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{
    "id": 881890,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/881890/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 194,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Alego-Usonga, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Samuel Atandi",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13290,
        "legal_name": "Samuel Onunga Atandi",
        "slug": "samuel-onunga-atandi"
    },
    "content": "I support the Motion. The Leader of the Minority Party has largely spoken for me. He has pointed out the issues that I wanted to raise. There are two things. This country has come a long way in the area of public transport, especially the matatu sector. When I came to Nairobi for the first time, there were categories of fares. There were fares for when the demand was high and when it was low. There were fares that were charged for standing in a matatu. Most of us who were then looking for jobs preferred to travel when the demand was low. Most of the time, we would stand in the matatus because we would pay less. The transport sector has come a long way. The need to regulate the sector is very important. When you go to some of the cities in Africa that work such as Kigali, you find that they have one of the best organised transport systems. It is not rocket science. It is something that can be done. I hold the view that we do not need to regulate fares because it is a question of supply and demand. Remember, we operate in a free market economy. When we begin to define the cost of goods and services, we might confine our economy and make it unable to expand. Parliament has tampered with certain sectors of the economy, one of which is the banking sector. You all know that our financial system is not working. The banking sector is likely to collapse in the very near future because we tampered with the cost of banking. As an Economist, I will not support regulations that are aimed at fixing prices of goods and services because I am very clear in my mind that if we do that, we would be tampering with the economy on a large scale. It is true that the sector is affecting Kenyans negatively. If it rains, you are likely to pay more fare than if it did not rain. We must find a way of fixing some of the rogue behaviour of players in the sector. That we must do. We must not do it through fixing of prices. There should be no reason why the sector should charge us high fares. With the investments that have been made in the roads sector, where we have very good roads in this country, transport has become easier. Wear and tear has been largely reduced. As a House, Government and leadership, we must find a way of regulating the sector to make it more efficient and workable. The biggest issue is how to instill discipline in the sector. That has been the issue."
}