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{
    "id": 782079,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/782079/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 253,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "I want to go back to the proposed Section 32B. I had requested from my office for the advisory opinion of the Supreme Court on the replacement in the office of deputy governor, which I hope to get in a short while. So, I will come back to that clause. For the moment, I want to skip to Clause 17 of this Act which actually amends Section 58 of the principal Act. Section 58 of that principal Act is being amended so that it provides that we make the County Public Service Board more independent. At the moment, if you read the current Act, the people who are being appointed to the County Public Service Board are almost like appointees of the governor. When new governors come in, they orchestrate the removal of the existing members of the County Public Service Board (CPSB). Going back in history, I confess that I served in this taskforce. We wanted to create a CPSB with some independence that mirrors the national Public Service Commission (PSC). At the moment, the governor nominates the chairperson and sends the nominee to the county assembly for approval. There were concerns raised by the people of Kenya, including county assemblies, in the last Senate. The independence of the CPSB can only be guaranteed if we create an independent process of interview and appointments. In this Bill, we are creating a selection panel. For lack of a better way of creating that independence, we have said that the governor should appoint the chairperson and one person from the private sector to the interview panel. One person to be appointed by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) and the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK), respectively. We have 47 counties and every time they have a replacement, they will need a lawyer, an accountant and a person appointed by FKE. The challenge we will have is to what extent are these institutions devolved so that they can pick people in the locality to serve? Madam Temporary Speaker, I am willing to listen to amendments to this clause, to may be, say that the LSK will appoint someone who resides in a particular county. If they do not get someone from that county, they appoint one person from the neighbouring county, so that it makes work much easier. I am the one who drafted this clause. However, the problem with it is that it is likely to create bureaucracy. It will make it difficult for the governors to make a decision quickly and replace an officer in case someone resigns, dies or is removed from office. We can strike a balance at the amendment stage on how to guarantee independence without creating unnecessary bureaucracy that will make it difficult for the counties to perform their responsibilities. The rest of the provisions are to ensure that there is independence in the process of appointments and nominations in the CPSB. Madam Temporary Speaker, Section 68 of the Act is being amended to ensure that there is equity in the county. The principles of equity are enunciated, that the CPSB must ensure that it takes measures for diversity to be seen in the county, implement strategies that creates fair opportunity to everybody and ensure the policy that 30 per cent of the people who serve in the CPSB do not come from the dominant community in the county. This is very important because it already exists in the original Act. 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."
}