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{
    "id": 205425,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/205425/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 151,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Dr. Wekesa",
    "speaker_title": "The Minister for Science and Technology",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 137,
        "legal_name": "Alfred B. Wekesa Sambu",
        "slug": "alfred-sambu"
    },
    "content": " Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, thank you for giving me this opportunity to support this Motion. I want to commend the Minister and his staff for the good work they are doing. I will start by saying that our national carrier, Kenya Airways, has been doing well since the new management took over. I want to repeat by also congratulating the Managing Director who is doing a good job. I know that this airline has very good staff. The cabin crew is very well behaved. They do a good job and should be encouraged by being paid good salaries. I would rather travel with Kenya Airways to any part of the world than any other airline. We also know that our airport is being rebuilt or expanded and it is only right that all the modern facilities should be included in the expansion. I am thinking of the disabled Kenyans. Anybody from outside who uses our airport should find that the airport is of modern cadre so that a disabled person can move comfortably. Cleanliness is something that worries me. When I travel from Europe, on arrival in my own country, I see litter everywhere. I go to the toilets and there is a funny smell there. I ask myself: Why do I have this type of service when in Europe, everything is perfect? We want to make sure that our airport is brought to international standards. Many people come through it. It is the face of Kenya. This is the first thing that you see when you arrive in the country. Therefore, it should have the right facilities in place. When you drive from the airport, it takes you about two hours to arrive in town. If you happen to be at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), it will take you close to one or one and a half hours to come to town. This is a situation that we should correct very quickly. I know that as a Government and through friendly partners, we are going to address this issue which is quite urgent. The road from the airport to town should be to international standards. We should widen it, if possible, to four lanes on each side. We 3712 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES September 5, 2007 should also make sure that we do not have the huge drains that we see either in-between the road or on the sides of the road. We should have a big motorway from the airport to our City. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have an airstrip in Kitale which was constructed many years ago. Once upon a time, we had a daily flight by Kenya Airways operating between Nairobi and Kitale. As residents of that area, we feel that we have been neglected. We also feel that it is time this airstrip is upgraded, so that it can accommodate planes that can carry 50 people. We have enough land there, although I must say that part of it has been grabbed, but we can get it back. I know that close to 150 acres have been grabbed by people who were serving in the previous Government. Since we are in the process of repossessing land that was grabbed, I wish to state here that the Minister must address the issue of grabbed land in Kitale. I am available and I can show him the land that has been grabbed and give him the names of the people who grabbed this land. This will enable the airstrip to be upgraded. Once upon a time, the Eldoret International Airport was described as a white elephant, but all along, I knew that this was a good investment and, for sure, it has proved itself now."
}