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{
    "id": 606252,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/606252/?format=api",
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    "content": "with five constituencies. We also exist to protect the interests of the counties and their county governments. The other function is legislation and more importantly, oversight, which we are unfortunately now not going to perform to expectation, because we do not have funds to do that. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, on the issue of representation of the counties, it is important to note that when the Constitution says that we represent counties, it does not limit us as to the areas that we have to represent. It does not say that we represent counties only on devolved functions stipulated under the Schedule. We represent counties on everything. Therefore, it is contradictory in my view that the same Constitution that grants us the powers to represent counties seeks to limit us in areas of representation; that the same Constitution says that we cannot be involved in money Bills like this budget. It is very unfortunate that as representatives of the counties, we cannot today say how much money should go to which sector. There is no Kenyan nation without counties. I think that the first issue to tackle when you look at the Constitution – because I have heard many Senators agree that we need to go back and look at the Constitution – is to ensure that the Senate is involved in all Bills including the so-called money Bills. This is because that contradiction in the Constitution will have been removed. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, on the issue of protecting the counties, it would appear that while the Senate has the responsibility of protecting the counties – and what we have done in this budget is to protect the counties by saying that they must get adequate resources. That is why we went to mediation to ensure that counties get their rightful share - unfortunately, as we seek to protect the counties, it would appear that there is nobody to protect the protector. There seems to be nobody willing to protect the Senate. However, we should be gratified that at least the Constitution guarantees the survival of the Senate. Let nobody be cheated that the Senate will work according to the wishes of one institution or several individuals. This time round, the Senate is there to stay. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the decision of the National Assembly to allocate funds and deny the Senate its rightful share and the other constitutional bodies; the Judiciary and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), is unconstitutional. This is because the same Constitution says that there must be public participation. Somebody said that the Senate’s allocation for oversight was slashed. It was not slashed, but obliterated completely. There is not a cent left. Was there public participation that said that the Senate should not perform the oversight role, which is indeed in the Constitution? The answer is no. Therefore, the decision by the National Assembly is quite unconstitutional. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, there have been calls in the past that the Senate need not be there and that it should be scrapped. Let me assure you that it will be there. On the oversight role; in my reading of English, somebody who does oversight is an overseer, “ nyapara ” in Kiswahili. An overseer is somebody who has to be there from the beginning to the end of a process, whether it is a budgeting process or project implementation. An overseer, as the Senate is under the Constitution, should be involved from project planning, budgeting and implementation. The Senate cannot be equated to an auditor who 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."
}