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{
"id": 813055,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/813055/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "July 12, 2018 SENATE DEBATES 9 Sen. Wetangula",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for the opportunity. Listening to my good friend – the tycoon from Nyeri County – talking about roads is very gratifying, because he is a contractor and he knows much more than many of us. Mr. Speaker, Sir, this Bill is in line with the new Constitution. It tries to give effect to the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution in trying to review, consolidate and rationalise the legal regime in the road sector. The Bill also seeks to reclassify roads and set up management structures that will help in the management, construction and maintenance of the road network. Mr. Speaker, Sir, because of limited time, I will go straight to the Bill. I do not know who will respond to the issues raised because both the Senate Majority Leader and the Chairperson of the Committee on Roads and Transportation are not here. If you look at Clauses 6 and 7 and run through all those established boards, there is very little provision for involvement of county governments. Roads, whether highways, super highways or feeder roads, are in the counties. Even where the responsibility falls under the national Government, it will be desirable to have the involvement of county governments. Mr. Speaker, Sir, Clause 7 establishes the Public Roads Standards Board. The composition of the Board is the State department responsible for public roads, that is, the national Government, and the State department responsible for matters relating to devolution, which is still the national Government. As you run through, there is no single mention of representation by either the Council of Governors (CoG) or any content for counties. When you talk of the State department responsible to matters relating to devolution, you are talking about the Ministry of Devolution and ASALs, which is a national Ministry. So, we are totally excluding county governments in whose jurisdiction roads of whatever classification fall. I urge those who brought the Bill that at the Committee Stage, we must amend, running through all these boards established and in a similar manner, to give some opportunity for the CoG to nominate representatives to these boards. If we do not do that, we run the risk of men and women sitting in Nairobi City County and pretending that they know what happens to the roads in Bomet, Mandera, Wajir and everywhere when, in fact, some of the roads that they are superintending on are devolved. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have looked at Clause 56, and I expected my good friend, the Chairpersons of the Committee of Finance and Budget, who has a long history with roads to mention this. Clause 56 is introducing a new tax on road users. As it is, road users in this country are heavily taxed. The fuel levy that we pay and the taxation of fuel and other taxes that people pay towards driving on our roads does not warrant the Bill to give authority to the Cabinet Secretary (CS) to create a new tax. The Clause says: “The Cabinet Secretary responsible for the National Treasury may, in consultation with the Cabinet Secretary, make Regulations in accordance with this section authorizing the imposition and collection of road user charges by the Authority in respect of roads, including the national and county roads.” To begin with, you are giving authority to the Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development to The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}