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{
    "id": 510105,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/510105/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 130,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Ms.) Mbalu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 432,
        "legal_name": "Jessica N. Mbalu",
        "slug": "jessica-mbalu"
    },
    "content": "Orders and respect the Chair or the Speaker of the session or sitting. We are being viewed outside as if we have not gone through the introductory phase of our Parliament. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, what is in the Bill by hon. Lekuton? Clause 3 talks about the boundaries that we are putting in law. Any person driving or any person who permits another person to drive should know that we shall have a speed limit of 30 kilometres per hour. Those are areas around nursery, primary or secondary schools. We are talking about institutions where children reside or are normally accessed by children. The Bill also talks about the public playing grounds accessed by children, the area used by the Children when crossing to and from schools. We also have the health facilities. I was thinking that we can also include market centres, so that we do not look at it and address the school children only. The Bill also talks about the traffic signs that are prescribed to be erected in the relevant areas. I represent Kibwezi East Constituency. Two weeks or a month ago, I buried a student from Kalulu Secondary School who was knocked down by a vehicle. My constituency is along the Mombasa Highway. Lack of traffic signs has really caused death to many people and, especially, the school-going children in my area. This is the right time to bring such a Bill so that we protect our school-going children. The erection of such signs will ensure that motorists and drivers are informed of the black spots and areas that have schools and school-going children as per the description of the boundaries that have been put by the hon. Member, while bringing the Bill. As I support the Bill, we are talking about the standards, the road signs and the erection of such signs in the black spots. Of course, this is going to increase child safety. I listened to the hon. Member when he was moving his Bill and he talked about the proposal included in the Bill about the uniform colour of school buses. When you go to other countries like the United States of America, they have one uniform colour of school buses. We can bring and consider amendments to ensure that school buses can be noticed and are given priority. We can also bring amendments to ensure that lanes for school buses are provided for. When you go to some countries, you find that we have those lanes. I pray for this country that we can also get to such levels. We have engineers in the House who can advise the Government so that we can have lanes for school buses. When we have such lanes, we will ensure that our school buses get access to such lanes and speed. When I was coming to Parliament and when we were seeking to have quorum, I saw the traffic jam in Nairobi. I noticed how the school children wake up so early to beat the traffic jam. Waking up at 4 o’clock, for Standard Two babies like mine, is too early. If we had lanes for school buses and give priority and preference to the buses going to schools, we would ensure safety for our school-going children. On the same issue, we want to talk about other lanes allocated to the boda boda operators. Most traffic accidents are caused by boda bodas, simply because they have not been given their space. In my constituency, we have many boda boda motorcyclists who are killed on the road. It is high time we gave them priority in terms of giving them space. 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."
}