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{
    "id": 705654,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/705654/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 137,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Ogolla",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1264,
        "legal_name": "Gideon Ochanda Ogolla",
        "slug": "gideon-ochanda-ogolla"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I did not know there was that change of Chair. I wanted to draw the attention of the House to the fact that in as much as this Bill is good, it serves to the extent that there is a void and there is nothing in existence. Towards my conclusion, I will draw the attention of the House to the fact that there are certain things that we are doing which are not good in terms of what the Constitution mandates us to do. Our counties are supposed to be distinct and there are certain things that are expected of them including legislating in terms of how they want to handle their issues as county assemblies. That aside, it is important to remember that one of the biggest contributions to the history of the Kenyan Parliament that indicates growth is when the 9th Parliament brought in the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC). We can go back to that time and see that Parliament reasserted itself to the extent that it was able to do certain things in a manner that the Bill is trying to propose for county assemblies. We are very much aware that a lot of advantages that we see as Parliament have been brought about by virtue of the PSC. We are able to run certain things in a manner that gives a defined direction. This is what is required of county assemblies in this country. We can work on our Budget, our personnel and all manner of things as a Parliament that indicate the element of independence in as much as we are supposed to be interdependent. To that extent, if we see the advantages, usefulness and benefits that we derive as Parliament through the PSC, it is important that county assemblies have a semblance of that. County assemblies are miniatures of the national Parliament. That is exactly where the Bill comes in, in a manner that is useful, but not in the sense that I indicated earlier, namely, due to a void. This void ought not to have been there if we managed our transition in a proper manner. As it is now, Parliament is new in relation to the new laws that we have in the country. Parliament managed to move ahead to an extent that we were able to look at our Standing Orders and readjust appropriately. In as much as there could be some weaknesses here and there, there was enough element in terms of moving forward and trying to catch up with the new laws that are now in place as we changed our Standing Orders. This was completely forgotten when we were forming county assemblies and county governments. We forgot the usefulness of a PSC or the National Assembly in running the affairs of the country particularly those of oversight. This now brings us to the situation where we have these difficulties where the Senate has to come in, in a manner that is not clearly indicated in law because of the weaknesses that pertain to the workings of county assemblies, particularly in terms of oversight. They are completely dependent on the Executive in terms of what they are to do. It becomes very difficult for a county assembly to oversee what the county is doing. It is important that the Bill gives us that kind of space that county assemblies can operate in and obtain some good element of independence. Normally, you only get to know that you are independent when you have two things, namely, you are able to make your decisions on one hand and to prosecute your decisions in terms of the wherewithal on the other hand. You also have your own funds to execute some of your decisions. That is when an indicator of independence is visible. It is important that this is allowed to happen in county assemblies and county governments. The strength of devolution is dependent on the strength of county assemblies. If we go the way we are going and try to assign certain things to the Senate rather than strengthening the 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."
}