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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to support Vote 14 – Ministry of Transport. Pursuant to Standing Order No.152, the Departmental Committee on Transport, Public Works and Housing met with the Minister for Transport on 13th July, 2010 where it received submissions, presentations and relevant reports. The Minister was accompanied by the Permanent Secretary, Heads of parastatals under the Ministry and various relevant technical officers. The Committee considered the following policy papers and budget documents in their scrutiny of the Annual Estimates for the Ministry; Vision 2030; Medium-Term Plan; Printed Estimates for the Financial Year 2010/2011; Budget Speech for 2010/2011; Budget Outlook Paper for Financial Year 2010/2011; Budget Strategy Paper for the Financial Year 2010/2111; Economic Survey for 2010 and other relevant documents. I wish to sincerely thank Members of the Committee for their participation and contributions in the exercise. On their behalf, I wish to thank the Office of the Speaker and the Liaison Committee for the necessary support extended to it in the execution of its mandate as well as the Office of the Clerk for providing the necessary logistical and technical support. The Committee further wishes to thank the Minister for Transport, the Permanent Secretary, the parastatal Heads and the technical staff who appeared before the Committee for providing the necessary information and responding to issues raised by the hon. Members during the examination of the 2010/2011 Estimates. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, based on the submissions, presentations and evidence, the following issues were observed. The major issue that we observed was the underfunding that the Ministry has received. As has been mentioned by the Minister, the Ministry would have wished to be funded to the tune of Kshs41 billion, but because of the constraints just as has been mentioned by the Minister, the net amount that was funded was only Kshs5.4 billion. This left a huge gap. In view of the net shortfall, the Ministry has been compelled to reduce the scope of activities, programmes and projects in its strategic plans and to concentrate on a few development projects. It has also been forced to reschedule implementation of others to subsequent financial years. It is important to note that some of the projects left out are flagship projects in the Kenya Vision 2030. They are Medium-Term Plan and the Ministry’s Sector Plan. The projects are, therefore, crucial in the fulfillment of the Ministry’s mandate. The Minister has already indicated some of the projects that have not been funded or are underfunded. For example, we have the second container terminal at the Port of Mombasa. The Minister indicated here that this House approved the security some time last year. The Japanese Government has already given part of its funding. On our part, the Government has not provided the Kshs5 billion that was requested by the Ministry. So, it will be a bit difficult or impossible for the Ministry to ensure that this project starts. Another example is the Standard Gauge Railway Line where the Ministry requested Kshs3.5 billion, but nothing was given. In our view, this is a project that should be started immediately or even before. This is because, as the Minister indicated, we have a problem with the current railway system which is old and nearly obsolete. We request that this matter be looked at. The feasibility study at the Lamu Port has not started because of lack of funding. There are other projects that have been underfunded and the Minister has already stated them and I do not need to repeat the same. Considering the inadequacy of the current budgetary ceiling in financing the implementation of planned projects, the Committee recommends that adequate funds should be allocated to the Ministry. With adequate funding, the Ministry will be able to operate to its optimum. However, we request the Ministry to play its role by ensuring improvement of efficiency and absorption. This will ensure that key programme outputs are achieved. There will be no need to give extra funding if it will not be absorbed and used efficiently. The Ministry should also ensure that it puts in place an Integrated Transport Management Policy to reform and modernise the transport sector as a means to opening up the economy. We realise that motor registration has been on the rise. It grows by about 40,000 vehicles every year. This trend is of concern as it greatly contributes to the current congestion and traffic jams, particularly in Nairobi and Mombasa. The Committee feels that there should be a deliberate strategy to deal with the road traffic jams coupled with political goodwill to promote mass transport which could substantially address traffic jams. Therefore, the Ministry should ensure operationalization of mass transport in major towns. The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) should offer tax incentives to promote mass public transport and encourage private investments in mass transport equipment in the urban centres to ease traffic congestion. Road accidents have been on the increase since 2009 with 12,369 accidents compared to 9,093 in 2008. This is mainly as a result of non-compliance with traffic rules and regulations and ineffectiveness of the Transport Licensing Board (TLB). Even though road carnage continues to take a huge toll on Kenyans through deaths and serious injuries, the Ministry has not put in place adequate measures to address the causes of these accidents. The Committee recommends that the Ministry takes a lead and maybe, borrow from what Mr. Michuki did in 2003. We believe that the current Minister is equal to the task and we will see some order on our roads the way it happened from 2003 to 2004. The Committee also recommends that the Ministry operationalizes as a matter of urgency the recently gazetted National Road Safety Council to enhance road safety. The Minister has mentioned Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) which is actually an eyesore. The Minister should look at the JKIA urgently because its state is worrying. About two weeks ago, I landed at the airport and it was crazy. It was like a market. I compared it to Kinshasa International Airport which has no order. The place was crowded and we were literally stepping on people as we passed. As part of the modernization, the Minister should look at the JKIA and give it the first priority because it is a very important airport in this part of the world. The Committee urges the Treasury to consider allocating funds to projects and programmes left out of the Estimates which have already been indicated as well as the underfunded projects during the Supplementary Budget which will be coming early next year. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to support the Motion."
}