{"id":422487,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/422487/?format=json","text_counter":198,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Hon. Okoth","speaker_title":"","speaker":{"id":12482,"legal_name":"Kenneth Odhiambo Okoth","slug":"kenneth-odhiambo-okoth"},"content":"We cannot underestimate governors and start undermining devolution in this country by weakening the governor’s position. A governor is a politician who has a mandate, sells his policy during the campaigns and people buy that policy and grant a mandate to him on the basis of his campaign pledges; we cannot presume that a board chaired by a Senator and a different political force, will determine development priorities. This cannot happen through a Bill like this one. Such a new law will negate the process and we will end up with stalemates in many different ways. I know it has been very fashionable of late to knock at our governors; many of them have made some mistakes, but let us not look at personalities. Let us strive to create a united country with strong institutions and positions, which people with knowledge can run for in the future, rather than dilute them now; we have just been implementing policies in counties for one year."}