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{
    "id": 886639,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/886639/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 309,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Sakaja",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13131,
        "legal_name": "Johnson Arthur Sakaja",
        "slug": "johnson-arthur-sakaja"
    },
    "content": "The Senator for Turkana County will tell you that in as much as there have been flare- ups, in the area of Lokwar Nakuse in his county it has remained largely peaceful. If that is not the case, we are ready to go back there now as the Committee on National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations. We were able to achieve so much in such a short time despite huge difficulties because of interest. I would plead with the leadership of this House, from the leadership of Majority to the leadership of Minority, let us stop acting like we own Committees. Please look at them afresh, put Members where their interests are and where their expertise lies because the committee is the heartbeat of the Senate. A lot of what we want to do, cannot be done at the Plenary; but it is at the Committee where the Senate can really be felt. I urge my fellow colleagues who are Chairpersons of committees; I know we have had a meeting of Liaison and unfortunately I was not able to attend because I had an emergency in Kayole, Chokaa area where my people are being evicted and their houses being demolished for very flimsy reasons. I want to urge them, let us do more of county visits in these Committees. Members are just looking at international visits yet if you look at the budget that is even left between now and June for county visits, every Committee can even be using whatever means of transport. Madam Temporary Speaker, let us go round the country with these Committees. Let Kenyans feel us. Let us go to the villages. It is not just that you want to go to the USA or Asia; let us also go to those villages and take the Senate to the people. I cannot talk about the budget here because I will be embarrassing this House. But the amount of money that is left in your Committees for local travel is humongous, yet, there is no Committee today with a coin left for international travel. It is interesting. Let us do that, I support that change. Please bring more changes. Someone like Sen. (Prof.) Ongeri should be where his interest and expertise for all those years is. Let us benefit from his wealth of knowledge over the years. Even before I was born he was already an Ambassador. Let us have those people. Let us have Sen. (Eng.) Mahamud with his huge expertise. Let him leave the Committee on Finance and Budget for now and go back to the area where he is really good at. He is good in Finance as well but he has been an Ambassador and also been in the transport and infrastructure sectors. This will ensure that even when we are questioning people they can see professionalism that the Senate upholds. Thank you Madam Temporary Speaker."
}