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{
    "id": 1462378,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1462378/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 226,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cheruiyot",
    "speaker_title": "The Senate Majority Leader",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13165,
        "legal_name": "Aaron Kipkirui Cheruiyot",
        "slug": "aaron-cheruiyot"
    },
    "content": "This is one of the serious discussions that comes out of that particular forum and they ask us to anchor them in law for a horizontal relationship with the county governments so that they are able to perform their duties and roles better. I have been around all these years that this House has existed and I feel bad about the fact that, we, as the Senate, have actually been unfair to our colleagues who serve in the county assemblies. Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, do you know that even the offices of leadership in our county assemblies are not anchored in any legislation or any law? It is expected of us, especially the Senate, which understands the importance of proper leadership in our county assemblies to establish that, so that they are able to hold governors to account. That is why we need a County Assemblies Forum (CAF) that is not just a lobby group. What exists today is simply a lobby group, where like-minded people come together and continue to lobby for and on behalf of our county assemblies. That is why there is even a splinter group, the one that Sen. Cherarkey mentioned just a few minutes ago. It is called the Association of Members of the County Assemblies (AMCA). CAF brings together the Speakers, the Clerks and the Members of County Assemblies. The MCAs long got tired of waiting for CAF to bring out their issues and make sure they are properly addressed and so they set up an institution of their own, the one called AMCA. I have told them many times that while I may agree with them in the diagnosis of the challenge that county assemblies face, I do not agree with their final prescription, which is the MCAs forming a union that is a body corporate separate to them. CAF brings together all the working organs and offices of the county assemblies and that is part of the proposal that is being given here. To the specifics of the Bill, it proposes to change the name of the Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee (IGRTC). That name is a mouthful. The committee is headed by a gentleman, whose name I keep forgetting. He is a very good friend of ours who never misses either devolution conferences or legislative summits to speak on behalf of the institution. We propose to rename it Intergovernmental Relations Agency. We are not creating a new institution, but just renaming it, so that it is easier for everybody to relate to and understand what it is all about. By having the word “technical” in that name, it reduces even their seriousness and how people perceive them. They imagine these are people whose duty is just to provide technical advice and it ends there. That is why we want to rename it such that when they speak, people listen, appreciate and understand what that institution does. This legislative proposal proposes to remove the Principal Secretary (PS) responsible for matters of devolution from the IGRTC. We feel that the presence of the PS in that institution was misplaced. This is purely about our county governments and their assemblies. There will be another level at which they interact but not necessarily sitting together on one board. This Bill also provides the qualifications and terms of the chairperson and members of the committee. Like any agency, you must set up the time or period for which people must serve. Like any good institution, it does not matter how talented you are."
}