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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me a chance to contribute to this very important Motion. First of all, I want the Ministry to look into the cost of road construction. As a valuer, I do not think the costs that we are being treated to in roads construction are real costs. We tender for these contracts, but I think we should do a little bit more in trying to ensure that the cost of road construction is reasonable. I want to challenge the engineers in the Ministry to ensure that before any work is tendered, they should have an engineer's estimates from which we would be able to gauge whether the bidders are actually giving us the correct costing. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, Mbagathi Road in Nairobi is a case in point. I understand that road will cost over Kshs400 million, yet it is hardly six kilometres. I know they are trying to introduce concrete technology in road construction. I think that is the wrong way to go. Concrete is in itself very expensive. I urge the Ministry to abandon that technology. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is the issue of equatability in sharing the national cake. I think, as Government, we should do that. But it must be understood that for many years, Nyandarua District has been neglected. It is now that I think the current Government has done some kind of balancing. The money that has been voted to build a road in Nyandarua is from donors. This road is not only important to Nyandarua, but also to Laikipia and Samburu districts. It is the road that links those areas with Nairobi. The late J.M. Kariuki used to complain about this road when he was serving in the Kenyatta Government. Mr. Kimani Wanyoike used to complain about it during the Moi Government. We have complained about it during the Kibaki Government. This is a very important road to Nairobi. I can assure this House that this road will bring a lot of food to this town; food that is being wasted in Nyandarua District. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, while we are thankful to the Government for considering this road through donor funding, I want to remind the Ministry that there was a Road D388 which joins Road C69 that ought to be considered, because the Ndaragua people cannot join to this road unless Road D388 is completed. It is a road that requires to be upgraded from \"D\" class to \"C\" class, because it is very important as it will open up tourism activities. 2222 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 19, 2006 Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to address myself to the ownership of roads in this country. While Kenyans have owned schools and health centres, it appears that they have not owned their roads. I want to suggest that in the rural areas, we need to have local roads committees so that the roads can be owned by wananchi . There are many areas in this country where rural roads have been encroached and they are becoming smaller and smaller such that even vehicles cannot pass. The Ministry should look into that. The Ministry should liaise with the Provincial Administration to see that something is done towards this end. We have the phenomenon of roads passing through forests. While I agree with Prof. Maathai that we do not need to clear some of the road reserves, we have a problem of security. I was travelling to Eldoret the other day and I passed through Eldama Ravine and Torongo. Much of that road passes through the forest. I agree with hon. Kipchumba that it requires some patch-ups. But the point is that while I agree that roads should pass through forests, there is a lot of insecurity along those sections. There is, for example, the Nyahururu-Nyeri Road which passes through my constituency, and for 15 kilometres, it is inside a forest. That is where we have the greatest insecurity in Ndaragua. The Ministers for Roads and Public Works and Environment and Natural Resources should come together and see what can be done about those roads. We have lost a lot of lives particularly in a spot called Kianugu on that road. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as I support this Vote, I want the Ministry to beware of variation orders. The Chairman of the Public Investments Committee (PIC) spoke about them yesterday. I am also a Member of the PIC and we keep on complaining that a lot of money is expended and misused through the so-called variation orders. We have said in the PIC that we shall deal very firmly with any contract that has a variation order which is not within the original contract. I want to confirm this because this is one way in which money has been misused. You heard hon. Waithaka yesterday talk of Kshs400 million being spent on a 20-kilometre road through a variation order. A variation order should only be given within the original contract and it should not be more than 10 per cent. Sometimes it costs more than the contract itself. So, we have expressed this through the Kenya Roads Board (KRB) when it appears in the PIC meetings and I am echoing that we shall deal very firmly as Parliament with variation orders. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I hope that, in the near future, the Budget Committee will look at all Ministries' Estimates very carefully because I think it is not right that certain corners of this country should be complaining while others are not. Even us in Central Province are not happy. I would like to thank the Government for the roads it has constructed in Nyandarua District but they have come as a result of a lot of pushing and pulling. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to address myself to the District Roads Engineer (DRE). This person reports to the Chief Engineer, Roads, from whom he gets some administration money. He also wants some administration money from the District Roads Committee (DRCs) and the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF). This person will soon be a malingerer that this Ministry will not be able to control because if he wants to supervise work that is being funded by CDF, he wants administration money. I hear that he has to take 7 per cent of DRC money in the name of administration expenses and this is happening in my district. Also when he is resealing roads that are under the Chief Engineer, Roads, he also wants administration money. We wonder how big the office of the DRE is; that it is being funded by everybody in order to maintain it. I think that is an issue the Ministry should look into. If that is done, then we shall see light at the end of the tunnel. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on the whole, I support this Vote and I urge the House to do the same."
}