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{
    "id": 826815,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/826815/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 294,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kathiani, WDM-K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Robert Mbui",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1750,
        "legal_name": "Robert Mbui",
        "slug": "robert-mbui"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for this opportunity. I also arise to support these amendments to the County Governments Act. It is very timely; an opportune moment in Kenya’s history. I begin by saying that I believe county assemblies are a miniature version of the National Assembly. In fact, if you look at the roles that are carried out by our MCAs, they are exactly a direct replication of the ones we carry out in the National Assembly. The Senate has a responsibility to ensure that the laws that we use in the National Assembly to run our business are cascaded down to the counties so that there is no lacuna on how they operate. We have had issues for a long time. There have been issues all over the country. You can see county assemblies are not able to really bite as they should. Therefore, this Bill is really timely. For the first time since I was elected in 2013, I think this is the first time I can say the Senate has made this country proud. I believe they are now doing the job for which they were employed. It is to ensure that the laws that are coming out of the Senate are able to put sanity in the county assemblies and ensure the business of county assemblies and county governments is carried out appropriately. I recently saw an attempt by the Senate to make amendments to some laws like the Statutory Instruments Act that govern operations of this House. I tend to ask myself why they cannot just concentrate on their jobs. I am happy they have decided to do that. There have been ambiguities in the law, the County Governments Act. That is what has been used by our rogue governors. I am not calling all governors “rogue” but we know there are some who have taken advantage of the weaknesses in the laws to do things that are not beneficial to the public. Just recently, Machakos County’s MCAs had gone to court because the governor appointed CEC Members in complete disregard to the laws; in complete violation of the laws that are in existence. I am happy the court ruled that all the CEC Members in Machakos were appointed illegally. If we aligned our laws with the county assembly laws, it would be clear that the county assembly, just like the National Assembly, has a role to ensure that vetting is done properly. Another issue is the assumption of office of a governor and vacation of that office. You know from 2015 or thereabouts up to sometime last year, Nyeri County had a problem because the governor was incapacitated by illness. So, that county operated without a governor. Unfortunately, the same county has again been hit by the loss of a governor immediately after the election. You look at that situation and you realise that this needed to be done now. The deputy governor is elected by the people as such. I find it very strange that a deputy governor The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}