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{
    "id": 777910,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/777910/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 297,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Article 188 of the Constitution, which deals with boundary issues and conflicts in boundaries. When I was campaigning, I campaigned on the platform of assisting in solving boundary issues in Taita Taveta. This is because Taita Taveta County has boundary issues with our neighbours such as Makueni and Kwale counties; and also Kajiado County at Rombo. So, in my contribution, I will contextualise by referring to Taita Taveta County. When I was elected, I told my constituents that when I come to this honorable House of the Senate, I would assist in solving the issues of boundaries. Article 188 talks about an independent commission, and I was thinking about the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission Report. This report talks about historical injustices that were meted out against communities. For example, if you look at the boundary of Kwale and Taita Taveta, it took a District Commissioner (DC) of the former Taita District to write a letter to the DC of Kwale District. In the letter, he told him:- “Mackinnon Road is too far from the Taita Taveta County headquarters and it has no economic value. So, I am finding it continuously expensive to move to Mackinnon Road to administer it from Wundanyi. So, by this letter, please administer Mackinnon Road from Kwale.” Madam Temporary Speaker, the then District Commissioner (DC) for Kwale did some public participation and the people of Mackinnon Road said that they still want to be administered from Wundanyi. However, the DC for Wundanyi gazzetted that boundary quickly and Mackinnon Road found itself in Kwale County. We have been trying to resolve that issue through the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), but the framework for ADR in boundaries resolution is not well defined in law. Recently, we tried to set up a committee composed of representatives from Taita- Taveta and Kwale counties and used the former Regional Commissioner, Mr. Nelson Marwa. However, as we were beginning to resolve that issue, he was promoted to be a Principle Secretary. We are now forced to begin from scratch. Madam Temporary Speaker, this Bill will be a milestone if it passes. It will help in resolving the boundary issues. Some boundary issues are just administrative. Instead of altering some boundaries, we can just restore them. I will give an example of Mtito Andei, Makueni County. Previously, the County Council of Taita-Taveta used to collect revenue from Mtito Andei but stopped at some point and Makueni County started collecting revenue from there. That led to shifting of the boundary from where it was previously. These are administrative issues that can be sorted out through such a Bill. We are awaiting the public participation report and the report from the Committee so that they can debunk it and bring to us the real proposals. Issues have been raised such as why the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) cannot do this job. The answers from the discourse analysis that I have got is that the IEBC may not be trusted to do the job well. Therefore, if we can have an independent commission, specifically mandated to resolve boundary issues, it will be so good because our people are living on hope. Madam Temporary Speaker, when I was campaigning, I promised to try to resolve the boundary issue through the Senate and the people elected me. What those people have is hope. They say that one can go for days without food or minutes without 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."
}