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{
    "id": 543875,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/543875/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 216,
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    "content": "it is only right to legalize what we have already legitimized. The village elders give enormous input in terms of the management of various areas of security and public administration. In fact, they are an extremely critical arm of the provincial administration as it were then, which is now still referred to as the provincial administration, but under the National Government Coordination Act. I think it is quite immoral for us, as a country, to continue to indefinitely expect voluntarism in the management of our public affairs. It beats logic when you have a whole structure of administration in a county; a county commissioner, deputy county commissioners, chiefs and sub-chiefs who all are under the arrangement of the Government system. Ours is to constantly expect all these village elders’ volunteer work. We must also device very creative ways. This Bill is trying its level best, based on the financial implication to shy away from proposing that these people shall be paid. A fund is, therefore, created that does not necessarily demonstrate it shall receive financing. It talks about grants and gifts. It is not that easy to just get grants and gifts. We must make an unequivocal statement. If we want to continue having village elders, then we do not have much of a choice; we must provide for avenues where they are paid. When you go to the level of administration of villages in the counties, you will find that it is more than just one elder. As much as this amendment talks about a village elder, as my colleagues have said, we might want them to elect from amongst themselves one through an electoral college process. I know that even some of our parents sit in what is called Wazee wa Mtaa fora. Therefore, they become village elders in some ways. I do believe that we must set a bar as to what village elders must be. I associate myself with the views of Sen. Ndiema, but also realize that the elders of yesterday will not be the elders of tomorrow. Issues about elders are extremely evolutionary. There was a time when my parents were young and were probably some of the very few people who had gone to secondary school. Now, many people have gone to universities. So, it is likely that when we become elders, we will probably be people of greater learning in the sense that literacy levels have been increasing. Therefore, it is likely that in the next 50 years most elders will probably have benefited from schooling and the society will have evolved so much that the whole institution of public administration will have been revolutionalized."
}