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"id": 196683,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/196683/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Mwakwere",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Transport",
"speaker": {
"id": 189,
"legal_name": "Chirau Ali Mwakwere",
"slug": "chirau-mwakwere"
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"content": " Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am ready to respond to that. I will give a Ministerial Statement. Over the Easter holidays, that is between 21st March, 2008 and 24th March, 2008 there were 54 fatalities on our roads, and over the same festive season last year, 2007, we had 48 fatalities. In 2006, we had 51 fatalities. This is a very unfortunate trend. Every time we get to Easter holidays, we lose about 50 people. It is a trend that has to be halted. It is most unfortunate, but it has been happening. It is up to Kenyans, not just the Ministry, to ensure that this does not happen again. I am saying that because the main causes of road accidents, and eventually deaths, on our roads over Easter holidays is drunken driving. It is most unfortunate that drivers, particularly young people, get drunk, drive carelessly and get involved in fatal accidents through which people get maimed or killed and property is destroyed. The matter was appropriately directed to the Ministry of Transport, but there is a slight disconnect here that I would like to put across to fellow hon. Members. This matter should ideally have gone to the Ministry of State for Provincial Administration and Internal Security. However, because of collective responsibility, and because it touches on roads and April 15, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 435 legislation that touches on the Ministry of Transport, that is the Traffic Act, Cap.403, Laws of Kenya, it is with great pleasure that I respond further as follows. The next cause of accidents on our roads is the state of the roads, which have potholes and are poorly maintained. This is being addressed by the appropriate Ministry. The role of the Ministry of Transport, as far as road transport is concerned, is legislation. We amend the Acts and produce Legal Notices, but the Ministry of Transport is not responsible for implementation and enforcement. The enforcement of our traffic provisions, as contained in the Traffic Act, Cap.403, Laws of Kenya, lies with, or it is the responsibility of, the Traffic Police. When it comes to drunken driving, the Ministry of Transport does not have officers to check whether drivers are drunk or sober. That is the responsibility of the Traffic Police. When roads have potholes, as the second cause of accidents, the Ministry of Transport does legislation that there must be road signs such as circles and triangles; doing them falls under the Ministry of Transport. But enforcement of observance of the same is the responsibility of the Ministry of Roads. Having said that, there is one problem. Kenyans have a tendency of trying to defeat the law. We cannot expect Traffic Officers to be at every corner of our roads. We cannot even expect them to check whether vehicles are roadworthy--- The regulations that determine whether a vehicle is roadworthy or not is the responsibility of the Ministry of Transport only as far as legislation is concerned. The enforcement is in the hands of the Traffic Police. We cannot expect them to be at every corner of our roads; moreover, we have 900,000 registered vehicles. So, it is impossible to check every vehicle at every time in every corner of the country. If you take into account motorcycles and the Tuk Tuks, we have 1.1 million registered vehicles. It is up to Kenyans to follow the Highway Code as it appears in the Traffic Act. As provided by the Ministry of Transport, it is vehicle owners, operators and passengers who must enforce every aspect of the Traffic Act, particularly the Highway Code. Our role is to legislate; the role of every Kenyan is to implement and the role of the Traffic Police is to monitor and ensure that people do comply with the law. But the Traffic Police cannot be at every point. It is up to ourselves to be responsible and cut down on accidents on our roads. Unlike with sea and air transport, the Ministry of Transport does not provide the infrastructure, that is the roads. We do not even man weighbridges. That is the responsibility of another Ministry. I am not saying that they are not doing their work properly. They are, but the biggest weakness is in the adherence to what is given as laws governing the usage of our roads. Our people do not show the level of responsibility that they should show. Our people get drunk and drive. That is the main cause of accidents."
}