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    "id": 813075,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/813075/?format=api",
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    "content": "there. It is as clean and as new as possible. What we are looking for is this capacity, where we will have given people the opportunity to learn and know what to do. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am afraid that the Senator for Kirinyaga County has gone out. This issue of Chinese contractors dominating the scene in this country is becoming an eyesore because we have abrogated the ability to give our people contracts to perform. There are good Kenyans here who can be good contractors. If they are given specifications, they can perform as well as any other person. What are we going to do with the young engineers we are training these days in our universities? We have said that we should become more innovative. Consequently, we have created polytechnics and vocational training centers to improve skills so that our young people can gain employment, yet they have no opportunities whatsoever. This will remain so until we sort out what goes into the various authorities we are establishing through this Bill. Mr. Speaker, Sir, Sen. (Eng.) Mahamud was a Permanent Secretary (PS) in the road sector, and he knows why we need to build capacity for our people. Even Small roads can be done by small contractors at the rural level. Why do we go for these big contractors taking billions of shillings? It is terrifying that you go for the big contractors but when the road is done, there is a high level of wear and tear within a short period of time. The Narok-Maai Mahiu Road is already in tatters, yet it was done only recently. What has happened to the money that went to the contractors? It is wasted money because the standards were not carefully observed. We, therefore, need to be very careful. Let us approve this Bill and ensure that everything goes according to the plan. Mr. Speaker, Sir, Sen. Wetangula mentioned Clause 27. If you look at Clause100, it states that:- “Each county government shall within its area of jurisdiction be responsible for the construction and maintenance of county roads in accordance with the provisions of Part II of the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution and Part B to the First Schedule of this Act”. How will they be responsible for this construction if they are not part of this process, because they are not in these authorities and they are not represented anywhere? We should query this Bill more intensely and come out with a solution that is applicable and acceptable to each and every person. We do not need to belabor the point. The message is loud and clear. Mr. Speaker, Sir, what we have done in this Bill is that we have centralized instead of decentralizing the functions. We must look for a formula, and if it means that we must go for negotiations, then so be it. We should decentralize the functions and, in the process, also decentralize capacity building, because we have young graduates and young school leavers who have been trained in vocational training centres who want to apply their technology yet they cannot gain employment, including in the Chinese companies which are now operating in this country. Yesterday, Mr. Speaker, Sir, we had a heated debate on how people have been locked out of employment when the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) was being done. Similarly, in the building of some of these highways, we hardly get local people being incorporated in those projects. When will they ever know how to maintain these roads? Are we also going to bring the Chinese back to maintain the roads for us? It will be a 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."
}