Amos Kimunya

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 5541 to 5550 of 6175.

• 12 Jun 2008 in National Assembly: Among others, construction work on the key roads like Athi River to Namanga Road has already started. The Mau Summit-Kericho-Kisumu Road, as well as Nairobi-Thika Road, are slated to start shortly. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have continued to receive complaints from the public of the shoddy work by some contractors. The reason for this problem is because the construction industry is not adequately regulated, giving rise to contractors of questionable qualifications. To address this problem, the Government will be putting before this House a Bill to provide for the establishment of a Contractors Registration Board, with full legal mandate to ... view
• 12 Jun 2008 in National Assembly: Effective regulation will bring order in the industry, and ensure that Kenyans get value for their money. In addition to ensuring that our road network is better constructed and routinely maintained, the Government will make fully operational the urban, rural and the national highway authorities that were legislated for by the Roads Act. Mr. Speaker, Sir, this country can ill afford delays in road construction. In this regard, I expect those contractors awarded tenders to ensure that they work round the clock to complete their projects in time. I also expect the engineers to effectively supervise road construction, and ensure ... view
• 12 Jun 2008 in National Assembly: We will, in addition to these measures, introduce legislation touching on the protection of road reserves, registration of engineers and architects, as well as quantity surveyors. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Government is aware of the deteriorating quality of our rail services, which is causing great concern to the business community. In line with the Concession Agreement, the Government is seeking an urgent remedial plan by the Concessionaire to turn around the performance of the railway line and ensure the achievement of the concessioning objectives. We June 12, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1141 are aware that this remedial plan is at an ... view
• 12 Jun 2008 in National Assembly: This will include dredging the Port of Mombasa to allow the bigger Panama ships to dock which will make it a preferred port of call. We have allocated Kshs430 million for starting on this project, while a Sessional Paper for the approval of the guarantee of the Japanese loan is before this House. We expect the implementation of this project to significantly reduce the dwell time in handling port cargo and bring our port operations in line with international standards. This, and other reforms, will also position the Port of Mombasa as a regional services hub and should generate increased ... view
• 12 Jun 2008 in National Assembly: This wholesale market will be developed on the basis of Public-Private-Partnerships and is expected to inform development of such markets in other major towns in the country. These initiatives are expected to improve measurably the living conditions of Nairobians. Mr. Speaker, Sir, on measures to expand and diversify the source of energy, as the economy grows, the demand for energy also grows. Our long-term strategy is to focus on secure, least-cost and clean energy development, regional interconnections, diversification to renewable sources and locking in efficiency gains in the distribution system. The recent upsurge in the international oil prices now calls ... view
• 12 Jun 2008 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, turning to Information Communication and Technology (ICT) development, we have achieved tremendous progress on this front over the recent past. However, more will need to be done over the medium-term to utilise the full potential of ICT to drive growth and create employment. As a first step towards exploiting the abundant economic and employment opportunities presented by ICT, I have in this Budget allocated Kshs900 million, that is Kshs0.9 billion towards the establishment of a large Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Park in Nairobi consistent with our Vision 2030 objectives. view
• 12 Jun 2008 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, the operations of this BPO Park will ensure availability of accessible, efficient, reliable and affordable ICT services in Kenya which is expected to create over 10,000 employment opportunities, earn foreign exchange, and move this economy up the value chain. Plans are also underway to initiate a project that will facilitate our youth to venture into software development for local use and exports. Mr. Speaker, Sir, as I indicated in my last year's Speech, our involvement in the undersea cable project linking our country with the rest of the world is expected to improve significantly the quality of ... view
• 12 Jun 2008 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, this year, a number of regulators have heeded our call to review their regulatory regimes and this has resulted in simplification, consolidation and harmonization of additional licences. Just to mention a few, the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) will reduce the licences that are required for setting up a business from 300 to only 16 with effect from 1st of July, 2008. view
• 12 Jun 2008 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, other reformers on licences, include the Ministry of Tourism which is reducing the licences from 25 to two; the Mines and Geology Department is reducing from 24 to eight; the Betting Control and Licensing Board is reducing the licences from 26 to nine; the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) from 15 to 11, among others. These have effectively reduced the number of licenses of these key regulators from 390 to 46. We will continue to liaise with the regulators to ensure that future regulations with respect to licensing impose minimum burden on businesses, while still ensuring that the ... view
• 12 Jun 2008 in National Assembly: We will also strengthen our financial and debt management system and improve efficiency in public procurement through price-referencing and cost-benchmarking to ensure value for money. On our strategy to reduce insecurity, to strengthen property rights and protect the lives and 1144 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 12, 2008 property in order to facilitate private sector growth, this Budget allocates additional funds to the Police Force for purchase of modern crime fighting equipment, recruitment of additional officers and for upward salary adjustments. To further compliment the efforts of police in fighting crime, we will also introduce to this House the Organized Crimes Bill ... view