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"id": 205485,
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"speaker_name": "Prof. Maathai",
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"legal_name": "Wangari Muta Maathai",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, they are connected, and I was about to say that, indeed, almost every time I address myself to these issues, I seem to be addressing several Ministries that are very related. There is the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Water and Irrigation and the Ministry of Lands. In fact, much of what I am saying is what I said several weeks ago about the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, because they are connected. Unless these Ministries work together, we will never be able to resolve the problem that we talk about in transport. I also want to say that the issue of road carnage has been addressed many times. Sometimes people say that we get the leaders we deserve. In many ways, we get the transport we deserve; although we say that the roads are bad or the drivers are drunk, it is true that we get what we deserve. I have sometimes observed cars on the roads. I have observed how people refuse--- There is a traffic jam, a long line of cars, but some people just refuse to stay on the queue, and start 3724 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES September 5, 2007 driving in all directions. They are completely impatient; it is as if those who are on the queue are stupid, or are not in a hurry, and that only those who are cutting corners are in a hurry. With that kind of impatience and indiscipline by Kenyans, I do not know what the Minister can truly do. We must start by being a people who are patient; a people who respect others, who do not want to cut corners and a people who are willing to stick to the rules. I sometimes think that when you see those people doing that, and in the next few days you hear that a car has gone off the road and several lives have been lost, you almost want to ask: What do we expect? Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have to be disciplined. We cannot be disciplined in one way and be indisciplined in another. It is on the roads, especially when there are traffic jams, that I know for sure that Kenyans will not stop dying for a long time. The Minister may not be able to do anything. In any country where people are disciplined, respect the rule of law and follow the guidelines that have been put in place, you do not have the kind of carnage that we have on our roads. As long as we continue to be indisciplined people, who do not want to respect the rule of law and other road users, then I am sorry, I do not know what to say. Kenyans continue to put themselves at the mercy of the indisciplined drivers who do not respect the rule of law. It has been said, and recently it was in the newspapers, that we waste a lot of money in traffic jams. I do not understand why it has been difficult to revive the railway line. I remember one time, the former Minister for Transport, Mr. Michuki, launched the railway line from Nairobi to Nanyuki. In fact, he travelled on a coach that went all the way to Nanyuki. I almost boarded the coach because I was so excited about the fact that the railway services were coming back. The dream collapsed and I wondered why. If we are going to improve transport services in this country, we must revive the railway line. In every country in the world, even those that are highly developed, the railway line is their solution to transport problems. For some reason, partly due to indiscipline, corruption and the sense of not caring that so many of us have when we work in the Public Service, we eventually ran down a proper railway line that was serving our people. We have been unable to invest and make sure that our people can travel in comfort. As we all know, if we had a strong railway line and we were transporting our goods, especially from Mombasa to the hinterland using the railway line, we would not have such bad highways and the kind of accidents that we experience on our highways such as the Mombasa Highway. Again, we can only appeal to the Minister to ensure that we invest in the railway line and change the situation. I know that we have been thinking about giving it to other people to run it for us. That is okay, but in a way, it is a shame that 40 years after Independence and having inherited such an excellent railway system, we cannot sustain it, let alone expand it to other parts of our country. It is very important for us to think about our people. It is them who are dying on the roads. Quite often, it seems like we have become used to death in this country. We read about it everyday. Whether it is happening through police encounters with criminals or along the highways, it is as if we have become numb to death in our country. I think that developing and investing in the railway line is one way in which we can reduce the road carnage in our country. With those words, I support the Vote."
}