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{
    "id": 27866,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/27866/?format=api",
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    "content": "think, in future, this controversy will be minimized because it will be very clear which towns of Kenya become cities. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is clearly set out how to classify this particular entities. Of more critical importance, to me, in this Bill is that it has institutionalized active participation by the residents of a particular town, municipality or city on the management of the affairs of that entity. This is very critical in line with our Constitution which gives the people the power to govern and manage themselves. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would want some clarity to be put in Clause 13(1). It says:- “A board of a city shall consist of not more than seven members, six of whom shall be appointed through a competitive process by the county executive committee, with the approval of the county assembly.” I imagine that the other five remaining are the ones that are put down. But if you read subsection (2), it says of the members referred to in subsection (1), at least five shall be nominated by- It is listed here. It should be very clear that the remaining five are the ones that are supposed to be appointed based on the criteria shown below. It is not very clear whether these five are part of the remaining five or includes the other six. My colleagues have talked about planning. I think city planning in general has been a problem in this country. We have heard of people losing their lives because of poor planning. This cuts across the country. There is no proper planning in all the towns. That constitutes to a lot of strain in the physical facilities like waste disposal and so on. Lastly, I want to talk about the annual estimates. It is clear that the annual estimates will be submitted and approved. However, what is of critical importance is for our local authorities, including town councils and municipalities at the moment, to look at the question of the budget. The budget estimates are made and they look beautiful. They are even read to the citizens. However, when it comes to implementation, these authorities do not follow the estimates. So, I think it is important that as we move forward to this new dispensation, then we are very clear that these entities; the urban areas, cities, municipalities and towns, need to follow strictly their budget estimates. Finally, I want to mention that in the transition, I think we need to really be clear of how to transfer the liabilities otherwise we will weigh down the new management with the debts which were incurred by the previous units which we are moving away from. Some of these debts were incurred based on the Local Authorities Act which we are just repealing. With those very many remarks, I beg to support."
}