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{
    "id": 803089,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/803089/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 261,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "In the spirit of Article 174, on the objects of devolution, we must devolve all these functions to avoid crowding. Now that we have 47 county assemblies sitting daily; passing Bills, regulations, rules and by-laws, we do not need to wait until we come to the level of the national Printer. It is important that we put this into perspective by giving our county assemblies an opportunity to increase their efficiency. We devolved some of these functions to ensure that we give county assemblies an opportunity and capacity to work efficiently. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I agree with what the Senate Deputy Minority Whip, has said. We need to ensure that they liaise with the national Printer. Therefore, under Clause 6, to avoid not only duplication in the printing and publication of documents with the Government Printer, we should also give necessary capacity building to the county printers. The county printers should be liaising and ensuring that we publish at any given time. I would not want to dwell so much on Clause 7; this is a straightforward Bill. Our counties have a habit of misusing and abusing the privileges that this Constitution has created. The danger across the 47 county governments is that we have given them money and functions without proper structures. Therefore, it is important that under Clause 7 we ensure that we put direct instructions by stating that: ‘You cannot put up a private advert.’ We have seen so much drama since devolution started. We saw some governors printing their own images everywhere. There was even a hot debate as to why pictures of governors were being displayed at the Fifth Annual Devolution Conference. It seemed like the Conference was about governors. Therefore, this Bill will prevent a situation where governors put their own images in the County Gazette or advertise their own issues that are not in line with the provisions of this law. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, thirdly, is to caution against privatisation or commercialisation of the same, since this is a document that should protect the interest of the public. Where I come from, we have a lot of challenges especially on letters of administration and succession that need to be put in the Gazette . You will find that most of the beneficiaries of an estate take longer than anticipated because they have not been published in the Kenya Gazette . To ensure efficiency and avoid backlog, just like the Kenya Gazette, the county printer shall publish at least once in a week. This will go a long way in ensuring that we become timely and efficient. I agree with this Bill that an opportunity should be given to somebody who has the relevant qualifications in that area. I thank the Senate Deputy Minority Whip for insisting that any person who is in charge the Office of the County Printer should meet the highest threshold set in Chapter Six of the Constitution on Leadership and Integrity, as provided for by the Leadership and Integrity Act. This is somebody who will be in charge of a very critical office. It will involve publishing issues that affect the lives of wananchi . Therefore, we should have somebody of high integrity, so that we protect the information and confidence of the mwananchi . Therefore, we need to have somebody who has experience in the relevant field and meets the threshold that has been set by Leadership and Integrity Act. For the information of the House, last week the Committee on the Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights met with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) 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."
}