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"id": 45502,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/45502/?format=api",
"text_counter": 289,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Oyongo Nyamweya",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 391,
"legal_name": "Manson Oyongo Nyamweya",
"slug": "manson-nyamweya"
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"content": "Thank you Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me an opportunity to contribute to this Bill. This is a very important Bill. In the first place, economic growth can only take place when we have construction going on. In this country, in the past, a lot of money has been given out for construction work. This money has gone to peopleâs pockets without any major works being done. So, this Bill will streamline the construction industry and minimize brokers who come into the industry. As I stand here today, as a Member of Parliament, I get a challenge in my constituency when I want to do construction. I get challenged because Government equipment is not there. There are no bulldozers, graders and many other basic things. I come from Kisii where we have one dozer which serves both Nyamira and Kisii counties. That shows the level of investment that the Government has undertaken in improving infrastructure. We cannot develop unless we give funds and the Government becomes more serious in giving funds and support. This Bill comes in handy and I hope that the Minister will take it seriously. There is one issue that I will propose an amendment during the Committee Stage. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is the second provision here, which says that the Minister, by publishing a notice in the Gazette, may amend the First Schedule. If we allow the Minister to amend the Act anyhow, it will be abused. So, we must protect this provision and ask that this second provision be removed. We should find a way of removing people. If people have been appointed and they have not been competent, there should be a way of removing them. They should not be removed through a Gazette Notice by the Minister. Probably, there is going to be conflict of interest. People are going to do business here. Somebody might feel that so-and-so, who is a member, is not going to agree with me. So, the best thing is to remove this fellow. Therefore, this provision should be deleted. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, another issue is under Clause 7(4). I think the people who should be given a chance to be on the Board should have a diploma in engineering. In the field, we just want somebody who has reached Form IV, and who has experience. What experience would such a person have? So, this one should be replaced with someone who has a degree, who can contribute and assist. Clause 15(3) also talks about the Minister having the authority to Gazette. We want to pass this to Parliament, after which the Minister should just Gazette the Bill and then we move on. So, this one should also be removed, so that once the Authority is formed, it will have powers. We have talked so much about Chinese contractors. Let us be honest to each other. Why are Chinese contractors cheap? What are the reasons for their being cheap? The first point is that we need to change our attitude towards work. We need to have ethics. We need to be disciplined. We cannot blame them when they actually use local materials and local manpower. Why are they still cheaper than our local contractors? We know that we do not have equipment. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Ministry should explore ways of coming up with enough equipment, which can be hired by local contractors. How do we promote our local contractors? The Chinese come with equipment. Construction equipment is expensive. Our local contractors cannot get the money to buy construction equipment. So, unless the Ministry makes deliberate efforts to buy equipment and make it available for hire, we will not be able to do much. I will give the example in South Mugirango and in Gusii, where I come from. We still have a problem. You have got money, you want to do a road, but you find that there is no grader or any other equipment on the ground. So, the Ministry should address the issue of equipment. Let us invest money in equipment, so that it can be hired. As much as we blame foreign contractors, local contractors will continue having problems unless equipment is availed for them to hire. If equipment will not be available for local contractors to hire, the Chinese, as much as we talk about them, will still take the jobs, because at the end of the day, we want the job to be done. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, under the procurement law, there is a section which allows local contractors to quote 15 percent higher than foreign contractors. This means if a local contractor quotes 15 percent higher than a foreign contractor, he should be given the job. Unfortunately, this section is never applied. Therefore, if the Government is serious about promoting local contractors, it should apply that section. It should give local contractors a chance to win these tenders. If they quote 15 percent higher, since they will have to hire the equipment, they should be given the job. Another point I want to make relates to a situation where there is an inquiry and you want to take a step to discipline a contractor. Unless you include a clause saying that a contractor should not go to court until he passes through the Board, he will go to court and then you will stop the inquiry. So, we need to come up with a clause which will very clearly specify that in case of a dispute, a contractor should pass through the tribunal of inquiry, and go through the appeal that has been provided for and if he is not satisfied, he can then go to court. If it is left the way it is, if I feel that I might not get a fair ruling from the Board, as a contractor, I will go to court and block the inquiry. What will you do? You will have to obey the court orders. Therefore, there is need for this Bill to be strengthened to make it effective, so that if there is a dispute, it goes to the Board of Inquiry first. If this is not done, we will have problems. People will not be able to work. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also want to support my colleague on the issue of penalty. Surely, you cannot levy a fine of Kshs10,000 on such an offender. Some offenders will pay Kshs10,000 every day. This amount is very little. So, the fine should be enhanced to be in excess of Kshs1 million. In any case, contractors are people with good money. It can even be increased to Kshs10 million, so that before somebody makes a mistake, he can think twice. A fine of Kshs10,000 means nothing to a contractor. Therefore, in order for contractors to be disciplined, there should be stiff penalties. Another issue relates to contractors and consultants. There has been a problem in this country. You find that the contractor is busy changing the Bills of Quantities (BQs) to increase the scope of works, whereas the consultant is there to approve those BQs. So, what do you do when you find that a contractor and a consultant are conniving? You need to come up with some measures, so that consultants and contractors can know that they have a responsibility to do their jobs. In most cases, contractors change the BQs every day to increase the amount and get more money. That is what happens in this country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, at Independence, we did very well but it came to a time when âcowboyâ contractors came in. How were they making their money? It was by changing the BQs. A job would be awarded for Kshs500 million, but the final contract sum would end up being Kshs3 billion. What happens is that the contractor changes the BQs and then the consultant approves them. At the end of the day, no job is done because everybody goes for that money. So, when you find that somebody has increased the contract sum without justification, what do you do? On the Appeal Board, the Bill says that the chairperson should be an Advocate of the High Court nominated by the Attorney-General. I find this provision not to be right. The persons who are going to sit in the Appeals Board should be men and women who can be respected. So, there is need to amend this provision, so that the people who will sit on the Appeals Board can be men and women with the right qualifications, and who can be trusted. The matters which will be taken to this Board will be serious matters. A contractor is going to be disciplined. Somebody can appoint a friend to chair the Board. What will you do? If you want a particular ruling, what will you do? So, there is need to look into the Appeals Board, so that we can have an Authority which will work for contractors as well as for this country and bring discipline. That way, public funds will be spent well and the country will move in the right direction. With those few remarks, I beg to support the Bill."
}