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{
"id": 1589393,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1589393/?format=api",
"text_counter": 434,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Cheruiyot",
"speaker_title": "The Senate Majority Leader",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, be that as it may, I appreciate that there has been a protracted debate before us since morning, with both counsels for the Assembly and those of the Governor trading accusations against the other, on whether a sitting actually happened. You know, Members, we live in Kenya. Do not be like these elitists in Nairobi City, who talk about Kenya from a perspective of an urban centre. How many times do we go to far flung counties, including the very last one we went to in Turkana? Do you know part of the things the County Assembly asked us to donate to them? Even Hansard recordings alone, we did that when we last went to Turkana. We must also appreciate that our county assemblies need our support big time, both in terms of technical and even material support. Mr. Speaker, Sir, some of these counties are so small that if you were to judge them with the standard of a county like Nairobi City or here in the Senate, we will be aloof. If you expect that they have CCTVs or cameras, you are asking too much of this county. In 2016, I was part and parcel of the Committee on Budget that looked at the state of counties such as Isiolo and Nyandarua. I accepted that despite the fact that we have 47 counties, there are five counties that there was no way, without being granted a conditional grant, were going to have a county headquarters. In fact, it is in this year's Division of Revenue Act, that we have given them the last contribution. That is why the counsel for the Assembly did not do a good job at expounding to you, Members, to understand that actually the Governor and the County Assembly share an office. That is how bad that situation is in that particular County. As we speak today, what you saw in that video is what these people are returning to, should this preliminary objection be upheld. A place that has been completely broken, has no order and there are two clerks and two speakers. I believe that we can find a way of resolving this particular conflict. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I listened to those who say that procedure is as important as a product, but also the product must be informed by the process. If at the time of voting there were guns that were blazing outside and stones being thrown into the County Assembly as the County Assembly is saying, how good a record can you keep? There must be an issue beyond procedure that we need to look at. I listened to colleagues here who have said that we should take some of these matters that are beyond the governor and the county assembly to the Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations. However, what is the record on us as a House resolving such matters? As we speak today, I saw a news flash yesterday that Nyamira has, again disrupted the County Assembly. Remember the matter that we had here before us. Either eight or 10 MCAs were expelled yesterday, meaning we have never been able to resolve these issues. Our colleagues that serve in the Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relation, I want to request of them, that they treat these matters with the urgency they deserve. I have served in the Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental relations before. This is one of the premier committees of this House. It is a committee that, on their own volition, anytime you notice a matter of this magnitude in a county, even before an impeachment Motion is brought, we used to visit. 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 and AudioServices, Senate."
}