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{
    "id": 805010,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/805010/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 75,
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    "content": "some of the records by the County Attorney. By the time they are engaging in any legal advice or court representation or hearing on behalf of the county, he has a full disclosure of what they are dealing with. It will also ensure that he has adequate access to some of these records when he is drafting, vetting or advising the county governments. Mr. Speaker, Sir, Clause 27 says:- “The county government shall provide adequate facilities for the efficient functioning of the Office.” This is in line with what the CPSB will provide for. Our understanding of a county government is both county executive and county assembly. A fortnight a go, we had a Legislative Summit in Mombasa. We realised there are so many weaknesses in terms of legislation and policy framework. We, as the Senate, need to improve the capacity of the MCAs so that they come up with quality pieces of legislations in their respective county assemblies. I urge all county governments to provide a proper County Attorney Office. We do not want to see the County Attorney working on corridors of the governor or the County Assembly Speaker’s office. We do not want to see the ugly scenes of some of the county staff being locked out office because they are not in agreement with the governor. Clause 28 is on the funding of this very important office. It is very direct. For the office of the county attorney to discharge its duty efficiently, it must be allocated enough funds. Today, the national Budget is being read in our sister House. As counties draft their budget, they can also factor the money needed for such a critical office. I would also like to urge development partners to fund this office so that we realize the fruits of devolution in this country. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we are proposing for annual reports to be tabled because we need to audit the performance of this office so that we get value for taxpayers’ money. This country has spent a lot of money in creating offices and yet we do not have proper audit mechanism. This annual report should give us concise, precise and timely information on what the county attorney office has done. If there are treaties that have been signed, they must be shown in the report. If there is money spent and agreements or MoUs signed, let them be shown in the report. Counties are signing Export Processing Zones (EPZs) agreements with multinational companies and international organisations and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). All this must be captured in the annual report. Mr. Speaker, Sir, Article 35 of the Constitution on Access to Information is clear. Access to information is critical. We should move forward to ensure that we get value for our money. I know many people will ask how the audit of this office will be done. My answer to them is that this office must be audited because it is funded by taxpayers’ money. Clause 29 of the original Bill has cured and ensured that the County Attorney may make regulations. We recommended that Clause 30 be amended by deleting the words ‘county attorney’ appearing immediately before the words ‘may make regulations’. We felt that the Cabinet Secretary (CS) in charge of Devolution and Planning should make these rules and regulations to ensure uniformity and legal certainty. We appreciate that our 47 county governments across the country have their own unique needs. However, if we allow each and every county attorney to make regulations, 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."
}