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{
    "id": 549362,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/549362/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 160,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Others have nine constituencies like Sen. Wetangula’s while some have two constituencies like Lamu County. The challenge is traversing. If you are the Senator for Marsabit County, for example, Marsabit is twice the size of England and traversing it is a big challenge. It is, therefore, important to have a Senate Service Committee. The committee will report to the Parliamentary Service Commission after capturing the unique challenges of a Senator moving across the county. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, my Committee and I visited Wajir and Mandera. We flew over Garissa County for about 20 minutes and about 30 minutes into another county while using a big plane. How much more difficult is it for a Senator to traverse Wajir, Mandera, Garissa or Elgeyo-Marakwet County? Your operating office is in Nairobi but you are expected to go to your county and listen to your people. This is because during election time, people will not take excuses that you were in Nairobi and you were expected to work from Monday to Friday. Therefore, you had only two days of the week to visit your constituency and address the people. When I was campaigning, it took me about two years to visit all the wards in the county. It could take you two years to cover the county. You have to do that every weekend for two years for you to properly cover the county campaigning. However, when you want to serve, listen, take notes and bring ideas of constituents here, there must be proper facilitation for Members who serve in this House to do their job. Therefore, we should have a service that will understand the challenges of Senators, provide the mechanism for us to reach out to constituents and provide for us to address the unique challenges that come with oversighting governors who have become run-away managers in the counties. These are governors who do not wish any person to come between them and corruption. Therefore, Senators and the Senate need facilitation. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Bill also creates a service for Members of the National Assembly to also have a caucus; a committee that will look at issues that are unique to the National Assembly; matters that deal with the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) and what to do with the CDF that has been declared unconstitutional. Members of the National Assembly have their own unique ways of coming up with solutions to challenges and problems they face in their constituencies. Therefore, they need a platform that will not have Sen. Musila sitting there because they want to focus on things that affect the National Assembly only. The committee will be very useful. My appeal to Members of the National Assembly, even as we debate this Bill, is that they must look at it not from the perspective of antagonism between the National Assembly and the Senate but as a mechanism for facilitating good working relations between the two Houses and ensuring that we strength this House to be a strong Senate that can carry out its responsibilities. It should be enabled to be a watchdog and to check public resources that have been devolved to the county level. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also want to use this occasion to express my feelings to the Senator of West Pokot, Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo, Senator for Turkana County, Sen. Munyes, Sen. Moi and the Senator for Samburu County, Sen. Leshore. At the moment there is a lot of conflict in these regions. I was watching Members of the National Assembly – in one of the talk-shows, on television – quarreling and fighting each other. They were using very negative words that actually separate people instead of bring them 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."
}