Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1462405,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1462405/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 253,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. M. Kajwang’",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13162,
        "legal_name": "Moses Otieno Kajwang'",
        "slug": "moses-otieno-kajwang"
    },
    "content": "Devolution is not just about counties, because sometimes we think that when you talk devolution, it is just about counties. Devolution is a balance of power between the subsidiary units and the national Government unit. When you are talking about devolution, you cannot talk about counties at the expense of the national Government. That is the reason why there was a need to have this coordinating mechanism, which was given effect by the Intergovernmental Relations Act. In the last Parliament, I looked at the Intergovernmental Relations Act. It is an Act of Parliament that needs further amendments beyond what we are doing today. I will give you an example of the unprecedented transfer of functions that happened in Nairobi City County. Transfer of functions should be guided by Article 189 and given further effect in the Intergovernmental Relations Act. We realised that there were a lot of gaps in the Intergovernmental Relations Act. That is why the Nairobi Metropolitan Service (NMS) was not able to be scrutinised properly. That is why the Nairobi City County Assembly was not able to provide oversight and be involved in allocation of budgets to the NMS in the manner that the Constitution expects of devolved services. I encourage the Standing Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations to look at the legacy report that we left and bring further amendments to this Act to give greater effect on transfer of functions. However, I congratulate the Senate Majority Leader because he has picked another element in that Act that has been a bit hazy. The IGRTC was supposed to be the secretariat to the summit. It was also supposed to be the secretariat to the COG However, because the governors were better organised, and the inaugural Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the COG was a lady who is now a judge, she did a great job in establishing the COG to an extent where the COG was almost in competition with the Senate. I recall in the 11th and 12th Parliament, the Chairs of the COG would make pronouncements, which many at times would be at variance with the Senate, and yet the Senate is a constitutional institution that is supposed to represent and defend the interests of counties and their governments. It got so bad that even the chairs of the COG, were unwilling to subject themselves to scrutiny at the Senate. When Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale was the chair of the Public Accounts Committee, the then governor of Kakamega County, who was the Chair of the Council of Governors, refused to appear before the Senate. The then governor of Bomet County, who at some point served as a Chair of the COG, Governor Isaac Ruto, refused to come to the Senate. They used public resources to take the Senate to court. As we provide a legal framework recognition for the COG, I want the Committee that will be scrutinising this Bill to put this question to the COG. That out of their legal expenditure, what percentage has been litigation against the Senate? It forms the bulk of their legal expenses. It is so ridiculous that at some point, governors were required by the COG to make a contribution for them to file a case against a report that was adopted by this House. I was the Chair who tabled that report in this House. It was called the Fiduciary Risks Report. We had summarised the emerging crosscutting audit issues that the Auditor General has raised over the years."
}