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{
"id": 748,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/748/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Kinyanjui",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Roads",
"speaker": {
"id": 48,
"legal_name": "Lee Maiyani Kinyanjui",
"slug": "lee-kinyanjui"
},
"content": " Mr. Speaker, Sir, on 29th November, 2011, the hon. Member for Saboti, Mr. Eugene Wamalwa, sought a Ministerial Statement from my Ministry. In his request, he asked the Ministry to give a Statement on when a bridge will be built on Sigiri and Mlwanda crossings in Busia District to avoid further disasters and loss of lives in the area. Secondly, to confirm what urgent measures have been put in place to provide a ferry in the meantime and a motorboat at the said site to respond to emergencies before a permanent solution is sought. Lastly, he also sought to know what the Government has done to assist the affected families. Mr. Speaker, Sir, as you realize, the Statement touches on three different Ministries. There is the Ministry of Roads because of the bridges. There is the Ministry of Transport. There is the Ministry of State for Special Programmes. I will try to answer as much on my Ministry. We have made consultations on the other. The Mulwanda Crossing on the Sio River is located on Road E161. The river forms the boundary between Kenya and Uganda at that point. My Ministry has identified the need to construct a bridge on that crossing and plans to carry out the design of the bridge in the coming financial year, 2012/2013. This will enable the Ministry to come up with reliable cost estimates for purposes of resource allocation towards the construction of the bridge. With regard to Sigiri Crossing on Road 43 linking Busia and Siaya counties, my Ministry financed the design for the bridge across the Nzoia River, whose documentation was completed in the year 2009. An engineer put the cost of the full construction of the bridge at approximately Kshs900 million. We estimate that, at the current rates, this will translate to about Kshs1.2 billion. My Ministry is aware that the accidents at the two river crossings have been attributed to the use of canoes which have sometimes capsized causing serious fatalities. Construction of bridges will, therefore, address that problem. However, the cost of construction of a bridge is high and the Ministry has not been able to secure finance for the construction from its own resources. Therefore, we have been able to contact a few donors and development partners, among them, the Chinese, the French and Netherlands. We are hopeful that, in the next six months, we will be able to get proper funding for that particular bridge. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would like to assure the hon. Member that we are doing everything possible to source for funding for the various projects, including the two bridges. We shall embark on the implementation of those projects once the necessary funding becomes available to us. In the meantime, my Ministry has communicated the hon. Member’s proposal of the possibility of installing a ferry to the relevant Ministry; that is, the Ministry of Transport, for consideration. The Ministry has indicated that it will consider that and, at the soonest possible time, an indication will be given. On the issue of compensation to the families of those who lost their lives, that is outside the mandate of my Ministry. However, I would like to suggest that those affected should pursue the matter through the existing disaster response and mitigation machineries. In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would like to emphasize that most Kenyans are mindful of the challenges caused by the heavy rains. Some of the accidents reported in the media could have been avoided with extra caution and patience on the part of those concerned. I, therefore, want to appeal to our people to exercise caution at all times while on the roads, and particularly during the rainy weather to avoid serious accidents and prevent loss of lives. Thank you."
}