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"content": "addition, but it must also be a rope that hangs each and every Senator. This is because at this point in time, many people can attest to the fact that the Senators have no funds. As we go with this oversight fund, there needs to be sufficient marketing for people to internalize, realize and appreciate the role of the oversight fund. Dubious political competitors might give an impression that the Senator can now give bursaries and be responsible for development. It must be made clear that the oversight fund is simply supposed to critically assess whether the governors have delivered their mandate. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I support this Motion. Let us take that extra week, but also the Senate Business Committee must prioritize some of the businesses of the House. There are a lot of colleagues who have brought very good legislation. Let them also leave a legacy. Let us conclude some of the legislations which will require the concurrence of the National Assembly so that our colleagues can come up with Motions and legislation that can be said to have emanated from the Senate. I think only two legislations emanating from the Senate, that are simply amendments, have seen the light of day as part of Kenya’s legislative framework. There is the Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale Bill which is now law and the Sen. Wangari amendment Bill. It is important for us to fast-track legislation because the Sen. Sang Bill, as it was called, is now a matter before courts. We, therefore, need to carry out an audit after the Senate’s first term where we can say: “These are the legislations that emanated from the Senate, were passed and informed the discourse with respect to the legislative arena in Kenya”. Therefore, as we take this extra week or two, let us have a very robust calendar. I will also be proposing that the future Senate gets rid of this Statement Time because when a Cabinet Secretary (CS) brings you a response of how much was used on, for example, a road, it consumes so much of our time and energy. If anybody has a query, take it to the relevant Committee. Apart from the political dynamics or acrobatics, I want one person to persuade me what action these statements lead to. For example a Member seeks a statement that goes: “Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want the Chairperson to tell us why people were killed and the Government took no action?” The Chairperson comes the next day and says: “Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Government is committed. The Government says that nobody was killed. It has taken action. Investigations are going on.” So what? Go and say those things in the Committees if you want. This is a total waste of time. That is why I was quite silent during that Statement Hour unless you just want to play to the gallery of people in the village. It is the same thing in and out. “Mr. Speaker, Sir, can the Chairman tell us why the Ministry did not do this”. Then the Chairman responds: “Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Ministry has undertaken to do this and that.” So what? Sen. Murkomen, if you are here in the next Senate, get rid of that time, bwana ! Let those things be interrogated and concluded at the Committee level. It is a gimmick. So what when the Government or the Chair gives you a cliché answer? So, what we need is to improve the efficiency of this Senate. This Senate must be strengthened. It must be the “upper” House of this country. This Senate must have veto power against any legislation, speak to any issue and make decisions on any matter. It must be a House of last resort. We will broaden its mandate to not only take care of devolution, but to safeguard the integrity of the nation. This is because we have seen 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"
}