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{
    "id": 858530,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/858530/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 72,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Wetangula",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 210,
        "legal_name": "Moses Masika Wetangula",
        "slug": "moses-wetangula"
    },
    "content": "creature of the Constitution and its constitutionality is guaranteed to the extent that it is what guides us to act constitutionally. Mr. Speaker, Sir, having said that, I have not said that we cannot oversight county governments. In fact, we engage them in terms of financial probity, in situations where the national Government is oppressing them and in terms of passing their allocations. In fact, it is this House that gave county assemblies independence from the county executive. At the beginning, county assemblies were an appendage of the county executive. County governors determined the budgets of the assembly. We fought so hard in the last Parliament to give them independence. I urge you not to lose sight of the fact that we can engage the assemblies in many things. However, we cannot, as a House, under the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 or any law micromanage their conduct. I listened to the Chairman very carefully and he alluded to the conflicts going on between assemblers and their speakers. I have gone out of my way to talk to the Chairman of the County Assembly Speaker‟s Forum and asked him what he exactly wants. I have also engaged Sen. Murkomen. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Speaker of the Senate does not have any law or a Standing Order that protects him if he loses favour with the House. That is the same thing with the National Assembly. Therefore, this House has no authority in law or in fact. We will be overreaching ourselves and you must make this clear to us and the future Senate that we cannot micromanage the assemblies in their relationship with their speakers. That is the only narrow point I am arguing. I am not saying that we cannot engage them and tell them to be of good behaviour because we can do it informally even without the law. It is only on that specific point. Otherwise, we should bring a law that says that the Speaker of the Senate and the Speaker of the National Assembly should enjoy security of tenure. However, that is not found anywhere in the world. We should look at comparable jurisdictions. That is the point I want you to make clear for the future. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am not arguing that you should give us a ruling here and now. Please, do a reasoned ruling that will be for posterity."
}