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{
    "id": 450425,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/450425/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 36,
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    "content": "want to assure the Governors and the county governments that this House will look at Bills that will help and facilitate the governance at the county level, which will be able to move devolution forward in a manner that will ensure the gains that we have made are protected. It will be unfortunate for any MCA to imagine that the Senate will at one point sit down and draft a Bill that will work negatively against counties. That cannot be the work of this House. We will always ensure that we draft, consider and pass Bills that are constitutional and that help facilitate governance at the county level. I want to call upon the Governors, that when a Bill is being drafted and considered, we have several opportunities for any stakeholder to make their contributions. We invited Governors and MCAs to give their input on this Bill. A lot of their input has been considered. I want to persuade my brothers; the Governors, that if they do not agree with something, they do not have to reject it. There are several things that we make compromises on, so that we are able to have a win-win situation in every endeavor that we consider in this House. Therefore, I hope that even as they consider going to court, like they have indicated, that they look at the law, the Constitution and the Bill. They need to look at the actual provisions. The Sub-county Development Boards and the Ward Development Boards are not there. The Board is a forum for engagement and not an executive body. The powers and the roles given to the County Development Board are purely advisory. Any Governor who feels that the advice coming from the County Development Board is of no value, they have no obligation to take it. If they agree with it, they can take it. If they do not, they can reject or ignore it. We want to tell them that this is an advisory Board. This is a Board that will give us an opportunity to discuss issues affecting our counties. We know that Members of this Senate have been undertaking those responsibilities of bringing together leaders within their counties. I will single out Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. When his county had an issue and the Governor was on the verge of resigning, it took the intervention of Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. to discuss with Members of the County Assembly together with members of the County Executive and there was a resolution on the issues that had been raised. He did that informally. We are now providing a legal framework for such kind of engagement. I know of many other Senators who have done the same. I sat in the Special Committee looking into the issues of the impeachment of the Governor of Kericho County. The Chairperson of that Committee, Sen. Obure, is here. When we discussed the issues, we realized that some of the issues that found their way through the impeachment Motion could have been addressed at the county level if there existed a forum at the county level where leaders could sit down together. One of the recommendations of our report, if you can remember, was that we mandated the Senator for Kericho, Sen. Keter, to spearhead reconciliation efforts between the Governor and the MCAs. I can confirm that, that has been done. Already, the leadership in Kericho County is moving forward in the right direction. These are interventions that Senators have been making on their own volition. We are providing a legal framework for such a forum. 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."
}