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{
    "id": 833586,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/833586/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 205,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Murkomen",
    "speaker_title": "The Senate Majority Leader",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 440,
        "legal_name": "Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen",
        "slug": "kipchumba-murkomen"
    },
    "content": " For the interest of the House and the convenience of everyone else, it is important that I conclude. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, when a petition is presented to the county assembly, I like the fact that it will be committed to the relevant committee just like it is done in this House. The committee will go ahead to invite members of the public and conduct public hearings. I have a suggestion here, and I hope county assemblies or we can even put it as a principle. If a petition comes from a particular corner of the county, for example, Elgeyo- Marakwet County concerning Embobut Forest with issues related to squatters, non- compensation, encroachment of the forest and insecurity among other issues, I suggest, as a matter of practice, that the relevant committee should conduct a visit to that area. This will make petitions of the county assemblies different from ours because the jurisdiction we serve is bigger. If we make it mandatory to visit everywhere, it might be difficult. A county assembly being a local agency within a smaller locality in this Republic, which is one out of 47 counties in this country, where a petition concerns a group of people or a particular event in a particular area, it should be mandatory for the committee to go there. I do not know how that will be drafted. We can look at it so that it becomes mandatory for the committee looking into issues raised in the petition to acquaint itself. They should go and listen to the people in that particular corner of the world. It must not be applied unreasonably to become a basis for pushing for sitting allowances and benefits for individuals but when there is need for the best interest of the assembly and the people of that county. This is a fantastic Bill and I congratulate Sen. Pareno. It is just laughable that after going through the Bill, you will hear someone in the other House making an announcement that we cannot proceed with it because it is a money Bill. We passed The County Boundaries Bill, a very important Bill, but I was shocked to hear someone say in the “lower House” that it is a money Bill. For how long shall we continue stomaching this issue and how does that question arise after this House has debated this Bill? This Bill has been declared here that it concerns counties. Once it has been declared that it concerns counties, the rest remains to consider the merits of the Bill. The concern should be whether the procedure was followed. I have sung this song and we have written letters to the Head of State about it. We have done all the things that we need to do. What is important is to arrest the situation in the “lower House” insofar as the pretext of killing Bills in the name of money Bills is concerned. It is unfortunate that many of the Private Members Bills in this Parliament, and even the Eleventh Parliament, were from this House. However, they all died at the Speaker who knew that they ought to have passed the provisions of Article 110 by the time we had them on the Floor of this House. We then go and say, “I do not mind if the Bill collapses on the Floor of the House on its merit.” However, for officers – who are not legislators themselves – to use procedural technicalities to kill a process of such an important Bill is a disservice. That is the reason I came up with the Bill that deals with the Deputy Speakers when I saw people The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}