HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 212626,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/212626/?format=api",
"text_counter": 161,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Maore",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 284,
"legal_name": "Richard Maoka Maore",
"slug": "maoka-maore"
},
"content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to agree with the contents of this year's allocation for the Ministry of Roads and Public Works, and also wish to agree with Minister on the issues that have been raised by him in the presentation apart from what is appearing in the Budget. The money which we are giving the Minister to go and utilise this financial year, on the Development Vote alone, is being put as merely Kshs59 billion, or almost Kshs60 billion. That kind of money, in the period that we have left, is a lot of money, the reason being the various jobs that are lined up for work in the current financial year. Again, there is this issue of the procurement rules that we passed here. Indeed, in order to comply with the performance contracts that have been signed with the Ministry of State for Public Service, and to actually deliver by ensuring that all these roads are in place between now and 30th June, 2008, we need to have this issue of consultancy services for the design of roads to be in-house. Mr. Speaker, Sir, if you were to advertise for all these roads that the Minister has talked about with regard to design, it would take between now and March, 2008 before you can have the design alone ready. Before you start doing documents for tender and any other processes, 30 June, 2008 will be with you, and it will not be possible to honour the promises and pledges that we are making here today to Kenyans. We would, therefore, want proposals to come in the form of Government policy pronouncements later, that they want to expand the issue of consultancy within the Ministry. That way, we will not require them to advertise for these services, which will require 28 days and then another four weeks to evaluate and another four weeks to check what it is, thereby wasting a lot of time and money before we can commence any road project. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the other issue is that of actualising the Bill that we passed here. In that Bill, we wanted to bring forth the Rural Roads Authority, Urban Roads Authority and the National Highways Authority. We want their establishment speeded up, so that we can have the enhanced efficiency in the use of the monies that actually go into the road sector. This is because with the current set-up - Hon. Members are very keen on the issue of the miscellaneous amendments - the money that is meant to go to the districts and that which is meant to go to the constituencies, the separation of the two is very critical. You will find that in most cases, the money that goes to our districts--- You may see it reflected in the work programme of the District Roads Committees (DRCs), but we never get to know what work has been done. At the end of the financial year, you will find that there are no roads that have been done and the money is not there. What is the reason? Mr. Speaker, Sir, there are cartels, in the districts, of suppliers or contractors and the Ministry officials. They sit and agree on which roads to allocate money. They wait until the last minute when the Budget is about to be read and the money does not have to go to Treasury. Quickly, wanakuja, they are given the voucher and they wait for the following financial year to do the job. Soon, when we get to another financial year, you do not see the road and the money is gone. They are not accountable for this money, and that is why we are very keen to ask the Minister that even while he draws up the budget for the Kenya Roads Board (KRB) for the districts roads allocations, he needs to take into account the anticipated amendments that the House will approve. I know that it is out of our Standing Orders to anticipate a Bill, but I am assuring the House, and the country, that we are going to pass them very quickly after they come here. So, when that happens, we will have roads on the ground. I remember early last year, when we took the Departmental Committee on Energy, Communications and Public Works around my constituency, we passed an 11-kilometre stretch on which we took almost two hours. For the last three years, that stretch has been taking Kshs1 million plus in the name of maintenance, but if you look around, there is not any evidence that, that road has ever been maintained. On only one occasion when I complained in writing about a fictitious road that had taken Kshs1,000,056, the biggest thing that the Ministry's Headquarters did 2694 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 24, 2007 was to transfer the engineer from Maua to the Headquarters. That did not give us back the money or the road. This is why we say that we need some proper efficiency for this money that is being allocated to districts. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the other issue is, generally, the hon. Members themselves. When we debate the Roads Bill, it will be wise for hon. Members to look carefully through the Budget. This is because the way itemisation is done, you will find that--- I want to give an example of this road in Mbeere District, that is being allocated Kshs275 million. Somebody looking at the Printed Estimates casually will think that it is Kshs275 million being allocated to Siakago Constituency, when the rest of Mbeere District is not getting anything. However, this kind of project will cover Tharaka, Embu, Mbeere, Nithi, South Imenti, Central Imenti and North Imenti districts. Those are seven districts! So, if you are looking for money to be allocated to your district, you will realise that the money meant for that road--- We popularly call it \"Mati Road\" and it covers Runyenjes all the way to Meru Town. This kind of allocation might be misunderstood by hon. Members when they do not see road Items that appear under their own constituencies or districts, and then think that the money has been lumped into one district, yet it is helping one district or another. The other issue is the Maintenance Unit, or Resealing Unit as the Ministry puts it. We would like a process within the Ministry whereby the department, on its own initiative, is able to go and identify and seal damaged roads, whether it is a bridge or a pothole. That is what happens all over the world. In countries where there are tarmacked roads, there is something called maintenance. That is what we are lacking. You will find a pothole on a road, and it will be there for one month, two months, a year or more until you can actually tell where the pothole is even when driving with your eyes closed. It is as if the pothole is a natural or normal feature on road. We want that to be stopped. If there is a road, we need somebody to ensure that potholes on that road are sealed immediately before they cause death and other unnecessary damage to the vehicular traffic. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the other issue that we need to raise, and commend the Ministry for, is that of the \"cow boy\" contractors. They used to be there. We know they were there. They used to pick money. They used to do no work. To date, most of them have either taken off and wound up or reformed or transformed into good contractors. Luckily for them many of them had enough money for works not done. They are now aware that for one to pick a cheque, one must actually work for it. So, that one is a major plus for the Ministry in the recent past. On the issue of the Architectural Association of Kenya, we have had major incidents of collapsed buildings, and this should be stopped. I know that the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Roads and Public Works happens to be the patron of this association. We want a situation where they have the capacity and infrastructure to monitor buildings that have come up, so that if such buildings do not conform to the specifications, they are condemned. The association should liaise with local authorities, place notices even in the newspapers to the effect that if you are a good client of a certain building, or you are a tenant, you check out because the building is not suitable for human habitation. That way, we will not have the embarrassment arising from the fact that if you get into a building you are not sure at what time of the day it might collapse on you. So, this needs to be stopped. Mr. Speaker, Sir, this is a professional duty for the Architectural Association of Kenya, in liaison with local authorities, to tell us that certain buildings are not safe. This professional body should not wait until a building has collapsed and then somebody goes to a Press conference to give flimsy excuses and says: \"In fact, you can see that I am addressing the whole country. There is a problem. This building was not properly inspected. We are very serious about this matter. It will not happen again. We are going to do this\", and nothing happens. The only way to prevent this kind of incident is to ensure that those who have contracts, or registered builders, make sure that in every stage of their construction, they involve the professional institutions or apply the proper professional standards that are required. July 24, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2695 The last issue that I want to raise is that of road construction, that was mentioned by the seconder of the Motion. It is true that we are seeing roads being constructed in every corner of the country. If you go to the Coast, Nyanza, Rift Valley, Central and Eastern provinces, you will see activities going on all over. This has not happened before. That is why we have had this kind of catching up to do. We need to thank the Ministry for making sure that the resources that we are allocating it, as a House, are being distributed fairly and efficiently, and that roads are being seen everywhere, including the Kaweru-Mutwati-Lare-Kacuru Road in my own area that links us to the Isiolo-Modogashe Road. I have noticed that, that road has been allocated Kshs240 million. With those remarks, I beg to support."
}