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{
    "id": 584329,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/584329/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 337,
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    "speaker_name": "",
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    "content": "Section15 of the County Governments Act is the one that provides for the right of persons to petition county assemblies. Many people do not know that they can petition county assemblies. They are convinced that once they have elected their governor, the Senator, the Member of the National Assembly and the Member of the county assembly, then that is the end of their participation and contribution to the running of the affairs of the county. Let me make it clear to Kenyans who are listening today that they have a right to petition county assemblies. It is because, maybe, some of the county assemblies had not come up with the relevant legislation, but it is contained in the Constitution. We also appreciate that county structures are new. As much as we may have lost two or three years, we sympathize and empathize with them, but it is time we fixed this because our new Constitution is now five years old. Someone would ask: “When will I ever use this Bill or under what circumstances will I, as a m ama mboga, petition the county assembly, the Senate or the National Assembly?” I would like to give scenarios and even drawing from certain events that are happening in my own county of Homa Bay. When you have a dam that has collapsed under the watch of everybody – the Member of County Assembly (MCA), Member of the National Assembly, governor and Senator and no one seems to do anything about it – even after we have made noise about it in funerals, held demos and nothing happens – I encourage the people of Gembe Location in Homa Bay County to petition the county assembly. That way, there can be a formal and structured manner of looking into the issue and seeking a solution. When you have a situation in a county where the county government has spent money on a road and at the same time, you find that the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) has spent money on the same road; you have found yourself in a situation where you are running around the streets of the town picketing with placards and police running after you--- I tell you picketing and taking to the streets is a legitimate right; but I encourage you to also construct a petition for the county assembly, so that the matter can be looked at in depth. When you have a situation where all over town, people are grumbling that jobs in the county government – executive and the assembly – are being given out quietly; you just find that people have been hired and yet there was no advertisement for those positions; instead of sitting at the “ bunge la wananchi” and talking about it from morning to evening, I challenge you to petition the county assembly, Senate or the National Assembly and the matter will be formally and properly addressed. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, this Senate has received 35 petitions as at 17th September, 2015, according to the petitions tracker that our secretariat has very ably and competently put together on the Senate website. The interesting thing is that out of the 35 petitions, 25 have no status update. So, 35 different groups have taken the effort to petition this Senate and we probably could have dispensed with only 10 of them. What happens to the other 25 petitions? Just the other day, we received a petition from former councilors who wanted their welfare to be looked into, following their retirement and on the basis of the effort and the work that they put in to ensure that this nation is where it is today. The question I 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."
}