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"content": "I do not think in any village you will go and ask who the village elder is and be misled. In fact, I think somebody should go into the philosophy and the dynamics of how village elders come to be because there seems to be some sort of coordination and synchronizing that happens so naturally that a village is able to identify certain very wise people who really know about the village, its history, how they have transformed themselves from one point to another. So, they become very key. This proposed amendment is taking us to another probably lower administrative level that is very important. If we are to be in a position to coordinate national Government functions and perform them, it is critical that we have them. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we are talking about a country that is growing very fast. We are at 40 million people with a projection of increasing to 45 million people. Therefore, the dynamics of managing people, giving administrative positions and administering right services becomes very critical. We are also talking, in a dispensation after the Constitution of 2010, where we have a national Government and county governments and the need to synchronise the two. As much as we may be paying attention to county governments in terms of the hierarchy and cascading from the county governor up to the lowest levels of administration, we need to turn our lens and eyes into the national Government; which is what this amendment is trying to do. This is because at the end of the day, services must meet the people. Therefore, if we look at the specific section; the recruitment and appointment of the national Government administrative officers, county commissioners, deputy county commissioners, assistant county commissioners, chiefs and sub-chiefs were taken into consideration. However, the key essential village leader was left out. Looking back at the importance of a village elder in terms of putting everything together, already, they are very well structured within the communities, societies and the villages they live in. So, they know a lot. They know the social and cultural background of individuals. As Sen. (Prof.) Lesan said, they can pick out new elements that go into the village. People tend to consult them all the time. Therefore, they have a sense of getting a lot of information without seeking for it. That places them in a position of knowledgeability. They also tend to be almost like counsellors. Therefore, they can see things from a slightly different lens and are wise in the way they make their decisions. They also tend to, already in their format, work closely with chiefs and sub-chiefs. So, already within a hierarchy that has been presented, it is very easy for them to pass information to chiefs and sub-chiefs and even the county commissioner within that particular structure. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for the last few months, we have been shaken as a country in terms of security; everybody now wants to know who their neighbour is, not necessarily in the conception of the Nyumba Kumi Initiative as it has been put because it has its own difficulties, however, from an argument point of view, from knowing who is who and what they are doing next to you. More and more, everybody wants to tell who is close to them or near their space and what their agenda is. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, more recently, I have seen adverts that tell us to be a little bit more alert about the person next to us who comes and puts a bag in a corner and 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."
}