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{
"id": 205912,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/205912/?format=api",
"text_counter": 190,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Sungu",
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"speaker": {
"id": 324,
"legal_name": "Gor Eric Sungu",
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"content": "into the tune of billions. That is why Mungiki became a menace. We are sitting there. We only have to wait until a national crisis occurs that we start creating a Rhino squad, Spider squad or whatever it is. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, that is wrong. We should plan ahead. We have competent people who can think forward, plan for this nation and look into the future of this country. There is no need of looking at things at piecemeal. We need a co-ordinated effort, which is nationally oriented and which can help us. That co-ordinated effort must be sustainable, and must cut across the entire country, because we know that when you hit at criminals in Nairobi, they will go to Kisumu or Mombasa or Malindi or even Nyeri. So, we need to look into these matters very seriously. The other issue that I wanted to raise is the strategic impact of planning. When we were September 4, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3661 students, we used to talk about some of things like strategy and so on. As my colleague said, we must know that we are not an island. We must compete. We must look ahead. We must try to compare ourselves with our neighbours to see where we are headed. We must also try to open markets for our people. We must open regional trade routes to make Kenya more important. We are only a \"sleeping\" nation, and that is why we have not constructed any road to Ethiopia. That is also why we have not tarmacked the road to Moshi, Tanzania, which is only a few kilometres from Voi, despite the fact that, that is an international highway. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it now takes two days for one to travel by road from Mombasa to Kisumu, instead of one day. One takes over eight hours to travel by road from Nairobi to Kisumu, or western Kenya. It is wrong. We need to look at this country. Let us assume that we are tribal. If you go to the City of Kisumu, you will realise that it is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in this country. The most successful businessmen are Kikuyus, Embus, Merus, Kisiis and other Kenyans, but we do not look at them as anything else other than as Kenyans. So, if you deny the people of Kisumu a road, you are denying your own people, if you are a Kikuyu, the use of same road you think you are denying the Luos. Kenya sacrificed a lot to make the realisation of peace in Southern Sudan a reality. What have we done about the road that passes through that important Turkwel George and Lodwar to Southern Sudan? Instead, we have allowed Uganda to take advantage of the prevailing peace in that country, because we are asleep. We are not looking at the national interests of this country. I understand that there are over 50,000 Kenyans in Southern Sudan. How they travel to that country, only God knows, because air transport to Sudan is very expensive. If we are to look at the question of transport properly, then we will be able to expand this country's economy and even create some jobs - the so-called 500,000 jobs that we used to talk about when we were in NARC. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, my colleague has raised a very important issue regarding the Kenya Railways Corporation. We have very competent people in this country. I do not understand why we have to give the management of our railway network to foreigners. The railway network is strategic infrastructure, in terms of the national interest. That is number one. The saddest thing is that since we got Independence, not a single kilometre of rail line has been constructed by the Government of Kenya, from the Kenyatta regime to the Moi regime and, now, the Kibaki regime. Instead, you see rail lines that are abandoned. You see railway sidings that have fallen into disuse. If you were to give to any sensible person some of these things and allow them to sell them, they would make billions of shillings. It is a shame that we can let important infrastructure like our railways network to fall into pieces because we do not want to invest enough money in it. I note that the Government is now giving the corporation some money to pay its retired staff pensions and terminal benefits. \"Yours truly\" have made countless journeys to Kenya Railways Corporation headquarters to ask for that little money, which belongs to them, after so many years of service. I hope that when we approve this Vote, hopefully, tomorrow, the Kenya Railways Corporation will actually pay its retired employees. It goes without saying that we have not done enough in this important sector. I do not know how, as a country, we allowed the corporation to fall to that level. It is wrong, and a shame to us, as a country. If you look at the Ministry's budget, you will only see provision for construction of buildings and routine maintenance. There is nothing for civil works or construction. That is, again, wrong, strategically. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me now talk about the \"dear\" airport at Kisumu. I do not know why on earth it is taking us so long to construct the airport at Kisumu. Kisumu airport was even ahead of Nairobi when it came to planning. We have had countless meetings with the stakeholders and the Kenya Airports Authority. What have they done to date? Even as we speak, 3662 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES September 4, 2007 nothing has been done. I understand that the money which was earmarked for the construction of that airport was to come from foreign sources. The money was available but somebody wanted the construction of that facility to delay. Meanwhile, they think that the people of Kisumu are suffering. That is not correct. Kisumu has great hinterland. Kisumu airport will serve northern Tanzania, Eastern Uganda and most of western Kenya. It is strategically placed. It will even serve parts of Rift Valley Province. More importantly, the headquarters of the Lake Victoria Commission - a body of the East African Community - is based in Kisumu. We could make Kisumu a regional hub. Just think of the potential that is lying unexploited. Think of the possible economic benefits that we could gain out of just making Kisumu a regional hub for air transportation, and other means of transportation, including water transportation. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is difficult to fathom why we are not able to focus on some of these issues when we have experts of the calibre that I see in this House, and a Minister who is equally capable. I am telling, and I have said it here before, that when you serve Kisumu, you are not just serving the people of Kisumu but rather Kenyans as a whole, because Kisumu is open to everybody, including people from the Mijikenda communities. So, I want to appeal to the Ministry to fast-track the construction of Kisumu Airport because, internationally, it is a danger. In fact, we should say this very quietly, although it is recorded. The airport is a danger. It could cause a catastrophe in terms of an accident, because if one tyre busts, it could be a danger. This is possible with the kind of corrugated surface that we have on the runway of that airport. So, I would like to appeal to the Government to do something about it. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on the question of roads, I would have liked us to explore, so that we can release funds to other sectors of the economy, particularly to the transport sub-sector, so that we could tarmac certain roads. The northern corridor road should have been privatised a long time ago. We should get those fellows, who agreed to construct and own the roads for a period of time, charge cess, recover their money and then leave for us a beautiful road. That is what should have been done, instead of constructing our roads on a piecemeal basis by giving the section from Mariakani to a certain place to one contractor, the section from that place to another place to another contractor, the section from Naivasha to Gilgil to another contractor, the section from Nakuru to Mau Summit to another contractor and the section from Mau Summit Kisumu through Kericho to another contractor. This is not going to take us anywhere. We need to take our work and this country seriously. As we politic, let us not forget the plight of our people. Our people need us. They need an economy and a transport system which is working. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}