riders are the owners, but there are people who have invested in this business. They have an opinion in how the board, the business and the sector should be regulated, There will be need to deal with manufacturers of these motorcycles. They need to be on the board for purposes of dealing with quality and safety issues of the motorcycles. There is also the dealers, the people that offer these motorcycles to the owners and the riders, so that it is a holistic board that is not an extension of the executive of the county governments. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, when it comes to the functions of the board, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, we should run away from the temptation to be generic in the creation of the functions of the board. As I said, let us first admit and agree that this is a unique and growth sector for us. Therefore, the functions that we assign the board must be specific to the operations of the motorcycles. I have in mind, and I see that Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale has captured a bit of that, an obligation being placed on the boards to ensure that there are sufficient packing lots The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only.A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and Audio Services,Senate."
}