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"id": 674824,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Mwaura",
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"speaker": {
"id": 13129,
"legal_name": "Isaac Maigua Mwaura",
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"content": "In Tana River County, they told me that they were building their own “Continental House” to have offices for Members of the County Assembly (MCAs). However, they have replicated the mistake of Continental House where Members of Parliament (MPs) share the same offices with their Personal Assistants (PAs) and secretaries. I thought they would have been a bit more innovative. Having said so, in all matters, the issue of county assemblies is basically like small MPs. They are just like us but their jurisdiction is at the county level. We expect that they would exude confidence and carry themselves in a certain manner. Sometimes, when you are introduced to a Leader of the Majority Party, you wonder whether they would be the equivalent of Hon. Aden Duale in the National Assembly. When you look at the members of the Speaker’s Panel and of various Committees, then you really wonder whether they have the same latitude because at the same time, they will tell you that they are just a rubber stamp and, sometimes, they cannot execute and prosecute their mandates as enshrined and envisaged in the various statutes and, more primarily, the supreme law which is the Constitution. This Bill can never be timelier because it seeks to ensure that members of the county assemblies have powers and privileges similar to the ones that the National Assembly and the Senate enjoy. However, as the National Assembly, we have not been very good role models in that regard. We have behaved in a manner likely to suggest that we have an extraction from people who may have been occupants of municipal and county councils. A very good example was on 18th December 2014, when this House degenerated into chaos. It was a sight to behold. I think we only rival South Africa with the likes of Julius Malema. More recently, we had a fiasco similar to that during the State of the Nation Address and consequently, it looks like this House is being ridiculed by the decisions of the court. We must not encourage anarchy and despondency when it comes to matters of the House. However, the premium is not just to Members, but also lies in the House leadership at the National Assembly, Senate or the county assembly, which must be seen to be impartial and make rulings not out of whims and mere declarations. We have even witnessed that on the Floor of the House where, sometimes, the person on the Chair makes a decision that is outrightly unacceptable. These are some of the things that make Members, either of the National Assembly and in this case of the county assemblies to react in a certain manner when there is an injustice. As someone said, you may not legislate character. County assemblies have to establish themselves since they are the first county assemblies in this dispensation so that they can have traditions and norms. It goes without say that it is important to ensure that in our own dealings, and this is for the owners of Kenya because they are the interviewers, that the people they elect into office are persons of integrity in relation to Chapter 6 of the Constitution. I am amazed at the fact that in this country and, maybe, in other places around the world, there are two forms of State; a formal state governed by the Constitution, has the rule of law and has certain procedures, and the informal state which has the big man syndrome. Such an informal state means that certain members of the society will not be subjected to the same rules and regulations. Be that as it may, therefore, you will find such Motions on the Floor of the House of various county assemblies. When Members feel that they are legislating and making pronouncements in futility, then they become agitated. This law is critical because it establishes certain norms, privileges and powers as the name suggests. More principally, we want to ensure that the dignity of county assemblies is maintained. Looking at the issue of summoning members of the County Executive Committees (CECs), we heard that there are CECs who have no powers. There is a law that is coming up on The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}