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{
    "id": 777858,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/777858/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 245,
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    "content": "must remain united as one. The people from my village in Bungoma County should have the right to buy property and live in Murang’a County, and vice versa. People must have the right to move their labor, settlement and everything to any part of this country. Madam Temporary Speaker, if the fortunes of West Pokot County change today – and from the seismic reports we have, that there is plenty of gold there – there will be a gold rush. All of a sudden, West Pokot County will probably house the largest human settlement in Kenya because every Kenyan will go there. That is what we must all believe in. That is why sometime we speak quite harshly against the advent of parochial politics in this country in whatever form and manifestation that it comes in. Looking at the Bill, I have already said that I agree with some of the technical issues. However, I just want to point out one or two things that the mover may – once the Committee has looked at it, he comes to reply and we go to Committee – wish to also look at. I would want, in general terms, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to be given a much bigger role in dealing with issues of boundaries. This is because, eventually, it is the boundaries of counties that generate boundaries of wards and, subsequently, constituencies. For example, if there is a Commission that will determine the movement of a whole division or ward from one county to another, it will necessarily mean that it will also trigger a spiral effect in the change of boundaries of representation within that county. This is because the movement will probably create two bigger constituencies which have to be reshaped into acceptable demographic limits and new wards may be created. So, I would want to see a greater role assigned to the IEBC alongside the structures being created. Madam Temporary Speaker, in Clause 9, the proponent of the Bill has set out how to resolve county boundaries. He also describes the composition of the mediation team by including a Chairperson who is fit to be a judge of the High Court; one person from each of the affected counties; two persons, a man and a woman not resident in the affected counties; then public officers nominated by the Cabinet Secretary and so on, and so forth. I would want – and I think Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. mentioned about this – to see surveyors in this set up because, eventually, it is going to be a matter of survey to put up not just beacons, but also coordinates and the Global Positioning System (GPS) structures. These will ensure that anybody siting anywhere in the world wanting to google about what Nyangores Ward in Bomet County is, can find the coordinates of that ward and transact whatever they want to transact. Madam Temporary Speaker, equally important is the manner in which petitions can be brought to this House. I have not understood why Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. eliminated the possibility of an elected Member of the National Assembly or an elected Senator from bringing a petition. It is us who are the representatives and protectors of counties. So, we are probably even more concerned about county boundaries than the Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) and others. In terms of representation, I think representation from the Senator of Wajir or Murang’a counties will carry a lot more weight than one of the MCAs from their counties. So, I would want Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. to expand Clause 18 so that the persons who can bring petitions include Members of the National Assembly and Members of the Senate. 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."
}