Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 808028,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/808028/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 516,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "On the second day, we shall review the report of the Auditor-General on Nandi County and on the third day, we shall review the report of the Auditor-General on Elgeyo-Marakwet County. We have chosen these three counties due to adjacency. They are the three counties that are closest to Uasin Gishu County. We not only want to take the Senate plenary mashinani but also the CPAIC. Madam Temporary Speaker, I urge other Chairs of Committees to schedule their meetings in Uasin Gishu and make sure that when they are there, they discuss issues of topical concern to the citizens of that area. One particular area that we must resolve to address as the Senate when we go to Uasin Gishu is the issue of maize and food security. I will urge the Chair of the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries that I also sit in to ensure that we do public hearings with maize farmers from Uasin Gishu and the North Rift to understand the challenges that they face. As we speak, the national Government owes farmers Kshs2 billion. Most of the first installment that the national Government paid went to traders and brokers. When the Cabinet Secretary (CS) came before the Senate, he was not embarrassed at all to tell the Senate that we did not lose money, we only lost opportunities. A lost opportunity for a farmer is bigger than the loss of a dollar or a Kenya Shilling. I hope that we will have some engagements with maize farmers from Uasin Gishu County through the relevant Committee. Madam Temporary Speaker, I also urge my colleagues to know that oversight is not exercised by only one Committee of the House. Each Committee of this House has a duty to carry out oversight. In fact, proactive oversight is best carried out by the standing committees. If there are challenges around maize farmers of Uasin Gishu, the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries can be seized of the matter and discus it early before things start to go bad. If there are problems around the road sector, the Committee on Roads and Transportation can do something. We have seen a statement come to this House regarding the health sector. That is the proactive oversight that Kenyans expect this House to carry out, not the mortician bit that the CPAIC that I chair undertakes. The manner in which the mandate of the CPAIC is crafted means that we are morticians and not physicians. We are required to come up with an opinion on the report of the Auditor-General on the finances of the counties. Therefore, I urge that we have proactive oversight. We should also not forget that ours is secondary oversight, while primary oversight is supposed to be carried out by the county assemblies. In part of the objectives for the county visit, we have captured that part of it will be to share and strengthen the capacity of county assemblies to undertake their mandate. Madam Temporary Speaker, let me also mention that for the Senate to be effectively felt at the grassroots, it will not just be about sending Plenary and committee meetings out there. As part of the outreach programme, the Senate has traditionally relied on events like Parliament open days and, therefore, I hope that we will have an open day this year. Parliament has also resorted to sports, which is a great channel for creating visibility and awareness of the work of the Senate. Therefore, I urge all Senators that whenever you are called upon to undertake or participate in sporting activities, you are not going there just to burn calories, the bigger objective and picture is that you are doing 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."
}