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"id": 1507460,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1507460/?format=api",
"text_counter": 215,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kikuyu, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah",
"speaker": null,
"content": "The Member for Aldai is saying Kiambu County. I can tell her that the billions in Kiambu County are for a trunk road – the highway which runs from ABC in Westlands all the way to Rironi. In the budget process, you will find a figure of about Ksh7 billion and imagine that roads in Kiambu County are all constructed, but they are not. That road runs from Westlands, through Dagoretti North, Dagoretti South, Kabete, Kikuyu and Limuru constituencies, and terminates before you get to Naivasha Constituency. I am saying this because we are accused of being involved in the implementation of Government projects. With tremendous respect to the former Prime Minister, I have also seen him add his voice to the debate that Members of Parliament and MCAs must never be involved in the implementation of projects. Why do the members of the public in Syokimau/Mlolongo Ward feel that their MCA is the one who should fix their road? Why do members of the public in Kikuyu Constituency feel that I should construct roads more than their governor, who has been given resources to construct their village roads? The public keeps coming to the Members of Parliament because they are efficient and effective in the application of the public resources that they superintend in NG-CDF. They oversee projects to ensure their proper implementation through NG-CDF and Constituency Roads Committee (CRC). I have been to all the 290 constituencies of this country as we tangatanga. I still continue to tangatanga across the country. If you find a road being maintained, be it to murram or bitumen standard, it cannot be by a county government. It is through the CRC, Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA), Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) or Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA). As I said, I will not be shocked if tomorrow a Member of Parliament is made to walk through mud by his or her constituents, which is very unfair because Members of Parliament do not have money to fix the roads. The people who are charged with fixing roads are the ones in KeRRA, KURA and KeNHA. They implement those projects in a manner that is not cost- efficient, effective and transparent. That is why there is bid-rigging in almost all those road agencies. The only person we can trust to catch those thieves is the Office of the Auditor-General. The Auditor-General will be empowered by this Bill, when it becomes an Act of Parliament, to ensure that public officers apply public resources in a transparent, accountable, efficient and effective manner in the delivery of services ; in a manner that gives value for every coin of the peoples’ taxes. This will ensure that Kenyans pay taxes happily. I do not know whether there is such a thing. This is because even in the Bible, Jesus Christ told the people to give unto Caesar what belongs to him, and to the Lord what belongs to Him. That tells you that even in those ancient times, during the time of Jesus Christ; people were not happy to pay Caesar. They were not happy to pay taxes. Today, we are encouraged to pay taxes but we should also ensure that we get value for them. If we do not get it, then we will find no reason to pay them."
}