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{
    "id": 820990,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/820990/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 428,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kathiani, WDM-K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Robert Mbui",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1750,
        "legal_name": "Robert Mbui",
        "slug": "robert-mbui"
    },
    "content": "get a driving licence. The NHIF and NSSF could use the same number too. Even banks could consider using that number when one is opening a bank account. So, this is a good amendment. The second is the amendment to the Traffic Act, Cap. 403. This introduces punishment and outlaws certain things that probably were not expressly outlawed in the parent Act. This is one of the amendments that I think Members should have deliberated on specifically, so that we look at the Act in totality. There are issues that come up every day. Recently, in Machakos County, the Governor brought in regulations – I do not know whether it is a policy decision - governing traffic within the county and yet there is the Traffic Act. The things that he has brought up are not negative, but they are clearly stipulated in the Traffic Act and could also be addressed using that Act. He has come up with different penalties and timings. I will give you the example of school transport, which is supposed to operate, according to NTSA, up to about 9.55 p.m., but the regulations by the Machakos County Governor say 7.55 p.m. During the recent heavy rains, we saw bridges being washed away. I ask myself: What happens when bridges are washed away and children are in the buses on their way home and 8 p.m. reaches, are they going to be arrested because of a natural disaster? Some of these rules and regulations are good, but there seems to be some double legislation which, obviously, will lead to double penalty. If you are penalised by NTSA and the county government, that goes against rules of natural justice. In the amendments to the Traffic Act, there is punishment for drunk driving, which is important because we have lost many lives on our roads because of people that drink too much and get behind the wheels and cause a lot of havoc. So, that is a very good amendment. On the part of insurance fraud, generally, that has been against the law. I do not know why we are specifically talking about it. In the Insurance Act, you cannot insure something that does not belong to you. I do not know why we are putting this in the Traffic Act. I am certain that the Insurance Act is clear about who can insure. You can only insure what belongs to you. You cannot insure something that does not belong to you. It is actually one of the regulations within the insurance industry. There is a new proposal about drivers who damage roads. I do not know and that is why I am saying these are major amendments that may have needed more time. What do we really mean by “damaging roads”? When you are driving and your car gets a tyre burst because of a nail on the road and you scratch the tarmac, does that mean you are liable for a penalty of Kshs50,000? Some of the proposals require a lot more discussion. I am happy about the amendments to the Children Act, in provision of temporary places of safety to ensure our children are in good hands and giving the CS the power to cancel licences of children’s charitable institutions when the lives of the children in those institutions are in danger, or when the management in those institutions is unfit. Sometimes they do not act in the best interest of the children or contravene the Constitution. We recently saw some individuals who brought in small children and kept them in their homes. I am assuming they were purporting to be a charitable institution yet they were trading with the children. In the morning they would ferry them to the streets of Nairobi, leave them there to beg the whole day and at the end of the day they would come and carry them back home. The children would be left without money or food. Some of them are disabled and are not able to purchase anything with the money that they are given. They tie the money around their bodies. So, I think this is a very good amendment, but again, just like I said on the other amendment, it is important that we be given an opportunity to discuss the Children Act in totality. 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."
}