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"content": "important. Let me begin by hailing Sen. Karaba for the well thought out Motion that he brought this morning. To me, I think Sen. Musila got it all wrong. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, if I read this Motion properly, what the Senator from Kirinyaga County is asking is that the Senate urges the national Government to provide a policy framework for use of cable cars to enhance tourism. He is not saying that the Government should invest and develop cable cars, but he says there should be a policy framework. Therefore, there is nothing wrong in having policies in place which can be utilized at a later time by private investors. I do not see anything wrong with that. Secondly, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, cable cars are not replacing ferries or whatever means of transport that we have at the moment. Cable cars are supposed to supplement what is already in place. So, they are suitable in some places and they may not be suitable in other places. Therefore, I think we should support this Motion. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, to me, anything that boosts tourism in this country, I will go flat out to support it. I was once an Assistant Minister for Tourism and Wildlife. Therefore, I know the potential that this county has in tourism that has not been exploited. When I was the Assistant Minister some eight years ago, we used to do only 30 to 40 per cent of our potential in tourism. We used to earn only 30 to 40 per cent of what we could possibly earn from tourism. If, therefore, there is something that can be done to boost this to a bigger percentage, then it should be supported. For many years, tourism has been one of the major income earners. However, we, as a Government, have done very little to invest and boost the tourism industry. I once led a delegation to the United States of America. We went to seven states trying to market our tourism. The questions we got from our potential tourists were based on infrastructure. They said that we did not have the infrastructure. They said that yes, we have the Maasai Mara, but how does one access there? Owing to this, so much tourism business has been taken away from us by South Africa and other states in southern Africa. They saw the potential and developed the infrastructure. It is high time, we, as a country, took tourism seriously and invested in the development of infrastructure and other facilities that will help us boost our tourism industry. Asking for the Government to come up with a policy framework is not asking for too much. We, as a Senate, I think we need to speak with one voice and support this Motion 100 per cent so that the Government comes up with this policy. We should go further and urge the Government to invest more in the development of infrastructure, particularly roads that lead to our tourist attraction sites like the Maasai Mara, among other sites. We should develop our airstrips. The Kakamega Forest is a very high potential tourist place. However, how tourists get there is the problem. Why can we not urge the Government to develop the airstrip in Kakamega, so that we have more arrivals there in terms of tourism? I would like to disagree with hon. Musila and say that I support this Motion 100 per cent. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}