Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 780178,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/780178/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 223,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, you will agree with me that you do not want a governor sworn-in by a resident magistrate. Clause 15(1) provides that the swearing-in of the county governor-elect shall be conducted in a public ceremony before the resident High Court judge, or, in the absence of the resident High Court judge, the resident Chief Magistrate but we do not want that. We must insist that the boss or the CEO of the county must be sworn in. Let us make the oathing serious by having it before a judge. Clause 15(2) provides that the county governor-elect shall be sworn in 21 days after declaration of the result but I think that is too long. It should be as quickly as possible so that the county can move on. The reason is that there is a 14-day period that is given for nomination of County Executive Committee (CEC) members immediately after the swearing in. If you make it 21 days, you have to add 21 plus 14. So a county will operate without a county executive committee for a period of 21 days after elections plus another 14 days and that is too long. I would propose a shorter period so that the county governments can move quickly. Security is paramount and it is important that security is provided for. We have a challenge that we brought forth to this Senate in the previous session. There are governors who hired over 3,000 people before elections. There are governors who entered into contracts to provide services a day before elections. Is it not in the interest of counties that we find a place to plug something? Whatever clause we craft, we should ensure that they do not borrow because they can borrow. They should also not charge because they can charge assets, believe it or not. The former Senator for Nandi, Governor Sang, told me that three members of his former executive got loans using a county government account as security. What will stop the 26 outgoing governors from doing the same? The purpose of the assumption of office should not be to create a red carpet ceremony or beautiful toilets and food. It is to find a method where a governor leaves office in a simple manner but we cannot allow them to start borrowing a month before elections because he might lose and leave a debt. The Controller of Budget said that between 2016/2017 the County Government of Nairobi incurred a pending bill debt from Kshs13 billion to Kshs59 billion within that financial year. That is the mischief. I propose that we have a clause on handing over of documents. If that is left to the county secretary or the committee, there must be a way to close accounts and ensure that assets are not mortgaged. For example, tractors were found in people’s compounds in Nandi. That happened during the handover between the county governments and the national Government. Senators here might not know why people were opposed to the Transition Authority (TA). Kinuthia Wa Mwangi had a point but the TA became an enemy of state the day it suggested that there should be a schedule of assets and liabilities. So, the Transition Authority left office without handing over anything to anybody. There are people who are hiding debts in counties. There are debts that were incurred prior and are not on record. Therefore, that specific clause that will ensure there is no mischief in the handover other than the ceremony itself is something that should be done. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in terms of reporting, it is good that you said that they should publicize and there should be access to information. We have also put a caveat 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."
}