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"id": 218387,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/218387/?format=api",
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Muturi",
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"legal_name": "Justin Bedan Njoka Muturi",
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"content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is good that we remain at all times in the observance of our rules. In this Bill, a very important concept has been introduced. This is the concept of every of these authorities created, being required to sign something similar to performance contracts. It is important that as we create these service institutions, they need to know that they will be under constant public scrutiny to ensure that they perform. The Rural Roads Authority and the Urban Roads Authority, will, within specific periods, as proposed in the Bill, come up for scrutiny. Parliament should get the reports by the Minister for Roads and Public Works to show, on a periodic basis, the performance of each of these authorities. It is not enough, as happens and as provided for, that there will be reports by the Controller and Auditor-General in accordance with the Public Audit Act. The reports by the Controller and Auditor-General will only deal with financial matters. We need to get periodic reports which show performance. These are roads authorities. The reports should show how many roads a particular authority has constructed within a specified period. In case of rural authorities, the reports should show how many roads the authority has repaired or rehabilitated and how many roads it has opened within a given period of time. It is very important that this is provided for in the Bill, so that we do not just create institutions that do not add value. Mr. Speaker, Sir, like my colleagues who have commented before me, I laud the fact that the funds which are to go to the constituencies have been increased by 4 per cent. We too, as hon. Members who sit in the District Roads Committees (DRCs), have an obligation to contribute to the performance of the respective authorities. This is because I believe that the District Roads Committees (DRCs) will also fall under the various authorities. Mr. Speaker, Sir, as I conclude, I want to say that it is amazing how Kenya appears to be one of the countries with the highest number of roundabouts in their cities. I wonder whether we are dealing with outdated engineering concepts or not. Many of the traffic snarl-ups that we see in major towns and this City, particularly, are as a result of poor designing of roundabouts. In this City, one wonders why we have traffic lights, because they do not work. Even where they work, June 13, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1783 policemen have replaced them. Those lights are supposed to control the flow of traffic at specified times. But when a policeman stands at the roundabout with his hand up, he does not even time--- He allows vehicles to move only if there are no more vehicles coming from a different direction. The confusion that he causes to motorists who approach that same roundabout from other directions is so much. I want to appeal to the Ministry - in this case, both the Ministry of Local Government and Ministry of Roads and Public Works - to see to it that they bring some sanity. We should either have those traffic lights working or we train our policemen to be the ones to replace them, particularly, in Nairobi City. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I know that we discussed the contents of this Bill last year, when we discussed Sessional Paper No.5 of 2006, on what investments and priorities should go to the roads sub-sector. I do not want - having gone through the Bill - to belabour the point that it is a good innovation. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}