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{
    "id": 813638,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/813638/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 140,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
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    "content": "In 1974, for example, the Government of Kenya realized that it was concentrating more on roads in urban areas, leaving behind roads in the rural areas. Therefore, produce could not be transported to the markets. So, it came up with the Rural Access Roads Program (RARP) in 1974 to improve the rural roads to gravel standards. It also came up with cheaper ways of constructing them by using labour based technology. That is why we have a school in Kisii which trains contractors and individuals on the use of these technologies. However, this has not been used well. 1n 1977, the Materials Branch of the then Ministry of Roads decided to do research on how to use the available materials in different parts of this country to construct roads in a cheaper and durable manner. It is either an earth road which gets muddy and inaccessible when it rains and dusty when it is dry or a gravel road which is costly. The problem that we have with the gravel roads is that not all materials and soils that we have are useful for road construction. We are losing them at a high rate, not because the material is weak, but when it is dry, it is destroyed by vehicle tires through abrasion. When it is wet, it loses strength. So, the main issue around suitability of roads is how the material is used and protected in such a way that it will not be affected by those two factors, the weather and the vehicles. One of the research and systems which have been used successfully is a system called Otta seal which is a Norwegian technology. That could be the name of the person who invented it. They construct a normal gravel road, they then come up with bitumen which is spread on the gravel road. The same gravel which you have used is sieved to remove the dust and the course material, then you spread it the normal way. The gravel will provide the traction for the tires and water will not get into that road. The Norwegian rural roads have been constructed that way and Norway is not a third world country. They did not stay with that technology. They passed it on to Kenya and we have clear examples. In 1981, the Norwegian Road Research Laboratory (NRRL) in collaboration with the then Ministry of Transport did a trial section in Marich Pass Road in Lodwar, Northern Kenya. About 260 kilometres of that road were done using that technology. For a long time, Kenyans saw that as a standard tarmac road. However, it was a trial section of a technology which was being introduced into the country. However, that was the end of it because we did not continue with it. Kenyan engineers did their own research to establish the relevant standards for different soils and gravel material in this country. In 1977, trial sections were established 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."
}