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{
    "id": 782472,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/782472/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 339,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. M. Kajwang’",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13162,
        "legal_name": "Moses Otieno Kajwang'",
        "slug": "moses-otieno-kajwang"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I wish to also go on record regarding this Bill. I congratulate the Senate Majority Leader, Sen. Murkomen, for very speedily coming up with this Bill. The media reporting on this Bill has mostly focused on the issue of the assumption of office of the deputy governor in the event that there is a vacancy in that office. The provision of legal framework for assumption of office of governor by the deputy governor and the appointment of a new deputy governor is the Clause that has elicited a lot of media attention. This Bill has several other very important and interesting provisions that I support. First of all, it provides clarity on commencement and sitting of county assembly after election. I have seen this in the past general election. Our elections seem to take almost a year starting with nominations. After that, some people go independent, others remain in the mainstream and then we have a very gruelling general election. After that, as a member of a county assembly, you hope that you will rest and start doing some work on behalf of the people who elected you. Previously, there was not much clarity on when a county assembly could sit. This Bill seeks to correct that by saying that it shall not be more than 30 days after constitution of the full assembly as provided for under Clause 7A of this Bill. This is something that we need to look at. I remember it was the former Sen. Martha Wangari, now a member of the National Assembly---. She also helped us to come up with clarity by saying that an assembly is fully constituted when nominated members have also been appointed within the assembly. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it will, therefore, be possible for members of the county assembly to go into election knowing that they will be able to start earning their first pay check within a certain number of days. This Bill also makes it clear that an assembly can sit anywhere within that county. I want to laud the Governor for West Pokot, Prof. Lonyangapuo who was with us as a very active contributor in this House. He would be among the few debaters when it got to a time like this when many people are low in energy. He has already implemented what this Bill proposes, that the assembly can sit anywhere. We saw in the media that the county assembly of West Pokot was sitting under trees in the scorching sun and bringing the assembly close to the people. 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."
}