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{
    "id": 585404,
    "url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/585404/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 167,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. S.S. Ahmed",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 140,
        "legal_name": "Ahmed Shakeel Shabbir Ahmed",
        "slug": "shakeel-shabbir"
    },
    "content": "functions. They were clearly told that we needed a very strong Senate for the first 10 to 20 years, so that devolution is not sidelined by the National Assembly. They actually said that. My dear brother, Hon. Orengo, Hon. Wetangula and all of them were very clear. So, when they went to the Senate, they went with a clear indication that the Senate was going to look after, promote and protect the devolution process. When we see that they are now looking at the Kenya Airways and other things, we wonder whether they have lost focus. Let me come back to this Bill. With regard to the Cancer Prevention and Control Act, there is absolutely no harm, and it is good to specify and specialise at county, sub-county and constituency levels - as to what can be done concerning the prevention of cancer. However, the Cancer Protection and Control Act is going to be linked to international conventions and regulations on cancer. This means that there must be a national body to hold certain functions, standards and promotion of certain ways forward. They should sign and be in touch with international bodies which deal with cancer issues. That has to be. The moment you devolve it to counties, at every cancer conference, the 47 counties will be represented from Kenya and there will be no national message. Ebola and the Middle East Fever were national issues. Had West African and North African countries like Liberia not taken a national stance, Ebola was not going to be eradicated. As much as that is the case, I do not see why the county governments cannot liaise and work within the provisions of the National Cancer Prevention and Control Act. They should not try to operate as if they are standardizing the Act for the counties. It will not work and it is meant to be a national function. Devolution means that you devolve these functions in your State. For instance, although albinism is not a disease, it is a national function. The roles of the national Government and the county governments are the thread of my argument throughout. This is the same with the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) Act. It is national and we must have national standards. However, as long as those national standards are adopted, they can then be modified in consultations and approval of the national bodies by the county. If the national body says that the speed limit is 70km/h, the county cannot say that the speed limit in Kisumu County is 30km/h. It does not make sense. But there may be particular reasons why the county governments want to change. In the United States of America (USA), in terms of traffic laws, what is legal in one county is illegal in another. People have diverse rules. As a result, people get confused. The very fact, as my colleague has said, is that Kenya is a unitary state. We agree. The Constitution is for Kenya as a unitary State. But the devolution function is to see how we can devolve those responsibilities that were hitherto carried out by the national Government to the local government so that there is local content on the issue. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, there is also the issue of the National Traffic and Safety Authority Act. There may be a place in Kisumu where the Act says 80 miles an hour. In Kisumu, we might come to a particular corner which we know that it is very dangerous and has killed many people and then we say 20 miles an hour. It must be in conjunction with the national Act. We are specialising it because we have certain desires to improve the safety of the people."
}