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{
    "id": 1625445,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1625445/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 196,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Olekina",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "lot. Although I appreciate the work being done by the Cabinet Secretary for Roads and Transport in terms of opening our skies, it is also important for us to ask ourselves whether KQ can be saved. We should have a debate on why it costs Kshs25,000 one way, whereas in Europe you can fly from London to Milan for about US$300. Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is imperative that we broaden this conversation to see whether we can encourage low taxes for other locals to come up with more carriers and also for the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife to be accommodative in terms of giving licenses for the locals. There is a company called Skyward Airlines which has flights to Mombasa, but it does not have many carriers. I know for a fact that KQ is our pride and we must protect it. However, we have to do something to open our skies because other airports are coming up. For example, Narok Airport is coming up and we hope it will be ready by next year. We will be happy to have tourists flying directly from Europe to Maasai Mara in Narok County. Does that mean that Nairobi will not be getting business? The answer is no. It means that we are growing our economies. Sometimes when I hear people talking about doing away with our national park to extend and convert Nairobi City into a concrete jungle, it beats the purpose of why we have such a huge country, but we cannot create other cities in other areas. I am happy that today we gave Thika Town a city status. I hope that in future, we will talk about other counties having their own cities and airports. The process of making Thika to get a city status is as good as done. Instead of congesting everything in Nairobi, we should encourage that. Mr. Speaker, Sir, another big challenge is that when cities are so close to each other, sometimes it does not make economic sense to fire an engine of an aircraft from, say Narok to Nairobi, because by the time you are going up, you should start descending. Therefore, it does not make sense economically. However, it is important that we look at it holistically to see how best we can reduce taxes and encourage more people to invest in the aviation industry. As I support the Statement, I want to appreciate what the Ministry of Roads and Transport is doing to allow more international carriers. We need more frequency. If Turkish Airlines, British Airways and others have more flights directly to Mombasa and Narok counties, we will be opening up our economy to more foreign currencies. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am happy that we have increased our foreign reserves to quite a lot of money compared to other years. Was it Kshs1.4 trillion in foreign reserves? It is something that when we do practically, we can benefit our country. I thank you."
}