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{
    "id": 574805,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/574805/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 188,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Baiya",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 8,
        "legal_name": "Peter Njoroge Baiya",
        "slug": "peter-baiya"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this very important Motion. I also take this opportunity to welcome the young students from Kiambu County. This is an important Motion arising from the procedure established under the new Constitution where Parliament has an opportunity to ratify the respective international agreements entered into by the Government. This agreement relating to arrangement to facilitate air transport between Kenya, Ghana and Niger is a very welcome initiative. On airlines services, we know that it is Kenya that is likely to benefit more at the end of the day. It is going to possibly facilitate penetration of Kenya Airways and other airlines that are operating in Kenya into those countries. These bilateral agreements are helping the African Continent to tap into the potential that exists with regard to development of air transport infrastructure in the continent. As has been remarked by previous speaker, there is no way the African continent can speak about development without exploiting the resources within the region and the opportunity for inter-state trade. This is what will ultimately generate jobs and industries, stimulate commerce and get the people of Africa to interact in terms of trade, politically and economically. So, it is the right thing to do. We not only expect this kind of arrangement to take place between Ghana and Niger, but between all potentially prosperous economic regions of Africa. In this regard, Kenya ought to take the lead by ensuring that they look to countries and regions which have potential for enhanced trade and business. It is true that trade and infrastructure go hand in hand. It is always the case that the development of infrastructure subsequently attracts business. In the initial phase as you develop the infrastructure, questions may be raised with regard to viability of the investments constituted by the infrastructure, but in the long-run we have not seen situations where we have developed infrastructure in regions that have great economic potential and the infrastructure investment does not justify itself. So, it is very important we encourage the Government to move in this direction and identify all the regions that have economic potential to generate trade opportunities. This is how we will improve on the viability of some of the existing Kenya Airways (KQ) routes, which at times look like they do not attract sufficient business and trade. However, it is because we have not generated sufficient business and traffic because of the inadequacy of the transport network. If we draw comparison from other regions that have developed their air services infrastructure, such as Europe and other developed regions, we see how intense the transport network is. It does not mean that is how it has always been. It has been developed over time and has become what it is after many years of a lot of investment. So, this kind of bilateral arrangement ought to be the way to go with a view to seeing that Africa develops the infrastructure from air, railway, road, sea and ocean transport. These 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."
}