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"id": 209162,
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"speaker_name": "Ms. Mwau",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Labour and Human Resource Development",
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"legal_name": "Adelina Ndeto Mwau",
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to support this Vote. I want to, first and foremost, congratulate the Ministry for a job well done. This country is being lighten up. Nairobi is a very good example. I would like the Ministry and Kenya Power and Lighting Company to actually extend that lighting to Thika and Machakos so that thuggery could become a thing of the past. In rural areas--- The other day, we were in Kyuso, very far from Nairobi. You could see a power project going on there. The other day, we were also in the remote parts of Machakos District, where the Kenya Power and Lighting Company has some projects. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, this country, for the first time, is benefiting from the Rural Electrification Programme. I come from an area where having electricity was thought to be impossible. But soon, we will have power in our secondary schools and market places. Our young people will be employed through Jua Kali . So, I want to congratulate and urge the Ministry to continue with the good job that they are doing. The Ministry needs more funding, so that electricity could get to more rural areas. 3156 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES August 14, 2007 Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have a bone to pick with the contractors. What is letting the Ministry down is the contractors. It is important to monitor those contractors. It is important to make sure that contractors have only one job. That way, they can complete their work. An example is a project that was passed when Mr. Nyachae was the Minister for Energy. But, two years down the line, we do not have electricity. Sometimes, the contractor complains: \"I do not have a lorry to carry the logs\". Now the story is: \"We do not have transformers!\" People are actually starting to complain. So, it is important that contractors are checked and monitored. Those who are not doing their work should be blacklisted. That way, the good job that the Ministry is doing would be sustained. I think performance contracts should be extended to contractors. They should sign performance contracts. If they are not doing their jobs, let them go! Let us get others. But I think the most important thing is to check how many contracts does a contractor have. That will mean that they will either complete the jobs in a given time or not. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have a project that started two years ago. We have poles and wiring. But what is lacking now, I hear, is transformers. So, as a contractor signs a contract, make sure that all the materials are there. For the last three months, we have been told that there are transformers in the high seas. Where are they and for how long are we going to wait for them? It is important for us to get answers to those questions. Otherwise, work is being done, but there is delay that can be dealt with. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the connection fee is becoming a big burden to institutions such as schools and also individuals who want to be connected with power. For example, I was in a Harambee in a very remote area in Kaiti Constituency called Kyuluni, where we were collecting money for them to pay the connection fee. I think something has to be done so that people can access power. One hon. Member said that if you are connected, you will pay the connection fee together with the monthly bills. Alternative sources of power are important, especially in the Arid and Semi-Arid Land (ASAL) areas. We need to encourage the use of solar energy. There are many places in the ASAL areas where solar energy can work very well. Solar energy can be used for cooking, lighting, communication and even protecting our environment. If solar power is introduced in ASAL areas as an alternative source of energy, then the environment will be protected. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the policy of the Ministry to supply power to secondary schools and market places needs to be extended to primary schools. This is because sooner or later, primary schools will be required to have computers. This policy should, therefore, be extended to primary schools. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I would like to state that this Ministry needs more money so that Kenya can be lit and so that thuggery actually goes down."
}