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{
    "id": 228897,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/228897/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 171,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Eng. Nyamunga",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 341,
        "legal_name": "Eric Opon Nyamunga",
        "slug": "eric-nyamunga"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I will start by commenting on the new districts. The President said that he is going to create about 38 new districts. This is a good idea because since we implemented the programme of districts as units for rural development, districts became very important units. Actually, they bring services closer to the people. In fact, with the advent of devolved funds through the Local Authority Transfer Fund (LATF) and the CDF, districts are very important units. However, we need to have close co-ordination between the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) and the Provincial Administration. For example, there are three divisions within my Nyando Constituency. One division falls under Kisumu East District and the other one is Nyando District. This means that councillors in Kadebo Division are going to be in Kisumu East County Council and the others who are in Nyando Division are going to be in Nyando County Council. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, co-ordination, on my part, as the Member of Parliament, is going to be very inconvenient. I am going to be shuttling between two District Commissioners and two county councils in two different districts. We need to very closely co- ordinate the ECK and the Provincial Administration, so that an hon. Member operates within one district and not two or three districts. Otherwise, it is important that we have more districts so that we can bring services closer to the people. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I agree with the issue of direct election of mayors and county council chairmen. We need to give some executive authority to mayors and county council chairmen. As the situation stands now, the chief officers misuse the LATF funds. The mayors and the chairmen are just there as spectators and they have no clue about what the chief officers do. To add salt to injury, whenever chief officers make mistakes or misappropriate funds, they are just transferred from one county council to another. They are never disciplined. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we need to elect mayors and give them some executive authority, so that the chief officers work knowing very well that the mayors and the county council chairmen can actually discipline them. They will then follow the rules and we will reduce the degree of misappropriation of funds, which is currently taking place. We do not need to insist that mayors and county council chairmen should be graduates, but they should be knowledgeable enough to bring discipline in the management of the public resources. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me talk about security. Last night, I was watching a clip on the Nation television station where the public was asked whether they think Mungiki is being supported by people in authority and 85 per cent of them voted in the affirmative. One cannot believe that a group can decide to terrorise the Kenyan public and the security arm of the Government just watches. The matatu drivers and conductors decided to react by burning some houses which were imagined to be housing Mungiki followers.For sure that should be the work of the police. If we leave it to the matatu touts to react so that they can protect themselves against the"
}