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"id": 399935,
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"speaker_name": "Sen. Murkomen",
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"legal_name": "Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen",
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"content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I think that what the Senate needs to appreciate is that the Committee reports only facts that were presented in the Committee, which most of us do not even agree with. You do not have to agree with a report. First, let us look at this report on Monday when it is presented to the Committee. Let the Committee even question the veracity of this report in terms of the 10 days or 11 days difference. Let also the county leadership – because this is a report that we wanted to give to the House in the interim – meet on Tuesday and also look at the same report and give whatever discussion and decision that is going forward. But we must also realize that we are dealing with a Commission that is independent and whose officers are held responsible for their malpractices. If there is any malpractice, they carry the cross themselves. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, our responsibility, as a House, is two-way. The first is to find out whether they acted constitutionally and secondly, to ensure that the people that we are protecting are protected in terms of getting the resources and the people of that county are getting services from the county assemblies. We are in-between, solving the individual problems of the MCAs and also those of the counties themselves to be able to run. So, we must be pragmatic; that the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) and the county assembly leadership coming together again after the Tuesday decision should lead us not to this debate of semantics, but to a process where the MCAs will get better remuneration and the counties will start operating. That is the greatest responsibility of the House. I know that there is the bigger question which is not just how the MCAs are going to benefit. The bigger question is: How does that affect all elected leaders, including the President? We can pursue that question, but we must also pursue a process that brings--- Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, as Senators, we have a salary that we can survive on, but the MCAs have nothing to survive on. So, it must be moved first to a place where we can say: It has a basis. From there, it can be reviewed slowly. But as we speak, Kshs79,000 is not enough for anyone to use it even as a basis. I will be happy if it moves to something that had been suggested earlier, which was Kshs200,000 or Kshs275,000. When it reaches there, now the question of reviewing and debating, the way we debate semantics here, can start. So, pragmatism must come in, in terms of finding the solution for the MCAs and unlocking the problem in the county assemblies. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I think that Sen. Omar wanted to inform me and I accept. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate"
}