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{
    "id": 667177,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/667177/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 630,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Ogari",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 385,
        "legal_name": "Simon Ogari Arama",
        "slug": "simon-ogari"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me a chance to add my voice to this important Bill. From the outset, I support the Bill. Being a Member of the Committee on Transport, Public Works and Housing, I had a chance to look through it and I only need to add a few comments and items. When you go through the Bill, one of the issues which have been ailing our roads despite the Government‟s effort to try and develop the infrastructure is maintenance. I will propose an amendment as we go on in the Committee stage about establishing a maintenance unit that is constantly on our roads. Every time we encounter a small pothole, it keeps expanding and after one week, the road is cut off. If somebody was there on time, this could have been remedied and the road could serve us for more days. This is one area that I will insist on. Most of the developed countries have these units running. In the post-colonial times in Kenya, we had people who were called length men who used to go round the roads on daily or weekly basis inspecting them and doing minor fixes. Next, I would like to talk about integrity on our roads. Sometimes it is very amusing. We know about the issues of transport in this country and the craziness on our roads and we blame the roads. Roads come first before we encourage the issue of changed settlement patterns. It is clear that when a road is done, it attracts businesses around it, settlement patterns change and residential areas or farm lands are converted to commercial. People settle on one side of the road, build schools and markets on the other side of the road and children cross the road to go to school and road accidents are bound to occur. Then we erect bumps, like my colleague has just said. Most of my colleagues are requesting that bumps be erected on our roads. It beats logic for people to ask for tarmac roads and bumps at the same time. We can do with murram roads on which one cannot do high speeds. Tarmac roads are meant to increase speed and enhance transportation systems. These are some of the factors that affect our attitudes on the road. We have to find a way of maintaining our roads. Roads should be respected and not abused. Roads were there first and attracted change of settlement patterns."
}