{"count":1608389,"next":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=155294","previous":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=155292","results":[{"id":1571122,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1571122/?format=json","text_counter":294,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Turkana County, UDA","speaker_title":"Hon. Cecilia A. Ngitit","speaker":null,"content":"from Turkana County. I have always said that this is a special county to this country. If there were good roads connecting Kenya to South Sudan, through Turkana; if there were good roads connecting Kenya to Ethiopia, through Turkana; if there were good roads connecting Kenya to Uganda, through Turkana, our economy would be something else. Due to marginalisation, as Hon. Owen Mbaya said, some areas have roads that they use to dry maize and other farm products yet there are many constituencies in Turkana County that have zero tarmac in post-independence Kenya. Some parts of this country are still under colony. We are still colonised by our own Government. Turkana County has a lake – the biggest desert lake in the world. We produce good fish but we cannot access market due to poor road networks. Our people do a lot of fishing. They even risk their lives because Lake Turkana has become a death trap. Our people are killed in the corridor of Ethiopia and the other side. Even game rangers kill our people who go fishing in that lake. They risk their life fishing but they cannot access markets at the end of the day. The fish rots on the road because there are no good roads. The only best means of transport in Turkana is bodaboda. Even women in labour are ferried to hospital on bodaboda because there are no roads. Due to lack of roads, we do not enjoy other means of transport like cars and ambulances. We have very few ambulances, which can access limited areas of Turkana County. Hon. Temporary Speaker, let me repeat that Turkana County has a lot of potential. The A1 road that was constructed that connects the rest of Kenya to Turkana County has done a lot. For instance, security in the Kainuk corridor has improved because of the A1 road. You can now imagine what will happen if we had good roads in most of the places in Turkana. The transport corridor used to transport goods to South Sudan because the Ugandan route is very long. The shortest route would have been Lodwar through Lokichogio then to South Sudan. However, our people have to transport goods through Gulu in Uganda, which is a very long distance that takes a lot of time. Why can we not do a transport corridor road now that the A1 has been done up to Lokichogio? We can then proceed with the road up to the border so that we improve business with our neighbours. The other aspect I would like to mention is air transport. The airstrips and airports fall under transport as well. There is a Member who talked about a pothole at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). Lodwar airstrip is the most dangerous airstrip in Kenya, if not in the world. When we fly to Lodwar, we risk our lives every day. Air transport from Nairobi to Mombasa is cheaper than from Nairobi to Lodwar yet it is the same distance. When we try to enquire why, we are told that our airstrip has a lot of potholes and a very short runway. So, the wear and tear involved is too high. We pay a lot of money for transport compared to those who travel to Mombasa. Good transport network or infrastructure will improve our lives by reducing the cost of transport. With those few remarks, I support this Motion. It is an eye-opener for the rest of us in Northern Kenya. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker."},{"id":1571123,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1571123/?format=json","text_counter":295,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Hon. Farah Maalim","speaker_title":"The Temporary Chairman","speaker":null,"content":" Hon. Kibagendi."},{"id":1571124,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1571124/?format=json","text_counter":296,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Kitutu Chache South, ODM","speaker_title":"Hon. Antoney Kibagendi","speaker":null,"content":" Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me an opportunity to contribute to this Motion. The condition and management of Kenyan roads are major subjects of concern. This happens with successive governments that we have had. One of the major reasons we have these challenges is mainly the corrupt manner of awarding people road construction contracts. We also have poor road designs. The poorly managed and narrow roads that we have in our country make Kenyans spend a lot of hours on the road. This is time they can use to contribute to economic development."},{"id":1571125,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1571125/?format=json","text_counter":297,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Kitutu Chache South, ODM","speaker_title":"Hon. Antoney Kibagendi","speaker":null,"content":"The major roads that we have in this country, particularly where I come from, have a problem. Because successive governments have been skewing development, you find that a 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":1571126,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1571126/?format=json","text_counter":298,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Kitutu Chache South, ODM","speaker_title":"Hon. Antoney Kibagendi","speaker":null,"content":"major road like the one from Limuru to Maai Mahiu, all the way to Narok and those sides, has been a single lane since Independence. This causes a lot of trouble to our people when they travel to and from the region. Even the trucks that ferry goods and services to different areas of this country, including the Nyanza region, get trapped in traffic, especially at the escarpment leading to Maai Mahiu all the way to Narok. The other road that has been treated unfairly in this country is the road between Sotik and Kisii Town. This region is a bread basket for this country. Because of skewed and corrupt people— especially in the Ministry of Roads, Transport and Public Works— this road has never been given attention, despite making noise about it. Some Members have said that the Broad-Based Government has developed the country. I feel they are equally skewing development to areas they hope to get votes instead of being practical in the way they allocate resources for development of roads in this country. To effectively deal with road issues, we must, first, look at the design of our roads. We need to have truck stops. They should not stop at whatever stage they wish to do so. We need to have truck stops and sleep alerts on our roads, so that we have discipline and ensure the safety of both the drivers and other road users. Poor road networks not only affect the economic development of areas, but it also leads to tear and wear of vehicles. That is why we are calling upon this Government and the others that will come to prioritise roads that will effectively improve service delivery across the country."},{"id":1571127,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1571127/?format=json","text_counter":299,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Kitutu Chache South, ODM","speaker_title":"Hon. Antoney Kibagendi","speaker":null,"content":"In my constituency, since Independence we have had a road that cuts across Kitutu Chache South. However, the urban design of Kisii Town affects the expansion of the road between Kisii and the junction, leading to Migori and Oyugis. We also need to look at how urban areas are designed, so that we can have roads going outside the cities or towns for effective management of traffic. In my constituency, since Independence we have never had a tarmac road other than the main highways. It was during my time as Member of Parliament for Kitutu Chache South that we secured funding to construct tarmac roads, including one from a place called Igonga to Raganga and Mosocho, and another one from Nyabururu. It forms a loop going around to Nyamataro. We also have another road currently under construction from Nyakoe all the way to Marani. I wish to acknowledge the efforts of our former Members of Parliament, Hon. Jimmy Angwenyi and Hon. Onyonka, who advocated for these roads. However, we should not reach a point where Members of Parliament are the ones who must push for development in their areas. The officials in the Ministry ought to identify areas that are congested or require urgent intervention and take appropriate action to ensure development. I appreciate the efforts of my sister, Hon. Faith Gitau, for bringing forward this Motion. We urge you to continue pursuing it. We shall support it to ensure that, while we focus on major roads, we also consider all roads across the country and guarantee equitable distribution of such opportunities to all regions of our republic. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker."},{"id":1571128,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1571128/?format=json","text_counter":300,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Hon. Farah Maalim","speaker_title":"The Temporary Speaker","speaker":null,"content":" Thank you. Hon. Adow is next, and then we shall have another round."},{"id":1571129,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1571129/?format=json","text_counter":301,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Wajir South, ODM","speaker_title":"Hon. Mohammed Adow","speaker":null,"content":" Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Hon. Faith Gitau for bringing this immensely important Motion to the Floor of the House. We are discussing the expansion of major roads into dual carriageways, the construction of footbridges, and the establishment of pedestrian crossings to enhance safety. We live in a country where one part enjoys extensive and elaborate road networks, while other parts have no roads at all. For the record, because this is a House of record, when I say there are no roads, I mean precisely that; no roads. You, in contributing to this Motion, 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":1571130,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1571130/?format=json","text_counter":302,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Wajir South, ODM","speaker_title":"Hon. Mohammed Adow","speaker":null,"content":"aptly described how there are not even five metres of tarmac in your constituency. The same is true for most constituencies in northern Kenya. It pains me that when every a matter of progress or development is raised in this House, whether it concerns crop production, fertilizers and development of tea, coffee or sugarcane, we, the Members from northern Kenya must rise to point out how livestock is consistently ignored in the national budgeting process to the extent that the newly established Livestock Marketing Board has been allocated a paltry Ksh50 million, which is not even sufficient for administrative costs. In that spirit, I would like to emphasise the need for affirmative action regarding infrastructure development in this country. We are not using roads, but cattle and camel tracks. A 100-kilometre journey on those paths is a bone-jarring experience that requires one to rest for at least a week to recover. The same tracks are used to transport our pregnant mothers to properly equipment hospitals when they require specialised medical treatment. These are the same routes our business people use to transport their goods, be it livestock or food crops to the markets. It is simply not fair. It is not fair that more than 60 years after Independence, we still speak of having no roads at all. There is a glimmer of hope in the North Eastern region right now, where segments of the Isiolo-Wajir-Mandera Road are under construction. Workers are on the ground. Contractors with their heavy machines are busy working on those segments but there are bottlenecks. For example, the section between Modogashe and Samatar in my constituency was earlier on designated to be an annuity project but there is still no hope that the contractor will be on the ground any time soon. This is because the process of changing that part from annuity to budgetary provision funds has taken too long. There was a consortium of Arab banks that were supposed to construct the section between Samatar and Wajir town but there are doubts as to whether the banks are ready to do that section. It was supposed to start this month but we have not seen any action on the ground. The section between Rhamu and Mandera town is also an annuity project. We are, therefore, calling on the Government, KeNHA and the Ministry of Roads, to kindly ensure that those bottlenecks are removed. The Lorian Swamp passes in between Modogashe and Habaswein. If that part of the road is not constructed, we will not have a road leading anywhere in North Eastern. Because every time it rains, that part becomes a lake. I believe it is time we co-owned this space called Kenya and treated all Kenyans fairly and developed the country at the same pace. Thank you very much."},{"id":1571131,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1571131/?format=json","text_counter":303,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Hon. Farah Maalim","speaker_title":"The Temporary Speaker","speaker":null,"content":" Thank you, Hon. Adow for using your time very prudently. I will now list another four. Hopefully, each one of you will take about three minutes. That way, you can all contribute. We will start with Hon. Omanya, who will be followed by Hon. Saney, Hon. Khalif, Hon. Caroli and the Member for Mandera North."}]}