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{
    "id": 549039,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/549039/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 162,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Dawood",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2572,
        "legal_name": "Abdul Rahim Dawood",
        "slug": "abdul-rahim-dawood"
    },
    "content": "not put the right details regarding what people were to do with the pipeline. Besides that, we should get value for money for the Kshs45 to 46 billion, which will be there. Hopefully, going by what Zakhem have been given, if they are to do the job, there should be no variations for the project. The timeline within which they should do the pipeline should be exact. Former President Kibaki launched the two pumps which were commissioned a couple of years back. The pumps were supposed to flow at more than 440 metric tonnes per hour. For two pumps, that would be over 800 metric tonnes per hour. Unfortunately, within a week after he commissioned them, the flow rate went down to less than 500 metric tonnes per hour. I wonder if the same will happen to the new pipeline, which will be done by Zakhem. Will we have the flow as it has been stated or will it be less? The Leader of the Minority Party mentioned that Zakhem built the first pipeline in 2003. I want to correct him that it was in 1973. It lasted for long and it is very true that Zakhem did a good job. We hope that in future, they will do a better job. Talking about having a new pipeline, it would be good for it to reach all the regions of Kenya. As it is, it just goes to the western region, towards the East African countries. We would want it diverted towards the central Kenya region and proceed to Nanyuki, Isiolo and the north eastern region of Kenya as well. It should probably follow the LAPSSET route, so that at least we can get the benefit of the terminals. Another baffling thing is that whereas the price of crude oil has gone down all over the world, the price of the same commodity in Kenya tends to go down much slower. On the other hand, when the value of the US Dollar goes up slightly on the world market, the price of the same currency goes very high in Kenya. It takes two to three months for the price of the US Dollar to go down in Kenya, whereas it takes less than a month to go up. As we enhance the pipeline, we need to think about enhancing the capacity of the Kenya Oil Refinery plant in Mombasa. The Government has already taken over the facility from Essar of India. I believe we should enhance the way we refine our own fuel, which will cost us much cheaper. The companies which are blocking haulage at the port storage facilities have not been mentioned. We should have a case where people who bring their fuel in vessels are allowed to offload it. No company should be allowed to hold too much stock without distributing it. What happens is that companies buy stock and put it in the storage facilities. It is not pumped upstream and, therefore, the storage facilities get filled up. So, vessels docked at the port cannot offload, leading to accumulation of demurrage charges, which in turn lead to higher fuel prices. Therefore, that aspect should be looked into. Regarding the Attorney-General’s role, the Chairman has spoken about it. He has said that all contracts have to pass through that office. That is why we have problems with contracts like the Anglo-Leasing, which were passed earlier. Some did not go through the Attorney-General’s office. Let us hope that this goes to the Attorney- General’s office before it is signed. This should be despite even the Solicitor-General giving evidence to the Public Accounts Committee (PIC). It is very important that the Attorney-General is on top of everything, so that the country does not incur any expenses or defaults in the contract and then, at a later date, pay for things which we probably will not have gotten like the Anglo-Leasing contract. 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."
}