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{
    "id": 615316,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/615316/?format=api",
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    "content": "Chairperson, Sen. Kagwe, who ensured that we had so many meetings with the management, the Treasury and everybody else to get to the bottom of why KQ is not the pride of Kenya, leave alone Africa. Having sat through the Committee, there are various issues just as they have been put in the recommendations which I would like to agree with. One of them is the whole aspect, just as Sen. Murkomen has said, about managing and treatment of the human resource. I think human beings are the greatest resource for any organisation or company. Even as the KQ relooks into the turn-around of the Airline, it is important that the many litigations that are in court are looked into. We also hope that the Judiciary will fast-track the cases so that this issue is put to rest. In the handling of the human resource, we see some of the people who work in other airlines being paid more money for the same services that KQ staff are doing. It demoralizes them even in offering services to the airline. Secondly, there is the whole issue of the management. There were various reasons that were given to the Committee as to why we are where we are with KQ. One of them was the issue of terrorism and Ebola. I know these are factors that were, probably, not thought through even by the management. We recommended and still do, that the management of KQ needs to foresee, look through the market and put in place measures that can ensure that the airline withstands some of these challenges that cannot be prevented. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, on the whole issue of fuel hedging, we definitely know that the airline industry is not a simple, but complex matter. We hope that the new management will rather even spend more resources to get expertise and people who totally understand the aviation industry to give KQ the turnaround so that it can continue to be the pride of Kenya and Africa. We also agreed that we look into the law. It is unfortunate that taxpayers give money – that is what we have also said – that Equity and the --- financial bailout from the shareholders and we know the Kenyan Government is one of them through taxpayers money. However, you cannot audit this money. It is important that we recommend that the Constitution be looked into to see that the Auditor-General can audit the funds that are given to the KQ to ensure that it does the job that it is supposed to do. On the issue of responsibility and accountability, I agree with my colleagues that it is not just enough for us to give very good recommendations while someone somewhere is responsible. It did not just happen. The Project Mawingu was there for 10 years. It cannot possibly be that we just woke up one morning and found ourselves in the situation that we are in. Definitely, this was a progressive thing that happened. As we have the long term plan, it is important for KQ to sit back and re-look into their short term plan, say, after three years. If there are things that they are not doing which will have consequences like the ones that we are in, then the plans should be reviewed at an appropriate time and not say that because we had a ten year plan, we have to go with the way it is. It is something which does not happen even in our own lives. You sit back, re- look at what you are doing and make reviews and recommendations to ensure that you are still on the right track. Responsibility and accountability is also important. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}