HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 192715,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/192715/?format=api",
"text_counter": 184,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Midiwo",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 184,
"legal_name": "Washington Jakoyo Midiwo",
"slug": "jakoyo-midiwo"
},
"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to talk about the Kshs1 million for the so- called Sports Fund. That money will go to waste if it is not utilised properly. It needs to come with a prescription. We need to organise youth academies and do it in an organised manner. It should not be money for charity. I think we are so used to giving money and expecting nothing that we, in this Coalition Government, need to change the way we think. We cannot do that if we are not allowed by this particular Ministry or the Government, to discuss and put our little sense as hon. Members, and as the representatives of the people. So, we need to know how the money is going to be used. We want to suggest that let it be used to begin very specific youth academies. Sports is a big employer around the world now. I think that is another front that, if we invest properly, we will never go wrong. We want to think as a nation that sees 100 years down the line, as opposed to what is going into the pockets of politicians. What is going on in this Budget is that people want to invest money where it is easiest to \"eat\" it, so to speak. I think we shall be judged very harshly as the Tenth Parliament, if we do not make it known to us - since almost everybody now is in this Coalition Government - that the people are watching. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I now want to talk about the infrastructure. Because of the bad road network, airlines are making a kill. There are no roads on which to drive to places like Kisumu, Eldoret, Kitale, Mombasa, Malindi or even Thika. It is interesting that Thika Road is the President's route to his rural home. We must do something to open up the Highway from Mombasa-Busia-Malaba. Djibouti has build a highway all the way to Addis Ababa within a period of only two years. They are going to the Central African Republic. Their main aim is to make sure that Kenyans close the Port of Mombasa. They know that it would be foolhardy of anyone to transport one's cargo on a route which will take 10 days when there is a dual carriageway linking the Port of Djibouti, Addis Ababa, the Central African Republic, Rwanda and Burundi. They did it in two years' time. In Kenya, the NARC Government was there. We now have the Grand Coalition Government, but there is no proper co-ordination or investment geared towards making sure that we open up our roads. We want to facilitate trade and movement among our people. 1346 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 24, 2008 Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as I said, airlines are now making a kill. Therefore, the Ministry of Transport must ensure that there is air safety. Kenyans are being killed every day. People are terrified because of lack of air safety. Three years ago, we lost many Members of Parliament in Marsabit. But up to now, we have not been told under what circumstances our beloved colleagues died. There were only accusations out there. We called for investigations to be carried out to establish the cause of the crash, but up to now, there has not been even a preliminary report even though people said that the pilot of the ill-fated military aircraft was out drinking all the night before the day of the accident. Regarding the Kenya Airways plane crash in Doula, how can a 22-year old boy fly a jumbo jet full of passengers? It has been rumoured that the pilot went from the bar; the weather was bad. The 22-year old boy decided to fly even against the warning of Doula Control Tower. The families of the plane crash victims have not been told, to-date, why all those things took place. It is also said that the particular KQ flight was the only one that went up. It is not fair to our people. We want to know what killed Mr. Kones and Ms. Laboso. We want to know how many more Members of Parliament and other Kenyans have to die before the Ministry of Transport can take charge of the air transport in this country. We do not even know whether drug and alcohol testing is carried out on our pilots. For how long does a pilot have to stay alcohol-free before flying? Where are they tested? Who does the testing? We want to know what constitutes a first officer and what constitutes a captain. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, recently, I travelled in an aircraft to Kisumu with only one pilot and yet, the regulations are obvious that an airplane is not supposed to be flown by one person in the cockpit. Who will protect Kenyans? I can tell you that I know, as a frequent flyer to Kisumu, Mombasa and elsewhere in the country, that a disaster is about to happen; unless we look into the problems of recklessness and impunity in this country. A disaster will happen and another investigation will be called, as one was called after the Busia plane crash. With those many remarks, I beg to support the Budget Speech."
}