Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 879972,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/879972/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 240,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Seme, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr.) James Nyikal",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 434,
        "legal_name": "James Nyikal",
        "slug": "james-nyikal"
    },
    "content": "working. The issue has been; we have not gone into details to look at the Constitution at every step. In the first place, we did not follow the Sixth Schedule. The Transition Authority ended prematurely and did not do its works. But arising from our experience, we can see that the Senate has a lot of work to do, and has brought in the issue of how dissolution of county government can be undertaken in a very clear way. There is a commission of inquiry which will be set up and which will indicate whether they agree that there should be dissolution or there will be no dissolution. In either case, there should be a time limit on how long the commission should work. Once the commission of inquiry completes its work, there is a very clear time limit on when it should report to the President. Even the President is given clear time limit on when he should refer the matter back to the Senate. It clearly states that if the President is in agreement with the report of the commission, he gives a memorandum that actually states what his views are and that goes to the Senate. That will be discussed in the Senate. Where the President does not agree, there is a provision that the President will give a memorandum on his views. When the Senate has gone through that, the Senate itself must have a Report which must go back to the President and it is clear what the President will do with the Report. We have to ask the President and the Senators to do that. People cannot go around and bring political issues where the process is extremely clear. Once it has been decided, for example, that the county government will be suspended, how do you terminate the suspension? It is clearly provided for in this Act that a Member of the Senate will actually move a Motion on that. This Motion will be taken to a committee of the Senate, then the committee of the Senate will discuss it and bring it back to the Senate. It is so clear. That is exactly what we should do. We should look at issues as they arise, not only when we have a problem. In my view, the Law Reform Commission of Kenya, the Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee and the Council of Governors… There should be a body that is constantly looking at the laws. We all know that in the Constitution, we had laws relating to the county governments and the national Government. We had the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution. I think even that was ended a bit prematurely. Those processes should have continued and the new organs that take over, should be looking at the laws, and ask where the gaps are. This is good but I am sure it has been precipitated by what happened in Makueni. As a nation, before we jump and say this is not working; this part of the Constitution is not working or this function should be brought back, we should look at the process of devolving that function. If you are now taking functions that have been in the national Government for years to devolution, you have to look at them in fair amount of detail. If people, laws and institutions are involved, they have to be looked at and re-formatted so that they can work in a devolved function. The only way to do that is to look at the laws as we put them in. No body, commission or taskforce, will sit in an office or in panels even for months and imagine all that will happen if a new law is enacted. You can get some, but the most important test is when it is put in action, what issues come, then we can come in and look at them again as the Senate has done. It clearly shows that the Senate has a function that is cut out for it in stabilising the counties. This is the best example we have had of what the Senate can do and many more should follow. With that, I support this Bill."
}