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{
    "id": 1571463,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1571463/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 302,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Wajir South, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Mohammed Adow",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "aptly described how there are not even five metres of tarmac in your constituency. The same is true for most constituencies in northern Kenya. It pains me that when every a matter of progress or development is raised in this House, whether it concerns crop production, fertilizers and development of tea, coffee or sugarcane, we, the Members from northern Kenya must rise to point out how livestock is consistently ignored in the national budgeting process to the extent that the newly established Livestock Marketing Board has been allocated a paltry Ksh50 million, which is not even sufficient for administrative costs. In that spirit, I would like to emphasise the need for affirmative action regarding infrastructure development in this country. We are not using roads, but cattle and camel tracks. A 100-kilometre journey on those paths is a bone-jarring experience that requires one to rest for at least a week to recover. The same tracks are used to transport our pregnant mothers to properly equipment hospitals when they require specialised medical treatment. These are the same routes our business people use to transport their goods, be it livestock or food crops to the markets. It is simply not fair. It is not fair that more than 60 years after Independence, we still speak of having no roads at all. There is a glimmer of hope in the North Eastern region right now, where segments of the Isiolo-Wajir-Mandera Road are under construction. Workers are on the ground. Contractors with their heavy machines are busy working on those segments but there are bottlenecks. For example, the section between Modogashe and Samatar in my constituency was earlier on designated to be an annuity project but there is still no hope that the contractor will be on the ground any time soon. This is because the process of changing that part from annuity to budgetary provision funds has taken too long. There was a consortium of Arab banks that were supposed to construct the section between Samatar and Wajir town but there are doubts as to whether the banks are ready to do that section. It was supposed to start this month but we have not seen any action on the ground. The section between Rhamu and Mandera town is also an annuity project. We are, therefore, calling on the Government, KeNHA and the Ministry of Roads, to kindly ensure that those bottlenecks are removed. The Lorian Swamp passes in between Modogashe and Habaswein. If that part of the road is not constructed, we will not have a road leading anywhere in North Eastern. Because every time it rains, that part becomes a lake. I believe it is time we co-owned this space called Kenya and treated all Kenyans fairly and developed the country at the same pace. Thank you very much."
}