Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 91536,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/91536/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 177,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Namwamba",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 108,
        "legal_name": "Ababu Tawfiq Pius Namwamba",
        "slug": "ababu-namwamba"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. While congratulating the new Minister for Transport, it is a good thing that we have a new Minister for this important Ministry as we welcome the dawn of a new dispensation. Therefore, I want to urge him to transform this Ministry in the spirit of that new dispensation. The new dispensation is about renewal, rebirth and transformation. We want to see that reflected in his work. When you look at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and our railway system, for instance, you see fossils that could do very well in a museum. Therefore, for me, this is not even about upgrading. When you talk about the JKIA and our railway system, it is not about upgrading. It is about overhaul, renewal and transformation. We want to see an international airport that befits the name “international airport”, for a city that is easily the hub of this region. Therefore, we do not want to continue hearing things like--- a few years ago, we heard of a big budget for the transformation of the JKIA. Really, all they did was a little paint work and a little scratching here and there, but the JKIA remains a fossil and nothing more than that in comparison to modern international airports across the world. That also goes for the railway system. Let us see a modern gauge railway network. Even as we talk about using the railway as an important urban transport system, let it be modern. Look at what South Africa did the other day in the run up to the Soccer World Cup. We saw a total transformation in the transport network and we want to see that in the spirit of the new dispensation. The new dispensation is about equity and affirmative action. We want to see those parts of this country that have continuously been forgotten brought on board. I am talking about the northern and the north eastern parts of this country. I am talking about facilities like the Busia Airstrip. Seven years ago, the Busia Airstrip brought mourning to this country. It cost this country the live of a leader; a Member of this House. To date, seven years down the line since that unfortunate national tragedy, the Government has not taken any measure at all to re-open, refurbish and transform the Busia Airstrip into a modern airstrip that can serve that important entry point into this country. So, as we talk about equity in the spirit of the new dispensation, can we see the Minister extending his hand, which I know is strong enough, to those parts? The new dispensation is also about empowerment. We want to see the Ministry empowering, especially those groups of Kenyans like our young people who eke a living out of boda boda business. We want to see the Ministry come up with a blue print, a clear policy that will allow our young people in many different parts of this country that use boda boda as a means of living to do their trade in a formal environment where they are protected. Today, boda boda youth are harassed left, right and centre by everybody. They are harassed by the police and the local authorities. For them to conduct their activities in a proper environment, they need clear policy guidelines from the Ministry. So, may the Minister lead this Ministry into this new dawn of a new dispensation with new thinking, thinking deliberately out of the box. I congratulate the Minister and may he take advantage of this new spirit of a new nation."
}