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{
    "id": 837600,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/837600/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 231,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Igembe Central, JP ",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Iringo Kubai",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1574,
        "legal_name": "Cyprian Kubai Iringo",
        "slug": "cyprian-kubai-iringo"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity to contribute to the Urban Areas and Cities (Amendment) Bill (Senate Bill No.4 of 2017). I support the Senate on this and, more so, the Chair of the Committee for coming up with this Report. They made several amendments like the one on funding by amending Section 49 and also the given timeframes. We cannot talk of a process without a time limit. Therefore, I support these amendments and also the others which will come as we go on with the process, especially during the Committee of the whole House. Reorganising our towns, cities and markets is very necessary and, more so, classifying them according to the level of their development and the jurisdiction they serve. Today, you will find that most of our towns are wanting in terms of planning. We need to have controlled development, proper drainages, water and lighting systematically placed and infrastructure and roads easily accessible. We often hear of disasters like fire happening in our cities and it is impossible to put them out because the fire engines have no access. Therefore, it is important to plan well. However, my fear is that despite having a fund for the same, our current towns have been put up on private land and areas where people have inhabited and are living. Therefore, it will be difficult to develop them to the standards and class of what this Bill is proposing. My own reasoning is that the new towns are the ones which will be put under this Bill. More so, we should rectify the existing ones now. However, we will need funds to compensate some of the people living there. You may find in some small urban markets, like my area headquarters in Kangeta Market, the commercial land demarcated many years ago is already fully built and people with pieces of land surrounding that environ have put up commercial and residential buildings on their own land and farms. The land that will be acquired by the county government should be put under this programme so that we can achieve what is being proposed. If we will acquire personal land, we will need a fund to compensate the owners. This will also make taxation and collection of rates easier. You may find in a certain shopping center or town, the people who pay rates and dues to the county government are less than half of the buildings there because of lack of documentation. People have put up houses everywhere and only those on the gazetted areas pay rates and rents. Therefore, revenue is lost. If we arrest this revenue coupled together with what the county governments will give, then it will be easy to develop those structures and, more so, actualise this Bill. Finally, I strongly believe that we need a timeframe because this cannot be implemented indefinitely. This timeframe will enable each and every county to do its bit of work, so, that this can be uniformly achieved across the country. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker."
}