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{
    "id": 783637,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/783637/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 227,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Wetangula",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 3036,
        "legal_name": "Timothy Wanyonyi Wetangula",
        "slug": "timothy-wanyonyi-wetangula"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker for giving me this chance. This is a very progressive Bill, but it is only that we need to fix a few loose ends here and there. There are a few weaknesses in the Bill, but I am sure they can be sorted out. A few years ago, when I was working at Nairobi City Council, we had a function somewhere in Barcelona - Spain about something called smart cities. These are cities that have the capacity to solve their problems with minimal interference of the lives of the people. There are many cities such as Mumbai in India where a few years ago they were chaotic but, right now, they have fixed it. It is working perfectly well with a transport system that is progressive. I believe if this Bill is well intentioned, we can fix the problems in Nairobi. I can also attest that I was a student in Nairobi in the 1990s when the Kenya Bus Service was working and you could take one Kenya Bus from one end of Nairobi to the other end and the time schedule was always adhered to. So, I believe that this legislation can bring a lot of change in Nairobi, modernise the City and make Nairobi functional. What is not working in this City is the public transport system that is not well organised. It is chaotic and one that is encouraging people to heavily invest in private transport. This is because if we had a functional public system, not many people would be interested in buying private cars. When you go to big cities, people travel by public transport more than by private means. I, therefore, believe that this Bill, when properly implemented, will create much order in our city and will make living in Nairobi better than it is now. Hon. Deputy Speaker, recently, when we were in Dar-es-Salaam for sports, I saw those lanes for rapid vehicles. This is an experimental thing that is working in Dar-es-Salaam. I am sure it can still work here. We are just scared about what will happen when people will be displaced but, sometimes, you have to pay a prize for you to get the right things to be done. Therefore, I believe that when we enact this legislation and the authorities and counties that have been assigned can properly coordinate and make it function, Nairobi and the metropolis that have been mentioned within that radius will work. I remember the late Hon. Mutula Kilonzo when he was the Minister for Nairobi Metropolitan, came up with this idea. He travelled across the areas he had defined as covering the metropolis and it looked practical. It, however, reached somewhere and disappeared. I do not know what happened until we now have this. Let us not inject politics in this Bill. Let us look at it critically and bring out the good in it so that we do not read politics in everything that comes here. I am sure that some people think it is going to interfere with the County Government of Nairobi; that the national Government wants to take over the Nairobi County Government’s roles. That is in bad faith. We as legislators are here to enact laws. However, if we see a bad law, we can make it better by amending it and make it work for us. So, let us not be scared about issues just like people on the streets. We must be the ones to deal with them head on. We do not have to start talking like we are not part of this House. Even if I am the only one who supports The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}