HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 1372615,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1372615/?format=api",
"text_counter": 187,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Omogeni",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 13219,
"legal_name": "Erick Okong'o Mogeni",
"slug": "erick-okongo-mogeni"
},
"content": "these fights of we want to have more power than the other level of government. That should not be. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I want to be on record that on behalf of the people of Nyamira County, I will be opposing. I stand here to oppose this proposed amendment, especially where it is clawing back on functions that have been reserved by the Constitution of Kenya 2010 for county governments. Even reading the creation of a tribunal as proposed in this Bill, there is no participation of our county governments. We are giving that power to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to appoint advocates and engineers, without any involvement of our county governments. That is not the way to go. At times I sit back and wonder. If we do not want devolution, why can we not be bold, come up with a referendum, do away with the devolution, and then transfer every service and function to the national Government? We know governors have issues. However, if we take away all these functions from them, what will be the functions of governors? Is it just to send money to them; they get salaries and big vehicles? When I go to Nyamira County, I want to ask my governor questions about the provision of water to my people. If I go to my ward where I was born and bred where Mzee Gekara sweet-talked Mama Nyamukami to get married to, I want those people to know that their Senator is fighting for them to get piped water and lead better lives than my mother, Nyamukami, who used to draw water from the river. I do not want to pose those questions to the President in the State House, but to my governor. If we allow this amendment, we will be giving them a lame excuse. They will be saying water is not their function. When I was doing oversight over Christmas, I visited several areas where our governor has drilled boreholes, but which are not able to supply water to the citizens. Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, if you travel with me to Nyangena, Riakemai and Enchoro in Bosamaro Ward, the governor has drilled boreholes, but he has not connected water to the citizens. Those are the issues that should be occupying our minds here not to tell them that we want these services to be taken away from them. No. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I want to urge my colleagues from the other side to look at this law very objectively and we discharge our functions as men and women who have taken oath to defend devolution. That is what we should be doing. Whether you come from the County of Baringo, Tana River, or Kakamega County, your people need water. That is the basic. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, in terms of what we should be discussing, other countries have made great strides in storing water. When I was Chairperson of the Law Society Kenya (LSK), I attended the International Bar Association Meeting in Madrid in 2008. As part of the tour, the legal body of Spain took us to a site where water is stored and they told us that is a national security-protected area. This is because they value issues of water storage as a serious matter of national security. You must have water stored for your people. Here in Kenya, we had El Nino a few months ago. Did we store any water? None. We did not store water. That is what the Government should be concerned about now. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard Services,Senate."
}