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"speaker_name": "Mr. Kigen",
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"legal_name": "Luka Kipkorir Kigen",
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"content": "Thank you very much, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for this opportunity to make my contribution towards this Motion. I want to congratulate the Minister for Moving this Motion on Vote 57 - Ministry of Nairobi Metropolitan Development. When I listened to the Minister move the Motion, it is like he was giving a picture of how we can solve the already obvious problems in Nairobi, particularly in areas like the traffic jams that we continually experience. An hon. Member said that you fly from Mombasa to Nairobi for about 45 minutes, which is a distance of about 500 kilometres. When you land at the JKIA and get a vehicle to the centre of Nairobi City, it will take you about three hours. This is a sorry situation looking at the amount of time that would have been put into productive use, for example, assisting in creating the job opportunities that we talk about all the time. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, this Ministry is long overdue. It ought to have been put in place even earlier because of the problems that we have and the ideas that it is capable of bringing into being. For example, if you look at the issue of lack of water in Nairobi and yet when you travel outside Kenya you see water very much available in bigger cities than Nairobi, you wonder how such cities are able to handle such a high demand for water and satisfy all the citizens without really having to cry every time like we do here. I am thinking about this Ministry trying to purify some of the waters in the city like it is done in other cities in London. It is all about recycling water. You find that waste water is recycled. That actually acts as another source of water. This Ministry, which has been created, is a very important Ministry and it should extend its services to other cities. This is so because the problems we are going through in Nairobi are not just confined to Nairobi. We have other cities like Mombasa, Kisumu and others that may come up as 1904 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 16, 2008 we move on as a country. It is worth noting that if this Ministry gets the support it needs, it will take us to a level where we will be equal to other developed cities of the world. Therefore, we need, as a House, to consider--- One of the things that was highlighted by the Minister was that he had asked for about Kshs8.2 billion to address issues that are affecting this City and expand it to about a radius of 60 kilometres. But of the amount he asked for, he has been allocated Kshs2.3 billion. I do not know how much of what he intended to do will be achieved with this amount. However, because Nairobi is a very important area, this Ministry needs to be supported fully, so that it can expand the highways and develop the modern infrastructure it is promising us. Otherwise, when you look at the amount of money as broken down to individual uses, you realise that the intended projects may not even take off. It may just start and not go anywhere. So, I would recommend that we look at the budgets as presented by Ministries, and make an effort to ensure that they get what they ask for. If they do not get it all, they should get something very close to it. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, one of the key issues that need to be addressed is the slums. The previous contributor mentioned that insecurity in the country may affect a lot the growth of this City. As we grow and do not address these issues, we expect them to be even more complex. It is very important that we create more job opportunities for people living in the slums. I am sure that, that is one way of reducing the problem of insecurity. I would also like to recommend that we consider harmonising the work of this Ministry with that of other Ministries, which offer services with respect to the City. Examples are the Ministry for Local Government, the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, the Ministry of Roads and the Ministry of Public Works. In this way what the Ministry does will not be a duplication of what the other Ministries are doing. They should harmonise so that one Ministry can handle City affairs. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}