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{
"id": 91547,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/91547/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Kimunya",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Transport",
"speaker": {
"id": 174,
"legal_name": "Amos Muhinga Kimunya",
"slug": "amos-kimunya"
},
"content": " Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me start by thanking hon. Members for their overwhelming support and the confidence they have shown in my handling of the transport docket. I believe that, with the support of hon. Members, we can move far. I just want to say that I will take seriously all the issues that have been raised by hon. Members. I will address each one of them; I would like to clarify some of the issues that have been raised. Mr. Mungatana is gone. So, I might need to have a one-on-one chat with him. However, we are committed to developing the facilities on a nationwide basis. The new constitutional dispensation will give us a better opportunity to focus on and have a working airstrip in every county. With regard to Turkana County, I have used the Lodwar Airstrip since the 1980s. I know it, and I would like to see development on it. The issue we have with Busia Airstrip right now is encroachment. We cannot expand it because of the way its land has been encroached on. Immediately we have alternative land, which the councils in the district are already working on, we should be able to move in that direction. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with regard to Malindi Airport, again, the issue is encroachment. Immediately we have land available for expansion, we should be able to move in that direction. We have been trying to get people out of there. It is becoming problematic but, again, we are seeking the intervention of the leadership of that area, so that we can work on the airport. Therefore, we are committed. We have Kshs546 million available for the airstrips. Within that budget, we will try as much as possible to refurbish as many airstrips as possible, and ensure that in every county, people can at least land and take off and see how they can be interconnected with the rest of the transport network in other areas. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am very much encouraged by hon. Members wanting the modernisation of our airports, railway system and other modes of transport; more importantly, we need order on our roads. As I mentioned yesterday, the carnage that is witnessed on our roads is due to the behavioural aspect of motorists. In the same way we have used Members of Parliament in the various Constituency Aids Committees (CACs), I would like to encourage Members of Parliament to start playing a part within the new county-based road safety councils that we will be launching, so that we can cascade it all the way to the constituency level. That way, people can start talking about road safety at the constituency level. Once we have road safety as a national issue, in the same way we have done with the HIV/AIDS and other epidemics, people will observe the traffic rules, not because they are forced to do so by the police, but because they believe that it is their duty to ensure that we have safety on our roads. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also want to assure this House that although we are giving some grants to parastatals, there is no parastatal which will spend that money without the direct approval of the Ministry in terms of the additional budgets. For instance, the Kshs50 million that hon. Mungatana mentioned is meant for compensation of the Mtongwe ferry disaster victims. You will remember that that tragic accident happened many years back. There is no parasatal that will be spending money without a budget, which I am personally reviewing and approving to ensure that we get value for money. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the comments were many and varied. They were all supportive, and I want to thank hon. Members and assure them that we will take all those issues into account as we move forward. I look forward to their support as we get into more challenging issues of bringing normalcy to the roads and issues of, for instance, getting some of the shops out of the airport as a way of decongesting the airport. I am sure that the exercise is going to raise a political turmoil, but I am sure that with the help of the Departmental Committees and hon. Members, we will be able to get exactly what we need, rather than having what only a few people would like for themselves. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I wish to, once again, thank hon. Members and seek their continued support. With those remarks, I beg to move."
}