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"id": 251653,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/251653/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Wetangula",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs",
"speaker": {
"id": 210,
"legal_name": "Moses Masika Wetangula",
"slug": "moses-wetangula"
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for the opportunity to contribute to this Motion; a rarity from my good friend Mr. Kimeto. I support the Motion because it is good for this country. I support it because if implemented, this country will move one step higher on the ladder of development. There is one thing that this country should have evolved after Independence. That is a comprehensive transport policy. At Independence, this country had a very good workable railway system, good functional aerodromes and a fairly good road network. Successive governments have neglecte infrastructure to an extent that some of it is almost extinct. Take an example of the Kenya Railway line system from Mombasa to Kampala. Uganda is our No.1 trading partner and 60 per cent of our external trade is done with Uganda. It is the lifeline of the economy of Kenya. However, the management of railways has degenerated to the extent that a train wagon takes five to seven days from Mombasa to Kampala. How can we turn round the economy if we have this kind of infrastructure? If you look at the railway system, you will see that it is dilapidated. We used to have railway passenger transport system but it is all gone. You cannot now travel to Bungoma by railway. The transport system has been left to buses which, as Prof. Anyang'-Nyong'o said, kill our people day in, day out in accidents. I would wish to hear from the Minister, whether they are developing a policy with or without this Motion, to revamp the railway system. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this country needs an interconnection by railway between 686 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES April 26, 2006 Mombasa and Addis Ababa. This country needs an interconnection by railway to Juba, Southern Sudan; to Kigali, Rwanda, and to Bujumbura because those are our key trading partners. We need an interconnection to Goma, in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), so that we can trade easily, faster and generate money in record time. The worst nightmare in this country is roads. The worst road we have is the Mombasa-Malaba-Kampala Road. That road carries the bulk of transport from our neighbours. You may have seen that most of the road was constructed and neglected, such that now, it is being reconstructed. That is because of poor maintenance. The section of the road between Mai Mahiu and Lanet is under re-construction, yet we all know that the road was of high quality. However, it is now completely worn out. The road being constructed under the funding of the EU from Timboroa to Malaba is now totally worn out. We will soon be looking for a way of reconstructing it again. That will be replicated in all roads. Look at the road from Nyayo Stadium to Lang'ata. It was constructed but it is now wearing away. The road from Westlands to Limuru is also wearing away and is a danger to motorists. Do we have a policy of maintaining roads? If you go to some countries, you will find that there is regular re-carpeting and resealing of roads every three years. Budgetary allocations are made so that roads are maintained well and avoid going into reconstruction. We used to have, in the 1970s and 1980s, a very good programme in Western Kenya. I think it was either in Western Kenya or in Nyanza. The programme was sponsored by NORAD. It used to construct feeder roads that connect farming areas to main roads for easy movement of farm produce. The programme died out and hence, there are no feeder roads. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is a shame that it is easier for flower growers in Naivasha to fly their produce to Amsterdam, than a farmer growing cabbages to bring the produce to Nairobi. This is because of poor roads. We cannot get fresh farm produce from Kinangop easily because by the time it gets here, it has spent close to eight hours on the road and is withered. The produce also becomes very expensive and that is totally unacceptable. My good old learned friend, Mr. Kajwang reminds me that equally, you cannot get fresh fish from Mbita where the market is. This is simply because there are no good roads. We need a policy that will inform and guide this House, every time we draw our Budget, to make sure that we allocate enough money to maintain our transport facilities and networks. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this country has over 500 aerodromes. We have an airports authority, the Kenya Airports Authority. If you go to some of the aerodromes, you will see that they do not even require tarmac. All they need to have is good murram and aircraft can land on them. However, nobody takes care of them. They are not even fenced to make sure that there is no encroachment. Airports like the Kisumu Airport where the Kenya Airports Authority personnel are stationed is neglected. We have been talking about expanding Kisumu Airport for years, but no one seems to care. All that goes down to undermine the economy of this country. Let me say something about water transport. We used to have very efficient water transport system, manned by the East Africa Railways and Harbours, at the dawn of Independence. We used to have motor boats plying from Port Florence, Port Bell and Mwanza among other places. That is all dead. We used to have water transport system between Mombasa, Lamu and Malindi. That is no longer there. Are we growing or dying? Those are questions that we, as leaders, must ask ourselves. If you go to some countries where there are small rivers like Nairobi River, you will see that they have all been developed to provide efficient water transport system. These are the things that Mr. Kimeto's Motion is talking about and I must congratulate him for bringing it before this House. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, one last thing I want to mention is the policy on air transport between Kenya and her East African neighbours. If you take a Kenya Airways flight from Nairobi to Mombasa, it is a local flight and you are required to pay Kshs13,000 as the cost of a return April 26, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 687 ticket. I still find that exaggerated. However, if you take a flight from Nairobi to Entebbe, which lasts as long as the flight to Mombasa, it is described as an international flight and you are required to pay close to Kshs40,000. Where is the sense? If you take a flight to Dar es Salaam--- We are talking of integration and yet these are the areas where we should be integrating faster than any other areas in order to facilitate easy movement of people. Flights from Nairobi to Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Dar es Salaam should be local flights so that we pay the same fares charged as going to Mombasa, Lokichoggio and so on. The airlines will, in fact, do better business by adopting this kind of approach. If they cannot, then the Ministry of Transport must evolve a policy to make them see the sense of seeing Uganda and Dar es Salaam as local destinations because these are areas where Kenya is highly dependent on commercial activities. In fact, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Eastern Congo are more important to Kenya than some of the European countries we get excited about in terms of the economy."
}