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{
    "id": 439048,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/439048/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 276,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Ndiema",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1067,
        "legal_name": "Henry Tiole Ndiema",
        "slug": "henry-tiole-ndiema"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. First, I want to thank Sen. Khalwale for this idea, which really seeks to fix the legal headquarters of every county. This is timely and it will serve to do away with so many controversies. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for Trans Nzoia County, Kitale is acceptable to the residents and I have no problem with that. But I think that there is need to do further consultation, because the Constitution says that there should be consultation with the affected people. The residents of the counties should be consulted widely, so that they concur on any headquarters that are agreed upon. We should not look like we are forcing them to accept the current headquarters as they are, because this is the opportunity for them, under the new Constitution, to decide how and where they will fit. There could be challenges with the current headquarters. Some of them may not have land, some were just market centres which have grown and there is no space to even put up structures. If a county can find land that is big enough to start their own Abuja, why not let them do it? Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I agree that in some counties the headquarters are centrally placed, but that may not be the case in other counties. If the people feel that for better services there is a more central place to relocate to and they all agree, why should we not allow them to do that? We should not be afraid to start new townships. For better planning, in the Act that establishes the urban centres and municipalities, a criteria has been placed that there should be 250,000 people to qualify for municipality status. I do not support the idea. We should be forward looking and plan a centre to be a municipality right from the beginning. This is because if we wait for a centre to attain the requisite population and it was not planned to be a municipality--- Some of them are overcrowded. You cannot construct new roads because the reserves were too small. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I note that this Bill also does not provide for any change or future. If there is any possibility of a county wanting to change its headquarters, it should be provided for, so that we do not seem to be fixing it forever. We should approach this issue very carefully, so that we do not pass this Bill and the county assemblies, in their own way, pass a contrary decision. We shall be putting ourselves in a situation where we do not know who is now the decision maker. Will it be the county assembly or us? This is a matter that we need to consult even at the county level, so that a decision that is acceptable is arrived at, so that when we pass this legislation, it will be final and acceptable. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to support."
}