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{
    "id": 560375,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/560375/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 200,
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "accountability, I made it very clear that this time round, we will not act emotionally, provide sound bites or give hollow promises. It is time that the Senate of the Republic of Kenya, going by its reputation as a sober House, a House of reason and a House that is composed of men and women who have served this country with distinction, to follow its promises with actions. Therefore, I thank the Senate Majority Whip, the Senate Minority and the Majority leadership for following through and nominating the Committee members. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am one of the persons nominated in that Committee. If this Motion is passed, I believe that we will not be having a selfish process. This is a process that is for the sake of the Senate. It is meant to benefit the people of Kenya and carry along whoever is willing to be carried along. We will also persuade others who have a contrary opinion to come to our side so that together we can form a formidable team. There are so many suggestions about other processes run by political parties and county governors but we are here as the elected representatives of the people. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am proud to see a process that is established and managed by elected representatives of the people. I have confidence that we will come up with robust proposals for legislative and constitutional amendments that are necessary for entrenching the institution of the Senate for the good of this nation. This House was not put in the Constitution to be just another institution. It was put here for a responsibility that is enormous, that is, to protect devolution and counties. Last week when we were in Mombasa, we reminded ourselves that devolution is not about counties, but about how the national Government is applying the principles of devolution to deliver services to people. Therefore, the institution of the Senate cannot be confined to just looking at the counties alone yet this institution by structure is meant to focus on equity of the nation and how the nation will benefit on both national and county resources. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this is a House of equity. That is why Kakamega County which has 12 constituencies has one representative, just like Lamu County which has two constituencies has one representative. There comes a time when Kenyans must sit together as brothers around one table called the Senate without focus on the argument of tyranny of numbers to divide the cake and ensure that, as Sen. Hassan says, the ones who are weak are given more so that they catch up with the ones who are strong. The ones who are strong should accept to take less because they appreciate the challenges of the brother who has always been marginalized for a long time. That is why the Senate is here. That is why we vote using county delegation because we do not want to disadvantage any county. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, as it is now in the Constitution, if you confine the role of the Senate to only focus on counties, you miss the bigger picture of asking the critical question of how national resources are being applied across counties for purposes of ensuring equity. That is why this House must re-look at the Constitution and re- strengthen the areas that are missing. We should ensure that we serve the nation with a better instrument that can divide the cake. At the same time, we should pursue a 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."
}