Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 390209,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/390209/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 136,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "September 18, 2013 SENATE DEBATES 25 Sen. Ndiema",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker. I stand to support this Motion which is already belated. It should have come immediately after we embarked on devolution. Nevertheless, it is very important. The training is an aspect that will make or break county governments. Looking at the way it is being handled at the moment, you will see that it is very unsatisfactory. Even the training that was made for the District Focus for Rural Development (DFRD) was more thorough because at every level, starting with Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and others, officers had to go to the Kenya Institute of Administration (KIA). Trainers were trained up to the lowest level of an assistant chief. At that time, we did not have anything like the devolution that we are talking about here. The Transition Authority (TA) has really let us down on this one. It is high time they upped their efforts. The training we are talking about is with regard to imparting managerial skills in areas like Public Finance and Management, Communication Skills and ICT. We should take the ICT sector to the counties. During the recess, I had an opportunity to interact with the County Assembly Members of Trans Nzoia. One of the challenges they are facing is on training. They felt that they were unprepared to handle the responsibility that they were given. We talked about their education level being low, but I could tell from their faces and expressions that they were eager to learn so as to perform. However, there is no tailored training for them. Most of them have not read the Constitution and do not even have copies of it. We have the Public Finance Management Act and the code of regulations. We know that county assembly members were sourced from different sectors. Some were farmers, accountants, teachers and so on. Some governors have not worked in government to understand how the bureaucracy of government works. Without training, we are setting them up for failure. We are also contravening the laws we have put in place. Very soon, we will be blaming them for not conforming to regulations. I remember that at the KIA, the training encompasses all cadres and professionals. Even judges and magistrates had to go to the KIA despite the fact that they had gone to the Kenya School of Law. They had to go to the KIA to learn issues of management. Therefore, governors and all their staff should be given training in areas that affect their performance. The idea of having purposeful training institutions for county governments is proper. I would prefer if we had a training institute specifically for the devolved governments rather than have universities offering degrees. Some of the workers do not have degrees to undergo that type of training. In the meantime, we can start from somewhere, including KIA. The Government has other institutions like the former Government Training Institute (GTI) Mombasa and Baringo. One of them can be dedicated for this kind of training. I support the idea of hon. Sen. Wetangula. I would prefer if we set up one in Kitale since we do not have a major institution there. We need such institutions there. Such an institution would not only be for in-service training, but would also cater for our young people who aspire to pursue careers in Government. Currently, there is recruitment going on for sub county administrators, ward administrators and village administrators. Most of our young men may not get these jobs because of the qualifications that have been put there. They are asking for ten years experience. We are locking them out and yet this is the digital generation that we are talking about. We want to include them. Such institutions need to offer training. We should look at the institution someone has worked for and what experience they have."
}