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{
    "id": 19226,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/19226/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 302,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Wetangula",
    "speaker_title": "The Minister for Foreign Affairs",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 210,
        "legal_name": "Moses Masika Wetangula",
        "slug": "moses-wetangula"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the purpose of legislating is not just for us to pass a Bill. The quality of the law lies in its enforcement. If we pass this Bill and even a cyclist sees our tarmac developing a pothole, then our engineers will have given us a raw deal. As I said, they have done a wonderful job out there. I was impressed to find a Kenyan engineer in charge of infrastructure in the run down to the World Cup in South Africa. You should go and see that infrastructure. It is a First Class job. It is World Class! These Chinese engineers doing our roads are just training like our engineers. I think what we have failed to do, and this line Ministries must do, is to regulate; ensure standards are set and adhered to, and also ensure that engineers do not become part of the contractors. That is where the problem lies. You find a Government engineer who has been assigned to oversee the road or a project as the resident engineer sitting in the office of the contractor, working on the computer of the contractor, driving the car of the contractor, and literally being part of the contractor. How can he supervise the contractor? This Bill should distinguish very clearly that oversight engineers must stand independent of the contractor, so that they can supervise, approve or disapprove whatever they do, from a point of independence and impartiality. But if an engineer is driving the contractor’s car to go and inspect a road, do you expect him to really say that this is a bad job? The contractor can tell him to walk away, and take away his car. So, we need again to separate this, so that the contractors do their job; the engineers also do their job and supervise the contractor from a distance."
}