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{
    "id": 783665,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/783665/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 255,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Ms.) Ombaka",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1007,
        "legal_name": "Christine Oduor Ombaka",
        "slug": "christine-oduor-ombaka"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity. I would like to contribute to this Bill because talking about road networks, expanding and improving them and ensuring that people can use them safely is a key development issue. The road problem in this country is wide and has spanned for many years. Not any one time has the road system in this country been praised for being well-done. Nairobi, being a capital, should be one of the areas where the road system is impressive. Surprisingly, it is the worst. When the rains come like they have currently, we see what they do to the roads. They cause potholes. There are no street lights, the roads are narrow and people do not use the roads well because there is congestion. Just recently, about a week ago, four Members of Parliament, including myself, were in Berlin Germany. One thing that struck us in Berlin was the road network. We talked about that for hours because we saw simple things being done and working so well. The roads are not as wide as you imagine. They are the same size as ours, but in one road, there are several lanes. There is one for pedestrians, one for cyclists, one for vehicles and another one for the train. It is all integrated, but there is no confusion. Everybody is so disciplined in their lane. Nobody interferes with anything. It is so beautiful and nice. We can learn from those countries. Most of us in this House have travelled widely. We need to put in place long-term plans for constructing roads. We simply talk. We plan to construct a road for two years, then we want to expand it and then demolish certain homes, houses and buildings in order to expand the road system. I do not think what we are doing is right. What I am beginning to see is that we do not plan well. We do not think ahead. We do not think that when we construct a road, it should last for more than fifty years. We come up with two-year or five-year development plans. Before you know it, we are demolishing what we started two years ago. We lack that. That is what this Authority should focus on. When it is put in place after this Bill goes through, it should begin to think of how long it should take before we improve a road. If you want to construct a road like the Thika Super Highway, which is so far the best in this country, and then suddenly you narrow down into a two-lane system, it simply does not work. There was no thought put in. Did we plan for the road to last for more than 50 years? Did we anticipate population growth and the number of vehicles that will use that road? Those must be factored in when roads are being constructed. That is where we lose it. That is why the roads are not as they are. For more than 50 years, Kenya still does not have the best roads yet she leads in other areas. When it comes to the road network system, we are so poor. Nairobi should set the pace because it is the capital. That should be followed immediately by other counties like Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret and Nakuru. All the 47 counties should require that roads be improved in the 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."
}