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{
    "id": 704385,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/704385/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 283,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "November, 3 2016 SENATE DEBATES 40 Sen. (Dr.) G. G. Kariuki",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Madam Speaker, I have been listening to this debate since I came back yesterday. Having been away for some time, it is difficult to follow what is being said, particularly this Bill that we are talking about today. If you look at it, you will find no reason why the National Assembly Speaker allowed it to be debated and to be forwarded to this House. That was to demean the responsibility of this House. Everyone knows that we have had problems with the National Assembly. It started at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), the day we reported as new Members of the Senate. The National Assembly had more fire and the ‘war’ was fought. I wish that the tone that we are using today was what we started with at the KICC. That is where the National Assembly and the Senate and the leadership lost direction. We ended up in a situation where everybody operated in their own way. The Senate had to establish its power and the National Assembly had the power in terms of numbers. We lost quite a lot. I pray that when we come back, we will be new people who are ready to make positive contributions to this House. Some people exercise their powers in their own way to prosecute others for no reason. The answer to this problem is when political leaders will decide to move this country towards more development than they found it. If we do not realise our mandate as the Senate, we will continue to have these problems. There was a dispute between the National Assembly and the Senate on who should manage the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF). To date, this has not been resolved. The matter was taken to the High Court, but the answer has not been found. Now they have the audacity to think that they can manage the Equalisation Fund. The Senate was created to defend county governments and not deal with anything else. The national Government and the National Assembly should not interfere with affairs of county governments because we represent them; we are here for that reason. We should not fail to represent the people at the counties. This Bill will not solve anything; the situation will remain the same. The money will still go to the National Assembly. This situation is not only misleading, but badly thought out. The Senate Majority Leader should tell the Members of the National Assembly that we cannot be intimidated. We were denied money to oversight the county governments, a job which is constitutionally given to us, and we did not raise an issue. We were then told that we will be given Kshs1 billion, which we are not sure of. Unless the Senate approaches these things in a different and modern way of politics, it will be difficult for us to move forward. We do not need to oppose this Bill because it is already unconstitutional. We should have rejected it when it was sent to this House because it has no legal support. I agree that sometimes politics does not recognize the legality of anything; it is about personal interests. The Senate should exercise its powers and take back this Bill to the National Assembly. The Senate should not act like it is powerless. Sometimes I feel like I am in an institution that has no power, yet our responsibility as the Senate is beyond that of the National Assembly. The Senate is a House where even the Head of State and other dignitaries can seek advice from. I do not blame the young Senators because I was also a very young man when I first came to Parliament. I was a rebel and I caused a lot of problems. That is why I do not complain whenever the young Senators behave the way they do sometimes. You are 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"
}