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{
    "id": 705646,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/705646/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 129,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Ms.) Ghati",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 856,
        "legal_name": "Dennitah Ghati",
        "slug": "dennitah-ghati"
    },
    "content": "fact that the county I represent in this House is cosmopolitan and divergent. With this Bill looking at issues of diversity, I am very sure even members of minority communities who constitute a county are going to be considered. Hon. Speaker, I have an issue with the provision on a degree. We need to look at the composition and say that it has to be a diploma and above so that MCAs who do not have degrees can form the CASB at the county level. Clause 9(c) discriminates against young people. There is no way you can say that a person to constitute the County Assembly Services Board should have, at least, 10-year experience in public service. Where do young people get experience? Those are the few things that are already discriminating against young people who constitute a county assembly. If you look at the Constitution of this country, you will realise that we denied young people an opportunity to be nominated. If you also look back, you will find that slots for nomination of youths in this country at the county assemblies are just two: a man and a woman. We have already discriminated against them. We should have a way of ensuring that young people who are to be nominated in the counties are, at least, three the same way we have women nominated to the National Assembly or the Senate. This clause is talking about somebody who is to constitute the Board to have, at least, 10-year experience. If there are youth at the county level, how will they form this CASB? We are already locking them out. These are some of the things that I can see will take us back. We also need to ensure that even as we constitute this Board there is representation from persons with disabilities. These are some of the small issues that we need to immediately put in place. There is no representation in the Board at the county assembly level of a person with disability and there is no representation of a youth because we are talking about 10-year experience. Where do young people fall? At this level again, we are talking about education. We still need to go back and look at this Bill very seriously at the county level. We are all aware that county assemblies are the first entry points through which our people in the village have seen some devolution. Again, we need to ensure that devolution is working for our people. If we talk about 10-year experience, it means that people who sit in Nairobi and go back to the community when they have retired will be the same people to form the CASBs because they have 15 or 20 years of experience. Where are the opportunities for persons with disabilities, youths and minorities in the counties? As much as this is a good Bill, there are a few things that we need to tie up or fine tune so that it becomes complete. This is a Bill that has originated from the Senate. It is in good taste and we are going to ensure that in our counties, just like the PSC that we have, it will serve our people at that level. With those few comments, I wish to support the County Assembly Services Bill."
}