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{
    "id": 1556969,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1556969/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 398,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kikuyu, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kimani Ichungwah",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " People have slept on the road between Kinale and Gilgil. Over Christmas, some of those going to the western parts of Kenya who could not afford to fly or use the train had to turn and come back to Nairobi because they could not make it, yet they had planned to travel upcountry. This is because we have had challenges doing these roads and expanding our infrastructure in a way that we can without necessarily hurting Kenyans. An opportunity lies, and Mr Cyrell must know he has a golden opportunity to unlock our enormous potential to implement public investments using PPPs. I am not just talking about the planned dual carriage Nakuru-Rironi-Mau Summit Road that probably goes all the way to Malaba, but also about making it an expressway like the Nairobi Expressway. There are many opportunities, such as the investment we see at Bomas of Kenya through PPP. There are many opportunities to implement such projects and position our country in a way that will attract tourists coming for conferencing, not just going to the game reserves. Let me not use the word I was going to use. However, our neighbouring countries, such as Rwanda, which has a much smaller economy than ours and is not as well connected to the rest of the world as Nairobi, will overtake Nairobi in terms of conferencing and conventions. The investment we see at the Bomas of Kenya will unlock this potential and attract more people and businesses to Nairobi for conferencing, conventions, and investments in the country. Mr Cyrell has his job well cut out for him. We expect that this new state department will make a paradigm shift from the current tax-based reforms to investment-based reforms, raising resources from the private sector and unlocking our potential in terms of infrastructure investments. This includes the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) and the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). Many people do not believe it, but JKIA remains an embarrassment to this country to a large extent. The Leader of the Minority Party says it looks like Machakos Country Bus Station in Nairobi. It is an embarrassment because those who have travelled out of this country have seen the level of investment, even within our region, in international airports. Countries we were priding ourselves to be ahead of them, such as Rwanda and Tanzania, have been overtaking us in public investments. I was shocked the last time I travelled to Istanbul, what used to be Ataturk Airport. I was told it had been decommissioned, and they had built a brand- new airport within a period of two years under PPP by a Turkish company. It is also possible here to build brand new international airports, not just JKIA. It is possible to have an international airport in the Mara where tourists can fly directly from their home countries or to Samburu County. I see Hon. Naisula smiling broadly when she hears Mara and Samburu because she knows the potential that Samburu or the Mara can be unlocked by taking tourists directly there. However, we cannot do this if we depend on taxes and raising taxes from Kenyans to implement these public investments. Mr Cyrell and the officers at the National Treasury who will come into this new state department have the opportunity to unlock that potential for us. I encourage him not to get into the national Treasury and get sucked into the ordinary bureaucracy that we have seen over the years. There are people who have served in this PPP directorate over the years but have not been able to implement a single PPP project. We have been speaking about privatising our sugar companies. This is the opportunity to unlock the huge potential in Western Kenya, other parts of Nyanza, and the Coast that do sugarcane farming using PPPs and privatisation of these companies. This is work that is very well cut out for Mr Cyrell Wagunda Odede. For Dr Boniface Makokha in the State Department for Economic Planning, this is where the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) that we discussed resides. I have seen a former Speaker of this House tweeting that the NG-CDF is illegal. Let me read it because some things are shameful and embarrassing. I would hate to spend time The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}