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{
    "id": 418306,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/418306/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 211,
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Coast or even just the Kenyan coast. People would be very keen to tour that area and KPA would make money out of that and assist in developing tourism in our country. The KPA is also charged with the responsibility of working on the LAPSSET project. I must say that we are not hearing enough on the matter of LAPPSET. We are not seeing enough being done with regard to this very important corridor and development as far as our country is concerned. We would like to hear that work on the railway has started. I remember President Salva Kir, President Kibaki and I believe, the late Prime Minister for Ethiopia went to Mombasa to launch this project. Having done so, it is important for us to hear about the progress as far as LAPSSET is concerned. We do not hear enough. We are making slow progress as far as KPA, LAPSSET and the railway are concerned. One of the reasons for this is funding. It is necessary for us, as Kenyans, to start thinking anew with regard to the way we fund our projects. There is nothing to stop KPA, LAPSSET and Kenya Railways from issuing bonds and capitalizing themselves, provided they have Government guarantees. If we wait for the Exchequer to be given directly to the KPA when we have other institutions that are of social nature and which cannot issue bonds, then it will take a long time for us to get this idea on the road. It is time that we started thinking differently. We should let the KPA and the LAPSSET projects issue bonds to capitalize themselves and to start moving forward. All these require Government guarantee and, perhaps, other international organizations that can create the confidence. Money is there and the issue is how we can get it. If we wait for it to come through taxes because of revenue allocation, then we will wait for a very long time. Secondly, there is the use of the private sector. The Mombasa-Nairobi Road is very busy. If you went to Thailand, you would find two roads heading to the airport. One of them is a national road while the other is a private road. There is nothing to stop us from giving sections of Mombasa road to private road developers so that those who feel that they are wasting too much time on the road can divert to the private roads, pay for the services and save time. Sometimes, it is our inward mentality that stops us from doing these things. There is absolutely nothing that stops us, as a House or as an Executive, today from simply saying that from tomorrow, people should build private roads. People would complain and ask why we are giving roads to be constructed by private individuals when they should be owned by the Government. Why have we allowed individual people to own hospitals which should be owned by the Government? Why should we allow people to build primary and secondary schools which should be owned by the Government? Nowhere was it written in the Bible or the Quran that roads must be owned by the Government. Therefore, let us think anew. Let us open our minds to new possibilities of how things can be done without necessarily restricting ourselves to what we have always done. The other issue is that the report is very clear. It emphasizes that the institutions reported on here have moved to the use of new technology. When you look at the efficiency that has been created at the port, you will notice that a lot of it has to do with the fact that they are using new technology. The clearing and forwarding agents who work at the port have been very clear to us. They have told us that these days; they work on the internet, communicate with the KPA and clear their goods very quickly. We urge 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."
}