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{
    "id": 667290,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/667290/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 743,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Angwenyi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 326,
        "legal_name": "Jimmy Nuru Ondieki Angwenyi",
        "slug": "jimmy-angwenyi"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me a chance to contribute on this important Bill. I rise to support this Bill on four grounds. First, a country cannot develop economically unless it has a well-developed infrastructure system. Look at all the countries that have moved from Third World to First World. One similar factor that they have is that they have developed their infrastructure, particularly the road infrastructure, the railway infrastructure and the sea or port infrastructure. If we have to move to the next level, let us have our road system improved by passing this Bill and budgeting adequately to achieve our goal of providing accessible roads in the entire country. Secondly, I hope that this Bill will set standards on how our roads will be done. For example, in Australia, if a contractor is awarded a road to construct, they are supposed to maintain it. In case a pothole develops within 10 years, that contractor will be required to attend to it. Because they do not want to go back to those roads, they are forced to do a good job. A road takes at least 10 years before it develops any form of disintegration. Thirdly, let us classify all our roads in the country. That classification should have public participation. A governor should not say: “This is my road.” The other day I saw a governor say that we should do away with the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) and the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) and that all the roads under these authorities be put under them. Those roads belong to Kenyans. If you want to classify a road in my constituency, let the people participate and say whether they want the road to be under the national or county government. As my colleague has just said, healthcare in this country is in shambles. It is dead. It is incumbent upon this Parliament to look at that issue and maybe legislate that all healthcare centres which are Level 3 and above should be under the national Government. Only the primary healthcare facilities should remain under the county governments. That will help this country. We should not do away the KURA. If we do away with this Authority, we are going to have a problem. We should continue with the KURA together with the KeNHA as well as the KeRRA. That is where we play a part in the development of our infrastructure as Members of Parliament. Let us not destroy ourselves. Finally, let us have resources for maintenance of roads the way we have been having them in the previous years. Let us ask the Cabinet Secretary concerned to show us how much has been set aside in the Budget for each constituency in this country. With those few remarks, I support."
}