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"id": 334029,
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"content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Provincial Administration as it is today is a relic of colonialism. That is what was known as the indirect rule where you had the Crown in London in England. Then you had the Governor representing the Crown in the colony. From the Governor, you went to the Provincial Commissioner, District Commissioner, District Officer, chiefs and then assistant chiefs. In those days, there were village headmen. So, that is the system that was known as indirect rule. Why am I saying so? I am saying so because even if we go back to England where this system came from, there is no provincial administration. We do not have a PC, DC, DO, chief and a sub-chief in England. But this was a system to rule the colonies. So, what other countries have done is that after independence, they have reformed it to make it a system that is for the people and one that answers to the people. It is a system that is elected by the people. Mr. Speaker, Sir, when we have a devolved system of Government, you have the national Government and you have a devolved Government. The new Constitution has provided for elections of the leaders at the devolved level. So, the people are going to elect the governors themselves directly. The question now is: What do we do with the Provincial Administration? The drafters of the Constitution, in their wisdom, said that the system known as the Provincial Administration shall be restructured to make it compliant with the devolved system of Government. It is not that it is going to be scrapped, dissolved or that they are going to be sacked. That is why I have said before - and I want to repeat it here in this House - that the jobs of the chiefs and sub-chiefs are secure. That is because the Constitution has given the incoming national Government five years within which to reform the Provincial Administration. There is no hurry. It is something that needs to be done through consultation, debate and discussions so that the chiefs themselves are given an opportunity to say something. The people themselves who live and work with them on a daily basis have also an opportunity to air their views. Eventually, an agreement will be reached on how to reform the Provincial Administration. Mr. Speaker, Sir, if we go ahead and say that we are going to appoint a County Commissioner answerable to the centre, then we are going to have a DC, DO, a chief and sub-chief who are all employees of the central Government. Then the county government is going to be forced to have to employ its own people at the level of the district, division and location. There is going to be duplication and that is a recipe for chaos. You are going to completely undermine the authority of the devolved system. So, if you have a Governor and a County Commissioner in one place, now who is the boss? Is it the Governor elected by the people or a County Commissioner appointed by the President? So, this issue is so crucial and so encompassing that it requires a proper national debate. It is not an issue that should be rushed. But for now, we want to say that there is a role and even in the devolved governments, there is going to be a role for a DC because the districts have been retained. The divisions and locations are there. The sub-locations are there. So, there is going to be a role for all those people to play. They are going to be employed and all that I want to say is to urge them not to fear what is new. It is the fear of the unknown that is driving our people to desperation. But we want to assure that there is no need for them to fear anything. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am saying that because I know that there is general fear. Some of the fears are unfounded. Some of them are very much well grounded. But let us not try to also instill more fear in the minds of those people. Let us inspire courage and tell them"
}