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{
    "id": 780229,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/780229/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 274,
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    "content": "give to our people for development. People should not sit somewhere and allocate money anyhow. There should be a standardization process so that money is not misused. Finally, I am not comfortable but the Bill on county attorneys might pass into law and we might have the county attorneys in our counties. There is a part that says that the chairperson of the committee shall convene the first meeting of the committee 30 days before the date of the general elections. My big worry is that a governor could lose and we have a new governor. The old governor will no longer have the motivation to ensure that the committee works. What will trigger that committee to hold its first sitting? My proposal is that we should have the Attorney-General of Kenya write a letter to the county attorneys across the 47 counties to trigger the first committee meetings because those people can decide to sit one day or five days before the swearing in of a governor. So, the Mover of this Bill should look at that aspect to ensure that the first meeting is triggered because of the timelines. We might have county attorneys if that Bill passes and so we need to be specific. We need to be specific about the county attorneys. We should just insist that they should be called ‘County Attorneys’ and not Principal Legal Advisor, for continuity purposes. My proposal is that the Attorney General of the Republic of Kenya should write a letter to the County Attorneys so that they initiate the first meeting. Madam Temporary Speaker, there is no better time than now for this law to come into force. It will ensure that devolution works seamlessly in our country. I want to thank the Mover, Sen. Wamatangi, in absentia,for this well thought out law and assure him that we will pass it. I hope that my colleagues will see the prudence and wisdom in it so that we pass it and ensure that it works for all of us. It is time that as we work on the legal framework, we should ensure that the wheels of devolution work for the betterment of all of us. Governors should ensure that it works so that it becomes easy such that when the law comes into force, it will allow most of us to agree. Lastly, Madam Temporary Speaker, Section 11(1)(a) says:- “the deputy county governor-elect shall be sworn in as acting governor on the date on which the governor elect would otherwise have been sworn-in;” Mark you, the Governor and the Deputy Governor were elected on a joint ticket. Unfortunately, if a Governor passes on before the swearing-in – God forbid – do you want to tell us that the Deputy Governor will assume office in acting capacity for 60 days and, thereafter, an election will be called? There are so many dynamics involved when one wants to run for the position of the governor. First, you look at regional balance at the lowest level of the county. You also look at the ethnic and religious composition of the county. So, at the end of the day, it would be unfair to have subjected the Deputy Governor through the rigours of elections and the electioneering period and, yet, when the Governor unfortunately dies, you want them to work as a Governor for 60 days and then take the voters back to another election. That would be unfair. We should just allow the Deputy Governor to be sworn-in, as per the advisory opinion of the Supreme Court. Madam Temporary Speaker, I am a member of the Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations, and it is working on the law to ensure the Deputy Governors will be appointed so that we do not disappoint them for the simple reason that 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."
}