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{
    "id": 505289,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/505289/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 158,
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    "content": "gave and took it back. This gives an opportunity at that local level and is in line with the decentralization, which our Constitution envisaged. We have seen county governments arbitrarily deciding on rates and charges. The proposal that the national law be used until such a time when counties will develop their own laws is also a welcome move. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, on the transition to Devolved Governments Act and the fact that there is need to build capacity of county governments, is also something that we need to appreciate. Capacity assessments were recently done and many a time the TA has wavered in actually deciding on how capacity building should be done or whether or not a county was prepared. The fact that the new Act proposes that it is the principle duty of the national Government to build capacities of the county governments, it is something that we also need to appreciate or acknowledge. The fact that the TA itself must develop a programme that is going to help in capacity building is also something worth mentioning. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, in the County Governments Act 2012, there is a proposal to reduce the number of wards that are represented by Members of the County Assemblies (MCAs) from 15 to 10. This is seriously contentious. I think that is why many of the people who spoke, including the Attorney General Emeritus, felt that there was need to consult the local communities or get public participation into this. Looking at what we had in terms of wards in the early days and what we have today, 15 per county is reasonably the right figure. I am not debating it so much at this stage, but it is a contentious matter that we really need to digest and come to the right thought. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, on the Agricultural, Fisheries and Food Authority Act, where there was a proposal to have an multi-disciplinary regime, mainly with backgrounds in agriculture, finance, law, human resources, as opposed to what we used to have in parastatals, where people were just handpicked without necessarily looking at their qualifications and expertise. I think what is going to appear in the new Act in terms of amendment looks very good. At one point, I also realized as I went through this that the establishment of the fund, which will be managed by a board under the Agricultural Authority Act. The fact that funds that accrue from this sector will be ploughed back into the same sector is something that we also need to critically examine. It looks very appealing. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, regarding the Crops Act 2013, the Senate Majority Leader spoke about miraa. I have personal reservations on that, but it is classified as a crop in this. I am sure that a number of people will share their views on this. The last one on Agricultural and Research Act, which proposes to remove livestock and fisheries from the purview of the Act to make other minor amendments is also contained therein. The changes are weighty. They are proposals that we need to internalize, so that we are able to look at the merits and demits on each case. But overall it is a welcome proposal. Members can look at them with a view to getting hindsight of each of proposed areas. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to second this Bill."
}