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{
    "id": 782474,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/782474/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 341,
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "We have said that even the Senate needs to do this because there is nothing that stops it from sitting anywhere in the Republic of Kenya. We do not need to change any law. We have said that we need to take the Senate to mashinani . Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, through the Committee that I chair, we will also start having some sittings of the Senate County Public Accounts and Investment Committee (CPAIC) in various parts of the country so that people can have confidence and understand what the Senate is doing. There is clarity provided for in this Bill on the office of the county deputy speaker. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have seen an interesting situation in Siaya County. There was an election petition, the governor lost the petition and had to go for fresh election. For a period of three months, the Speaker of the County Assembly of Siaya was the Governor. Should a Speaker, who is carrying out the role of temporary governor, continue to be Speaker? Or should we say through legislation that when the Speaker has taken on the role of governor, then during that three-month duration, the deputy speaker should also act substantively as Speaker? You cannot have a situation where the governor who is in charge of the executive, is also the Speaker in charge of legislature. I hope as we process this Bill, we provide clarity for such scenarios. Currently, the governor of my county, Homabay, lost his case in the High Court; the matter has gone to the Court of Appeal. We do not know how it will end up. In case Homabay County was to go back for a by-election for the position of Governor, the Speaker will have to act as temporary governor. It will not be proper for the Speaker to be the governor and Speaker at the same time. We can elevate the deputy speaker during such periods. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this Bill attempts to provide clarity on the procedure for removal of County Assembly Speakers. This has been a big problem even in the last Parliament. The Speakers of County Assemblies talked and urged us to come up with legislation that would shield them from arbitrary impeachments. At least now, we have provided for certain natural justice rules, the Constitution requires fair administrative action. We came up with a Fair Administrative Action Bill which I believe is now an Act of Parliament. The County Assembly Speakers can now sleep soundly knowing that they are not going to be removed the next day because they refused to approve a trip that the Members of the Assembly wanted to undertake. The Speakers have been held hostage by Members of the County Assemblies. In my own county, we have a case involving humongous amounts of money, Ksh500 million, being investigated by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC). You ask yourself, when an Assembly is accused of misusing Kshs500 million; have they been paying salaries, allowances, fuelling vehicles? These Assemblies get just about 10 per cent of the allocation to the counties. A county that get Ksh7billion every year means the Assembly gets Ksh700million. How then can a county lose Ksh500 million? Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the County Assembly Service Board (CASB), is in charge of County Assemblies. They make most of the decisions relating to operations, development and the financing decisions. In the CASB, the speakers are very important 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."
}