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{
    "id": 782075,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/782075/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 249,
    "type": "other",
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    "content": "gender or persons with disability and the youth are resolved, a county assembly is not properly constituted. Pending that proper constitution of the county assembly, it will then be necessary to allow the county assembly to wait for the period that is necessary to create that sitting as provided for in Clause 7(b). Therefore, the place and date of the sitting will be gazetted by the Speaker and during that sitting, the county assembly will officially commence. Clause 4 amends the principal Act to just correct a typographical error, where a reference was made on Section 27 (3) instead of Section 26 (3) of the County Governments Act, so that it makes proper cross-referencing. That is a small amendment on a typographical error that is being dealt with. Clause 6 makes correction to adopt what has been provided for as far as the first sitting of the county assembly is concerned. The amendment creates Section 9A, which is basically to institutionalise the office of the deputy speaker in the county assembly. At the moment, there is no provision in the Act on how the deputy speaker will be elected and that office of the deputy speaker. Now, instead of different county assemblies--- I heard a story of one county assembly where because of lack of uniform provision on the deputy speaker, when the speaker of the county assembly is not so happy with the deputy speaker--- I do not want to mention the county where this happened in the last five years, but the Speaker would just wake up one morning and sponsor a Motion to reduce the threshold for election or removal of a deputy speaker. We have now provided a uniform legal framework that protects the deputy speakers, so that their election and removal mirrors that of the speaker and they are protected by law across the country. This will ensure that their principal bosses will not take advantage of their challenges. I do not want to say who I am referring to, but he or she might be in this House. Clause 7 of the Bill provides for what happens when there is a vacancy in the office of the speaker of the county assembly. At the moment, the law says that a speaker can only be removed by 75 per cent of the members of the county assembly. We have created a uniform framework of two-thirds, just as it is in this House, the National Assembly and all over the country. This is to ensure that two-thirds majority of the members of the county assembly can remove their speaker, in the same way we can also remove our Speaker here. This is not like the case of the Senate Minority Leader, where the threshold seems to be very low and dangerous. I am saying this with a lot of caution. I must now be careful and work closely with the Jubilee Senators because I might wake up one morning and find a different name on my office door. Especially with the resent handshake, I am properly warned. What we are trying to do here is to strengthen the office of the speaker and that of the deputy speaker, and ensure that the deputy speaker is properly recognised in law. So, the Motion for the removal of deputy speaker is provided for there. We have provided for how the speaker and deputy speaker will be notified and given the opportunity to be heard in terms of the allegations that are against them, before the county assembly can make their decision. 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."
}