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{
    "id": 571389,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/571389/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 277,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "July 16th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES 50 Sen. Omondi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this Motion as amended. I want to congratulate the Mover of this Motion and members of the Select Committee that is going to look into this matter. Indeed, the time to handle this issue is long overdue. Every county is now coming up with buildings which cannot serve the citizens of this country well. As the Committee goes round, it should look into the matter of the facilities that are being used by the county governments. They also need to look into matters of accessibility to those county facilities. For example, the buildings where the Kisumu County Government operates from locked out a number of citizens, including the older persons, expectant women and persons with disabilities. They cannot climb the stairs to access the services that they require. I urge my colleagues who will be undertaking this task that as they go round, they should encourage the county governments to come up with offices that can serve every Kenyan. The offices which serve most citizens, like the cash office, must be on the first floor. There should also be provision for ramps and elevators. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it is a shame to see some of the county governments operating from shopping centres. They cannot make adjustments to their offices because the owners of such buildings have to give consent. Even if they are allowed to make adjustments, it is a waste of money because at the end of the day, those buildings do not belong to the county governments. The TA must be given the facilitation they require. They need to account for the facilities and funds that were under the former municipalities and local authorities. If the TA is not funded, it cannot undertake this task properly. As a result, we might end up losing some of the facilities that were under the local authorities. It is a good idea to have this Committee in place. It will help us to understand what is happening in our counties and know which county needs support, which one does not and which county is moving on the right track and which county can be used as an example of the best practice as far as devolution is concerned. It will regulate and ensure that we have harmony and understanding within the county governments, for example, where to locate the headquarters of the county government by building consensus with the residents of that county. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it will also be good if they get the views of the people within the counties so that if they are agree to the plans the county government has in terms of changing the headquarters or retaining where it is, or if they feel the location of the headquarters is not appropriate to them or is far away, and does not ensure that service delivery is close to the people, as is it required by devolution. For devolution to address the needs of the people, there must be an understanding between the service provider and the person receiving the services. As this team goes round, they will know if the people receiving services from county governments are benefitting and are comfortable or not. If they are not comfortable, what can be done to ensure that devolution is benefitting them? Most of them are regretting and they do not 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."
}