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{
    "id": 984342,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/984342/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 128,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Orengo",
    "speaker_title": "The Senate Minority Leader",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 129,
        "legal_name": "Aggrey James Orengo",
        "slug": "james-orengo"
    },
    "content": "the Constitution and the law of the land, I will always not be supportive of, for respect for the Constitution and the law of the land. There is a reason accountability is a very important principle in our Constitution. I would dare say that it is not just accountability, but more accountability is what will bring good governance to this country. The prevailing view with a lot of leadership that exercises executive power, is the tendency to reject or be very weary of accountability. The most powerful people in the world, in very powerful offices, are subject to accountability. I do not know what is wrong in this country on issues to do with accountability. The day the Senate will be given its respectable place in the governance of this nation is when I will know that democracy has really come to this country. For now, there are things that happen, but we cannot ignore or disregard, and what is being proposed in this Bill is really to kill devolution as we know it. It will begin with Nairobi since it is the county where most of the devolved funds go to in terms of the counties. If it can happen to Nairobi, it will happen to any county. I speak very openly on this issue, and say that the Constitution is very clear. The Chairman of the Committee on Finance and Budget has referred to those provisions in the Constitution; that even if you transfer functions, the authority still remains with the institution, which is recognized under the Constitution. These funds are allocated to the people of Nairobi and to the County of Nairobi City. Therefore, the institutions of Nairobi City County must be responsible in oversighting these funds and knowing how they will be spent. It must not only be just oversighted, but also appropriated by the Nairobi City County. Sen. Sakaja knows where my views were in terms of the way Nairobi was being run in so far as the transfer of these functions. However, we were not opening a Pandora's Box to enable these functions to be taken to the national Government. In fact, the Committee under the Gen. (Maj.) Mohammed Badi is not part of the national Government, although the functions are being performed under the direction of the national Government. That particular body, in essence, is still part of the governance structure within the Nairobi City County. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would clearly say that it does not matter, so long as what is being proposed is against the law of the land, we will stand counted and say that you cannot do that. That does not mean that we oppose the allocation of these funds to the counties. For the counties, I would want to tell the governors that they become part of the problem. This is because if you compare how governors in Kenya hold themselves compared to a governor in the United States of America, those people know what power means; that power that is more moderated is the better functioning power than power that you build around images of greatness. If you see the rostrums that these governors speak from, you cannot even see some of their faces. The letters “Governor” are so huge. If you look at the British Prime Minister or the American President, you can barely read the word ‘president’, but here there is “Governor,” and if you try to look at the face, you cannot see it."
}