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{
    "id": 469627,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/469627/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 238,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Orengo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 129,
        "legal_name": "Aggrey James Orengo",
        "slug": "james-orengo"
    },
    "content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, I will be brief. I also want to congratulate the Senator for Elgeyo-Marakwet. I want to say that if these positions of county assemblies are positions that we could wish away, then they could not have been there in the Constitution. The positions of county assemblies are offices established under the Constitution. If you look at the structure of the Government in the counties, the offices of the county assemblies are established before the offices of the executive committees. The offices of the county assemblies are established before the offices of the Governors. If that was not the wish of those who authored this Constitution and those who enacted it, the position of county assemblies would have been created in some subsidiary legislation. If you look at even the hierarchy within the Constitution, the position of county assemblies come before the commission on salaries. So, in the constitutional arrangement, the position of county assemblies is critical to the system of Government that is established under the Constitution. I would beg and urge this Senate to be together in this issue. I know of county representatives in Siaya who are lawyers. They left their practices in order to add value to the county assembly. So, they are professionals. There is somebody who is an agriculturalist, but he wants to spend a lot of time in the county assembly doing oversight and other roles. In Siaya, I have a county representative who comes from an Island, he has to hire a boat for three hours to get to the main land and then drive for another two and a half hours. We are not serious about these county assemblies. The Constitution says that there are two levels of governments and two levels of Parliaments, that is, the National Assembly and the county assemblies. Those that are opposed to this are part of the enemies of devolution and we must protect it and defend it."
}