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{
    "id": 470424,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/470424/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 153,
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    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Last time in Parliament, we passed the National Government Co-ordination Act. When we did so, we were assured by the hon. Attorney-General of two things; first, that the County Commissioners and administrators envisaged in that Act were not meant to undermine devolution. They were not meant to undermine Governors and that Governors would exercise full authority as provided in this Constitution. I want to remind my colleagues that when we were writing this Constitution as a Select Committee of Parliament, some of us fought very hard to retain the Provincial Administration until we came down to restructuring on the Provincial Administration. We never meant that the Provincial Administration would be structured to come and undermine devolution. Therefore, that assurance by the Attorney-General did not hold water because even before the ink dried, after the President assented to that Act, the County Commissioners were there trying to show that they were superior to Governors. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the other assurance that we got from the Attorney-General then was that the Provincial Administration will not be used to meddle in the political affairs of the Republic. That assurance we were given because of past history where the Provincial Administration had been used by previous Governments to meddle in politics and campaign for certain persons or parties. But I want to shock this Senate and let you know that during the last elections, the Government of the day used the Provincial Administration very effectively to campaign for the Jubilee Coalition. In my county, the Governor was elected and the Senator was elected. How do they expect us to relate with those County Commissioners who were instructed to go and fight those who were not in the Jubilee Coalition? Mr. Speaker, Sir, the National Government Coordination Act has already been violated. The Provincial Administrators have interfered with the governance of counties. They have refused to vacate office, facilitate governors and to even extend the smallest amount of courtesy to them. They have participated in partisan politics which is very unfortunate. Therefore, I welcome the President’s assurance in his Speech that one of the Acts of Parliament that he will forward to the National Assembly to be repealed is this Act. I was a great supporter of this Act and I can now say I wish I knew better. The signs of time are showing us that this was ill advised. I hope that this Act will be repealed and that these fellows; being Kenyans, will be given something else to do. I honestly do not think that they will manage to remain in the counties. It is our role, as Senators, to ensure that they do not meddle in the operations of the county. I take comfort in the assurance by the President to Kenyans. I have heard him not once, but three times, repeating a sentence which is in this Speech; that; “Devolution is central to my Government’s vision for Kenya – it is not optional, it is a constitutional duty, one shared by all of us.” Mr. Speaker, Sir, the President will not be doing us any favour by adhering to that statement because it is a constitutional requirement. He has no alternative. If he goes out of this Constitution, which he swore to protect, we will stand firm and ensure he will not do it like it was done in 1966. The other issue I want to talk about is on equal distribution of resources. I want to caution my colleagues, Senators, that when we talk about marginalisation of certain counties, this is real. If you do not know that some counties have been marginalized for 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."
}