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"id": 52378,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Affey",
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"id": 381,
"legal_name": "Mohammed Abdi Affey",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, my concern in this Bill and generally the emotions that we see being exhibited in this country is about fairness. My concern is about the boundaries and that is captured in Schedule 5. I am glad that in terms of interpretation, the Minister was very careful in terms of defining what a first review means. This matter was so emotive that it almost divided the country in the middle. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we require a Commission that is going to reconcile us. Of course, we have accepted that population quota, which is given in the Constitution, becomes the basis. However, there were certain important definitions that go with that quota; what is sparsely populated area, what is the population of this country? What is densely populated? Where do we have a city? This has not been captured. I thought the Minister was going to be fair enough to cover the definitions in this law. What I am very impressed about, and has been captured here, is absolute consultation. This consultation is what we have lacked. You can imagine that when the disbanded Interim Independent Boundaries Review Commission (IIBRC), which was a disgrace, provided us with a Report, Mrs. Beth Mugo complained that her constituency was not split. Within hours, somebody went to the office of the Government Printer and inserted a new constituency for her. This was done within hours! This was because there was no consultation. There was rush. However, this law has provided the cure. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we need to do two things once the 80 constituencies are created. These 80 constituencies will be created now and there will be no review for ten years. It is so important that when you are creating these 80 constituencies, fairness becomes the basis of creating them. One way of acquiring fairness is absolute consultation. If we pass this law, it will mean views will be collected for a whole month on how the Commission will arrive at certain figures and certain constituencies in certain areas. They will then go to the county headquarters. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, this brings me to an amendment that I intend to give to move at the Committee Stage. It should be based on county population, so that if you have a certain county, add the total figures of the people who live in that county, use the formula and then consult the people in that county on where a constituency will be created. In that case, I am sure the protest that you see will be reduced quite considerably. The aspect that has been reflected in this Bill, which is consultation--- The Minister must be congratulated because now he has got it right. There is no need to rush. Consult Kenyans and all the stakeholders. Let the people feel that when these constituencies are eventually curved out, it will be because everybody will have been consulted and people will be satisfied. We require constituencies, but we require them out of thorough consultation. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, a matter that is reflected in this law, which is also very criticalâ the provisions relating to the delimitation of boundaries of constituencies and wards in Schedule 5, where the Minister is suggesting to the new Commission that they will use the Ligale Report as a primary material. They will also use the Report of the Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs. The danger of that is that we would be taking away the independence from this Commission. This Commission must be absolutely independent. The only material it must use as a primary source is the Constitution. For the rest, they should have a choice. There should be no requirement that they must use this or that. The moment you are seen to guide the Commission, which you say is independent, you will be reducing its authority. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I know that hon. Members would wish to contribute to this Bill. I would like to support it, of course with amendments."
}