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"id": 1588812,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1588812/?format=api",
"text_counter": 211,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "(Hon. (Dr) Rachael Nyamai): Thank you very much, Hon. Naomi Waqo, the Deputy Chief Whip of the Majority Party. Hon. Gideon Ochanda, Member for Bondo."
},
{
"id": 1588813,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1588813/?format=api",
"text_counter": 212,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Bondo, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Gideon Ochanda",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. If the Government does not do certain things, we will continue experiencing many problems. One thing they should do is use data in planning. Each successive government has been well aware that the number of vehicles on the roads increases each year. What measures are we putting in place to accommodate this increase in the volume of traffic in terms of road infrastructure? Each successive government has not dealt with certain basic things. They are well aware that vehicles are registered every day and the number of vehicles keeps increasing, but the road infrastructure is not developed. We have a similar problem in regard to housing in Nairobi County. One building is brought down and replaced by a massive apartment building accommodating more than 40 households. Such developments do not plan for sewerage systems or parking facilities, which creates a mess. We have data on the mess on our roads and other infrastructure due to poor planning. I do not want to say that the planning is bad, but somebody is ignoring the more serious issues. These are basic facts. Provisions must be put in place to cater to the increase in population, even in terms of water resources. Nairobi County does not have the same number of people it did 20 years ago. We must look forward so that we can cater to some of these things."
},
{
"id": 1588814,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1588814/?format=api",
"text_counter": 213,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Bondo, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Gideon Ochanda",
"speaker": null,
"content": "We are well aware that in addition to the formal ways of raising taxes or revenue, the transport sector is one of the biggest sectors that helps the Government to raise money. Why ignore a sector that generates revenue? An ordinary person would invest more where they generate more. We previously had a policy in the country to allocate more money to sectors that generate more revenue. I do not know what happened to it. We plan in five-year cycles with politics in mind. That is the big problem. Some major roads cannot be fixed within a five-year period. We should spread out those projects for purposes of planning and investment. We are currently experiencing problems that we could have avoided many years ago. It has been 60 years since Independence and we have only managed to construct the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), which we do not even completely own. We have not constructed any railway line, and yet it would have been the best alternative to the roads. The colonial government constructed a railway line from Mombasa to Uganda in less than a decade, from 1896 to 1903. That was ages ago. We have not constructed a kilometre of rail since Independence aside from the SGR. Attempts have been made but many of them still focus on doing those projects within a five-year period. It cannot work. For planning purposes, we should have determined the period of time for construction of the roads from Mombasa to Nairobi, Nairobi to Busia or Malaba, Nairobi to Garissa and Nairobi to Kisumu. That is what helped Tanzania. Tanzania has constructed five major bridges across their big rivers within the term of each successive government. They have constructed major roads and bridges. They have bigger bridges than those in Kenya apart from the Nyali Bridge. The other bridges are big because they cross big rivers. They have accomplished all that because their projects are not tied to electoral periods. Those are some of the things that we need to look at so that we make use of data as we plan. Next is the issue of quality. Highways are constructed like village roads. The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) has constructed a road from Kisian to Osieko in my The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
},
{
"id": 1588815,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1588815/?format=api",
"text_counter": 214,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Bondo, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Gideon Ochanda",
"speaker": null,
"content": "constituency. However, the road cannot withhold the traffic volume because it was poorly done. The worst section is the one between Bondo and Osieko. The maintenance arrangement does not work. A contractor is always in place. The road surface currently looks like a small village road. Therefore, the quality of works done on highways must also be looked at so that we do not dwell on one road each year. We should properly construct major roads so that they last. However, if we construct our roads poorly, maintenance issues will keep popping up. Contractors are always in place on the Kisian-Osieko Road but the road does not work. The road is currently in horrible condition. You wonder why funds were spent to construct it. Those funds should have been used on a village road instead of the highway."
},
{
"id": 1588816,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1588816/?format=api",
"text_counter": 215,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Bondo, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Gideon Ochanda",
"speaker": null,
"content": "We must look into issues of planning, raising revenue, construction of better-quality roads and alternative means of transport. Railways cannot be the only alternative to roads. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker."
},
{
"id": 1588817,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1588817/?format=api",
"text_counter": 216,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "(Hon. (Dr) Rachael Nyamai): Thank you very much, Hon. (Dr) Ochanda. Hon. Jackson Lekumontare, Member for Samburu East."
},
{
"id": 1588818,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1588818/?format=api",
"text_counter": 217,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Samburu East, KANU",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Jackson Lekumontare",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this very good Motion. Some roads are just a waste of time. You can spend a long time on the roads. As other Members have said, it is time to expand our roads. This is a very good discussion. Some parts of this country do not even have single line roads. We are discussing about expanding roads but some parts of the country like Samburu East Constituency, which I represent, do not have roads. Equity is important to every part of this country. You find that a road serving a population is not there. Even getting some services becomes a problem. If we are indeed one country, then it is both advisable and crucial that those implementing development projects consider all regions equally. Ideally, every constituency should have at least one tarmac road. Yet, in some parts of this country, children only saw a tarmac road more than 60 years after independence. As we speak of expanding existing roads, the timelines for such expansions must also be questioned. Take, for example, the road that passes through Karatina. I regularly use that road. This is my second term since I joined this Parliament, and contractors have been there since. Even before, when I was still a teacher, I used to pass by there. I do not know when that road will ever be completed. Those responsible are not taking their work seriously. For more than ten years, the project has dragged on, with no meaningful progress. It is commendable to bring such a Motion to the House. It is a valuable discussion, but it must result in implementation. We lack good roads in many areas of this country. I also disagree with the notion that there are insufficient resources, because in some areas, resources are more than sufficient. The problem lies in the lack of fairness in national planning. Some regions receive significant funding, while when we look at other parts, there are no funds. That is the usual song people sing now and then. It is now high time the Government adopted a more equitable approach to development. If the budget is limited, let it be limited equally for all. Yet we see some places receiving a lot of money, while others have no roads at all, and we are in the same country. We must seriously consider how to raise and allocate funds more equitably to benefit all Kenyans. Even the cost of basic commodities varies significantly between regions, largely because of poor infrastructure. In some places, food prices are extremely high due to poor roads. When others say; ‘ unga has become cheaper,’ in our places, we do not even talk. The worsening roads make food and essential goods unaffordable. This is an important and timely Motion. It is important to note that other regions still lack proper roads. If we are to be just and equitable, we must address every corner of this country. I support the expansion of road networks to all regions. Thank you. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
},
{
"id": 1588819,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1588819/?format=api",
"text_counter": 218,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "(Hon. (Dr) Rachael Nyamai): Thank you, Member for Samburu East. Hon. Wilberforce Oundo, Member for Funyula. Hon. Professor, you have only four minutes. The time for this Motion is coming to an end."
},
{
"id": 1588820,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1588820/?format=api",
"text_counter": 219,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Funyula, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. (Prof.) Wilberforce Oundo",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. Let me also join my colleagues in supporting the Motion by Hon. Faith Gitau on the expansion of major roads in the country into dual carriageways. Transport is essential to industrialisation and economic growth. Its importance cannot be gainsaid. Many of our so- called trunk roads, international roads that link various regions and towns across the country, cannot be considered to be true roads in the true sense, as we see in other countries. It is a shame that the road from Kisumu to the border at Busia is not a road but a track. Yet, we speak proudly of it as a major gateway to the Great Lakes Region and all of East and Central Africa. The same applies to the large chunks of the road between Eldoret and Malaba. It is important, as Hon. Faith has stated, that all planners and implementers move with speed, and through whatever means available, ensure that these roads are upgraded into dual carriageways. If you travel to other parts of the world, including even smaller African nations, you will find that all their major trunk roads are dual carriageways, designed to move traffic and goods efficiently. While the focus today is on roads, I must also echo sentiments shared earlier by Dr Ochanda. In many parts of the country, railways could supplement or even replace road transport. We have a largely untapped opportunity in railway infrastructure. A robust railway network could move more goods and people faster and more safely. The last significant railway construction took place during the colonial period. The only recent development occurred during President Uhuru Kenyatta’s tenure. Honestly speaking, if we could find a way, it would be better. I once had the opportunity to travel to South Korea. There, a distance of nearly 1,000 kilometres is covered quickly and efficiently by a high-speed train, far faster and with more passengers than any road transport system could manage. Unfortunately, for Hon. Faith, this remains a mere Motion. Our country has a poor track record when it comes to implementing Motions. We may just end up being a church-show here, without much impact or effort. With those few remarks, and in the interest of saving time, I support."
},
{
"id": 1588821,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1588821/?format=api",
"text_counter": 220,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "(Hon. (Dr) Rachael Nyamai): Thank you very much. Hon. Members, the balance of time, 48 minutes, has expired. This Motion, I am afraid, comes to an end. I know a few of you had hoped to speak, such as Hon. Dr Mutunga and Hon. Dick Maungu. Apologies, but you will not be able to contribute at this time. I now call upon the Mover to reply. Is the Mover in the House? I understand that the Mover, Commissioner Faith Gitau, is currently attending another meeting. This matter will be scheduled at a later date by the House Business Committee."
}
]
}