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"id": 419526,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/419526/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo",
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"speaker": {
"id": 447,
"legal_name": "John Krop Lonyangapuo",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I join my colleagues who have spoken before me in thanking the Committee on Energy, Roads and Transportation for the good work that they have done. They have visited some of the key areas that touch on their mandate and of concern to the lives of many Kenyans. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, there are some Committees that need to emulate this Committee. The key Committees must be very active and move around the country, for example, the Committee on Agriculture, Land and Natural Resources. This is because today agriculture contributes substantially to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It, therefore, calls upon us to visit and bring the ideas to this House, so that we can discuss and find a way forward. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we have talked about the Port of Mombasa as highlighted in the report. The Committee visited the Kenya Ports Authority, the Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited and the Kenya Pipeline Company Limited. Everybody has agreed that most of the goods that come into Kenya, which we do not produce in our land, come through the Port of Mombasa. That is why we have key strategic agencies stationed at the Port of Mombasa, to ascertain the quality of the goods that keep coming into this country. But I think that the Committee should find ways of improving the way this port is run, now that we have the Senate. This Committee should be able to stand firm and ask that the port, which is the only source of life into Kenya through the Indian Ocean, must be more efficient. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, some colleagues indicated that when you land at the Moi International Airport in Mombasa you will suffer for you to reach town; that it is difficult for the tourists to go to the tourist destinations, because of the very narrow roads. You will meet very huge lorries trying to navigate their way to the nearest parking lot. We have been watching this game for a long time. Governments have come and gone without doing any significant improvement. I do not know whether anything will change now that we have the Mombasa County Government. It is us, as Kenyans, who can choose how to improve this port. Some of the people who have been benefiting from the port, like the huge transporters, think that they will lose their businesses and lorries if we bring order in the port operations. I do not think that they will lose at all. We want to encourage the transporters who have been causing confusion at the port that they may even get better jobs as a result of improving the port. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, many visitors are frustrated at the port, just like there is also frustration at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). When you land at the airport, you will find it difficult to access the City of Nairobi. Sometimes it is faster to travel from Kisumu or Eldoret, like I did in the morning, to Nairobi by road. Mombasa Road is narrow, yet it is the road that is supposed to quickly take visitors to their destination of choice. We have a lot of traffic congestion and jam on the road from JKIA to the Central Business District. Nobody has come up with a way of easing this congestion. We only seal potholes. The more we improve and expand the road, the more 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."
}