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{
"id": 183955,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/183955/?format=api",
"text_counter": 219,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Namwamba",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 108,
"legal_name": "Ababu Tawfiq Pius Namwamba",
"slug": "ababu-namwamba"
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the people of Budalangi have lived on this land since time immemorial. They know, understand and appreciate the magnitude of the flooding problem better than anybody else. On observing the work the contractor was doing, the community immediately raised alarm. They noted that the contractor was merely scooping soil and heaping it along the dykes. They quickly wrote a letter to the Government, a copy of which I have here with me. The letter is dated 11th July, 2000. The complaint to the Government was that the contractor was breaching specifications of this tender document. They also wrote to the World Bank; the financing international development partner. At that time, the World Bank was headed in this country by Mr. Harold Whackman. I have a letter here from Mr. Harold Whackman, then World Bank country director in Kenya, acknowledging receipt of the letter from the community and acknowledging the concerns the community had raised that the contractor was not living up to the expected standards. Surprisingly, a response came in from the Government engineer responsible for the El-Nino Emergency Project, one Eng. Daniel Baraza. He said that the work the contractor was doing was exceptional, it was within the tendering requirements and that it met all the standards expected by the Government. Basically, he gave the contractor a clean bill of health. In fact, to quote some of the words that Eng. Baraza used, he said: \"The Government is totally satisfied with the work done by Salama Construction Company\". He went on to dismiss the local community as being laymen that knew nothing about October 15, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2735 dyke construction. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, within a period of six months, even before the lapse of the 12 month grace period that every dyke contractor must guarantee the Government and the community, those dykes were swept away at the slightest touch of the overflow from River Nzoia when the floods came. All the fears that the community had raised with the Government, the contractor and the World Bank came to be. The question I must now ask is: Did the Government fulfil its ultimate duty of care in reaching out to repair the dykes and ensure that the work had been done not only according to the expectations of the local people, but also according to the expectations of the Government itself in the tender notice that it gave that contractor? Did the community benefit from the Kshs29 million that was paid to the contractor? Did we get every worth of the Kshs29 million paid to the contractor? My submission is that the Government failed the people of Budalangi and other factors came into play. I am talking about factors such as favouritism and possible collusion between the contractor and Government officers that were running the El Nino Emergency Project that was responsible for this particular project. After the devastation of floods that swept away the shoddy work done by Salama Construction Company, the Government made another tender. This time, it hired another contractor called Victory Contractors. They were contracted in 2002. I have the tender advertisement here with me which also clearly specifies the requirements that had to be met. Again, those requirements were not met and the Government went ahead to spend Kshs14 million on nothing other than scooping soil and heaping it in a place and calling it an embarkment. When the rains came in the year 2000, those mounds of soil were swept away once again. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the point I am making is that the Government has repeatedly failed in its duty of care to ensure that this problem is handled with the seriousness it deserves. The question that we must ask is: By reason of the casual manner by which the Government has handled this problem--- Of course, this problem can be extrapolated elsewhere in the country, but the casual manner by which this Government has handled these processes, that is, contracting and supervision, who must take responsibility for the loss of life in Budalangi? Who must take responsibility for the loss of property in this constituency? Who must take responsibility for the displacement? Who must take responsibility for the trauma and distress caused to the people in this constituency every single year? Who must take responsibility for the disruption of life? Who must take responsibility for the stunted development level in this constituency because of the perpetual fear of flooding? My submission is that this responsibility can only lie fairly and squarely at the feet of the Government. Among the things that the Government is supposed to do besides ensuring that this water is contained is that it must have an accurate early warning system so that long before disaster strikes, the people are adequately warned and can take measures to limit suffering. The Government has never instituted a reliable early warning system for a national catastrophe that has repeatedly hit this country since the 1940s. Is there any explanation why the Government could not institute an early warning system? Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it would have been prudent that this region would be a beneficiary by now of a disaster management centre. Can the Government give reasons why there is no single attempt to establish a disaster management centre either in Budalangi or within the vicinity of this constituency? The Government cannot explain why any time there is this disaster, relief is never available and people are reduced to living a life of destitution."
}