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{
    "id": 727765,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/727765/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 257,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 170,
        "legal_name": "Bonny Khalwale",
        "slug": "bonny-khalwale"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I rise to support that the County Boundaries Bill (Senate Bill No.16 of 2016) be now read a Second Time. Before I go into the details, allow me to congratulate Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. for this very innovative industry that he has demonstrated. Every time I listen to the Senator for Makueni, I quickly realise he is a very good student. It is true that young legislators like Sen. Moses Kajwang, Sen. Omar Hassan and Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. have been admiring the older politicians. Therefore, I am not surprised that he has quickly followed up on a similar Bill but which is not related to the one that I moved in this House and which is now law. It was in respect of the headquarters of our counties. Just like that Bill which abated a lot of disputes, I look forward to the wisdom of this Bill once it becomes an Act to solve quite a number of sticking issues. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it is now over six years into devolution. We can now speak authoritatively with the benefit of hindsight. One of them is that the issue of boundaries as clearly expounded by Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. is imperative and needs to be streamlined as captured in this Bill. What is more is the issue of the number of counties. Today, we have 47 counties which were arbitrarily settled upon without any reference to reasons that would inform the formation of those 47 counties other than as clearly elucidated in this presentation by Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. – the fact that they were trying to adopt the districts that existed in 1992. Since we want devolution to work and have economic returns, it is important that we look beyond the current 47 counties and ask ourselves, do we need these 47 counties? The answer is no. We need to amalgamate some of these counties so that we form counties that can make economic sense. 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"
}