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{
    "id": 799304,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/799304/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 209,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Poghisio",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 202,
        "legal_name": "Samuel Losuron Poghisio",
        "slug": "samuel-poghisio"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for the opportunity to contribute and support the Motion of Adjournment. I want to congratulate my colleagues who have spoken ahead of me and to also state that it is a great excitement for us to go and participate in this Legislative Summit, for some of us, it is for the first time. As I travel around the country into the counties I get more concerned about our legislative arms of the counties: county legislative assemblies. We stand to make it difficult for devolution to function not until we do something about capacity building in those houses. It is anticipated that the work that we do here, at the national level, is corresponding directly to the work that the MCAs do at the county level yet when you look at it; given the nature of a Kenyan voter, the turnover of MCAs in the last elections was extremely harsh. It so happens that in some counties, the entire lot were kicked out by wananchi and a brand new lot came in, yet the brand new lot is expected to pick up immediately in appropriating funds and do all the things that we do here. We need to start thinking about the capacity in those houses by interacting with them. I want us to be more outgoing as a Senate and to visit more counties. In the recent visit that we took to West Pokot, Trans Nzoia, Bungoma and Busia, we said that we need to make more visits so as to help those counties. During the Legislative Summit, we will meet speakers of the county assemblies and MCAs who are our colleagues. I want to ask us to be prepared to make great contact with the MCAs from various counties and to associate ourselves with their challenges so as to impart knowledge and wisdom to each other. The Bible talks of iron sharpening iron, or a Senator sharpening an MCA and vice versa. We should spend time learning about the role of the legislature. Many times we find that the legislature is not given the place that it is supposed to be given even nationally, so we must go there and find the support that we can get. We have to make sure that the people in the executive, both here and at that level, understand the roles of that the legislative arms of government play. We have to stand tall and firm so as not to be used in any way. I want to challenge our executive to know that it is a very important arm. The laws that we make should be laws that are strong and made by people who understand what they are doing. More money should be put in the hands of the county assemblies. There should be more money for training, benchmarking, even locally if the international ones are expensive for them to understand what they are supposed to do. Let us allocate more money for training and benchmarking, at least, even locally, if the international ones are a bit expensive. This will ensure that they understand what they are supposed to do. For example, in the case of our Committee on Delegated Legislation, we are supposed to look at gazetted items, regulations made and so on. We are supposed to approve those regulations; pass or annul them. If the capacity to read through, understand and pass those regulations is wanting, regulations that will endanger other processes will end up passing. As we have discovered, we need to be strongly supported financially, so that the capacity of the counties is strengthened. 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"
}