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"id": 184447,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Ruteere",
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"speaker": {
"id": 92,
"legal_name": "Silas Muriuki Ruteere",
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"content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker. I also stand here to speak about local authorities. I am concerned that, as it has been said, the distribution of resources does not meet the expectations of our people. I find that in a place like Meru Municipal Council, Gakirimoni Market is allocated Kshs20 million. That market needs 200 million, according to a design that was done and submitted to the Ministry. So, the Kshs20 million that has been allocated to it is actually 10 per cent of the requirement. The dilemma is if 10 per cent of the money is given, will the work be done? Will the money be wasted? Will the money be misappropriated or mismanaged? It would be better that it was not given in this financial year, but later on, we allocate enough money to complete the work. Stalling a project is worse than starting it. That is what I believe in. I believe in a project that starts off and it is completed within given time frame, so that the people benefit from it. Meru Municipal Council is a fast-growing municipality. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, Meru is actually a two-in-one town. There is the Makutano area and the lower town. Makutano area has no sewerage system at all, and yet, it is more populated than down town. The activities of Meru Municipality are much more at night. From evening, the town moves from the offices to the commercial area, which is Makutano. That is a place with no sewerage system. It is a health disaster. It is a whole town with a population of over 50,000 people, but it does not have a sewerage system. The main sewer is already full. That is a major concern. We have only one road. That is Kenyatta Road. This road connects Meru Municipality from Kazita-Nanyuki-Maowa. In the evening, traffic jam is worse than in Nairobi. In the mornings, the traffic jams are terrible. There is no by-pass. So, the Ministry should consider providing another exit for the people going out of town. Especially people going to Nyambene should get a by-pass. They do not need to go all the way to Makutano. People going to Kinoru should get a by-pass. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, there is an issue which has been talked about at length, namely, councillors. Councillors are a dissatisfied group. We are always hammering blame at the councillors. Somebody who is not satisfied cannot deliver. There is no need of us telling the people 2698 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES October 14, 2008 all the time that they must give services. How do they give services when in the morning all the people go to their homes to give them their problems? They cannot move out of their homes, like we do, and come to Nairobi. Councillors face people who want fees and hospital funds. The meagre allowances that they earn cannot even meet their entertainment. Here, we say that they must deliver. They will not deliver. We must think of a way of satisfying their needs. They are human beings. If Members of Parliament earn salaries that satisfy them; if you touch a cent of our salaries, we are up in arms, what of councillors? They are equal to us. They are human beings. They have all the responsibilities that everybody else has. They educate their children. They are important people in society. They represent us when we are away. So, their allowances should be considered as a matter of concern. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, there is the issue of separation and co-ordination of jobs. We also blame councillors when it is not their responsibilities, or they have no mandate or they are not empowered to do what they are blamed for. One of the issues is that councillors are said not to do something when it is the responsibility of chief officers. We all know that councillors do not sit in tender boards. As much as they would say: \"Do this\", wrong people are given the tenders. The chief officers do shoddy jobs and get away with it, because they are also the signatories. That makes it even worse. I have seen shoddy jobs done. The council complained, but the contractors were paid by the chief officers who awarded them the tenders, because they were \"satisfied\" with their work. The contractors had greased the hands of the chief officers. If you went to Meru Town and went to hospital at night, you would go there thinking that you may not reach the hospital, because there is no street lighting. The place is extremely dangerous. Worse still, when it rains, like it has now, you cannot access it, because the access road is not under bitumen. That is a road which should be upgraded to bitumen standard. As much as we want our towns to be good and clean, we should impress upon the people who work there. The chief officers seem not to see dirt. You tell the Chief Engineer that there is a lot of rubbish and pollution in rivers but no action is taken. They even allocate space for businesses on river banks instead of removing them. You will see cars being sprayed along the river banks. These pollute the river and environment. I do not know! It is as if these people who are very highly educated have no concern for the environment at all. Trees in towns are cut down and sold while others are not planted. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, stealing in broad day light like is happening in Meru Town needs to be controlled by the municipal council. They have askaris and security men who can do this. People cannot walk with mobile phones, especially ladies, who are in great danger. I call upon the Ministry of Local Government to make a tour in upcoming towns. As the towns grow commercially, they also have their own security problems. It is high time you gave some education to councillors and chief officers on what is expected of them. Schools within municipalities need access roads. However, when urban roads are constructed, entrances to schools are left out. It is done as if schools are not part of the places that need to be accessed. The work that was done in Meru is very poor and it should be re-done. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, there are engineers on the ground who approve work to be excellent but even an old woman carrying a banana on her back would tell that, that is not the right job and something is lacking. Why can the Ministry not send engineers, inspectors and chief officers to go and see if the work has been done properly? A growing town like Meru is without a fire engine. Meru is a town with a population of 120,000 people. This is a town with very tall buildings and others being constructed every day. There are very many schools in this town, but it does not have a fire engine. In the budget, there is October 14, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2699 also no money allocated for that. I think our priorities are lop-sided. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, while I support the budget, I believe there is much more that needs to be done and allocations should be done in a fair way. In the whole of Meru, the Meru County Council and the four districts have not been considered for anything. Thank you."
}