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{
    "id": 1227568,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1227568/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 276,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cheruiyot",
    "speaker_title": "The Senate Majority Leader",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13165,
        "legal_name": "Aaron Kipkirui Cheruiyot",
        "slug": "aaron-cheruiyot"
    },
    "content": "Colleagues, you know for a fact that the work of the Secretariat is to make us look good. The very competent staff of the Senate present many of the citations and presentations that we make out there. I know that for a fact. I served as a Chairperson of the Parliamentary Service Commission Committee on Staff Welfare for five years. I know you will struggle out there to find staff as competent as staffers in Parliament, especially those in the Senate. I have no offence to the staffers who serve in the National Assembly. I would never has said that in the last Parliament. However, I now have the luxury of saying the truth. Staff of the Senate are extremely competent. They understand and know their duties and roles and, on many occasions, prepare the Senate. I celebrate the work that has been done also by Mr. Nyegenye as he leads the team together with his two able deputies; Mr. Mohammed Ali and Ms. Eunice Gichangi, who have led the Senate in the last 10 years quite remarkably, amid a lot of difficulty, especially when you have battles with the National Assembly. It is not easy to target Senators. Whenever my colleague and counterpart in the National Assembly, Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah, says about me, I can answer back because I am elected just like him. However, I shudder to imagine what staffers of Parliament, especially those in the Senate go through when cited in the National Assembly in reports and mentioned on the Floor at times because of inter-House battles. I do not think that it has been easy for the Senate staffers. On many occasions, they have been on the receiving end, wrongfully most of the time if not all, from our colleagues and leadership in the National Assembly. However, because of the stance that the Senate has taken, it is easy to find bogeymen in the leadership of Senate staff mostly in the place of Mr. Nyegenye. I celebrate and urge colleagues to focus onto the next 10 years. I know that we have started with difficulty. However, I give my assurance to the Senate and the country that we shall find our bearing, space and close the ranks. I believe that the current Senate will serve as the best Senate that has ever been; better than the other two. I know that with great difficulty as they say there is always a silver lining in every cloud. At the moment, with all the difficulty that we are facing in the country and as an institution; people might begin to imagine or think that perhaps not much shall be achieved. I urge them to watch this space. This Senate will achieve great things both for the country and various counties. Mr. Speaker, Sir, with those many remarks, I thank you for indulging me. I also celebrate you for the work you have done in the last few months. It has not been easy, but there shall be a time to celebrate you even more once you steer us to greater success. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I thank you and my colleagues for indulging me."
}