Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to present the following Petition:- It is a Petition on behalf of the Albinism Society of Kenya---

Mr. Wamalwa, you will have five minutes to present the petition and the bell will go on.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, this is a petition by the Albinism Society of Kenya to the Government of the Republic of Kenya. It is a petition presented by over 300 members of the Albinism Society of Kenya, which was founded in 2006, and it is registered under the Societies Act. The petition has been signed and it bears signatures of over 300 signatories, all persons with albinism. It is a situation that is affecting fellow Kenyans and very little is known about it. Indeed, persons with albinism have been counted amongst persons with disabilities and yet, the Persons with Disabilities Act does not expressly recognize or cater for persons with albinism. There is no legal framework or policy addressing the needs and challenges facing persons with albinism in Kenya, which are unique to them. That particular group of Kenyans has been affected. Recently, in Tanzania, we had ritual killings and violation of human rights of persons with albinism. It is only not just in Kenya, but in the entire East African region. It is also a group that is faced with a skin cancer that is threatening to wipe out persons with albinism in Kenya and across the world. It is the Basal Cell Carcinoma Skin Cancer. It is a humble petition by your petitioners that in the upcoming census, the petitioners are praying that the Government do carry out a census to establish how many persons in Kenya have that condition. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, persons with albinism are also petitioning the Government to bring an Act of Parliament, either by amending the Persons with Disabilities Act, to expressly provide for persons with albinism, or to bring a Persons with Albinism Act, that will specifically cater for the unique needs and protection of persons with albinism in Kenya. Persons with albinism that are suffering from the cancer disease require a specific sunscreen lotion that protects them and yet, it is a lotion that is

Indeed, Mr. Wamalwa, I acknowledge the distinguished persons of the society that you have referred to, including Ms. Nyong’o. I will allow the next five minutes for brief comments on that petition. I will start with Mr. Mungatana.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to acknowledge hon. Wamalwa for presenting this petition today before this House. Any society is as good as how it takes care of its weakest members. When we were advancing the cause for the disabled, we forgot to, specifically, take care of the members of the albino community. This petition has come at the right time because ritual killings are happening in Tanzania and Uganda. I beg that we support this petition.

Mr. Mungatana, I want to point out that the five minutes is for all of you and not for one hon. Member. When it is over, I will not allow more Members to speak. So, please, allow other Members to speak.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg that we support this petition.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, recently, I watched a film called “In My Genes”, and it taught me a great deal. I did not know anything about this subject. That film has really helped us. It is for that reason that every Kenyan should watch that film. It is for that reason that I fully support this petition.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, indeed, I would like to commend hon. Wamalwa for accepting to forward this petition. Albinism is a genetic

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would also like to thank hon. Wamalwa for bringing this petition. In the current Budget, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance waived duty on cosmetics. I would like this House to support the fact that those people suffer from skin cancer. The Government should waive duty on the sunscreen lotion for their benefit.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to thank hon. Wamalwa for taking a bold move to support those people. I was in Tanzania the other day and I saw on television that some people had cut the hands of the albinos to use them in some rituals. It is good to appreciate those people and support them.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I just want to thank hon.Wamalwa and let the House know that I chair a Committee on Equal Opportunities. As a Committee, we would like to share the report and do whatever is possible to support those Kenyan citizens who require equal opportunities like the rest of us.

Hon. Members, this is a matter that, indeed, goes directly to the Ministry of Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs. I direct that this Petition be directed to the relevant Committee. They know that they have to make a report to the House within the time stipulated in the Standing Orders, which is 21 days.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to ask the Minister of State for Defence the following Question by Private Notice. (a) What criteria is being used in the recruitment of servicemen and women from the National Youth Service (NYS) pool, which commenced on 3rd August, 2009? (b) How will the criteria ensure fair and equitable distribution of recruit chances among the districts in the country as well as the number expected to be recruited per district?

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply.

(a) The recruitment of the NYS recruits was done in six stations, and all the districts were given slots in each station. The candidates must have met the following conditions:- (i) Must have completed the initial NYS training and still serving in the NYS in general service or serving as tradesmen or women. (ii) Must be Kenyan citizens; (iii) Aged between 18 and 26 years; (iv) Education – a minimum of mean Grade D Plain in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE); (v) Be medically fit; (vi) Have no criminal records; (vii) Minimum height – 5ft 3”; (viii) Minimum weight: Male 54.55 kilogrammes or 120 Pounds and female candidates – 50 kilogrammes or 110 Pounds. (ix) Female candidates should not be pregnant. (b) As already mentioned, the number of slots in each recruitment station is equitably distributed to all the districts down to divisional level in relation to their population so as to ensure that fairness is achieved. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I would like to thank the Assistant Minister for that answer, because it allays a lot of anxiety where youngsters fear that they might be left out of the recruitment. However, could the Assistant Minister undertake to bring to this House a breakdown by members, and not by names, per district as to who has been recruited in the current exercise? Could the Assistant Minister undertake to bring that to the House on a date convenient to him but as soon as possible?

Thank you Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. As we have said in the past, that will be no problem at all because we have recruited and we are recruiting, in every instance, candidates based on districts. Therefore, we would be prepared to give such an undertaking that will give the numbers per district. This will be as soon as possible.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. Could the Assistant Minister confirm or deny that there is actually discrimination in the recruitment,

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I deny in the strongest terms possible that there is any discrimination against any Kenyan anywhere in this Republic. Perhaps the honorable Member would care to discuss with me the circumstances under which these people were disqualified. I will be very glad to get the reasons because there must be reasons why such candidates were disqualified. Thank you.

Mr. Olago, you had sought a Ministerial Statement on the same matter, so I will give you a little more time to ask your supplementary question.

Most obliged, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. The issues raised by Dr. Eseli and Mr. Letimalo are very serious. While as Kenyans in this House we are striving to correct the injustices and bring the country together, the Armed Forces in this current recruitment has discriminated against some parts of the country. It is clear, and if the Assistant Minister was to check with the Department of Defence (DoD), he would confirm that in Turbo and in Ruaraka stations, applicants from Nyanza were turned away literally all of them. This also happened in other parts of the country. Under these circumstances, could the Assistant Minister confirm that he is satisfied about the equitable distribution of the recruitment in the whole country? Is he willing to produce the details that Dr. Eseli has asked for within one week?

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I have already said that there will be no problem in producing the numbers recruited. However, I would like to come to the substance of the issue that has been raised by the hon. Member in relation to Ruaraka and other stations. We have already shared with the Departmental Committee on Defence and Foreign Affairs on the methods that we used in the recruitment. The analysis has been done so that when recruitment officers go to the field, they already know the number of candidates from each community that they would bring. What the hon. Member is saying, that perhaps in Ruaraka, they were not picked, chances are that in another station somewhere, they might have picked more from this community and, therefore, the numbers from the community might have been realized. I say this because it is the policy of the Ministry of Defence to ensure that the numbers in the Military reflect the composition o f the various communities in the Republic. That is what we are striving to achieve, and I want to assure the House that will be achieved in the very near future, so that if you go to the Military you will find that the number of service men and women in the Army, will represent, the percentage of every community in the population of the country.

On a point of order

You are not in order! Order!

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity. The recruitment of the Armed Forces servicemen from the National Youth Service has raised serious concerns in this country. From the entire Nandi, not a single candidate was picked. Could the Assistant Minister lay the list on the Table within one week?

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we only concluded the recruitment exercise from NYS last night and we have not yet received the returns from

How soon can you lay that list on the Table? That is the way to answer the question.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I undertook to do it as soon as possible and I think a week is reasonable.

Mr. Baiya!

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. Given that the Assistant Minister has told this house that he is looking at the centre for equal distribution at the district and since we know that that there is complete disparity in the number of people per district, could he confirm that, at the end of day, there will be no equality or equitable distribution?

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I said that it is a matter of communities or ethnic composition within the Republic and not necessarily district so that when they are recruiting in districts, we know who lives in each district. Therefore, the officers know the numbers allocated to that district based on the ethnic composition of that district in the country. I think this matter will be put to rest when the list that the chair has ordered to be produced is produced. I would like to ask for more time because the numbers recruited will be known when the reporting date is achieved. Therefore, probably a fortnight will be sufficient and not just a week because the exercise was concluded last night. I will be prepared to lay on the Table the list on the NYS recruitment in two weeks time.

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. You have heard the Assistant Minister say that he wants to lay the list on the Table within two weeks. Is he in order, first of all, to accept one week and again change the situation? This is a serious concern. In this age of Information Communication Technology (ICT), we should be able to get that list in a day.

Order! Order! You indicated, Mr. Assistant Minister that one week is sufficient. Why have you finally extended it by another week?

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, earlier on Isaid “as soon as possible”. I could even do it on Monday, if it is ready. I have no problem with time because there is nothing, nothing whatsoever to hide.

You will do it in a week’s time. That is next week.

I oblige, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir.

Thank you Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. Is it true that the reason for recruiting at the NYS, away from public view, is so that they could conduct a very unfair exercise? Is it possible to open these recruitments to public view even if the recruits are going to come from the NYS?

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I thought the House would applaud the practice of the Armed Forces including the Police, the Prisons Service and the Administration Police recruiting from the National Youth Service (NYS). This is because---

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, could you protected me from the hon. Member until I finish my answer?

But the hon. Member is on a point of order! Let us hear him.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, is the Assistant Minister in order to misunderstand the question I asked him? I did not suggest in any way that recruiting from the NYS is wrong. However, I said that the recruitment should be open to public view, even if it is done within the NYS.

r. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I do not know whether the hon. Member is suggesting that when we recruit, for example, in Gilgil, members of the public should go to the NYS camp to view that. I do not think that is practical. I think it will be---

Mr. Assistant Minister, the hon. Member just wants to be assured that the exercise is not done in secret.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is not in secret. That is why I said that everybody is present when recruitment is made at the NYS. I do not think it will be proper to allow members of the public to go to the NYS camp to witness the recruitment exercise. However, hon. Members, being the eyes of public have already requested that they be shown the list. Since they will be shown the list, it is just as good as members of the public witnessing the exercise. This is because they will witness the figures when I lay them on the Table.

Let us move on to the next Question by Mr. Ethuro!

to ask the Minister of State for Special Programmes:-

(a) Could the Minister confirm that in the current EMOP/PRRO starting May, 2009, the larger Turkana has been allocated lower relief beneficiaries as a result of the erroneous population figures?

(b) Could the Minister table the population figures for the old Turkana District in 2008, 1999, 1989, 1979, 1969, respectively, and indicate the population growth rate?

(c) Could the Minsiter further table the number of relief beneficiaries vis-Ă -vis general population figures for each location for Turkana Central, Turkana North and Turkana South Districts per EMOP since 1999 census?

(d) When will the Minister issue the correct figures as per the estimates provided by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics as at May, 2009.

Is Mr. Ethuro not here? I will come back to that Question later on.

Let us move on to the Question by Mr. Ochieng!

asked the Minister for Medical Services:-

(a) whether he could confirm that Nyakach District is served by a single ambulance; and,

(b) when the Ministry will provide more ambulances to serve Pap Onditi District Hospital and other health facilities within the district.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply. (a) There are two functional ambulances based at Pap Onditi District Hospital in Nyakach District. (b) The Ministry has no immediate plans to provide more ambulances to Pap Onditi District Hospital as the two already in place are sufficient for the referral needs of the hospital.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I think the Minister has been mis-informed by his officers. This is because, at the moment, there is only one functional ambulance at Pap Onditi District Hospital. The second ambulance he alleges broke down three years ago. The ambulance in good condition is being used to fetch water for patients and as such, is not sufficient to serve the entire district.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, if the hospital uses the ambulance to fetch water, it means they do not need one. I think fetching water would rather be done by donkeys and other living creatures!

That notwithstanding, if the other ambulance broken down, could the hon. Member ask the Medical Superintendent at the District Hospital to report the matter to the Provincial Director of Medical Services to ensure that it is duly repaired and put to function? The Ministry will take it as a very serious matter if the ambulance is being misused in fetching water.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, given the fact that medicare is extremely important in the nation and so many district hospitals do not have ambulances, what plans does the Ministry have to ensure that most of them, including Kitutu Masaba, are served by ambulances?

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, our strategy is to ensure that we have an ambulance in every district and sub-district hospital. District and sub-district hospitals function within certain zones, which have health centres and dispensaries. So, in the event that a health centre or a dispensary needs an ambulance service, it can refer to either the district or sub-district hospital for that service. I will pay attention to any district or sub-district hospital without an ambulance and ensure that the 50 ambulances that we have budgeted to buy this year go to those districts that do not have them.

Ask the last question, Mr. Ochieng!

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I request the Minister to consider providing, at least, a temporary ambulance to be used in the constituency as the ambulance that broke down is awaiting repair.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, apart from the two ambulances in Pap Onditi District Hospital, there are other ambulances within the medical zone near this hospital deployed as follows. Ahero and Muhoroni Sub-district Hospitals have an ambulance each; Kisumu-East District Hospital has two ambulances and Kisumu-West District Hospital has one ambulance. In the event of dire need, it is quite possible that Pap Onditi District Hospital can liaise with Kisumu-East District Hospital to use one of the ambulances. However, what is more important at this point in time is for Pap Onditi District Hospital to use the ambulance which is functional purely for ambulatory services. The management of the hospital should write to the Ministry to buy a service vehicle which can be used for other purposes. A service vehicle would be a cheaper investment than an ambulance. I request the hon. Member to tell the hospital management to desist from using that ambulance for fetching water. The next thing I will do is to take disciplinary action against the Medical Superintendent.

asked the Minister of State for Provincial Administration and Internal Security:- (a) the circumstances under which a security officer shot and injured a 78-year-old woman, Mrs. Nomugien Lololemu, at Archer’s Post Trading Centre on 6th June, 2009; and, (b) the identity of the officer responsible for the shooting and whether the officer has been arrested for the crime.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I seek your indulgence for the deferrement of this Question since I am waiting for some vital information from Archer’s Police Post. I have consulted with the Questioner and we are in agreement. Could the Question be deferred to Wednesday, next week?

Mr. Letimalo, is that the case?

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have no objection with that, given the fact that the Assistant Minister has confirmed that the incident was recorded at Archer’s Police Station.

That Question is deferred to Wednesday, next week!

on behalf of

asked the Minister of State for Public Service:-

(a) to provide a breakdown of the respective total earnings of the Commissioner-General of the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and the Director of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC); and,

(b) the steps the Government has taken to harmonise salaries in the Public Service to ensure fairness.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply.

(a) The KRA pays a consolidated package of Kshs1.5 million per month to the Director-General. The package is negotiated and is one figure with no specific breakdown.

The Director of the KACC’s total earnings are as follows. Basic salary - Kshs1.5 million, risk and responsibility allowance - Kshs500,000, house allowance - 200,000, entertainment allowance - 150,000 and domestic allowance - Kshs150,000. The total is Kshs2.5 million.

(b) It has been difficult to harmonise salaries in the Public Service due to many factors. Among these are:-

(i) Existence of multiple pay setting bodies, for example, Parliamentary Service Commission, Judicial Service Commission, and the Teachers Service Commission amongst others, that review salaries for different sub-sectors in the Public Service, thereby creating disparities.

(ii) Unco-ordinated awards where labour force sourced from outside the Public Service is paid higher salaries than that of the officers in the same positions that are bound in the Civil Service.

(iii) Lack of proper guidelines to ensure that collective bargaining agreement awards are agreed within the harmonization policy.

(iv) Due to poor economic performance in the country, it is always difficult to undertake salary review for all the various public sectors at the same time, thereby always creating that disparity.

To address all these problems and the above obstacles permanently and ensure complete harmonization of salaries in the public service and thus, equity, a Remuneration Commission of Kenya has been proposed to be created in the new Constitution.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for allowing me to ask this question. I would like to ask the Ministry why they are unable to come up with proper guidelines that will enable all the agencies involved to come up with standard bargaining agreement.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as I had explained earlier, most of the sectors have independent statutes that actually set their salaries and terms of service. Over the years, we have been working on this. As I indicated, it is always very difficult to get the same level of remuneration. I feel the creation of that particular body, through the Constitution, will actually bring under one umbrella all sectors in the public

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, now that the houseboy of the Director General of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) earns more than a doctor in Kenya or a don in one of our public universities, could the Assistant Minister tell us whether he is comfortable with the situation? If he is not comfortable with it, what is he doing about it? If he is comfortable with it, what exactly makes him comfortable with it?

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am not comfortable with it. A review has been done. The contract of the current Director of KACC ends in September. A new package will be negotiated with the incoming Director of KACC.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like the Assistant Minister to explain to us this big salary disparity between the Commissioner-General of Kenya Revenue and that of the Director of KACC. From my understanding, the Commissioner-General of the Kenya Revenue Authority is the person who collects revenue for this Government. He just gives it to others to spend.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I agree with the Member with regard to the Commissioner-General of Kenya Revenue Authority. He is doing a commendable job. This is one of the reasons for the renewal of his contract. However, the circumstances under which these terms were arrived at were different for the two officers. In the case of the Director of KACC, the private sector and international community were involved in determination of how much he would earn. In other words, outside players were involved in the determination of this. It is for this reason that this particular figure is high. It was also because of that sensitivity with regard to fighting corruption in this country that the Director was given that high salary.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is good that the Assistant Minister has accepted that the salary of the KACC Director was influenced by external stakeholders. Given that we have the same Government in charge of the public administration and other departments, what will the Government do to ensure that this disharmony does not lead to demotivation of public service employees? For instance, I have in mind the Attorney-General’ office, judges and so on. If nothing is done about these discrepancies, it amounts to demotivating other staff. There must be harmonization.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, a review has been done for these particular officers. New terms and conditions of service have already been recommended. For example, once the contract of the current Director-General ends, new terms of service and conditions will be negotiated with the person who will take over. The same will apply to the Director of the KACC. As for the general harmonization of all the sectors, the only solution is to establish one body to manage this matter. That is why we have put these recommendations into the Constitution, so that we have one Constitutional Commission that will determine remuneration and terms of service for all sectors in the public service.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to know whether the Ministry has taken the trouble to come up with a position paper which will be presented to the team that is doing the constitutional review to ensure that the Remuneration Commission of Kenya is enshrined in the Constitution.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I assure the hon. Member we are working on that paper.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, although I have not received the written reply, I beg to ask Question No.230.

asked the Minister for Lands:- (a) why the people occupying Kesses–Kelchin Farm (measuring 2,000 acres) have not been issued with title deeds despite having paid the required fees; and; (b) when he will issue the documents.

Where is the Minister for Lands!

Yes, Mr. Otieno!

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we undertake to bring this matter to the attention of the Minister for Lands. Could you reschedule it for next week?

Ms. Chepchumba, any objection to this being deferred to next week.

That is fine, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir.

The Question is deferred to Thursday, next week.

Next Question, the Member for Sigor. The Member requested that this Question be deferred to next Tuesday because he is away on official parliamentary business.

So, it will be on the Order Paper on Tuesday, next week

Member for Eldama Ravine!

asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance:- (a) how much Development Funds were surrendered to the Treasury by respective Ministries during the Financial Years 2006/2007, 2007/2008 and 2008/2009; (b) if he could list the projects that had been scheduled to be undertaken using these funds; and, (c) what reasons were given by the respective Ministries for the failure to utilize the funds fully as per the budget proposal; and, (d) what measures he is taking to ensure allocated funds are fully utilized.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply. (a) Details regarding unspent balances against each vote are contained in the Appropriation Account which is normally tabled before this House together with the Controller and Auditor General’s Report. The Appropriation Account and the Controller and Auditor-General’s Report for the Financial Year 2006/2007 has already been tabled, whereas the one for 2007-2009 Financial Year has been delivered to the Clerk of the National Assembly and will be laid before the House in due course. The hon. Member is encouraged to go through these reports once they are tabled before the House and apprise himself with the information on unspent balances, the projects that these funds were projected to finance and reasons provided by various Accounting Officers for the failure to utilize these funds. In view of “a’, parts “b” and “c” of the Question, do not arise. (d) I wish to inform this House that a Treasury Circular has been issued to all Accounting Officers providing guidelines on budget implementation with a view to ensuring that allocated funds are fully utilized for the intended purposes. This entails reconstitution of the Budget implementation and disbursement committees with the Treasuries across all accounting units in the country, monitoring and evaluation of programmed activities and periodic review of Budget implementation.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to thank the Minister for that very brief answer to a very comprehensive Question. My interest in this Question--- I want to give an example as I ask---

(Mr. Imanyara); Order, Mr. Lessonet! You are not giving examples; you are asking questions arising out of the answer that he has given.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I just want the Minister to give us a more comprehensive answer, including why he did not spend, for two consecutive years, Kshs70 million and Kshs40 million, respectively which had been budgeted for the tarmacking of roads within Eldama Ravine Township. That money did not arrive at the council. That is just an example! I want the Minister to give us a more comprehensive answer to this Question.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, monies are disbursed to Ministries in accordance with the Budget approved by this House. Therefore, if there are monies that were not received, that Question would be more appropriately addressed by the relevant line Ministry.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, you realize that when you go through this report that the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance is referring to, the reasons the Ministries are giving for unspent funds seem to be the same year in, year out, beginning with 2002 up to 2007/2008. The measures they are taking to address this issue are still the same. So, what assurance is the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance giving this House that the tactics will change this time round and it will also involve taking punitive measures against officials who are lax on duty?

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as I have said, we have issued a Treasury Circular to all Accounting Officers providing the guidelines on Budget implementation. It is in the interest of the Treasury and Kenyans as a whole if funds allocated are utilized for the intended purpose and within the financial year. To enhance our capacity to monitor the utilization of funds disbursed to Ministries, I have stated that we have the Budget Implementation and Disbursement Committees which are being reconstituted across the country to help us at the Treasury to also not just be disbursers of funds but also to help us monitor and evaluate all programmes that have been put forward to us by Ministries and to do periodic reviews, to see what Ministries have been able to do in terms of uptake capacity. Because we have had a problem, and I agree with hon. Members, with funds being disbursed and not being utilized within the financial year. This is something we intend to rectify, working with line Ministries.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, taking into account the fact that there are so many problems affecting our people and money is budgeted to solve those problems; the Minister has given blanket unspecific answers to very specific questions. How much was was returned unspent in a specific year? We expect the Minister to give us those definite figures and which projects were intended to be funded. We are also asking him to tell us exactly the reasons why these monies had to go back. Could the Minister, therefore, address the question?

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for three years prior, I can promise to extract the information from the Report of the Controller and Auditor- General.

Order, Mr. Minister! If the documents have been laid on the Table of the House, you need not extract anything.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, thank you very much for that support because, already, those documents are before the House and that is why I answered the Question in the manner that I answered it.

All that information is contained in those reports. The only one that is still pending is for the year 2008/2009 which is the financial year that has just been concluded and will be contained in the reports that will be done by the Controller and Auditor-General.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, you heard the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance argue that, sometimes, the Accounting Officers are to

Ask a question!

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, at times they disburse this money quite late in the year. What measures is he taking in his Treasury Office to make sure that monies are disbursed at the right time so that they are utilized at the right moment?

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, indeed, that is a pertinent question. The reason sometimes for late disbursements is because disbursements are also based on the receipts that we receive at the Exchequer. Sometimes due to constraints, there may be delays. However, one of the reforms that we are currently undertaking at the Treasury is to try to endeavour to front load disbursements at the beginning of each quarter in order to overcome the challenges of late disbursement. But like I said, it is not intentional and it is not a question of withholding release of monies but release of monies has to be based equally on our ability to have the funds available from our tax revenues. Like I said, we have realized that we have had this challenge. There are measures that we are trying to make at the Treasury to try and see how we can front load the borrowing especially so that we are able to disburse funds to Ministries at the beginning rather than towards the end of the financial quarter.

Last question, Mr. Lessonet! It is a Committee of Supply Day and we have quite a number of Ministerial Statements which have been sought.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Minister has clearly indicated to us that the Government, after reading a very good Budget like he did this year, is going to refuse to spend the entire amount of money. What measures is he putting in place so that his Government can spend the Kshs867 billion as read in his Budget this year?

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I do not think I mentioned anywhere the fact that the Government has refused to spend any money. I just stated a position of fact! However, that said and done, despite the challenges and constraints that the economy is currently facing, the Government is endeavouring to do everything that it can to ensure that funds will be available to implement the various programmes contained in the Budget. Towards that end, it is incumbent upon all of us to ensure that we work together as a House and as a nation so that the revenue targets that we have set out in our Budget are achieved and hence we are able to carry out the programmes that are contained in our Budget.

So, hon. Lessonet, I want to assure you that we are doing everything possible to ensure that we raise the necessary funding to implement all projects indicated in our Budget Speech. Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir.

I would like to get some indication from the Ministers. Is there any one of you giving a Ministerial Statement this afternoon?

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. You understand why I was away.

Madam Minister, we are almost going into Supply Time and so, you must summarize your answer.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to ask the Minister of State for Special Programs the following Question by Private Notice. (a) Could the Minister confirm that in the current EMOP/PRRO starting in May, 2009, the larger Turkana District has been allocated lower relief beneficiaries as a result of the erroneous population figures?

(b) Could she table the population figures for the old Turkana District in 2008, 1999, 1989 1979 and 1969, respectively, and indicate the population growth rate?

(c) Could she table the number of relief beneficiaries vis-Ă -vis general population figures for each location for Turkana Central, Turkana North and Turkana South districts per EMOP since 1999 Census?

(d) When will the Minister issue the correct figures as per the estimates provided by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics as at May, 2009?

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply. (a) It is not true that the Emergency Operation Program (EMOP) or what we call now the Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO), which commenced in May, 2009, allocated the larger Turkana lower relief beneficiaries as a result of the supposed erroneous population figures. To the contrary, the figure of the people who are being assisted with relief food was increased from 248,246 to 283,899 out of a population of 454,100. That figure includes 30,143 benefitting from the Food for Work Program, which translates into 63 per cent of the entire Turkana population which is being assisted with relief food. In addition to the EMOP program, the Government has been supporting the residents of the larger Turkana with relief food. The Government has distributed 17,676 metric tons of assorted foodstuffs worth Kshs504,321,000 to the larger Turkana District to date. That has been tabulated. I beg to lay the document on the Table.

Hon. Ethuro, you do have the answer, do you not?

I do, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir.

Madam Minister, you can just lay the document on the Table. Hon. Ethuro has the written answer and so, he can ask supplementary questions.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for Part (b) of the Question, I have just a summary of the figure for the population, although I did not get all the figures up to 1969. But for 1979, the total number was 142,702. In 1999, the total was 184,060. In 1999, it was 450,806 and for 2009, the estimated population is 533,417, but that includes 114,897 refugees. That is the actual figure of the refugees in that area.

(c) The Ministry was established in 2004, and prior to that, the function of relief supplies was in the Office of the President under the Ministry of Provincial Administration and Internal Security. The beneficiary figures for the EMOP program, which started in 2004, is as per the attached copy, and I have given it out.

(d) The number of famine relief beneficiaries is not static but need-based. The figure is either scaled up or downwards depending on the severity of the drought situation on the ground. The larger Turkana region has been receiving more relief assistance than any other region in the country. The Government is currently faced with a challenge of feeding over 10 million Kenyans. There are more drought affected areas to cover, including the high potential regions which traditionally, did not require relief assistance. That has overstretched limited resources, but I would like to assure the hon. Member that the Government will keep assisting the people of Turkana using the accurate statistics from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. Food insecurity is an issue that this country is quite familiar with, and Turkana is one of the most affected districts. My question was about the total population that is used. They use a percentage to determine the number of beneficiaries. From the answer that I got, they were using 454,100. But she has since revised that figure to 533,417. So, which is the correct population figure according to KNBS? She has increased the population of refugees to reflect the difference, when the written answer is indicating 30,000. That was giving a difference from 79,000 to 30,000. So, we still have a large number un-accounted for.

The new population figures notwithstanding - because that is another issue--- On the basis of the 533,417, what is the percentage that you are targeting per area, remembering that the refugees population only affects one division known as Kakuma in Turkana North? It does not affect Turkana Central.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have given figures for all the divisions and they are all tabulated. I wish it was possible---

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the hon. Member should listen to this. I wish it was possible for all the people in Turkana to be given food, 100 per cent, but it is not possible because of the limited resources that we have. We also must stretch them to the whole country.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir,

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. It is not a secret that most of the districts that are targeted for food distribution by this Government have a communal lifestyle. At most times, when the target has---

Daktari, ask your question!

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am just coming to my question. At most times, when the targets are set, there is a population that is left out. They are also desperate and require food. That population was previously catered for by the Government of Kenya (GOK) component that was being distributed by the DCs. But now, that component has been structured into the EMOP program. I would like to ask: How does the Ministry intend to cater for the population that was previously catered for by GOK and are not part of the EMOP program?

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, sometimes, it is really difficult to know what hon. Members want. One day, they say that the lead agencies are doing a very good job. So, we decided to put all the food through that channel. Then, the following day, they change their mind and say that the food should go through the DCs. So, we are a bit confused. But through your district steering groups, you can still make a decision that when the food--- We have two types of food which come to the district level; one is the emergency operation program and the second one is the general food distribution. On the general food distribution, you can actually ask the Ministry to allow for the normal distribution that used to be done by the DCs. But the EMOP program is what we cannot be able to--- It is a negotiated program and we cannot be able to change what we had agreed on.

Ask your last question, Mr. Ethuro!

Order, Mr. Lekuton! We have run out of time.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I really want to plead with the Minister - who has been trying to do a good job - in the sense that the figures that were originally given indicated 454,100, while the census in 1999 indicated 450,860. So, obviously, granted that there is banditry and all that, we could not have grown for another decade by only 300 human beings. At an average growth rate, even on the national average, it is 2.5 per cent.

I just want the Minister’s assurance, given the fact that they have undertaken to conduct a long-rains assessment although it is a misnomer. There are no long rains or short rains in those areas. Given the fact that they have done some assessment on the rains, when will she implement the recommendations of that assessment? I believe that assessment made the correct observation on the ground and enhanced these figures.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, even the figure of 1999 included 97,114 refugees. If you subtract that, you will realise that the figure is far much less than the 450,000 refugees. All the same, the refugees are fed through a different programme and not the EMOP programme. I would like the hon. Member not to inflate the number of the indigenous people by force.

Let us move on to the next Order! Is there any Minister who is issuing a Ministerial Statement this afternoon? There seems to be none.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise to seek a Ministerial Statement from the Minister for Environment and Mineral Resources. I know that the Prime Minister has already given this House an answer but it was not adequate. I would like the Minister to tell this House when he will embark on resettling the Mau Forest dwellers.

Secondly, I would like him to furnish this House with a comprehensive resettlement plan, including the time frame and the dates.

Mr. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, when will the Minister issue the Ministerial Statement?

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on Wednesday, next week.

Thank is okay.

Yes, Mr. Linturi!

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, last week I sought a Ministerial Statement from the Prime Minister. I was given an indication that the Statement would be made yesterday but unfortunately, it was not possible. When will the Ministerial Statement be issued because of the sensitivity of the matter? The Statement is with regard to the invasion of the Igembe people by communities from Isiolo. Even as we speak here today, Igembe has become a battle ground. My people are anxious to hear what the Prime Minister has to say.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, given the urgency of the matter, I will report the matter to the Prime Minister and, possibly, have it addressed on Wednesday, next week during the Prime Minister’s Time.

Very well! Mr. Linturi, the Ministerial Statement will be issued on Wednesday, next week!

Let us move on to the next Order!

I am reminded that we have taken 10 minutes of the Supply Time. We shall extend the Sitting by another 10 minutes today!

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that Mr. Speaker do now leave the Chair.

The Government recognizes the pivotal role played by the transport sector in the rapid and sustainable development of our country. The transport sector in Kenya encompasses a system comprising of aviation, roads, rail, maritime, inland waterways and non-motorized means of transport. The sector has been one of the high-key growth areas in the economy with its share of GDP contribution in 2008 being 10 per cent.

During the current fiscal year, the Ministry will focus on high priority areas in the sector that will contribute towards the realization of the Kenya Vision 2030. It is gratifying to note that the Vision 2030 recognizes the sector as an important enabler of the envisaged national transport transformation. The first Medium-Term Plan (MTP) of the Vision 2030 covering 2008 and 2012 (1st Phase) targets increased investment in infrastructure services such as rail, sea and air transport services, amongst others. An effective and reliable transport system is crucial in lowering the cost of doing business and increasing our country’s competitive edge. Consequently, within the MTP period, my Ministry will put in place measures aimed at realising this objective in the sector. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the mandate of the Ministry of Transport is the formulation of transport policies to guide in the development of the transport sector. In addition, it develops regulatory framework for the sector to enable harmony and compliance with international standards. It also monitors and supervises service delivery by State Corporations under the Ministry’s portfolio. In 2005, the Ministry developed a five-year strategic plan which is scheduled to come to an end in 2009. The plan has been a valuable planning and management tool that has helped the Ministry remain focused in playing its role, first, in the previous country’s strategy for economic recovery, wealth and employment creation and, now, in the on- going Kenya Vision 2030. The plan defines the business of the Ministry and the key targets for achievement over the planned period. Essentially, the strategic plan has been instrumental in assisting the Ministry to accomplish its mission of facilitating accessible transportation services to spur economic growth and development in the country. The

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I beg to second.

This is a very important Ministry in many respects particularly when we think about the foundation of Vision 2030. A very important component of Vision 2030 is the development of the infrastructure. One of the things that will go down in the history of this country is that it was during the Minister’s tenure that the Government decided to undertake infrastructure development of great magnitude.

When we look at the funding that has been made available to the Ministry, it is not necessarily sufficient to carry out that bigger vision. We know in the area of infrastructure the Government has commitment to ensure that all is done to enable us move forward.

The most important project that is being planned by the Ministry is the construction of a second Port in Lamu. We, in the Ministry of Lands, are very excited about that project. I was assuring the Minister that we have carried out an embargo in relation to alienation of public land. It should be known to the Members of Parliament that land in Lamu District is Government land. In our vision we think that, that land should go back to the community to mak e provisions for the development of infrastructure. So, I look forward to working with the Minister in ensuring that, that dream in relation to the construction of a second port in Lamu is realized. There is also the standard gauge railway which will run parallel to the current railway line to Uganda through both Tororo and Kisumu.

The other very important development that is taking place which is critical to make Kenya a hub for business and tourism is the expansion of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. This is not an isolated activity. It is going on simultaneously with the expansion of the Kisumu Airport which was commissioned by none other than His Excellency the President about two weeks ago.

Cabinet passed a resolution to enable the Kenya Airports Authority to enter into an arrangement with investors to build hotel complex within the vicinity of the airport. All these developments put together along with the expansion and modernization of the port of Mombasa will truly put Kenya in a very advantageous position in relation to our geographical location in the region.

So far, the work that the Ministry is doing in this regard is commendable. I hope that in the near future the controversy surrounding the concessioning of the current railway line with the Rift Valley Railways will be resolved in one way or another, because we have not seen very positive operations from the current arrangement.

The other thing to note about the expansion of this airport is that other hubs, like Malindi, Eldoret and Isiolo are all in the plans of the hon. Minister. One should go to South Africa to find out the extent and volume of development in ways of infrastructure. If we were to achieve these goals before the World Cup in South Africa, Kenya would really play an important role. It will be like a second hub for the World Cup. However, it

Mr. Ethuro): Hon. Members, as you contribute, yesterday, I realized most Members were expecting to contribute for ten minutes. I want to bring your attention to the fact that on page 270 of your Order Paper, there is notice at paragraph (iii) on the Motion:-

“That, the Speaker Do now Leave the Chair”. It states:- “To enable Ministers to initiate debate on policy, the Mover shall be limited to a total of 30minutes, 20 minutes for moving and ten minutes for replying to the debate; 15 minutes to the Chairperson of the relevant Departmental Committee and that each other Member speaking shall be limited to five minutes, provided that one hour before the Question of the Vote is put, the House shall go into Committee and the Chairman shall put every question necessary to dispose of the Vote”. So, Chairman of the Department Committee, please, proceed!

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to speak on behalf of the chairman who is away. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to start by saying that I support this Vote of the Ministry of Transport. I wish to thank the Minister and his able team in the Ministry. We have had very nice meetings with them. They were very interactive and useful. On the outset, I would like to say that the Ministry of Transport, along with the Ministry of Roads, the Ministry of Energy and others, fall in the category of infrastructure Ministries. If we want to develop this country, it is these Ministries that need to be supported in terms of funding, particularly the Ministry of Transport. Infrastructure investment would then translate to development in other sectors in the country and region. As I support this Motion, I would like to concur with the Minister that the money allocated to the Ministry is gross under-funding. If there is something we can do during the Supplementary Estimates and the Budget in subsequent years, we should allocate this Ministry more money so that they achieve what we expect them to. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have dealt with many issues which the Minister highlighted and which I do not want to repeat. However, I would like to make a few observations on the Ministry. The Committee felt that these issues should be looked into. One aspect that the Committee observed is the issue of absorption of donor funds. We observed that the rate of absorption of donor funding was not very high. It was about 50 per cent. This is something that should be looked into. The other observation we made was on rail transport. We have a lot of challenges here. The railway transport system we have is the old one which is quite dilapidated and

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to support this Ministry and the Minister for Transport. Being a Member of the Committee, the Chairman has already covered many areas which are in the Report that has already been laid on the Table. One area I want to add on to this is that the Ministry asked for quite a substantial amount of money which it did not get. As a Committee, we would like to support the Ministry and ask the Treasury to avail more money to the Ministry. As it has already been mentioned, the Ministry of Transport is an infrastructural Ministry and the development of this country largely depends on it. Coming to the Port of Mombasa, the Ministry would definitely need more money for the modernization of the equipment at the port and the deepening of the channels and the berths so that the bigger ships that, at the moment, are evading calling the Port of Mombasa could call there. The biggest problem here is that we are not alone. We are in competition with many other countries. The longer we take before we bring Mombasa to an acceptable level where the post- panamax vessels can call, the more we will lose. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, as we speak, Tanzania is trying to do all she can so that she can capture all the traffic that will be calling the Port of Mombasa. Djibouti is already ahead of us and as the Minister said, if we are not careful, we will end up being a feeder port where only small vessels will be calling. So, the need for the Ministry is real and the need for more money is real. We would like to support the Ministry for this. So, the Treasury should do all they can to get money and pass it on to the Ministry, that would be the right thing we would recommend. A second port in Lamu is a development that should have been here yesterday and not today. This development will open other parts of this country like the north eastern and of course, it will tap into our trade with Southern Sudan and also Southern Ethiopia. We are not alone in this. There are other countries which are eying this market. If we do not move fast enough, we will lose out. The Dongo Kundu Project and more so the free port situation in Mombasa should be supported. With those few remarks, I beg to support.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir for giving me this chance to contribute to this Motion. First and foremost, I stand here to support the Vote of the Ministry of Transport for the year 2009/2010 and also congratulate the

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to also contribute to this very important Vote. First, I would like to thank

Your time is up!

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I wholeheartedly support the Vote.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I rise to support the Vote of the Ministry of Transport. The Ministry of Transport is very important for this country. I am sure that this country will open up for development if this Ministry is developed. The Ministry requires very committed and competent

Thank you very much, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to support this Vote.

I just want to join my colleagues in congratulating the Minister and the Ministry staff for a job well done. He has requested monies from this House. I think this House should grant the amounts requested. My assessment is that this money is not even enough. So, we want to encourage the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance to factor more funds for this Ministry in the Supplementary Estimates. This is a very critical Ministry for this Government and country.

I just want to speak briefly on the development of airports, particularly infrastructural developments of airstrips and airports in Mombasa, Eldoret and Wajir. I have a particular interest in the Wajir airport that was opened to civilian use in 2006. There were a lot of celebrations when this was done. But to date, that facility is not fully utilized. It has a huge potential, not only for the people of that region, but for this country. I have been to Eldoret and I know air traffic in Eldoret is picking. The Wajir Airport can also be used for commercial purposes, particularly for livestock farmers and people who are travelling for Hajj. The people of northern Kenya can easily access this airport to travel for Hajj. It can also be used for transportation of goods from the United Arab Emirates for businessmen just like the Eldoret Airport. I have a very strong feeling that this airport is not only for security proposes, but can be used for commercial

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to the Vote for the Ministry of Transport.

From the outset, I want to thank the Minister for the work he has been doing in putting the Ministry into operation in terms of the facility we require in this country. As we always complain about our roads in Kenya, we do not see the other factors that we suffer from in terms of safety of motor vehicles. We have had rules and regulations that govern the matatu industry. I think the Minister should now wake up to the reality that, at least, if we are no longer following the Michuki rules, let us follow the Mwakwere rules, if we can get new ones; if the earlier ones are not working.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for the chance to support this Motion and to acknowledge that the Ministry is making some positive efforts to ensure that the transport network and also the diversification of the different roads is in better form. This Vote needs to be endorsed by our standing to also endorse their request for funding.

Good news coming from this Ministry; the expansion of the Kisumu Airport, the proposed up-grading of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and the new port in Mombasa are programmes that are also inviting good attention to our country, especially from other countries who want to invest here. When we have nice airports and landing areas for our planes, tourism will benefit. Also our horticultural sector will benefit. Therefore, this Ministry is very key to ensuring that we fast-track the Vision 2030. It affects all the other Ministries because with a good transport system, other things are going to roll in place in terms of transport for human, commodities and services will be

Order, Mr. Kabando wa Kabando! Your time is up!

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. With those few remarks, I beg to support.

Well, there being no other Member willing to contribute, I would like to call upon the Minister to respond.

Thank you very much, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I would like, first and foremost, to thank my colleagues for the support that they have affirmed to this Ministry. I would like to thank the Minister for Lands for seconding my Motion, and for assuring us that there will be land available for us to construct the second transport corridor starting from Lamu right through to Southern Sudan and Southern Ethiopia.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am most grateful to the Parliamentary Departmental Committee responsible for transport, works and housing for their clear support and understanding the predicaments that we have in ensuring that funds are made available for that Ministry. I thank hon. Muoki and the whole team plus the Chairman.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we are doing all we can to ensure that we provide efficient transport system in the country. There was a mention of developing a bypass at Kibera so that the trains that are north-bound or south-bound do not have to pass through Kibera, considering the problems that we experienced in the very recent past. Yes, that plan is on track. We only need more funds to ensure that we actually lay the track and avoid the high density area of Kibera and the possible problems that could arise. We are doing all we can to ensure that we get funds for the new standard gauge railway line between Mombasa, Malaba and onwards to Kampala and Kigali. If we do not do that, we stand to lose a lot of trade to other countries. That is because 85 per cent of the country is on standard gauge and we urge the Ministry of Finance to assist us. I thank the Departmental Committee for that observation. We need the funds that are now lodged in the Ministry of Finance for the development of the standard gauge railway line from Mombasa to Malaba. The amount there is Kshs3.8 billion. We need it immediately because the competition that is before us is really great. As it has been mentioned here, our good neighbours have already started construction of their standard gauge railway line to the lake and beyond.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Maritime Bill was passed by Parliament and I am very grateful to my colleagues for the support they gave us. That is opening opportunities for Kenyans to participate meaningfully to the maritime transport sector. We have problems, of course, with the personnel in the aviation sector. The aviation sector is unique because it is truly international. Pilots who fly here are the same ones who fly in the skies of Europe, elsewhere and vice-versa. Even the cabin crew also participates at the same level in foreign countries and there is that comparison or internationalization of the industry. We understand that there are requests that are being made for additional funding to them in terms of remuneration, and that is being handled ably by the institutions concerned. But I would like to confirm here that we will make sure that special remuneration packages are worked out for our air traffic controllers to meet the international standards. So, they need not go on strike. They should just engage the Ministry and the parastatals in ensuring that the problem is solved.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to thank my colleagues for making many interesting suggestions here, and I accept them all. There are challenges, but some of them do not need extra funding. We shall stand up to ensure that we do the needful to ensure that our people are safe on the road.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that the Speaker do now leave the Chair. First, I wish to express and acknowledge my appreciation to the hon. Members of the Departmental Committee on Transport, Public Works and Housing with whom we have worked harmoniously and effectively. I thank them for their contribution and the interest they have shown in our work at the Ministry of Public Works. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Ministry’s vision is to be the leading institution in the construction and maintenance of Government buildings and other public works in this country. The Ministry’s mandate is clearly outlined in the Presidential Circular No.1 of last year. The mandate include formulation of public works policy; public works planning, development and maintenance of Government buildings; maintenance of inventory of Government property; provision of mechanical and electrical services; co-ordination of procurement of common user items for Ministries, departments and Government agencies; to conduct research on building materials and building

Order, Mr. Minister! Your time is up.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as I said, we will also build district hospitals and footbridges around the country.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I wish to conclude by emphasizing the critical role played by my Ministry---

Order, Mr. Minister!

I beg to move, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise to second the Motion on the Vote for the Ministry for Public Works.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is important for Kenyans to know that without proper infrastructure, there can be no development. We should think of putting in place infrastructure first, before we think of whatever development we want to initiate.

It is a pity that a Ministry such as the Ministry of Public Works gets under-funded and yet we are talking of achieveing our Vision 2030. The Vision 2030 embraces many aspects. This includes quality schools, appropriate hospitals, district headquarters which will meet the requirements of development support.

There are many areas that have got to be done. We have got many stalled Government projects which should be completed because there is no point of having an incomplete project in an area where the project is heavily in demand to improve the lifestyles of the people. I would like to congratulate my colleague, Mr. Chris Obure, and his team for coming forward to ensure that there is meaningful development of our infrastructure, not only in major urban centres like Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu, but also deep in the rural areas.

Many people wonder why we are talking of footbridges, but the majority of Kenyans do not travel in matatus, buses or cars. Most of our people travel from point “A” to “B” on foot. Many of our children go to school from their homes on foot. In order to ensure that there is meaningful development to meet the demands at that early level before we move to a higher level of development, there is need for these footbridges to be built everywhere. The funds that have been allocated for footbridges seem not to be enough because it is not even enough for my constituency; Matuga.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to congratulate the Ministry for coming forward to develop quality primary schools, secondary schools, health centres, fresh produce markets, Jua Kali sheds, for every district. The Ministry has also developed some district headquarters here and there, police headquarters in some districts, teacher training colleges and so on and so forth.

It is important that we focus on infrastructure. As I said earlier, without infrastructure, generally there can be no development. That is why I am emphasizing the notion of no infrastructure, no development.

On the issue of CDF funds, I am proud to say that Kenya is number one in bringing about development managed by the people themselves. We have many projects, but we cannot move forward without that much needed professional input by the Ministry of Public Works. They are doing a great job because each one of us as Members of Parliaments tend to talk in superlatives on how well we have done in developing infrastructure with the CDF funds. That does not mean that we can do it ourselves without the input of the Ministry of Public Works.

It is a shame to hear that there is shortage of transportation for their officers. How can we bring about meaningful development when a Ministry has requested for funds and they have a shortfall of Kshs2 billion? Infrastructure first, development follows thereafter.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for this opportunity. As I said earlier, I would like to begin by saying once more this afternoon that this Ministry, together with the Ministry for Transport and the Ministry for Roads, Ministry of Energy and others fall in that class of infrastructure. It is a very important Ministry for the development of this country.

I would like to start by thanking the members of this Committee, starting with the Chairman who is out of the country and also members of this committee, some of whom are here and others who are committed elsewhere for doing a very good job. I laid the Report of this Committee on the Table of this House yesterday. I am sure in that Report, which I believe Members have, we have other detailed recommendations and observations. Therefore, I would not like to spend a lot of time repeating the same issues that we discussed with the Minister and the Ministry officials in our meetings when we were scrutinizing this budget. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to thank the Minister and his team who were very cooperative and punctual. When we called the Minister, he was there very early with his team. We really saw commitment on the part of the Minister. As a Committee, we were very happy. I would like to thank him and the team from his Ministry. However, I would like to make a few observations. I would like to start with areas which the Committee felt were left out and which we thought were important. Some of these areas have been mentioned by the Minister. Although it might look small, one of the areas that was left out was on the component of local Presidential visits. You know that when the President, Prime Minister and the Vice-President visit various areas of this country, there is what is required to facilitate the visit. I am talking about the dais, carpet, tracks, twin-mobile toilets, generators and so on. These items were not adequately budgeted for. We need to facilitate the Minister for Public Works in order that he functions effectively. When such demands come from his seniors, I am sure he is bound to oblige. If he has no funds, he may have to reallocate from somewhere. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the other area that was omitted is the purchase of vehicles for field supervision. This is the Ministry given the role of supervision of buildings and public works. Without transport, we would not expect much

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I would like to support and start by saying that we appreciate the work of the Ministry officials led by the Minister, Mr. Obure, whom I can attest is a very accessible and humble Minister whom I regard as my dad. While a lot of work is in this Ministry, I believe that there is need to address the following issues to ensure that it is more successful and impacting. First, we need to profile more prominently, the rule of the National Construction Authority so that its mandate is known very well and also its work and programme is more effective in the sector. Secondly, we also need to profile the Kenya Building Research Centre. It is unknown largely. Research is the backbone of planning of clear

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to support this vote and to congratulate the Minister and staff of the Ministry of Public Works.

Order, hon. Members! I wish to bring to your attention Paragraph 3 that I read earlier, which gives notice of only five minutes. So, do not exceed.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I hope that you will consider that because you have taken a few minutes of my time.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to also support this very important Motion. I just want to join hands with the previous speakers, in supporting the Ministers for the splendid job they are doing. However, I also want to blow some hot air on the projects that are not being done well. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise here to complain because I was very annoyed when I visited my constituency and found that a laboratory in a secondary school which was being built using Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) money was certified by the Ministry of Public Works. The architect who drew and certified the laboratory and took Kshs1,000 for every visit he made to the school--- Although the building is not complete, the floor is already dilapidated and choky. It is hardly a year since the laboratory was built but it is wearing out. In fact, the structure is almost coming down. I want to quote Hammurabi the law giver. This is history I learnt in Class Five and have not forgotten. He said; “If a builder builds a house and kills the owner, he shall also be killed.” I do not think we want to kill anybody here. I recommend our good Minister. Maybe, our Ministers have inherited the bad culture of the officers who visit sites but do not even stay there for five minutes. Although the officers visit the sites even when they have not been invited, they are paid Kshs1,000 for every visit.

In fact, before you even reach the gebo almost 5 to 6 visits have taken place. So, you wonder why? So in the end we do not have a strong infrastructure. Very soon, these buildings will be collapsing, especially the ones that were built using the CDF funds because the contractors do not care. May I suggest to our good Ministers and Permanent Secretaries that they should take up this responsibility of ensuring that we have strong buildings. They should give proper and tested bills of quantities.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, just because it is the CDF funds, they should not just inflate the bills of quantities. It is appalling. I am an engineer and can tell what is wrong. It is bad for this country that public funds are not used properly. This must come to an end. The concerned officers should be transferred to other places. Probably, they are doing that because they have overstayed in those areas and know the contractors. I also want to ask the Minister to assist us who supervise the CDF funds to make sure that the contractors we have on the ground are qualified. We just do not want to get every Tom, Dick and Harry putting up a building because they come from that area.

Lastly, I was the previous Chairman of the Department Committee on Transport, Public Works and Housing. When I visited our airports, I noticed that civil aviation equipment is dilapidated. I did not say a word because I was scared to chase away our tourists. Those equipment need to be replaced. I am told that procurement flopped simply because somebody went to court to put a caveat on it. This country must move on. We must replace that equipment as soon as possible.

With those few remarks, I beg to support.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I rise to support the Vote of the Ministry of Public Works. This is a very important Ministry. The technical work it does in terms of supporting the development of infrastructure both at the grassroots and the national level is very critical. I also support the Minister and his technical staff. He is a very humble Minister, very approachable and a man who always keeps his word. It is very important for this Ministry and particularly the Minister, to realize the critical work that the Ministry plays at the grassroots level. The role that the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) plays in terms of building infrastructure, whether it is schools, health centres or dispensaries, is always guided by technical support from the Ministry of Public Works. Our structures will be as good as those who will be supervising and those technically qualifying whether those structures are good enough or shoddy jobs have been done by the contractors. While we have very many good civil servants, technicians and quantity surveyors out there, for sure, there are few who work

Once again, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to take this opportunity to thank the Minister for Public Works, Mr. Obure, for the manner in which he has handled the Ministry since the docket was handed over to him. I also take the opportunity to thank the Permanent Secretary and the entire staff for the dedication and devotion they have really given to that Ministry.

From the onset, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I wish to touch on the issue of foot bridges. Those are very important because we realize that in certain areas, our children are not able to go to schools, particularly when it is very rainy and the floods are moving in, and even when we have railway lines near our schools. That, therefore, means that learning in those institutions will be affected as a result of lack of foot bridges. Therefore, the Ministry should embark on that very important exercise. I would like to

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I will be failing my constituents if I do not support this Motion. I support it out of duty and not because of anything good out of this Ministry. However, this is with the exception of the Minister in charge. I agree with other hon. Members that the Minister is nice. He is accessible, approachable and amenable. I wish him well. However, that is part of the problem. Nobody takes Ministers who appear to play ball with everybody seriously. Ministry officials start behaving as if they own the Republic. I speak with a heavy heart. As the Chairman of the CDF Committee in Parliament, I get a lot of complaints, including from my constituents. I was shocked to

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity. I stand to support this Vote, because I have no doubt in the ability of the Minister and his Assistant Minister. I have known the Minister for over 12 years. I have seen him run other Ministries. I have no doubt in my mind that he is a Minister with the right Assistant Minister in the Ministry. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also support this Vote because I believe that the staff - the Permanent Secretary and technical officers in the Ministry – have the capacity to deal with the challenges facing this Ministry. I have only a few observations to make. First of all, as usual, this Ministry is under-funded. There is no way you can expect Ministries to perform if you have not given them the tools with which to work. You might demand all that you require but, at the end of the day, it will be just like the way we say when we answer questions: “When funds become available”. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is time we prioritised the Ministries that are crucial in the lives of Kenyans. If you look at what is happening across the country, there is collapsing of buildings. Why do they collapse? It is because we do not have a regulator. If we have a regulator, he has not been sufficiently funded to enable him regulate the building industry.We have engineers in the municipalities and county councils. But are they doing their work? That is why we are urging the Ministry of Public Works to come up with regulations. They can bring a Bill here which will allow them to supervise even those buildings being supervised by engineers from other Ministries because they are custodians of all our buildings. They should be responsible.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, they should also be able to come up with a way of punishing rogue engineers. We have heard of several cases of buildings collapsing, but to date, nobody can stand up and say: “This person was responsible.” If we leave the engineers to discipline themselves, who will discipline his brother? They will collude in all these things. That is why we are requesting that he brings a Bill here and we will pass it to give him teeth, so that he can start working.

This Ministry does not have enough officers. The Minister promised to promote a certain District Works Officer in my constituency, but he has not done so. It is very rare that an MP recommends an officer to be promoted. Mr. Deya is very hardworking. These officers require assistance. If there is an architect, give him a qualified one. Today, all the money has been concentrated in the constituency. How do we expect only one officer, an architect, to go ahead and do all the drawings for Kshs30 million for the special school, classrooms for the CDF, or Kshs20 million for the health centres or money for Jua Kali shades? We require to employ more of them and pay them well. At the end of the day, the best architects are in the private sector because we are not paying them well. Let us give them enough incentives, so that they can work for us.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in the envisaged new constitution, we are all calling for devolution of powers. We have already started devolution by posting district commissioners in almost every constituency. By the time we come up with the new constitution, every constituency will be upgraded to a district. That is the idea of devolution.

We do not want to go into devolution when we have district headquarters in Lodwar which was constructed using Kshs10 million and another one in Laikipia for

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I stand to contribute to this Motion. First, I want to congratulate the Minister and his team for the good work they are doing, so far. However, I want to note that there is quite a lot he needs to improve on, particularly the issue of the bills of quantities. This is one issue we discussed in the Committee and we were very concerned. Overall, the engineers from the Ministry usually come with very inflated bills of quantities compared to other contractors. As regards the proposed district headquarters, we know that the money given is not adequate. However, we would like the Ministry to give priority to districts that are established and have been there for a long time and those in northern Kenya. We should not see this money being given to districts which were established the other day. It must be given to districts which were established long time ago like Emuhaya District. It has been there for the last four years but without a district headquarter. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on the issue of economic stimulus package, this is where you have a test. At least, now you have money to establish or construct various buildings in the constituencies. This is where you should demonstrate that you can deliver very well. I would like to recommend that you work very closely with hon. Members. Let this economic stimulus package not be like the Kazi Kwa Vijana Programme. According to me and many other colleagues, the Kazi Kwa Vijana Programme is a disaster. Unless it is looked at afresh, that is money that is being put under the drain. On the issue of building standards, which my colleagues have talked about, this is a big worry to this country. People are just building all over the place without following the laid down standards for constructions. As my colleagues have said, the Government needs to bring a Bill to this House so that we come up with very stringent guidelines and regulations. People who are involved in this should be severely punished. You hear a building has collapsed and that is it. You do not hear any of those people who are involved being punished. We have had so many buildings collapsing, but we have never heard those involved being punished. Finally, the issue of foot bridges is a very good and noble idea. We have many areas in this country which need foot bridges. We, therefore, need the Ministry to work very closely with Members of Parliament to see to it that foot bridges are constructed in areas where they are required. This is an area where we look at the Bill of Quantities. We were shocked when one of your engineers said that they constructed a foot bridge in Teso for Kshs4 million.

May I now call upon the Minister to respond!

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. First of all, I want to start by thanking hon. Members for the interest they have demonstrated in the area of public works. I want to thank them for the very useful and valuable contributions that they have made. I want to assure them that we have listened very carefully. All officers from my Ministry are here. They have listened and taken note of the various comments, suggestions and criticisms which have been leveled. I want to assure hon. Members that we are serious. We want to improve on what we do and the way we do it. I particularly want to thank Mr. Ali Mwakwere who seconded this Motion. Again, he underscored the importance of infrastructure. In fact, he said: “No infrastructure, no development”. I cannot agree with him more. He has got it absolutely right. We need to build quality infrastructure in order to pave way for development in all the other sectors of our economy. I want to thank, in particular, the Member for Kitui South, Mr. Muoki, for his useful contributions on behalf of the relevant Departmental Committee. He raised a number of issues and stressed the need to fund the Ministry of Public Works properly. He stressed the need to fund this Ministry well in order to give it adequate funds to carry out this important mandate. I want to thank Mr. Muoki for this support.

We are in the process of acquiring more facilities for Presidential visits. Hopefully, we will buy new daises, carpets and other amenities because right now, our officers in the field experience many problems because you will find the President visiting one part of the country, the Vice-President and Minister for Home Affairs visiting another and the Prime Minister visiting yet another part of the country. The facilities are hardly enough. We have only been allowed a small portion of funds to add to what is presently available. We hope that at some point, we will come back to this House and get the support of hon. Members for more funding for this specific aspect. The aspect of purchase of vehicles for monitoring and supervision of projects in the field cannot be overemphasized. I appreciate that hon. Members have strongly supported our position in seeking additional funds for this specific objective. On district headquarters again, there is a strong desire that has been expressed by hon. Members. They want to see fairness and headquarters built using standard designs. Again, I want to assure hon. Members that we have taken this very seriously. We have taken the point and what we have developed so far are standard designs. Those standard designs have minor adjustments depending on the geographical areas and the climatic conditions in those areas. The general features will be the same in Turkana, Lamu, Kisii or in any other area. We are making modest progress in this respect. I want to assure hon. Members that we have taken account of the sentiments expressed in this House. On the question of protection of sea walls and the construction of jetties, there is a strong need, particularly in the coastal area. Our sea walls are being washed away by waves and landing facilities are hardly there. In fact, the entire Lamu Township was coming to a standstill until we moved there to construct landing jetties. This is an area

Order, hon. Members! We are now in the Committee of Supply. We will start with the Ministry of Transport.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Chairman, Sir, I beg to move:-

Mr. Temporary Deputy Chairman, Sir, I beg to move that the Committee of Supply do report to the House its consideration of Vote 14 – Ministry of Transport, and its approval of the same without amendments.

Hon. Members, we will now go to the Ministry of Public Works.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Chairman, Sir, I beg to move:-

THAT, a sum not exceeding Kshs3,227,850,000 be issued from the Consolidated Fund to complete the sum necessary to meet expenditure during the year ending 30th June, 2010, in respect of:-

Vote 59 – Ministry of Public Works

VOTE R59 – RECURRENT EXPENDITURE

SUB-VOTE 590 – GENERAL ADMINISTRATION AND PLANNING

SUB-VOTE 591 – BUILDING AND WORKS

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am directed to report that the Committee of Supply has considered the Resolution that a sum no exceeding Kshs3,227,850,000 be issued from the Consolidated Fund to complete the sum necessary to meet expenditure during the year ending 30th June, 2010, in respect of Vote 59 – Ministry of Public Works and has approved the same without amendments.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that the House doth agree with the Committee in the said Resolution.

(Mr. Mwakwere) seconded.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am directed to report that the Committee of Supply has considered the Resolution that a sum no exceeding Kshs2,210,677,780 be issued from the Consolidated Fund to complete the sum necessary to meet expenditure during the year ending 30th June, 2010, in respect of Vote 14 – Ministry of Transport and has approved the same without amendments.

Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that the House doth agree with the Committee in the said resolution.

(Mr. Obure) seconded.

Order! Hon. Members, there being no other business, the House is, therefore, adjourned until Tuesday, 11th August, 2009, at 2.30 p.m.

The House rose at 7.00 p.m.