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{
    "id": 1571455,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1571455/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 294,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Turkana County, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Cecilia A. Ngitit",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "from Turkana County. I have always said that this is a special county to this country. If there were good roads connecting Kenya to South Sudan, through Turkana; if there were good roads connecting Kenya to Ethiopia, through Turkana; if there were good roads connecting Kenya to Uganda, through Turkana, our economy would be something else. Due to marginalisation, as Hon. Owen Mbaya said, some areas have roads that they use to dry maize and other farm products yet there are many constituencies in Turkana County that have zero tarmac in post-independence Kenya. Some parts of this country are still under colony. We are still colonised by our own Government. Turkana County has a lake – the biggest desert lake in the world. We produce good fish but we cannot access market due to poor road networks. Our people do a lot of fishing. They even risk their lives because Lake Turkana has become a death trap. Our people are killed in the corridor of Ethiopia and the other side. Even game rangers kill our people who go fishing in that lake. They risk their life fishing but they cannot access markets at the end of the day. The fish rots on the road because there are no good roads. The only best means of transport in Turkana is bodaboda. Even women in labour are ferried to hospital on bodaboda because there are no roads. Due to lack of roads, we do not enjoy other means of transport like cars and ambulances. We have very few ambulances, which can access limited areas of Turkana County. Hon. Temporary Speaker, let me repeat that Turkana County has a lot of potential. The A1 road that was constructed that connects the rest of Kenya to Turkana County has done a lot. For instance, security in the Kainuk corridor has improved because of the A1 road. You can now imagine what will happen if we had good roads in most of the places in Turkana. The transport corridor used to transport goods to South Sudan because the Ugandan route is very long. The shortest route would have been Lodwar through Lokichogio then to South Sudan. However, our people have to transport goods through Gulu in Uganda, which is a very long distance that takes a lot of time. Why can we not do a transport corridor road now that the A1 has been done up to Lokichogio? We can then proceed with the road up to the border so that we improve business with our neighbours. The other aspect I would like to mention is air transport. The airstrips and airports fall under transport as well. There is a Member who talked about a pothole at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). Lodwar airstrip is the most dangerous airstrip in Kenya, if not in the world. When we fly to Lodwar, we risk our lives every day. Air transport from Nairobi to Mombasa is cheaper than from Nairobi to Lodwar yet it is the same distance. When we try to enquire why, we are told that our airstrip has a lot of potholes and a very short runway. So, the wear and tear involved is too high. We pay a lot of money for transport compared to those who travel to Mombasa. Good transport network or infrastructure will improve our lives by reducing the cost of transport. With those few remarks, I support this Motion. It is an eye-opener for the rest of us in Northern Kenya. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker."
}