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"speaker_name": "Mr. Maore",
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"content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to also put in some few remarks about this major Ministry that has not been getting a chance to be debated in very, very many years and, for that reason, the Minister and his team have taken cover that, maybe, they are not very keen to work or deal with Parliament. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, you will find that when they are taking very major decisions that are going to have an impact on this country, they are talking of 25 years concessions. By that period, I can assure you that not many of us will be in this House to take the consequences of those bad decisions that we might be making now. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, on the issue of the Lamu projects--- It is not, actually, Lamu project, it is Lamu projects. The Minister said that they want to do a first railway line to Southern Sudan, the airport, pipeline, refinery and, of course, a resort town. Now, when you talk about those kind of projects, you need a consortium like, for example, the Liberty or Mutual Insurance or the Lloyds of London, to undertake a US$10 billion investment in a country like Kenya. Now, our Government, or this Minister and this Ministry, take refuge in negotiating with an individual, a Prince from Kuwait, and then that individual only needs a Cabinet resolution and, maybe, the Treasury approval, and then the matter can go on. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, that is what I am saying. The Minister actually needs a Sessional Paper for that project alone to be laid on the Table of this House, before you can negotiate that kind of deal. The reason being that, if you talk about US$10 billion--- You should actually be saying it in terms of shillings. We are talking about Kshs700 billion! That is not something you can trust a Minister and a team that I can see in the corner there to make a decision for this country, without involving Parliament! So, we need that to be taken into account. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have just remembered another issue. When I raised a Question here about the Integrated Transport Policy, this Minister promised me, this House and this country that, in six to ten weeks, the report will be ready. That was in April. We are now in September and, actually, we are almost seeing a red light to the Ninth Parliament! So, I do not know whether he meant ten weeks or, maybe, ten months or, maybe, another time. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, another issue that we need to remember relates to the many departments that are in this Ministry and, specifically, the issue of road use and dual carriageway. Those of us who are familiar with how dual carriageways are used--- You will find those of us who drive, for example, along Thika 3652 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES September 4, 2007 Road--- We have a problem driving from Githurai to Kenol. That is a problem with dual carriageway. You will find fellows who have speed governors and trailers cruising at 50 kilometres per hour keeping on the right side of the road. When you overtake them, you are actually forced to use the left side. So, that is road abuse. That is actually what it is! It is very serious. We need people to be forced! They are not allowed to overtake from the left. You are also not supposed to keep right if you are not overtaking. That is the kind of public education and emphasis that we require. That will be done one day when traffic policemen will be under this Ministry and not under the Office of the President. That way, we can have a smooth running transport sector. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me talk about the taking over of the Kenya Railways Corporation by the Rift Valley Railways Consortium. Our Committee invited the group for a meeting and they came. The Ministry of Transport officials also attended that meeting."
}