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{
    "id": 492154,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/492154/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 90,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Kobado",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2964,
        "legal_name": "John Owuor Onyango Kobado",
        "slug": "john-owuor-onyango-kobado"
    },
    "content": "mainstream transport sector is its flexibility. You can use that transport any time during the day or night. It is flexible in terms of place. It can access anywhere even areas which have hitherto been considered inaccessible. It is flexible in terms of price because you can negotiate how much to pay. Therefore, it serves the poor well. Indeed, it is also flexible in terms of volume. These days, boda bodas are even used for transporting livestock like cows, although that is beyond what it is designed to do. The rise of bodaboda taxis is a bottom up response to transport challenges, in the sense that it has come up because of shortage of urban transport. It is also because of the strong demand in the public transport and the poor road network. However, the subsector is not gender sensitive. It is dominated by the male gender. As much as there are several social benefits of boda bodas, there are also socio- economic costs of boda bodas . The benefits are numerous because it is one subsector that is creating a lot of employment opportunities, and it is likely to continue creating employment opportunities. However, if you look at the social cost in terms of safety and health risks, then a lot needs to be done to reform the subsector, so that as we consider expanding it, we ensure that it serves our people without risking their lives. If you visit some hospitals, there are even wards dedicated to boda boda accident victims. Research indicates that use of protective gear, the helmet and vests, is at only about 20 per cent. This means that 80 per cent of those who are in this business are not using the safety gear. We need to think outside the box. This is one sector that can create many employment opportunities for the youth in this country, but for a long time we are only looking at the supply side of the service. We are not looking at the demand side. The supply side is about transport and it is purely a service; but if you look at the boda boda motorcycle as a product, these motorbikes are sub-standard in terms of quality. They are more or less disposable goods. They do not last. If you look at the money the youths use to procure them, you will see that the cost of it is not justified. So, it is possible that we can create a whole manufacturing industry on the demand side of this particular service. A number of these motorbikes are not serviceable. They are more or less disposable. After using them for a short while, you simply dispose of them. But there is a possibility that if he Government were to provide incentives and subsidizies for the micro enterprise, then we could set up industries to manufacture certain parts of the motorbikes or even do the assembling. Assembling is normally done by the Chinese. With the support of the Government, I want to believe that we can assemble these boda bodas in the informal sector and even produce certain parts locally. That would create many employment opportunities. Hon. Deputy Speaker, this country is turning out to be a consumer society and a dumping ground for sub-standard products. We have the anti-counterfeit agency which is mandated to combat counterfeiting. They do not seem to be doing their work well. If they were to do their work well, then, there would be a possibility that we would create many employment opportunities in the informal sector and in small and micro enterprise sector. Today, if you look at the streets of Nairobi, you will see that the cutlery that we use in our houses is imported from China. Spoons, cups, jembes and shovels are all imported from China. If you look at them critically, you will realize that they are heavily sub- The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}