Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 45477,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/45477/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 264,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Eng. Gumbo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 24,
        "legal_name": "Nicholas Gumbo",
        "slug": "nicholas-gumbo"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this Bill. I thank the Minister for bringing it to the House. I want to confirm that before coming to this House, I was an active practitioner in the construction industry, but mainly on the supply end of things. One of the concerns that we have had is that the construction industry is not in the hands of Kenyans. I have gone through this Bill from cover to cover. However, I am disappointed to note that in this Bill there are no definite clear provisions to make Kenyans own the billions that accrue from the construction industry every year. I think it is important that as we go to the Committee Stage, we make the necessary amendments, so that Kenyans who are truly the owners, should be the owners of capital in this country and seen to be the ones that are controlling the construction industry in this country. I am nevertheless happy with other auxiliary provisions of the Bill, especially Part 2 where it is talking about the functions of the Authority and one of them is to promote and stimulate development improvement and expansion of construction industry in Kenya. I think this is very important. As hon. Members will, probably, have noticed, part of the problem we have even at the constituency level is that even the local contractors that we give small contracts to construct our roads sometimes you cannot get it on time because the equipment that they need is not available. As part of promoting, stimulating, developing, improving and expanding the construction industry in Kenya, let us go to those very grassroots levels where we can support and empower our own brothers and sisters to undertake the construction at those levels. I also noticed and appreciated that one of the purposes of the commission is to undertake commission research on any matter relating to the construction industry. This is very important. One of the reasons that we have had mushrooming of slums in this country is the fact that owning a house is becoming impossible to most Kenyans. The Minister will tell you that at the moment the cost of construction in Kenya even for a basic house comes to about Kshs30,000 per square metre which is well outside the reach of most Kenyans. I think it is important as part of the duty of the Authority research to find a way that Kenyans can build a reasonable house where they can dwell with their families at a cost of not more than Kshs5,000 per square metre. In the area of the Authority being able to assist in the exportation of services, I am always a proud believer of the fact that Kenya is a leader in this region. I think after nearly 50 years of Independence, we should be proudly exporting expertise to the neighbouring countries. Last year I attended the annual convention of the Engineers of Tanzania. I was very happy to note that the number of registered engineers in Tanzania is just about a third of the registered engineers in Kenya. I think we should go beyond celebrating the numbers to start exporting services through construction and other ways to this region, so that we establish and emphasize our position as a powerhouse in this region. There is a function of the Authority which I do not understand and, probably, the Minister might need to find out. When you say the Authority will also be charged with the function of providing consultancy and advisory services in respect to the construction industry, I think we need to be careful here. As it stands now, the Minister is well aware that consultancy in the construction industry is provided through statutory bodies like the Architects and Quantity Surveyors Registration Board, the Engineers Registration Board and the Registration Board of Surveyors."
}