Hon. Senators, I would like to acknowledge the presence in the Public Gallery this afternoon of visiting students and teachers from Inside Kenya Group, Students from Spain. In our usual tradition of receiving and welcoming visitors to Parliament, I extend a warm welcome to them. On behalf of the Senate and on my own behalf, I wish them a fruitful visit. I thank you.

VISITING DELEGATION FROM ST. SCHOLASTICA CATHOLIC SCHOOL RUARAKA, NAIROBI CITY COUNTY Again, Hon. Senators, I would also like to acknowledge the presence in the Public Gallery this afternoon of visiting students and teachers from St. Scholastica Catholic School, Ruaraka, Nairobi County. In our usual tradition of receiving and welcoming visitors to Parliament, I extend a warm welcome to them. On behalf of the Senate and on my own behalf, I wish them a fruitful visit. I thank you.

Next Order. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Education, the Floor is yours REPORT OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION ON THE 20CCEM HELD IN NADI, FIJI

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to lay the following Paper on the Table of the Senate today, Thursday 12th July, 2018:- Report of the Standing Committee on Education on the 20th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (20CCEM) held in Nadi, Fiji, from 19-23 February, 2018.

Sen. Halake is not in the Chamber. Please, proceed, Sen. (Dr.) Ali. REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF GPC HELD AT THE WORLD BANK HEADQUARTERS IN WASHINGTON DC, USA

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to lay the following Paper on the Table of the Senate today, Thursday 12th July, 2018: Report of the proceedings of the Global Parliamentary Conference (GPC) held at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington DC, USA, from 16th to 17th April, 2018.

Next Order.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to give notice of the following Motion- THAT, this House notes the Report of the Standing Committee on Education on the 20th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (20CCEM) held in Nadi, Fiji, from 19th to 23rd February, 2018, laid on the Table of the House on Thursday, 12th July, 2018. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Please, proceed, Sen. (Dr.) Ali. NOTING OF THE REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF GPC HELD AT THE WORLD BANK HEADQUARTERS IN WASHINGTON DC, USA

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to give notice of the following Motion- THAT, this House notes the Report of the proceedings of the Global Parliamentary Conference (GPC), held at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington DC, USA, from 16th to 17th April, 2018, laid on the Table of the House on Thursday, 12th July, 2018. ENFORCEMENT OF NATIONAL TRANSPORT AND SAFETY AUTHORITY (OPERATION OF MOTORCYCLE) REGULATIONS 2015

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to give notice of the following Motion: AWARE that the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) is mandated to plan, manage and regulate the road transport system, while ensuring the provision of safe, reliable and efficient road transport services; FURTHER AWARE that motorcycle transport services have been rapidly embraced throughout the country leading to several challenges including: rise in road accidents involving motorcycle riders, unlawfulness, insecurity and road congestion; COGNIZANT that the National Transport and Safety Authority (Operation of Motorcycles) Regulations that came into force on 1st January, 2016, have not adequately addressed the challenges associated with the high numbers of motorcycles as a mode of transport; NOW THEREFORE, the Senate resolves that the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing, and Urban Development: - 1. identify strategies to enforce the National Transport and Safety Authority (Operation of Motorcycles) Regulations; 2. in collaboration with county governments, develop programmes to sensitize and educate members of boda-boda associations and the public on the laws regulating motorcycle operations; 3. submits a report to the Senate within 90 days outlining the short and long-term strategies, and preventative measures that are being put in place to halt the rising cases of road carnage involving motorcycle riders.

Since we only had one statement to be issued by the Senate Majority Leader, we will defer that Statement to a later time. Let us move on to the next Order. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me the chance to contribute to the debate on The Kenya Roads Bill (National Assembly Bills No.47 of 2017). This Bill is long overdue. It is a Bill to align the road sector with the Constitution of Kenya, 2010. The current Road Act was enacted in 2007 and amended in 2009. That means that it was enacted before the Constitution was promulgated. The Fourth Schedule of the Constitution states the functions of the national Government and the county government in as far as road management and maintenance is concerned. It talks about the county roads and the national roads. It is important that this Bill is enacted so that we can align the operation of the roads today to the Constitution. Mr. Speaker, Sir, as currently organized, the roads sector was unbundled in 2007. There are four institutions which manage roads in some way or the other; namely, the Kenya Roads Board (KRB) manages the finances; the Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA) manages the roads under Classes A, B and C; the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) manages the urban roads while the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) manages roads under Class D and below. This Bill attempts to classify roads and change their classification rules. In the First Schedule of the Bill, we have classes which have been introduced that include Class S, Class A, Class B, Class H and Class J. Class S will be the highways connecting two or more cities meant to carry safely a large volume of traffic at the highest legal speed of operation. That is a new class that is being introduced. Class A roads will be roads forming strategic routes and corridors, connecting international boundaries at identified immigration entry and exit points and international terminals such as international air or sea ports. Mr. Speaker, Sir, there is then Class B, Class H and Class J, all of which are supposed to be part of the mandate of the national Government roads and managed by the KeNHA. The Bill also introduced secondary national trunk roads which is Class C. The Class C roads are supposed to be managed at a different level. They form important regional routes linking county headquarters or other regionally important centres, constituency headquarters, municipal or town council centres and other towns. Mr. Speaker, Sir, there is Part II which is county roads. It is envisaged in this Bill that county roads are going to deal with Classes D, E, F, G, H, L, M, N and P. All of The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Proceed, Sen. (Eng.) Maina.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise to support this Bill and make a few comments and observations. The road sector is an important part of the Big Four Agenda of the President. The road sector will open up this country so that our economy can grow. We also have devolution. First, the boards have been suggested so that they can infuse more efficiency and accountability into the usage of the resources that are available. I want to remind the management of the various departments and boards who are going to manage these roads both at national and county level that they have a responsibility to see that the infrastructure of this country, specifically, the roads, is done in a manner that befits the environment where the road is being done. When a road is being built anywhere in Kenya, and that has been the tradition in all countries, people should examine the local materials available. They need to utilize those materials because they will be more economical than transportation of materials. If we go the traditional way of thinking that a road is black bitumen, it is going to be extremely expensive to this country. It is also going to call upon our foreign reserves to be drawn because what people see as a black top on a road is nothing else than an oil derivative. In the 1970s, Kenya was opened up. Most of the tea roads that are standing up to today and most of the rural roads were made with what we normally refer to as murram. However, murram in engineering terms is just one type of the soil that can be used. This country was opened up in the 1970s quite successfully where produce could be transported from every area by using stabilized soils. I call upon engineers in the Ministry to come out and do more research on our local materials because that is what is going to make us achieve more infrastructure in The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

What is your point of order, Sen. (Dr.) Ali?

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Is the senior Senator from Nyeri County in order to say “the President of Nyeri?”

No, I never said that!

I guess it was slip of the tongue, but you said that.

No, Mr. Speaker, Sir; I said my people of Nyeri support the President. That is written somewhere in the annals of history and it does not have to be repeated.

What is your point of order, Sen. Poghisio?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I do not know if you noticed that both of the Members were on their feet at the same time, which means that one of them was out of order.

They were actually out order. Sen. (Eng.) Maina, conclude your contribution.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Sen. Poghisio has been here long enough and he knows the rules thoroughly. Therefore, we appreciate his comment. However, I was only stressing the fact that we support the President in his fight against corruption, because this country has no choice. The road sector is one area where we must look at how we can save the resources of this country. I call upon the Committee, this House, all people involved, the Ministry and the people in the devolved units to come together and think of how we are going to improve the road network in this country. We need a road network that will survive for long; one that will be done reasonably and economically for the benefit of the people of Kenya. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Proceed, Sen. Wetangula. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for the opportunity. Listening to my good friend – the tycoon from Nyeri County – talking about roads is very gratifying, because he is a contractor and he knows much more than many of us. Mr. Speaker, Sir, this Bill is in line with the new Constitution. It tries to give effect to the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution in trying to review, consolidate and rationalise the legal regime in the road sector. The Bill also seeks to reclassify roads and set up management structures that will help in the management, construction and maintenance of the road network. Mr. Speaker, Sir, because of limited time, I will go straight to the Bill. I do not know who will respond to the issues raised because both the Senate Majority Leader and the Chairperson of the Committee on Roads and Transportation are not here. If you look at Clauses 6 and 7 and run through all those established boards, there is very little provision for involvement of county governments. Roads, whether highways, super highways or feeder roads, are in the counties. Even where the responsibility falls under the national Government, it will be desirable to have the involvement of county governments. Mr. Speaker, Sir, Clause 7 establishes the Public Roads Standards Board. The composition of the Board is the State department responsible for public roads, that is, the national Government, and the State department responsible for matters relating to devolution, which is still the national Government. As you run through, there is no single mention of representation by either the Council of Governors (CoG) or any content for counties. When you talk of the State department responsible to matters relating to devolution, you are talking about the Ministry of Devolution and ASALs, which is a national Ministry. So, we are totally excluding county governments in whose jurisdiction roads of whatever classification fall. I urge those who brought the Bill that at the Committee Stage, we must amend, running through all these boards established and in a similar manner, to give some opportunity for the CoG to nominate representatives to these boards. If we do not do that, we run the risk of men and women sitting in Nairobi City County and pretending that they know what happens to the roads in Bomet, Mandera, Wajir and everywhere when, in fact, some of the roads that they are superintending on are devolved. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have looked at Clause 56, and I expected my good friend, the Chairpersons of the Committee of Finance and Budget, who has a long history with roads to mention this. Clause 56 is introducing a new tax on road users. As it is, road users in this country are heavily taxed. The fuel levy that we pay and the taxation of fuel and other taxes that people pay towards driving on our roads does not warrant the Bill to give authority to the Cabinet Secretary (CS) to create a new tax. The Clause says: “The Cabinet Secretary responsible for the National Treasury may, in consultation with the Cabinet Secretary, make Regulations in accordance with this section authorizing the imposition and collection of road user charges by the Authority in respect of roads, including the national and county roads.” To begin with, you are giving authority to the Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development to The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

On a point of Order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. At one time, I sought your protection from this man. This man, as you know him, since demonstrations ceased to happen after the handshake, he is suffering from excessive energy and that is why he is engaging in extra-ordinary matters by agitating other people in this House. He has called me a tycoon. Let it be so, my brother. I would wish to be one. I do not play in any league. I used to employ 5,000 people. Today I am employing only about 300 or 500 people.

What is your point of order?

Is he in order to attack me personally by calling me a tycoon and yet there is no known register for tycoons? Could he substantiate?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the more my distinguished colleague attempted to run away from what I said, the more he proved that that he is a tycoon. Employing 5,000 or 300 people is not a joke. How many Senators here employ even 20 people? You can see from my colleague’s body language that he is very excited that I called him a tycoon. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I was talking about those who play in big leagues. In this country, on road construction, there are very few contractors who play in the league that we are seeing the Chinese playing; maybe my good friend Joseph Swartzman and H. Young, Kirinyaga Construction and a few others, not more than 10. The rest are struggling to grow. They will only grow if the Government gives them affirmative action and protection. In fact, if this Government is committed to growing local entrepreneurship. They should also have a fund which is not mentioned anywhere to help young, emerging entrepreneurs, to acquire equipment for road construction, so that they can compete. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we have reached a situation where you go to a Ministry where they have put up tenders and the shortlisting of tenders to go to evaluation number one to seven are Chinese. Where are the rest of Kenyans? Some of these Chinese companies - probably not all of them - when they have these contracts, we find that 60 per cent of the labour is from China. This is totally unacceptable! This country has no shortage of engineers, crane drivers, shovel drivers, grader drivers or surveyors. However, everywhere there is a construction, you will see a Chinese holding equipment and directing somebody on the other end on what to do. We cannot allow this. We can only do this by law. The law that is being brought here is falling short of that. I want to see, even the authority we are setting up, because it will appropriate public funds, to have a fund where young emerging contractors can borrow from, so that they can also grow. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I also want to urge that the manner in which roads are constructed is very expensive. I want us to have it in the law. I am sure Sen. (Eng.) Mahamud can agree with me on this that if you go to other jurisdictions like the USA and other places, almost all major infrastructure is undertaken by the national government then handed over to the counties and the states for maintenance. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

That is okay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. If you go to Europe, you will find that a road that was constructed 100 years ago has never been reconstructed because it is routinely maintained. I am talking about maintenance. In Africa, and Kenya, in particular, maintenance, repairs are alien to our vocabulary. Mr. Speaker, Sir, in our own county, the road from Bungoma through Nalondo, Bokoli to Kimilili, since it was constructed, has never been maintained. It is now completely broken and torn and the only saviour would be to reconstruct it. We have a road from Lodwar to Kakuma. I used it the other day and you will have a better ride on The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Thank you, Sen. Wetangula. Yes, Sen. (Prof.) Ongeri.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to support this Bill with a few comments. The classification of roads as it appears here is quite in order. We have the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), Kenya Urban Infrastructure Development Programme and now the Kenya National Secondary Roads Authority. It is now very clear that there are two distinct governments; the national government and county governments. The intention of creating county governments is to bequeath the county governments the capacity and ability to do their own things. When you look through this Bill, there is nowhere it postulates the amount of money set either by the Authority established, that is, the Kenya National Highways Authority or the The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Hon. Senators, before we proceed, I have a brief Communication. I would like to acknowledge the presence, in the Public Gallery this afternoon, of visiting students and teachers from Sigiria Secondary School, Migori County. In our usual tradition of receiving and welcoming visitors to Parliament, I extend The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to join you in welcoming Sigiria Secondary School in Migori County. I also take this opportunity to thank you very much for supporting the family of our late brother, Sen. Ben Oluoch Okello. You came in when the family needed support and you visited them in the hospital. Secondly, when our brother passed on, you came forward and rallied all Senators to support the family. You also attended the fundraising in person to help offset the funeral expenses. Lastly, you also came to bid him farewell in Migori County. On behalf of the people of Migori County, I sincerely thank all my colleagues, together with our Clerk, for contributing heavily to help our brother who was in need. Mr. Speaker Sir, I also take this opportunity to welcome the students. I want them to emulate the late Senator Ben Oluoch Okello and some of us who are here in different capacities in terms of profession. As the students learn what we do here, I want to warn them against the trend of burning schools when examinations draw near. This is something that we must condemn. The students must prepare well for examinations. In Nyanza region, we have 19 secondary schools that have been set ablaze. It will cost their parents to rebuild those schools. We want the Government to take stern action against the culprits, who are afraid to take the examinations. That kind of hooliganism is unacceptable and we want to the Government to jail them, if they are above 18 years old. Punitive measures should be taken, so that this impunity of burning schools every year when examinations approach comes to an end. I truly believe that the teachers who are before us today have prepared this wonderful school called Sigiria. I expect that, at the end of this year, a good number of students will pass with flying colours and join universities, in honour of the late Sen. Ben Oluoch Okello. With those few remarks, I welcome them.

Hon. Senators, some of you may also wish to appreciate the students, but we have other schools lined up. I will stop it there and invite Sen. (Dr.) Mwaura to continue with the debate.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kamar): Order, hon. Senator! There is an intervention from Sen. Cherargei. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. According to Standing Order No. 35 a quorum of the Senate or a Committee of the Whole shall be 15 Senators. I have noticed we are only 12 Senators in the House. Is it in order?

(Sen. (Prof.) Kamar): Can the Clerks ascertain if that is the position?

That has been confirmed so. Can we have the Quorum Bell rung for five minutes?

(Sen. (Prof.) Kamar): Order, hon. Members! We now have a quorum. Sen. Mwaura, you still have eight minutes left.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kamar): Before you do that, I have a communication to make now that an opportunity has availed itself. Hon. Senators, I would like to acknowledge the presence, in the Public Gallery this afternoon of a visiting delegation of students and teachers from St. Kizito Primary School, Isiolo County. In our usual tradition of receiving and welcoming visitors to Parliament, I extend a warm welcome to them. On behalf of the Senate and on my own behalf, I wish them a fruitful visit. I thank you.

Hon. Senators, again, before I call Sen. Mwaura, I would like to invite Sen. Halake who has requested to talk on behalf of this Senate to the students.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to welcome the students and teachers of St. Kizito Primary School from my county; Isiolo County.

The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kamar): Order, hon. Members! I can see two hon. Members in between me and the speaker on the Floor.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for protecting me. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the students and teachers of St. Kizito Primary School from my county, Isiolo. I would like to inform the House that I started my early years of primary school at St. Kizito Primary School. Therefore, these are students not just from my county, but also from my former school. So, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome them to the Senate and tell them that they can be anything they want to be because, like me, their dreams are valid. With discipline, hard work and the right values, they can be anything they want to be, including being in this Senate. Madam Temporary Speaker, they have three teachers among them. In this country, we do not celebrate our teachers; we are always looking at their bad side only. However, today, I would like to celebrate those teachers for the good work they are doing with these children and also for the fine work they did with me. I thank the students and teachers from St. Kizito Primary School and them all the best. I request the teachers to keep up the good work, and welcome to the Senate.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kamar): Thank you, Sen. Halake. Sen. Mwaura, you can now continue.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. I also want to thank the Senators who came in to give us quorum.

I would like to tell my good friend, Sen. Cherargei, who is a first time Member, that there are both written and unwritten Standing Orders of the House. Madam Temporary Speaker, I was giving an example about the development of Thika Superhighway, and I was trying to ask the House to interrogate the kind of development model it is where we get loans from foreign countries, in this case China, you have a small contribution by the Kenya Government, divide the works into three and give all of them to Chinese companies. The Chinese companies then come with their technology which is faster, the question of durability is debatable. They use their prisoners or those other people who provide cheap labour to do their jobs. They take back all the money because they are going to be paid, then you are left with the road and a loan to service and whoever negotiated the contract has also gone away with his 10 or 20 per cent of the cost of the project. Is this really sustainable, my fellow Senators? The issue is that we have to interrogate it. It is true that the value of the land has appreciated around Thika Superhighway and there are more constructions going on The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kamar): Order, Sen. Mwaura! There is a point of information. Would you like to be informed?

Yes, Madam Temporary Speaker.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kamar): Proceed, Sen. Wetangula.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. Sen. Mwaura, I congratulate you for the very intelligent contribution you are making. I wish to inform you that with the absurdity of what you are saying about the Thika Superhighway, immediately after the former President, Mwai Kibaki, officially launched the road, in the next financial year, there was an item of Kshs1.2 billion on Thika Superhighway for maintenance - a brand new road being maintained.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kamar): That is good information. Proceed, Sen. Mwaura.

Thank you, Sen. Wetangula. I appreciate the information and for giving us the quorum which is very important. Indeed, that is where I had a problem because I have been analysing this project called Thika Superhighway. So, soon after the Thika Superhighway was constructed, all of us are now there with our small vehicles because everyone in the village believes that when you buy a vehicle, it means that you have become a rich man; the home rich or the bourgeoisie of this country. When you look at even the design of the road, we have five lanes leading to a bottleneck here at Ngara. Why did we not have several tiers so that you do not need to come to town if you are going to Westlands? The conceptualisation is about money and spending. It is a good road, but is there any solution to those challenges? Why have we not thought about moving away from roads to even having light trains? However, the Chinese have given us the money. The African Development Bank needs to do more, so that we do not become vulnerable. Madam Temporary Speaker, yesterday, we were debating on how they are doing simple jobs on the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). Where is the technology transfer? Who has become a better engineer? Why are we devaluing ourselves as a country? Do they think that we are lesser human beings and we cannot construct roads? Yes, we have the Kenya Institute of Highways and Building Technology (KIHBT), which is financed by this country and over 70 universities, most of which offer engineering courses. We have to wake up and smell the coffee. The roads that are being constructed today are not built to last so that we can save money every year by increasing the road network coverage in this country. They are actually built to be maintained. Even Thika Superhighway has problems of drainage and a Mwaura somewhere will be given the contract to maintain it, just as Sen. Wetangula said. You will be shocked to find that the maintenance contract will be equal to constructing many other kilometers of roads. Madam Temporary Speaker, we are depriving our counties of resources. They hoped to see how we can construct roads at a cheaper cost. People may have ridiculed Governor Alfred Mutua, but he tried and demonstrated to us that we can benefit from The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for giving me a chance to contribute briefly to this Bill. I am yet to come across a Bill that promotes devolution in this country. Any Bill which is sponsored by the Majority Party and, more so, by the Government, does not care about devolution. From the outset, when you look at the objects and purpose of this Bill, you will be duped to say that it is actually very good, because it seems to be giving effect to the provisions of the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution. However, when you proceed and read it, you realise that it is an avenue of curtailing and taking powers away from the devolved governments. Madam Temporary Speaker, I will go straight to the point and I will not belabour the issue. If this Bill was really designed to ensure proper public participation and accountability, there is no reason why everyone who is in that Board is from the Government. They should have improved it by including representatives from the Kenya Institute of Planners (KIP) or accountants, just to bring in some independence to ensure the transparency that they are talking about in this Bill. Madam Temporary Speaker, Clause 10 talks about the classification of these roads. This should not be left to one person. It should be dealt with by an independent body. When you give the Cabinet Secretary (CS) powers to classify roads then, he can wake up at any time and decide to classify the roads as he wishes. The other big issue I have with this Bill is to do with the creation of this national trunk roads. This is interesting because they are classifying county roads but then the function of designing those roads is given to the national Government. Where is the county government in this? This is, therefore, a terrible Bill because when you read every clause, you find that it is just an avenue to abate corruption. Clause 56 states- “The Cabinet Secretary responsible for finance may, in consultation with the Cabinet Secretary, make Regulations in accordance with this section authorizing the imposition and collection of road user charges by the Authority in respect of roads, including national and county roads.” There was no public participation; you did not consult the county governments and yet you continue taxing Kenyans, who are currently overtaxed. Just the other day, we objected to the introduction of a 16 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) on petroleum products. We are charging taxpayers more on all petroleum products, which will increase all their taxes; yet again, we give the CS powers to introduce a levy. It is taking away our job as legislators. We are giving powers to them by creating some mini-gods who will levy more taxes to Kenyans as if we are not overtaxed. Madam Temporary Speaker, when you read Class C where it says “secondary national trunk roads”, this is part of the national trunk roads. It says- “Roads forming important regional routes, linking county headquarters or other regionally important centres, constituency headquarters, municipal or town council centres and other towns to each The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for giving me a chance to contribute to this Bill. From the outset, I want to say that this is an important Bill and is long overdue. I will support it, but with some amendments because it is not promoting the spirit of devolution. We need to analyse it critically because our role is to oversight county governments and take care of their interests. The passage of this Bill might slow down the development of infrastructure in our counties. Therefore, I urge this House to align this Bill to the functions of county governments. We can pass it as the Kenya National Roads Bill so that the authority envisaged in it, does not interfere with county roads. Madam Temporary Speaker, when you look at Part II of this Bill on the establishment of the Public Roads Centred Boards, states as follows: “The Board shall consist of a representative from each of the following bodies: The State department responsible for public roads; State department responsible for matters relating to devolution; the inter-governmental relation technical committee and all other authorities not having a single representative of the county governments and not having a single committee member from the county governments.” What are the functions of this Board? The functions of this Public Roads Standards Board are very good. I request to read the functions. It says: “To look into the standards for roads and bridges materials, designs, construction, maintenance and performance levels. Standard contract forms for work and consultancy services. The research and studies necessary for development and updating on public roads standards.” These are quite good functions. However, we are lacking the public participation aspects in this Bill. We need to listen to the voices of the counties. In the absence of public participation, we pass it as the National Roads Bill and exclude the county governments. The issue of classification is very good. Management and maintenance of our roads is a good idea. As I talk, the issue of maintenance of our roads in this country is wanting. We spent a lot of money constructing our roads, but when it comes to maintenance, we do nothing. Today, many roads are not passable because they have not been maintained for a long time. They have developed potholes and are completely damaged. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

(KeRRA), Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) or the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA). Many people do not know which roads belong to which class. Therefore, having the county roads agency is a nice idea for our counties. It will have a database of the roads and know which ones have been done, which ones need to be done next and to what level they have been done. We also need to develop a tradition of continuity. If we were to complete a road and the money allocated to it was not enough, then we need to allocate more money in the next financial year to finish it and do quality work. The agency should be responsible for looking at the standards. However, there is no way the county can adhere to the standards that have been set by a national Government agency or board that has no county representation. Therefore, I will be very reluctant to support this Bill, unless several amendments have been done or we do two Bills. In this Bill, classification, management and the establishment of the Public Roads Standards Board is okay. However, it should have the representation of the counties that we are supposed to oversight. I will not support this Bill.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kamar): Yes, Sen. Halake.

Madam Temporary Speaker, thank you for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this important Bill. I have a lot of issues with this Bill. All Senators have alluded to and very passionately talked about the issue of protection of county governments. This Bill takes away from the county governments. Why do I say this? This Bill gives the Cabinet Secretary (CS) express power to reclassify roads? It does not give provision for consultation with counties or any consultative or accountable participation that is expressly described in this Bill. Which means that the CS or the The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kamar): Senator for Mandera, do you have an intervention?

Madam Temporary Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order No. 99 (1), I beg to move that the debate on the Bill be now adjourned to enable the Mover of the Bill, the Senate Majority Leader, who is away on official business to reply.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kamar): Hon. Senators, you have heard the request by Sen. (Eng.) Mahamud, according to the Standing Order No. 99 (1), that debate be now adjourned.

Hon. Senators, we had skipped one very important sector of the Statements from the Senate Majority Leader. Now, the Sen. (Eng.) Mahamud will take charge of that Statement.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. Hon. Senators, pursuant to Standing Order No. 46(2)(c) I, hereby, present to the Senate, the business of the House for the week commencing Tuesday, 17th July, 2018. The Senate Business Committee (SBC) will meet on Tuesday 17th July, 2018 to schedule the business of the Senate of the week. Subject to further directions by the SBC, The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Hon. Senators, I wish to communicate that I will defer Order No.9, the Irrigation Bill (National Assembly Bills No.46 of 2017) due to the official absence of the Senate Majority Leader, who is away on official duty.

Thank you, Madam Temporary. I will move the Motion and call another Senator to second. Sen. Chebeni will be there to support. I hope that is in order.

That is in order. Proceed. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kamar): Thank you. Kindly proceed, Sen. (Prof.) Ongeri.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I thank you for giving this opportunity to second this important Motion. It is dealing with an issue that is so common The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kamar): You still have five minutes more. Let us see how you will fair with that.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. I am just looking at the common issues. I have talked about the mood, thinking and behaviour. When you put these three categories together, they create a disease burden for this country. Burden is measured by the percentage of the people who are affected by these. The disease burden, through the mental illnesses, constitutes 13 per cent of the population in this country and globally. You cannot ignore that. If you look at our mental illness policy outline from 2015 to 2030, it will rise up to about 15 per cent. So, we must see it as a burden of disease that we must deal with and not run away from it. I must mention about stigma. Once somebody labels you as having mental illnesses, you will be subjected to some level of stigma which is very difficult to erase, for instance, the stigma of HIV/AIDS. When we had the HIV/AIDS pandemic when I was the Minister for Health, I had a very difficult time trying to get Kenyans to accept and think that HIV/AIDS is a normal condition. It is only caused by a virus, but you need to know how to manage it, what kinds of foods you should take, that is, the nutritional requirements like the micronutrients that you need to take, et cetera . Of course, if the viral load density is very high, then you need to take some antiretroviral drugs. Therefore, it was a question of image and psych on how to deal with these things. When we got around, I realised that the most affected were the young people. That is when we brought in that popular band from New York City; Cool and Gang, here in Nairobi at Uhuru Park. The whole idea was to attract the young people and in the process of attracting them, I said: “Why do you not know your HIV/AIDS status?” I was sure, at that time, that 90 per cent of the Kenyan population was HIV negative. It was only 10 to 14 per cent of the population that was HIV positive because that was the overall prevalence rate at that time. Similarly, we can adopt a similar approach in dealing with the mental illnesses like any other normal illnesses that we want to deal with. This will enable us deal with this issue of stigma because the minute you stigmatize that patient as mental, nobody would want to touch them. So, what are the consequences of this? There are many sick people with mental illness cases hidden and bounded up in the house as well as neglected. That is, obviously, human rights abuse. All you need to do is to take them to a health facility. I want to thank the Movers of this Motion, Sen. Kasanga and Sen. Chebeni because it is now time we are saying that we must tackle this issue head on. It is not a difficult condition; it is preventable. You would be surprised to know that some of these disorders which are genetic are very few; they are not a majority. Therefore, where do these others come from? They are acquired like the social stigma that we put around ourselves. Some may be psychological, biological and environmental factors. I have talked about the environmental factors; the pressures around – poverty or even the meal for the day; how am I going to survive today? That is why when we say that we are creating poverty--- When we fight corruption, we are not doing it for the sake of it; we are driving the population of Kenya from the level of depression because they do not know how to survive on a given day. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

(Sen. (Prof) Kamar): I have added you three more minutes. We are learning a lot.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. They have drunk themselves silly and once this happens, they need some kind of rehabilitation. This is a withdrawal syndrome that you want to withdraw from alcohol, but you must be in a position to treat them. Even though they appear with mental symptoms, they would still be treatable. We have seen many alcoholics recover to be normal. Some of them are now the greatest pastors around this country and in the world. They have come from alcoholism to pastors; people saving souls. The point I am trying to make is that these are issues that we can deal with squarely. Finally, we must know in our daily lives how to treat anger, anxiety and panic when you are faced with a difficult situation; how to deal with simple depressions – I am not talking about the compulsive depressions – and so on. Of course, the Mover of the Motion mentioned the Bipolar Disorder where someone has split personalities. This can then be handled by the mental health experts. We must learn how to deal with drugs in our society. In conclusion, what I am saying is that mental illness is a treatable condition. We must create the necessary services and infrastructure at our county level because county hospitals are capable of doing that. We must increase the number of doctors who are trained as psychiatrists as well as nurses who are trained as nurse psychiatrists to take care of them, and the going will be very smooth. This will ensure that this kind of burden of disease that we carry as nation can be lightened and become much easier and simpler to handle. So, the solution is that we should put in more money in healthcare. I am hoping, from the Big Four Agenda which includes Universal Health Coverage in the pilot scheme that they have started, that this is one of the areas they will be looking at. They should look at each and every burden of diseases such as Malaria, Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

(Sen. (Prof) Kamar): Thank you, Senator.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to support this Motion by Sen. Kasanga and Sen. Chebeni, which seeks for the establishment of mental health and psycho-social support centres at the county level.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the WHO lists Kenya among the countries that do not have a separate budget for mental health. This is a serious problem because way back in 2016, the estimates were that about 11.5 million people were suffering from mental health illnesses. Some people do not understand this concept of mental health. I thank the Senator for Kisii County for demystifying the whole issue. Many people think that mental health is when you have gone completely cuckoo, and then the only place that you can be sent to is Mathari Mental Hospital. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it is important that county governments are involved in supporting the welfare of the Kenyan people. The mental health welfare of our society is very important because every so often, all of us suffer some form of mental illness. Some of us are stressed on a daily basis; some go through depression while others abuse alcohol, all of which are forms of mental health illnesses. It is sad that in Kenya – where we fight so much and brag about having a huge budget focusing on health care – we cannot support people suffering from some forms of mental illness. Mr. Temporary Speaker, I worry about the disabled in this country because that was not what they intended to be in life; it just happened to them. In addition to that, they also suffer some form of mental illness. If this country cannot come up with a separate budget dedicated to building these healthcare facilities, how will they support this economy? This is, therefore, an excellent Motion and I hope that the Ministry of Health is also listening keenly. If you look at the number of shrinks or psychiatrists in this country, it is below par. Nurses who are trained to attend to people with forms of mental illnesses are very few. I read somewhere that they are only 427 in the whole country. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I also wish to add my voice to this very important Motion. I wish to thank Sen. Mercy Chebeni for bringing this wonderful Motion. The issue of mental health and establishing psychosocial centres in the counties are long overdue. From what we have learnt today, there are only 14 centres The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Sen. (Dr.) Musuruve.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, thank you for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this important Motion. Mental health is very important. The Big Four Agenda cannot be achieved if the citizens of this nation are not mentally healthy. Even the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that every nation is fronting aim at ensuring the wellbeing of every person in the world. As a country, we have to anchor our developments on the SDGs. I am saying this because, as a nation, we do not want to be left behind. Just as other nations are concerned about the well being of their citizens, this nation should also be concerned about the mental well being of its citizens. When we talk of mental health, we are looking at a situation where someone is physically and mentally stable to do whatever they are supposed to in this Republic, so that we add to the development of this country. I commend the two Senators who have come up with this Motion, that is, Sen. Chebeni and Sen. Kasanga. They say clearly that the Mental Health Act was enacted in 1991. After 1991 there has not been a council that is mandated to carry out the functions of the board. It means that this board is a toothless bulldog. It does not have the teeth to perform its functions. Mental health is a county issue because counties are supposed to provide the ambulances, health facilities and medics. This Motion is very relevant to this House. As Senators, we have to be keen to find out what exactly is happening in the counties. Are counties doing anything to ensure that Kenyans are mentally healthy? The Senators have clearly said there are only 88 psychiatrists and 427 nurses qualified in this area. This is a very serious statement; that a nation like Kenya with a population of over 40 million has only 88 psychiatrists and 427 nurses who are qualified. There is need for the Government to be serious in order to achieve one of the Big Four Agenda items, which is health. Mental health affects the lives of Kenyans. If this situation is not arrested or addressed we will have many people getting into depression because of the mental illness. The Motion also says that one in every four Kenyans suffers from depression, which is a statement we cannot take for granted. Also, four out five suicide cases are caused by depression. Life is important. Article 26 of the Constitution is clear that every citizen has a right to life. There is need for us to anchor whatever we do to the Constitution. It is important for governors to take seriously the issue of health and ensure that they devolve the services, so that they reach the common man. We have been elected for the purpose of serving the citizens of this country. That demands that we commit to the work we do. All the issues that we bring to the Floor of this House are not issue we can joke with. They are serious issues that affect the citizens of this country and the Government should ensure that they are sorted out. We have been employed for the purpose of bringing these issues to the Floor of this House and ensuring that the Government implements them. This will ensure that devolution serves the common man. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we have different kinds of depression. Depression can be arrested in good time before we end up having suicide cases or walking zombies. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for giving me a chance to also contribute to this important Motion. From the onset, I congratulate my two sisters, Sen. Chebeni and Sen. Kasanga for having thought about this group of people who are rarely recognized and thought about by many people in the country. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, mental cases in our country and most of our communities are always referred to as social misfits or people who have been bewitched or cursed by their ancestors. Therefore, guardians, parents or families of people with mental illness suffer stigma which is a difficult situation. It is also costly to treat people with mental illnesses. My colleagues have said that there are14 facilities in the county which treat mental cases but I only know of Mathari Hospital which for many years, I thought was a jail because when a mental patient is taken there, it is like they have been The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Hon. Senators, there being no other requests from you, I request the sponsor of this Motion to reply. Proceed, Sen. Chebeni.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I rise to reply to this Motion. I would like to thank all Senators who have contributed and given recommendations to this Motion. We will take into account all the issues they have raised concerning this sector. These include issues of resources like qualified trained personnel, budgetary allocations, increasing the level of mental health awareness among Kenyan citizens and also psycho-social support centres or institutions in our country. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, mental health is, indeed, a major issue that has been neglected. It is time for the Senate to champion for a change in attitudes towards the administration of mental health illnesses. We cannot talk about health without acknowledging the mental health aspect. Therefore, I would like to thank the Senators who have contributed to this Motion. Mr. Temporary Speaker, all mental illnesses are treatable and this country has the capacity to handle all cases at all levels, both at the national and county. We should not limit our budgetary allocations to only two or three per cent, yet we can take care of this problem as a country. We should not let our people to continue suffering and yet it is an issue that we can deal with. I, therefore, echo the sentiments of my fellow Senators in calling for a separate budget when it comes to mental health issues. Some Senators have raised the issue of coming up with a database for patients, free treatment and capacity building to ensure that we increase the number of professionals. It is sad that we only have 88 psychiatrists to deal with 45 million Kenyans. This is not fair and we will take that into account. We have also heard from Sen. Seneta on the issue of benchmarking. As a country, we need to learn how to deal with mental health issues in all aspects. We need to go out there and see what developed countries have done with regard to mental health issues. Without saying much, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I kindly request Senators to vote in support of this Motion to enable us to move forward with the recommendations they have given us. Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir.

Hon. Senators, pursuant to Standing Order No.73, I determine that this Motion does not affect counties. Therefore, voting shall be by acclamation.

Let us move on to the next Order.

Hon. Senators, I defer the following Motions in Order Nos. 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Hon. Senators, it is now 6.30 p.m.; time to adjourn the House. The Senate, therefore, stands adjourned until Tuesday, 17th July, 2018, at 2.30 p.m. The Senate rose at 6.30 p.m. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.