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{
    "id": 779913,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/779913/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 361,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Sen. Okong’o Omogeni comes from Nyamira County and I come from Kisii County, but we share a market called Keroka. During the day Keroka Market has a very high population, but at night it dissipates. People come there to do business; it is a point of convergence. We need to be very clear on how the services are being cleared between Nyamira and Kisii counties, so that we do not leave people in conflict. People should not start fighting one another just because we have not sat down and agreed where the boundaries are. The last time when the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) wanted to delineate boundaries, with Nyaribari Masaba being alienated to Nyamira County Council at that time, we made an objection. This was because we were being detached from another part of Nyaribari Chache. I now believe that with this Bill in place, it should help us to get the right beacons and demarcations, which will resolve a lot of disputes that arise out of these markets. The other thing that has come out quite clearly is that there is now room for mediation. Before, these things were left at the mercies of the two governors, and if they failed to talk, then the issues were at limbo. Therefore, no progress was being made and the inhabitants of these counties were suffering, until the two governors agreed to meet. Now that there is a legal process that will lead to mediation and the manner in which that mediation committee is appointed, it will be very critical towards the administration of justice to the disputes arising between the two counties. It could be two, three, four or five counties, whatever the case may be. It is an important factor that we now have an avenue upon which we can redress the boundaries. It may not look apparent, but it is possible that, in future, the cross-county towns may become so huge in population that the IEBC may want to award constituencies to those particular towns. How do we treat this matter when it comes to that level, unless we are very clear right from the beginning whether or not the boundaries exist? Therefore, this is a forward looking Bill that will help to forestall any arguments or disputes that are likely to come up when the IEBC will be demarcating constituencies, particularly, in the growing towns and cities. I heard the contribution by the Senator for Nyandarua, who is a good friend of mine, and understood him. Probably, what he had in mind is, for example, a city like Nairobi which is so huge that the county government does not know the tail-end of their services. The most logical thing that people normally do, like in London, is to create administrative boroughs for the convenience of that city and its inhabitants; both permanent and temporary residents who come in and go out during the day and night respectively. It is important that we foresee a situation where such populations expand across counties. This Bill should then provide us with a way forward on how to deal with those issues. We are complaining that we are creating so many commissions, but this is one area that deserves a commission, and I will tell you why. We were prosecuting an issue earlier on during the debate on National Employment Authority. We were questioning its value and existence because they have not been able to generate enough business. But, at any given time when a dispute of this nature erupts, this standing commission will be able 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."
}