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{
    "id": 968735,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/968735/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 281,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Garissa Township, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Aden Duale",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 15,
        "legal_name": "Aden Bare Duale",
        "slug": "aden-duale"
    },
    "content": " Hon. Speaker, I am not the Chairman of the Select Committee on CDF. They must carry their business here. I beg to move: THAT, the Kenya Roads Board (Amendment) Bill, 2019 be now read a Second Time. This is a small Bill and one of the reasons it is here is because our colleagues at the Senate decided to kill, at the mediation stage, the Roads Bill which was very comprehensive. This matter was very urgent. It was part of the Roads Bill and the national Executive, through the Ministry of Transport, realised that this is important for them and we must deal with it in terms of amending the law as it was in the Roads Bill before we go on the long recess, so that certain functions of the… Now the Member for Baringo South is here. He does not know that his matter has been deferred. As you are aware, this amendment is basically on the Kenya Roads Board which, as per Section 6(1) of its own Act of 1999, is mandated to oversee the road network in Kenya and make sure they coordinate the maintenance, rehabilitation and development of road infrastructure which they ideally fund. This, indeed, is a very huge responsibility in view of the extensive road network that has been given to the Board in order to ensure that there is accessibility and equity in terms of road network in our country. You may take cognizance of the fact that the road maintenance and infrastructure development itself is a very expensive venture for any economy. That is why this House allocates a lot of resources every financial year to the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure in order to improve our ports, airports, roads, railways and many others. So, there was need, after public participation and consultation in Government, to come up with a very innovative idea for the purpose of increasing the resource base available to this sector. That is why even today, because of the rains that are going on in our country; many roads and bridges have been destroyed. I am sure this was not anticipated in the budget to that Ministry. So, I am sure the Ministry of Infrastructure must be looking at the Supplementary Estimates we have passed and even the next one to make sure that there is some money allocated to emergencies. The Kenya Roads Boards has relatively successfully managed what we call the Road Maintenance Levy Fund over the last 20 years. However, in 2016, and in realization for more funds for road maintenance and with the support of International Finance Corporation and the World Bank, KRB undertook a study, a preparatory works for marketing a sound financial infrastructure bond; that can we create an infrastructure bond that can make sure that outside the resources that we have, KRB will have the power to engage other partners in order to increase their resource base. In order to undertake the issuance of that road bond that was in the Roads Bill that collapsed, and the Departmental Committee on Transport, Public Works and Housing through the Chair passed it… It was not even part of the clauses that were mediated. Even the Senate Departmental Committee on Transport, Public Works and Housing agreed but, because of the issue of the Constituency Roads Committees and how greedy the Senate Members were that they should have their Members in that Committee, the Roads Bill collapsed. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}