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"id": 667465,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/667465/?format=api",
"text_counter": 165,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Kubai Iringo",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 1574,
"legal_name": "Cyprian Kubai Iringo",
"slug": "cyprian-kubai-iringo"
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"content": "Secondary Roads Authority. We would allocate money to KeRRA for a particular road and it would be evaluated, but before the contractor would go to the ground, the county government would come overnight with a grader and work on the same road. Thereafter, you go to the drawing board again. I strongly believe this will solve those problems and the roads will be done expediently without duplication. Let me also add that it is only through infrastructure that we can develop this country, and it is natural justice. When you look at places where there has not been any road, once a road is opened there, development takes place. The value of land goes up, people put up structures and businesses come up. We have evidence of the Northern Bypass. That place was a bush from Ruiru to Mombasa Road. Nobody lived there but, today, it is a beehive of activity because of the road which has been opened. If we go back to our villages or rural areas, you will find that if there is no road, carrying the produce from the farms and people trying to access facilities like hospitals, dispensaries, markets and even going to shopping malls becomes very difficult. My constituency, Igembe Central, is very young and it has no roads at all. It is very difficult especially when we have a lot of produce in the northern part of the constituency, where we grow cereals and other food crops. When it rains, there are food crops, but they cannot be taken to the people who need to consume them. There are food crops, but they rot in the farms because there are no roads for transport. With this Bill, I strongly believe the Authority will go out of its way and make sure that each constituency, each ward and every corner of this country is accessible in one way or another. I also request the Authority to look for ways of decentralising its offices. The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) has few offices in the country. They are located in places like Nairobi and Isiolo. When you need their services, it is very difficult to get them. I propose that we have an office in each county - if not in each sub-county - for access of service and other things. When it comes to repairing of roads, they are constructed well and a lot of money is spent. But, after it has been done, there is no programme for the maintenance of that road. It is left out, gets dilapidated, gets potholes, shoulders are worn out and the bus and matatu stages get worn out. By the time someone realises that the road is worn out, the amount of money that was supposed to repair another one is spent to rebuild that road. We have a case in point. The road in my constituency from Farm to Meru National Park was done 10 years ago. It was a very good road, but it has never been repaired even once in that period. It has eroded and today, we are seeking the Government to rebuild it. It will become very expensive. Let the Authority make sure that once a road has been classified and it has been tarmacked or graded, it should be repaired in subsequent years because there is always erosion because of the rains. If we ignore the roads, we will start re-inventing the wheel and we will waste a lot of money. There is a policy in this country which I do not know. The Authority should look at bumps on our roads. On each road, you find people erecting them using soil or stones. Sometimes, they cause very bad accidents. There should be a policy where a bump should be erected and the standard and gauge at which it should be done. A case in point is the road from Makutano to Embu, all the way to Meru. There are almost 300 bumps on that road. Driving on that road is a nightmare. Some bumps are so high that small vehicles cannot drive over them. Let them be standardized and done in a way that even if a vehicle hits them by accident, it is not 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."
}