Hon. Members, this is Communication from the Chair on the passing on of the late hon. Philomena Chelagat Mutai. It is with deep sorrow that I stand to convey to this House the sad news of the demise of the late hon. Philomena Chelagat Mutai, former Member of Parliament for Eldoret North, who passed away on Monday, 8th July, 2013, at the Kenyatta National Hospital after a long illness.

The late Chelagat Mutai was born in 1949 at Chepterir Village in Lessos, Nandi County. She attended Chepterir Primary School and St. Joseph Girls School between 1963 and 1966 and later proceeded to the then Highlands Girls School, Eldoret, for her A-level education before being admitted to the University of Nairobi in 1970 where she graduated with a Bachelors degree in Political Science. The late Chelagat Mutai became Member of Parliament for Eldoret North at the age of 24 years when she got elected to the august House in 1974. She lost her seat in 1976 when she was jailed, but re-captured it in 1979.

Hon. Chelagat Mutai is well known for fighting for the rights of the voiceless and the landless. She was in the league of Members of Parliament like the late Martin Shikuku, Mashengu wa Mwachofi, Dr. Chibule wa Tsuma, the late George Anyona, Koigi Wamwere and James Orengo, a team of strong willed legislators who contributed immensely to the improvement of governance at their time by holding the Government to account in this House.

Members, allow me on my own behalf and on behalf of all the Members and staff to pass our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the late Chelagat Mutai for the loss of such a resilience legislator, a firebrand, a human rights defender and a social reformer. A woman icon, who we shall all remain to cherish for generations to come. I now wish to ask all the Members to rise and observe a minute silence in honour of the departed heroin.

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Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. I stand to give tribute to the family, friends and those who knew hon. Chelagat Mutai. The late hon. Chelagat Mutai was one of the youngest women who made it to Parliament just at the age of 24 years. The loss of the great legislator has brought a lot of heart break to those who knew her, and to those who saw her rise up to her status. The loss of Chelagat Mutai is a great loss to the nation in general and more so, to the current and upcoming women leaders both in and outside this nation. The late Chelagat Mutai came from my constituency. She was fearless, a gallant heroin and also deserves to be recognized in this House. Chelagat Mutai was known as one of the seven “bearded sisters”, simply because at that time, she was one of the female legislators who actually put the Government of the day to task.

( Applause )

She was among the female legislators who made the Kenya African National Union (KANU) Government have sleepless nights at that time. The mission of those kind of women legislators was to fight corruption and injustice that was the order of the day during that time. They stood up to the Government of the day. The late Chelagat Mutai faced detention and torture. She faced all that so as to stand up for the people who elected her. I want to take this opportunity just to say that today, we adore Chelagat Mutai who died of a heart attack. But we are not being told of the torture that she went through as a woman legislator in this county. I want to believe that where we are now, we do not wish to have other legislators, either male or female, go through what that particular female legislator went through. I also want to say Chelagat Mutai took her people up to where they are today. People like her and others in that particular time, are the people who stood up to make this country what it is today. May Chelagat Mutai rest in peace. I wish that in this country something can be done in remembrance of that young female legislator who made her way to Parliament, just at a young age in order to make other young women to rise up to such positions. Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir and I welcome my colleagues too, to pay tribute to her.

Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. Let me also give my condolences to the family of the late Chelagat Mutai. Her death is truly sad. I hope she will be remembered for her contributions to the freedom that we so enjoy today; the democracy that many of us really do not know how it began and how it happened back in those days. Many Members of this House were probably even too young to remember. In fact, a Member told me today that he can hardly figure out who Chelagat Mutai was. You cannot blame him because it was long time ago. That struggle has been very long. The fact that she was a woman of integrity and courage really is a thing that we should cherish as a country.

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Members, I can see there are very many requests; if we could take two minutes each.

Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. I rise to pay tribute to Chelagat Mutai and in her death, we have a few lessons that we can celebrate. First is that, indeed, women can achieve without any tokenism, that at age 24 in very difficult circumstances and in a very untraditional way, she managed to become a Member of Parliament. That says strongly that women should have the courage and that they should seek empowerment through individual efforts. That is a good example. Secondly, we need to celebrate the living as they come. I would like to take this opportunity to particularly single out former Prime Minister, hon. Raila Odinga because, when Chelagat needed help, and when she was in a lot of incapacity, as the Prime Minister - but more as an individual - hon. Raila Odinga rose to the occasion, went and plucked her from a very desolate situation in Kasarani and took her to the spinal injury hospital. I think those are efforts and generosities that deserve to be recognized. Yesterday, as I made my contribution to Members of Parliament who had gathered at the restaurant, we had a lengthy discussion that I am proud to say, I initiated. We will contribute even this evening. I will also go there, but let us ask ourselves many questions. Is it in death and in funerals that we give much more? When individuals who are celebrated and they are in our neighborhoods are suffering and they are sick, we are away. We are not saying that we should not give, but there is a trend that we discussed yesterday, that in our communities, we are finding it easy to give lots of loads of money and feast a lot during funerals when, really, most of the people when they are living, they deserved that coin for medication. I am saying in reflection and I am not saying that I am innocent; I am guilty as accused collectively, with my community and this nation.

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Your time is up!

Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. I also rise to pay tribute to the late Chelagat Mutai. When we, the Muslims, remember the death of a dear one or anybody, we recite a short prayer which I will recite here today.

This prayer basically says that God sent you to this earth and you return to God.

I also recognise this lady because she fought corruption. She was one of the first fighters of corruption at very difficult times. We should recognise this lady although she has passed away. Although we forgot her when she was alive which is probably the practice in this country, whether we were Members of Parliament 20 years ago or we are Members of Parliament today, we are a family. I cannot understand why a Member of Parliament has to go through the pain and anguish that she went through. We remember her in death but we did not remember her when she was alive.

The Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) has a job to do. I remember that we sent a petition to the PSC in the last Parliament in respect to another former Member of Parliament who brought the United Nations (UN) offices to this country. The PSC which you chair, hon. Speaker has not had the decency of responding. This is the case and yet the petition had over 90 signatures. I remember my dear friend here, Hon---

Your time is up!

Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. I also rise to pay tribute to the fieriest politician from our region. The late Chelagat Mutai inspired very many people.

From history, we learn that she was actually the first Kalenjin woman to become a Member of Parliament. That is why even in the last Parliament, we managed to have the highest number of women Members of Parliament from that particular area. I think they were inspired by this lady. It is only unfortunate that she died in such a way. It was very disheartening when we saw her when she was sick. This is a wakeup call to all of us that we need to look at the people we think must have contributed greatly to the development of democracy in this nation. These are the people who rarely celebrate the fruits of what they fought for.

This lady among others fought for democracy, the truth, against land grabbing and very many evils in the society. Therefore, it is fair to remember them. We should not only remember them but we should be thinking about them. We should build monuments in their honor so that we can remember them. We should also have---

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Hon. Speaker, Sir, I would like to thank you for giving me this opportunity. I also want to join my colleagues in celebrating, in death, the life of the late hon. Chelagat Mutai.

We need to appreciate a few things. First, if about 40 years ago, and at the age of 24, the people of Eldoret North Constituency could entrust leadership in the hands of this young woman, why is it that the Kenyan society is still struggling now to accept that women can offer leadership to this country; that we have to apply affirmative action? I think we need to appreciate that this lady did not disappoint. Even now, the Kenyan society needs to appreciate women more so that we see more women representation in the next Parliament.

I also want to observe that even though the late Chelagat Mutai became a Member of Parliament when the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta was the President, she also became a Member of Parliament again when President Moi was in office. Even though they came from the same ethnic community, she did not fail to rise up against former President, Daniel arap Moi’s regime. That is a lesson to us that we need to put ethnicity aside, especially if it is not in tandem with the needs of our people.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, if you allow me, I also want to talk about the fact that this lady could stand together with others to fight for democracy that we now enjoy. It will be sad if we slip back and go against the gains that these strong Kenyan men and women fought for. I am saying this because right now there is talk, and we have read everywhere that there is a Motion that is likely to be---

Thank you very much, hon. Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to join my colleagues in sending my condolences to the family and friends of the late hon. Chelagat Mutai. I had a patient on the 9th Floor at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) on Sunday, and I was fortunate because that was where Chelagat Mutai was. The condition in which she was, was very pathetic since she was an hon. Member who was very eloquent, worked for this country, fought tirelessly and shamelessly for the sake of this country. She died an hour after I left. This is a lesson that we have to learn as a House. We have to take care of our own. This is because it will be me or you tomorrow. It was unfortunate that the hon. Member could be in that state at that time. It was just fortunate that I was there. Hon. Speaker, Sir, I was also fortunate to have met the late Chelagat Mutai with the late Bishop Muge when I worked with him. This lady was very eloquent and she could fight. Most hon. Members here know how the late Bishop Muge fought corruption and land grabbing in this country. They joined hands to fight corruption that was in this country. I want to say very passionately that, as a House, we should consider ourselves and see that---

Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. I rise to send my condolences to the relatives and friends of the late hon. Chelagat Mutai. This is a person I knew very well as a young refugee in Dar-es-Salaam from 1981 to 1983. I went to Dar-es-Salam as a student leader three months before the late Chelagat came. I found that Chelagat had arrived after my protective custody.

I must say that those who were in Dar-es-Salaam those days, the arrival of Ms. Chelegat Mutai and hon. Orengo gave us solace, because although they could not pass for

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Hon. Speaker, first of all, let me take this opportunity to thank you for the minute of silence in honour of the late hon. Chelegat. I am one of those people who did not know her very well, in exception of the few things I was reading in the newspaper. Hon. Speaker, from what I read in the newspaper, I want to say that, it just proved to us that even women in their own capacity can chart or fight for the rights of their people; when they are representing their people in this august House. I want to say that in death, there is something that I have learnt. We have only one responsibility; work for our people and fight for their rights so that they can enjoy democracy that hon. Chelegat fought for. As a woman, reading that she was at one time detained because of fighting for the rights of her people, I think it was a very courageous thing for her. I want to say, on behalf of myself and my constituent, our condolences to the family and to the friends and to the constituency where they come from.

Thank you very much, hon. Speaker. I also rise to pay tribute and express my condolences to the family of the late hon. Chelegat Mutai. I happen to have known her at the time she was campaigning for the very first time in Eldoret. At that time, I was a first year student at the University of Nairobi and I was among the youth activists in her team in Eldoret because at that time I was staying in Eldoret.

She did very well and she took on some political giants at the time, as we knew them and she was able to floor them. Even when she was at college, she was able to take on the college authorities and she was a very good student representative, before she went to politics.

Hon. Speaker, I want to agree with my colleagues here who have observed the way we treat our heroes and heroines, particularly the way we have treated former Members of Parliament. I remember what the late Ngei and Shikuku went through and many others, including now Chelegat Mutai. Even now as we speak, we have a number of former Members of Parliament out there---

Thank you.

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Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. I would also like to give my condolence to the family of the late legislator, Chelegat Mutai. One of the things that we, hon. Members, need to know is that the space that we have right now is as a result of her fiery and courageous fight. At the time when she was a legislator, Parliament was a small department in the office of the President and many of the things that were going on in this House were actually controlled remotely from the office of the President. I want to say that to her it is a pointer that women can achieve even at tender ages. Hon. Speaker, it is also a pointer that, even us, as hon. Members of this House need to fight for our people. During her time, the late Chelegat saw the resettlement of so many people. She could have used her position to grab large tracks of land, but instead she gave it out to very poor ordinary citizen. She died a poor lady not because she was not able to have grabbed land. I think by that time, it was possible for her to grab even the largest tracks of land in Uasin Gishu, but because of her conscience, belief and philosophy she wanted to let the people that she represented gain first. That is the same thing that we need to get when we are in this House today. Lifestyles and the living standard of our people need to be upped so that we will be remembered. Hon. Speaker, Sir, I also need to say that as a House, we need to care for one another.

Thank you, hon. Speaker. I rise to pay tribute to this great woman of substance and an iron lady of her time. I shudder to learn that the late Chelagat Mutai died a pale shadow of her former self. This points to the point that many of us have already made, that we must honor our heroes in life. Who are our heroes? They must not just be those freedom fighters who fought for freedom in 1963. Heroes are made every day in this country. History is written every day in this country. Everybody who has their touch on the history of this country must be honored by this nation for us to be a nation worth its salt. I am glad that we now have in place the National Heroes and Honors Act. This will enable even Members of this House to be selected as heroes and honored while they live. I hope that will be done soon. Many words have been spoken in tribute of this great lady. However, the greatest tribute we can pay to this iron lady is not in words; it is in action. In fact, it is in protection of the freedoms that we have gained over the years. We must protect our Constitution with our lives in tribute to the late Chelagat Mutai. We must protect the freedoms that we have come a long way in gaining. I am talking about the freedom of association, the freedom of speech and the freedom of media. I hope that we will not be bringing to this House---

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Thank you, hon. Speaker for this opportunity to contribute on hon. Chelagat Mutai. I wish to convey my condolences to the family of the late Chelagat Mutai and pay tribute to her courage and bravery in the way she handled issues even at a very youthful age. This is a testimony that all, including the young people have a role to play in society only if we know what to do. Her bravery and brilliance helped her to understand that at an early age she would be able to represent the people of Eldoret North. She had just come from university which was a very rare thing. In fact, the changes that we made and we ended up with this new Constitution, there were some issues at that time which we could not handle, but now they are addressed in the Constitution. The only thing that I realize about this country is that we do not recognize and appreciate talent. The late Chelagat Mutai was a talented person who could have been nurtured and she would have helped a lot in what is going on now. However, instead, she became a hunted person. She became a jailbird just because she was vocal and forthright. I think it is good that is ending and it should end completely so that everybody can aspire to any position they can get to at any stage. Hon. Speaker, the historical injustices---

Thank you, hon. Speaker, for this opportunity. I just wanted to say that the late hon. Chelagat Mutai is an inspiration to young female legislators like me and some of my other colleagues and she will continue to be so for the coming generations. Hon. Speaker, she is an inspiration to upcoming young politicians who aspire to have position in this Legislature, for example, Kethi Kilonzo. I pray for her family and the people who knew her personally. I thank you.

Thank you, hon. Speaker. I rise to pay tribute to the late hon. Mutai Chelagat, but I must say that I did not know her personally neither was I alive when she was a Member of Parliament. In her second term in Parliament I was, probably, too young. However, I am a good student of history and I realize that, indeed, it is the likes of Chelagat and many others who have provided the space that we enjoy today. Indeed, from what I have read, she was not only gallant and fearless, but she was also selfless and a leader who connected with the people. She will serve as a reminder to us that once you disconnect a leader from the people, you cut them off from their oxygen. Hon. Chelagat is a reminder to us that, indeed, there is nothing more powerful than a generation that is in tune with its season and knows it courses. In the same breath, I would also like to acknowledge--- A few days ago we were commemorating the Saba Saba which is one of the events that led to creation of democratic space in this country. There are still living heroes amongst us, that is, the likes of hon. Orengo, hon. Raila Odinga and others. Hon. Speaker, why should we give people flowers when they cannot smell them? As much as we pay tribute to her, let us also be sure to pay tribute to those who have opened this space that we enjoy today.

Ahsante, Mhe. Spika. Ningependa kuchangia hoja hii. Mheshimiwa Chelagat Mutai alikuwa ameheshimika na alikuwa amesoma vizuri. Kazi aliyofanya akiwa Mbunge ilikuwa ya heshima mno. Kama mwanafunzi wa awali wa

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Thank you, hon. Speaker, for giving me this chance to condole with the family of the late Chelagat Mutai. I must say that I never had a chance to interact with her, but from what I have read in the newspapers, I believe she inspired many people, more so women to venture into politics. I believe she was among the very first Kalenjin women to be elected to Parliament. She was a true fighter for democracy. She took head on the mighty and those that were against democracy. She opened up the democratic space for this country. I believe that the political space that we are enjoying today came about because of Chelegat Mutai. Indeed, she was referred to as among the “seven bearded sisters” although she did not have any beard. I believe that was because of her fight for democracy. This Government neglected her during the hour of need. Therefore, I must join my colleagues to call upon the Government to take care of this country’s heroes. The Government should take care of those who have fought for democracy and the people who have led this country in the fight for democracy. I must condole with her family and pray that the Almighty God rests her soul in eternal peace.

Thank you, hon. Speaker.

Finally, we shall have hon. William Kamoti Mwamkale.

Thank you, hon. Speaker. On behalf of the people of Rabai and on my own behalf, I would like to convey condolences to the family of the late hon. Chelegat and the people she used to represent in Eldoret North Constituency. The death of hon. Chelegat Mutai has opened the eyes of the society on the plight of Members of Parliament. Just a few months ago, as Parliamentarians, we were fighting for our social wellbeing. We were, indeed, trying to run away from the conditions that the late Mutai faced. I believe that it is not proper for people to sacrifice for the betterment of this country only for them to end up in misery. On that note, I pray that the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) considers taking an audit of those who have contributed immensely to where we are today, particularly the remaining members of the “bearded sisters” team. There are those who are still alive. Let us not wait until they pass on, so that we can praise them. Let us do something about their plight, as a House. Let us also consider---

Yes, hon. Ngeny!

Thank you, hon. Speaker. I would like to pay tribute to the late Chelegat Mutai’s family, friends and the people of Uasin Gishu at large, where I

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Hon. Members, I wish to thank all of you. I know that there are over 30 requests but I believe that those who have spoken, including our own condolence message, suffices for now. Next Order.

Yes, hon. Esther Gathogo!

Hon. Members, if you know that your request for Statement has been approved, you better make the request immediately you take your seats. Do not just come here, assume some seat and remain like that. You may proceed, hon. Gathogo.

Thank you, hon. Speaker. Pursuant to Standing Order No.44(2)(c), I would like to request for a Statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Transport, Public Works and Housing regarding the enforcement of the Transport Licensing Board (TLB) Rules.

Hon. Speaker, the TLB is supposed to, among other things, issue operation licences to Public Service Vehicles (PSVs), allocate them routes and regulate their operation timetables. One of the requirements for issuance of licence is vehicle roadworthiness. That is why PSVs are supposed to be thoroughly inspected before they are licensed to operate. Further, the TLB Rules clearly restrict PSVs to single routes, as allocated to them upon issuance of licence. However, the TLB Rules are neither being complied with nor being enforced across the country. This has resulted in continued increase in road carnage.

Hon. Speaker, in the Statement, the Chairperson should investigate and report on the enforcement status of all TLB Rules in the country. Thank you, hon. Speaker.

There are some hon. Members who look like they are seeking donations. Hon. Millie Odhiambo, you are permanently on the gangways. It looks like you are looking for something from hon. Members. Please, do it quietly. Let other hon. Members transact business. Can the Committee Chairman make an undertaking? I can see that he is not yet ready. We cannot wait for him to log on. He has been sitting there with his system access card in his wallet.

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Thank you, hon. Speaker. Pursuant to Standing Order No.44(2)(c), I would like to request for a Statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Transport, Public Works and Housing regarding the status and performance of the concession programme of train operations to Rift Valley Railways, the ongoing retrenchment of Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) and the sale of the Corporation’s assets---

Hon. Millie Odhiambo, please, allow the Member to be heard. I can see that you are doing something important but the hon. Member on the Floor is also seeking an important Statement.

Thank you, hon. Speaker. Hon. Speaker, seven years after the Kenya-Uganda Railway was awarded to Rift Valley Railways to enhance efficiency in the railway sector, this objective is far from being achieved. Further, KRC has been laying off employees and disposing of the Corporation’s wagons, stations and railway lines, among other assets, to scrap metal dealers; in the pretext of reviving the Corporation. Hon. Speaker, the Chairperson should inquire into and report on the following:- (i) the status and performance of the concession programme on train operations to Rift Valley Railways; (ii) the Train Safety Operations Signalling Equipment that is currently in use; (iii) the number of employees who have been working for the Corporation for the last ten years, giving details on those who have since been retrenched, those currently employed by the Corporation as well as on those who have been identified for retrenchment; and, (iv) the number of expatriates at managerial level working for the Corporation.

Hon. Members, the Statement is similarly referred to the Departmental Committee for follow up to be made in seven days from today.

Next is hon. Silas Tiren.

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Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. Before I continue, I beg to thank the great people of Moiben since I have not had an opportunity to thank them for electing me to the 11th Parliament. Pursuant to the Standing Order No.44(2), I wish to request for a Statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Administration and National Security regarding the shooting of an area resident by the police. The 22 year old athlete, Dennis Kipruto Kirwa from Toroita in Moiben Constituency, Uasin Gishu County, was shot on the morning of 10th June, 2013, in Chepkoilel by a policeman from Kapsoya Police Post under the suspicion of being part of a gang that had been on the run for the past 12 years. He was 24 years and he could have been looked for since he was ten years. I wish to request the Committee to urgently investigate the matter with a view to establish the cause of this murder, confirm if any arrests have been made and whether any action has been taken against the concerned officer. This will aid in reducing the tension in the area.

Likewise, the Statement is referred to the Committee chaired by hon. Abongotum Asman Kamama, who has since left the Chamber, but the Member is encouraged to pursue that matter and we will mention it seven days from today. The Leader of the Majority, you have a Statement to issue as well as other the one for Thursdays.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I have a small Statement to issue which was sought by the Member for Kieni, hon. Kanini Kega on the compensation for the Mau Mau veterans. He asked three questions, namely, clarification to the House on who the said 5,400 individuals are; the criteria of distribution of the awarded compensation and the Government’s stand on the compensation issue. With your indulgence, I will only get clarifications based on this Statement. The first clarification is with regard to who the said 5,400 individuals are. The response is as follows:- (a) The suit relating to this matter was originally filed at the High Court of Justice, Queens Bench Division in Britain in 2009 by five individuals. The suit is cited as Nduku Mutua and Four Others versus the Foreign and the Commonwealth Office, Claim No.HQ09X02666. (b) Subsequently, the matter was settled out of court in respect of 5,228 claimants. Information relating to the identity of these claimants was not supplied to my office, namely, the office of the Attorney-General of the Republic of Kenya. The information will be obtained for anyone, including the Member of Parliament or any other Kenyan, from the counsel for the claimants, Messrs Leigh Day and Company. (c) It is important to know that this was a suit filed by individuals against the British Government. The claimant in this suit is not the Government of Kenya. The second clarification is with regard to the criteria of distribution of the awarded compensation. The response is as follows:-

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Clarifications!

Hon. Speaker, Sir, this is totally unacceptable. The report that we have got today is not conclusive. There is no in depth report. I have information that whereas they are saying that they are 5,228 persons to be compensated, that is not the correct figure. They are fewer as the Leader of the Majority has alluded that there are only four people who filed the case. I also have information that the lawyers, both local and international are pocketing a cool Kshs1 billion out of the Kshs2.6 billion. That is over 40 per cent of the total amount. This is a very serious issue. I raised this issue because Kieni was like the epicenter of the struggle for Independence. We still have the colonial villages. Hon. Speaker, Sir, I was in my constituency last week and we laid to rest one of the generals in the fight for the Independence of this country. Unfortunately, we do not know whether his name is in that list and so many other people who talked in that funeral. I am not comfortable with this report and we need to do more. The Leader of the Majority needs to do more because this is not satisfactory.

Any other clarification? The requests which are here, I am sure, do not relate to that Statement. There are those people who arrived here and put their cards in the system. I do not want to just pick people who have no interest in a matter.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I have heard the answer that has been given by the Attorney-General through the Leader of the Majority Party and in my opinion, it is insufficient. Being a son of a Mau Mau fighter, I am looking at a situation where my father and people of his level of education and economic position are being told to go to Britain to get further information on this issue. When my colleague, hon. Kanini Kega, sought the information, I thought the Government would supply it. We pay taxes and pay ambassadors in foreign countries to help Kenyan citizens. The Government would have got its officers in Britain and got information that can help the Kenyan citizens. Legally, when a suit is filed by a few individuals on behalf of others, it may bar further claims from being filed by other claimants. They are supposed to have been enjoined in that particular suit. Telling Kenyans to file another suit against the British Government may not be the way to go. So, the Government should go back there, use our officers in Britain to get the information and give sufficient information to Kenyans. The Government should create an office to help the Mau Mau veterans. It is important that we get further

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Thank you for that debate, but please, seek clarifications. You are making very good proposals, hon. Gichigi, but the Leader of Majority Party has indicated clearly that, that is a Statement signed by the Attorney-General of the Republic of Kenya. So, even as you seek your clarifications, please, bear that in mind.

Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. I also want to support my two colleagues because many Kenyans suffered because of the colonialists. It is not only in Kieni or Central Kenya. There are many old men and women in Meru County who are languishing in poverty and yet they fought for Independence.

I do not think that the Jubilee Government can leave its citizens to die because of poverty. This is because when the Attorney-General exonerates the Government from responsibility--- These are Kenyans and, therefore, it will be very good for the Attorney- General not to leave them to suffer under the hands of the colonialists who really tormented them for many years. Most of those colonialists are still in this country.

The Majority Leader who is able, maybe, was in a rush to bring this Statement to this House. He should go back to the Attorney-General to get a better statement and see how these Kenyans can be compensated by the British Government.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, Sir.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I want to start by thanking the Majority Leader for that Statement. I want to remind him that this Government is in place because of the efforts of the Mau Mau. That is how we managed to get a Kenyan Government that is now 50 years old. Since it was the British Government against Kenyans, and we have our Government, why did the Government not seek for compensation on behalf of the victims from the British Government as opposed to individuals coming out to ask for their compensation? The Government should have come out, collect information, get the people from all the areas who were aggrieved and sought for compensation. I want to agree with my colleagues that it was not only in Central Province where people suffered. Central Province may have been at the epicentre but we also had effort from other areas including Western Province that participated in the liberation of this country from colonialists.

Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. I was consulting and gaining wisdom from the hon. Member representing Nairobi County and it is beneficial to gain such wisdom.

I had put in a request to honor the late hon. Chelagat Mutai, who if I am allowed-- -

We are through with that debate!

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I honor the late hon. Chelagat Mutai and other heroes who made it possible for young people like us to serve this country today.

You have put very many requests here and I doubt whether all of you are requesting for a clarification on this Statement.

Thank you very much, hon. Speaker, Sir. You will excuse me because I just felt shy to come and ask you to allow me to pay tribute to the late hon. Chelagat. We were Members of Parliament together with this lady. She was 24 years old and I was equally young but I was in my 30s. This was the second crop of

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I think you will agree with me now that the Leader of the Majority Party should respond. Hon. (Ms.) Mwendwa, I had to allow you to say that bit because you served many years ago with the late hon. Chelagat Mutai.

Respond the Leader of the Majority Party.

Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. I want to make it very categorical that “Nduku Mutua and Four Others Verses the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Claim Number” is what has been filed in court representing the 5,228 claimants. However, the window is open and I want to share this document with hon. Kanini. The British Government is saying that if there are any other people left, they can still file their claims before the courts in Britain.

On the issue of Kshs1 billion being taken over by lawyers, that is not within the domain of the Government and it is not in the response from the Attorney-General but it is a matter that this House has powers to investigate.

On the clarification the Member for Kipipiri sought, I am happy to hear that he is a son of a Mau Mau fighter. I am also the grandson of an Independence fighter and Shifta War. So, everybody in this House has a history to tell. Many people can still file the case as per the Attorney-General’s statement.

I would like to say that this House has powers. The matter is very clear. The Kenya Government is not part of the suit but there is a Departmental Committee on

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Hon. Members, indeed, the Leader of Majority Party has just confirmed what I had said yesterday and what I have said today. The best avenue is to take up this matter. I can see a number of you have clarifications to seek. I think they would be better prosecuted and canvassed in a Committee sitting. You will be able to ask much more questions than seeking clarifications here. So, hon. Kanini Kega you can actually take that matter with the Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs, where you can even require the Committee to summon as many people as you suspect could be involved in this matter. They should come and shed more light because here on the Floor of the House, you are unlikely to get to the bottom of the matter. Of course the Committee will be at liberty to file in a report and they will even invite the Attorney-General and others whom they may require to invite. Leader of Majority Party, you can contribute.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, pursuant to Standing Order 44 (2)(a), on behalf of the House Business Committee, I rise to give the Statement regarding the business appearing before the House next week. On Tuesday next, 16th July, 2013, the House will consider the following ordinary Motions proposed by hon. Members:- (i) Motion by hon. James Gakuya, MP, urging the Government to among other measures devise friendly waste disposal that will also include putting up recycling plants within the dam sites that will ensure garbage collection and disposal from the point of generation. (ii) Motion by hon. Francis Kigo Njenga, MP, urging the Government to consider spending 0.1 per cent of its revenue to finance training in applied sciences in village

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On a point of order, hon. Speaker, Sir. I just want to get clarification of certainty from the Leader of Majority Party. He has spoken about bringing the Marriage Bill. In the last Parliament, there were four or five consolidated Bills that were dealing primarily with issues that were being handled by the gender Ministry. We were given the assurance that when the Bills come to the Floor of this House, they will come together simply because of the inter-linking between some of these Bills that deal with gender, reproductive health, inheritance

. They were held at the gender Ministry. The CIOC had spoken about them coming and also other Constitutional Bills. I now hear the Leader of Majority Party speak about only one of those Bills. Could we get clarification whether it is possible that the Government gives us a favour as women, for once, and just lets us complete these Bills that have been pending for so many years? That will sort many of the issues that currently concern gender bias or gender mainstreaming in this country.

Really, without the Leader of Majority Party responding to that, the various committees of this House, specifically Justice and Legal Affairs Committee should take up the issue you have raised so that working together with the CIOC, they can decide what to do with regard to those Bills. If they must come together, although, of course, there is no way that even if they came together in a wheelbarrow, they would be debated each after the other. But I get your concern that it is important they be brought at the same time. As it is now, the Marriage Bill, 2013 and the Election Campaign Financing Bill, 2013, are already here in the House and hon. Members can get their copies. I would advise that if you get these Bill, maybe, early next week or in the course of this week raise the matter with the relevant committees because no Bill is going to come here under the name of Cabinet Secretary. They will either come under the name of the Leader of Majority Party or the relevant Committee or the individual Members. That is the position. Leader of Majority Party, you have the Floor.

Yes, I agree with you that there are a number of Bills that have an issue with the publication period. The Constitution, however, in Article 261(1) states that Fifth Schedule gives the timeline for enactment. So, Members of Parliament can look at page 189 of the Constitution and see which Bills are within the three year period and which ones are within the four or five or six years period. For those that fall within the three year period and which have been cited here, as the hon. Speaker said, we need to consult with the relevant Committees. Hon. Speaker, I want hon. Members to read the Marriage Bill so that they do not complain later that we passed in the Constitution that--- This affects your personal lives, so you better read it.

Hon. Alice Wahome, why do you not take a seat? It is important to inform hon. Members that even these two Bills, that is, the Marriage Bill and the

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Hon. Members the next Order is the Motion by hon. David Kangogo Bowen. The debate on this Motion was concluded but there was no vote on it because as you know in your Constitution Article 121 and your Standing Orders you have put a quorum for transacting business at 50 hon. Members. I would like to inform hon. Members that a quorum of 50 is mainly for purposes of transacting business. Since this is a House of records you can always access what has been said by your colleagues from the HANSARD. So, quorum becomes important for purposes of either passing a Bill or Motion or any policy paper that could be on the Floor. However, that is not to say that hon. Members are gagged from raising issues of quorum. I am not gagging anybody, but it is just for the orderly conduct of business and so that the House can transact business. Debates can happen even when you are only three of you, that is, the Speaker, the Clerk and the person contributing. This is because Parliaments the world over are Houses of record. That is the reason.

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Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir, before I move my Motion I would like to send my message---

Just before you move your Motion, I think hon. Junet Sheikh Nuh appears to have something burning. I do not want it to consume him.

Thank you, hon. Speaker. I rise to seek your guidance and ruling on a matter that I think is of importance to the governors of this country.

Concerning governors?

On a matter of governance, that is, how this House should be run.

I thought you were talking of governors. I was going to tell you that it is in the other House.

No, on a matter of governance. It is about how this country can be run. Hon. Speaker, you are aware that the new Constitution has created a new dispensation in this country in the sense of having two governments which are distinct but interdependent. We passed the Division of Revenue Bill which has been assented to by the President and is now law. We had allocated Kshs210 billion to the county governments to run their affairs. However, at the moment it looks like that seems not to be enough for the county governments. They are infringing into monies meant for the national Government. There is money meant for roads and electrification in constituencies. Article 95 of the Constitution states that we represent the people of Kenya in this House. I seek your guidance. The drafters of the Constitution were not wrong when they said that devolution should occur within three years. We are now having a scenario where things are being lumped up at the county level and these people cannot even run nursery schools. The essence of devolution was not for governors to have flags on their cars or assume titles that do not belong to them. The title “His Excellency” belongs only to the President who is also the Commander-in-Chief. These constituencies are going to die unless this House comes to their rescue. As you are all aware, there is the Constituency Roads Fund. We also have the Constituencies Development Fund. There is also money allocated to constituencies for the rural electrification programme. It seems that the county governments do not see constituencies as a unit of devolution. Every constituency is part of a county. We agree that they have their own county assemblies that deal with their matters. However, constituencies are part of the counties they represent. We might end up in a situation whereby we do not have any money to run our constituencies. The governors see us as

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Hon. Junet, I thought you stood on a point of order. You are now making it a debate. Let me hear hon. Wario.

Mhe. Spika, mimi ni mwanachama wa Kamati ya Uchukuzi na Ujenzi na Makazi. Jana tulikuwa na kikao na Waziri anayehusika na masuala hayo. Kilichoibukwa kwenye kikao hicho ni kwamba hakuna sheria inayomuruhusu kuchukua pesa za barabara na kuzipeleka kwa serekiali za kaunti. Kwa hivyo, kama Kamati, tuliketi na kulizungumzia jambo hilo. Waziri aliomba muda. Kufikia Jumatatu ijayo, ataleta jawabu lakini hakikisho ni kwamba ni kinyume cha sheria kupeleka pesa za barabara kwa magavana, mpaka Bunge litakapobatilisha sheria iliyopo. Sheria ya Roads Levy Fund bado inatumika. Hadi sheria hiyo itakapobatilishwa, ni lazima pesa za barabara ziende kwa maeneo Bunge. Ahsante, mhe. Spika.

Yes, hon. Shebesh.

Thank you, hon. Speaker. I really appreciate hon. Junet today because he has raised a very fundamental issue. My 47 colleagues and I, who are county Members of Parliament, sit in a very unique position. We are able to gain the thoughts of the counties much as we sit here as Members of Parliament. I can tell this House that the misinformation on the ground, as pertains to why counties have not started operating, is targeted at the National Assembly yet we have played our role and completed our task. It is about time that this House comes out clearly to say that the reason as to why the counties have not received their money is that the Senate has not done its work. Even as the Senators go round the country, turning Kenyans against Members of the National Assembly, they need to know that we have given the counties 34 per cent of the national Budget, and not the minimum of 15 per cent that is provided for in the Constitution. Hon. Speaker, until the Senate does it work, the county governments will not function. Rather than tie-up the country in the Supreme Court and in other courts, the answer is simply in their execution of their duties. Unfortunately, the Senators, together with the governors, are now telling Kenyans that it is because of the National Assembly that they are unable to execute their role. It is about time we said the truth – that until the

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Yes, Member for Balambala!

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me the chance to contribute to the matter. I want to thank hon. Junet for bringing this very important matter to the Floor of the House. The only development that is known to the people of Kenya, in terms of hospitals, roads and schools, has happened with the good work of the CDF and its good management. We need to be very careful with the Kshs210 billion that we have appropriated to the county governments. It can even be seen from the budgets of some of the county governments that they are not even prepared to start work. If statistics show that corruption in Kenya is in the tune of 30 per cent, my little knowledge of Mathematics tells me that out of the Kshs210 billion that we have given to the counties, we have got about Kshs60 billion to worry about in this financial year alone. On the issue of funds for roads, it is only Members of Parliament who drive on those roads every day, who know their true state. For the towns that are not lit, their funds must be retained in the CDF. I really concur with hon. Junet in saying that the Committee on Transport, Public Works and Housing should push on to ensure that, that money remains within the constituencies. Hon. Speaker, I beg to concur with my colleague and thank him a lot for raising the issue.

Leader of the Majority Party, do you also want to concur with him?

Hon. Speaker, for the first time, I want to thank hon. Junet. Today he has brought to the Floor of this House a very substantive issue of national importance. I want to take my colleagues through the Constitution. Devolution and access to service is captured under Article 6 of the Constitution. The National Government, the county governments, the National Assembly, the CDF and all other public entities are working for the people of Kenya. The governors should not assume that the counties belong to them. They want to treat the counties as if they are mini-presidents. Even the Budget that we passed here, on behalf of the National Government, will go to each and every of the 290 constituencies. Development will be taken to the counties by the Women County Representatives. Our Senators will take development to the counties. It is upon us, the leadership in every county, to make sure that we play oversight role over every penny that goes to both levels of government.

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Hon. Speaker, Sir, while I agree with my brother, hon. Junet and also with the Leader of Majority Party that we need to play our oversight role to ensure that all the money that is devolved to the counties is properly accounted for, I disagree with the Leader of Majority Party when he talks from the Floor of this House with the Members of the county assembly telling them that they are stooges of the governors. They are not all that, when here in the National Assembly, which he says is equivalent to the MCAs down there, the Members of the Jubilee have been behaving like stooges of the Executive.

No!

Hon. Speaker, Sir, this is debate and if you went to school like me, you will just listen and wait for your time and you will talk.

On a point of order, hon. Speaker, Sir. I respect my learned friend, hon. Obura. I went to school and I believe I received more learning than him, if that is how we were taught to speak in school. I have never been anyone’s stooge. The Jubilee Government has never and will never ever make any one a stooge. Each one of

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Hon. Ken Obura, I heard you clearly and there is a difference between the usage of the word “stooge” from the way it was used by the Leader of Majority Party. The Leader of Majority Party said that the MCAs are not stooges. But you have referred to the Members of the Jubilee side as stooges. You are, therefore, out of order and you are ordered to withdraw and apologize.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, it is in order---

No debate! Withdraw and apologize!

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I withdraw the word “stooge” and apologize to the Members of the Jubilee who have been very excited any time they are supporting any Bill or Motion coming from the Executive even when they know very well that it does not benefit this country. It is obvious that today, our children are not going to school and the very Jubilee Members are not talking about it. They are instead accusing the MCAs for not doing what they want to be done. My point is that as much as we want the county governments to do that which they must do, we must also ensure, as the National Assembly, that we help the national Government to do its bit.

Contribute to what hon. Junet raised! You are not in a market place to say anything you want to say. You must be relevant! It has been argued that you are lawyer!

Hon. Speaker, Sir, under equity, yes. We want to insist that all the money that has been devolved to county governments be put to proper use, but, we also, on the same note, say that all the other money that remains at the national level must also be put to the rightful use. So that we do not have teachers, who are supposed to be teaching, out on the streets looking for their money and the KNUT officials are being hunted, hoping that when you arrest and jail them for six months, teachers will go back and the students will be taught. I am asking the Leader of Majority Party that any time they go to State House for a Parliamentary Group Meeting---

Do not ask him. Just contribute to this debate!

I ask the Leader of the Majority Party---

Do not ask him. Just contribute. Which courts do you practise from? Be relevant please.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I support hon. Junet. I am saying that let us do all that we expect the county assemblies to do down there.

Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. May I take this opportunity, first, to inform hon. Ken Obura that the Jubilee Government is doing what it ought to be doing to deliver on the manifesto that it promised the people of this great nation, if only they can spare us from these unnecessary distractions from every other quarter be it Makueni, Australia or wherever else they seek to distract us from.

I must congratulate hon. Junet for once for bringing up a substantive issue that affects the lives of many people in this country. The question of devolving power and resources in this country--- I risk again being labeled as someone who is anti-devolution

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Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to add my voice to this important matter which has been raised by my good friend and colleague, Hon. Junet Nuh.

Looking at the behavior of our governors today, this country needs to be very afraid. If you look at the principles that govern devolution under Article 174 of our Constitution, you will find that it is very clear that one of the key objects of devolution of government is to promote democratic and accountable exercise of power which we are not seeing in our governors. Most importantly, it is to foster national unity. However, many of our governors today are behaving as if they are kings.

The other day I was reading, and I hope that it is not correct that today there are governors who demand that when they leave their headquarters the roads are cleared 20 kilometres ahead of them. Where are we heading to if we will go this way? The main reason why Kenyans clamoured for the repealing of the Constitution that we had was to try to bring down the powers of the imperial presidency. However, we are devolving imperial presidency to the counties. I would like to tell this House that it is within us and we know what we need to do to amend the laws. I would also like to tell this House that we represent the people of Kenya while the Senate represents entities. We can talk to our people and we need to re-look at the powers of the governors.

If you look at the way the devolution of funds to build roads has worked in Kenya, you will find that there are constituencies where roads were impassible five years ago but they are passable today. This is working because they are being managed at the constituency level. The CDF has worked. Why do we want to give powers to people who are not tried and tested?

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I agree entirely with what has been said here. As a House, we must critically re-look at the powers that have been given to the governors by the Constitution. The other day I heard of a governor who had attempted to post an envoy in a foreign country.

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So many of you have put in request that we limit our contributions to three minutes?

Two minutes! Three minutes! Two minutes!

Three minutes. Hon. Dido, take the Floor.

Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity. I also wish to thank hon. Nuh for raising this very important matter. I think if anyone has doubt in this country he must read the Constitution, Article 95 (1) and (2). If they read those two Articles, it will be very clear in their minds why we represent the people and why we should talk with passion. When the new Constitution was passed by the people of Kenya, they were very clear in their minds that what they wanted is services. One of the good things with that Constitution is devolution. But what we are saying is that with the new Constitution, we have knocked down imperialism from the top. As a process, we see that imperialism has gone to the grassroots, therefore, what we see as representative of the people is that services are not likely to be delivered.

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Asante sana mhe. Spika. Nilikuwa nafikiria kwamba ni jamii ya Wameru tu imeumia. Hiki ni kitu cha kushitua sana. Ukweli wa mambo ni kwamba, mwaka wa 2018 hakuna Mheshimiwa atarudi hapa. Ikiendelea vile ilivyo, hata Rais wetu, Uhuru Kenyatta, hapati kura. Ni kwa nini? Juzi nilisikia sauti kwa kipasa sauti ikisema, “Mhe. Rais, karibu Rais wetu mpendwa”. Nikashituka na nikajiuliza: “Kwani Uhuru amekuja kwangu bila kunijulisha?” Mhe. Spika, kama nitakuita Rais, Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta akija kwangu, nitamwita nani? Ninaomba, kama inawezekana, kwa sababu Bunge ndio ngao ya nchi yetu, hayo mamlaka ya gavana ni kama side mirror. Tutasema tuendeshe gari bila side mirror? Kwa nini ninasema hivyo? Ukiangalia zile pesa ambazo wamepewa, ni kama kuchukuwa mtoto mdogo na umshindilie ugali na maharagwe, hiyo ni kumpasua. Hizo pesa ni shida. Huko kwetu Meru, ukikutana na gavana, mtasimamisha magari kwa muda wa masaa mawili mpaka apite. Tukiuliza ni nani anakuja, tunambiwa ni gavana! Bw. Spika tuna taabu ya kutosha.

Wakati Wambunge walisimama kuomba kura, kama Kabando wa Kabando alienda kule akasema “mkinichagua, nitawaletea maji, nitatengeneza barabara, ile mali ambayo imevunja akina mama mgongo nitaleta hapa, ile hospitali ambayo haina dawa na ile zahanati nitaleta hapa---

Asante sana mhe. Spika kwa kunipatia nafasi hii. Nafikiri mambo kuhusu gavana ninaona kwamba ni sheria ambayo haikuwekwa sawa sawa. Kwa ukweli, kila mtu anafikiria ni kwake pekee kuna shida lakini ni kila pahali. Kitu cha kwanza, tuna First Lady mmoja tu; Mrs. Uhuru Kenyatta. Lakini kule ukikuta gavana anasema “First Lady wangu yuko hapa”, sijui nani wangu ako hapa! Kwa hivyo, ningeomba tujaribu tuangalie sheria ile inaweza kusaidia Kenya yetu. Kama Katiba haikuangalia pande zote ni afadhali iletwe Bunge tupitishe yale mambo yatasaidia Kenya. Mambo kuhusu gavana ni taabu. Tunajua Rais ni mmoja na First Lady ni mmoja hatujui mwingine.

Thank you hon. Speaker, Sir. This is a very serious matter and as a House we need to be above board. If we must, then we should do away with these governors completely. This is because these guys are just squandering public funds. They have been given money and they are not using that money to benefit the common

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Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. I thought that in Kenya it is only the Head of State who is supposed to have an ADC. I am surprised that recently when I attended a function where the Governor was present, there was a very huge fellow standing behind him as an ADC. So, I was wondering, “Kwani Uhuru amekuja hapa naADC wake?” So, I would like to insist on what I have been saying that some of these fellows think that they have got a lot of power. I want to remind them that theirs is simply a consolidation of the Mayor’s and the Town Clerk’s powers. So, they are simply glorified Town Clerks. With regard to funds from KENHA and KURA, we cannot compromise service delivery for money to be taken to some of these counties which are highly indebted and so they will not be able to provide any service for the next, maybe, five years. I would like Parliament to seriously think of a way of amending the law so that we do not have 47 new Presidents all over. I met one in a motorcade in Westlands. I was forced to stick in traffic for more than ten minutes. I was wondering where our President Uhuru was going to only for me to realize that it was another governor from North Eastern Province. So, you can imagine if they all came to Nairobi---

Thank you, hon. Speaker. Just the other day the governors were saying that we do not want to give them the money that they were asking for from the national Government. They insisted that they wanted Kshs248 billion as opposed to the Kshs210 billion that we released to them. They were convincing the people at the grassroots that the Government was not willing to allocate money to them. The other day I heard them say that they are going to collect signatures. I dare tell them to try. I dare tell them to go ask the people at the grassroots whether they want them. The first thing that will happen is that they will be chased away from those counties because of the way they have been treating people at the county level. In fact, they said that they wanted money for development yet we hear that they want Kshs58 million for entertainment. I can quote this for the case of Bungoma. In Kiambu County where I come from, they want Kshs1.4 billion to build the governor’s house. If that money remained within the national Government we would be having many roads constructed at the graasroots. I went through their budgets. They say that they want this and that. I wonder if they will be in a position to give hospitals medicine if all they are planning in their budgets is to get money for houses and entertainment and so on. At

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Thank you, hon. Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. In fact, hon. Junet Nuh has done us a lot of good service. This is something that has been affecting every Member of Parliament. These people are not actually offering the services they are supposed to. They have become small kings. They are clan kings. We have seen them bring their relatives and even terminating very sensitive agreements. We have seen them do things that a normal person would not do. We need to look at their roles afresh. As somebody just said if you go to the people today and asked them whether or not they want the governors they will tell you that they do not want them. So, if went out there to collect signatures to change the law, I am assuring you that we will succeed tenfold. I appeal to this House to return the budget to the Transitional Authority. It was removed from it and I think it is destructive. The other thing is that I would like to appeal to the President to ensure that the counties are ready to run as they are supposed to. All the powers and functions have been released to them when we know that they are not able.

Mhe. Spika shida kubwa ni kwamba Bunge hili halijatengeneza sheria nzuri za kuelekeza magavana katika kazi zao. Vitu vingi vinavyofanywa katika makaunti vinafanywa kiholela tu. Hakuna sheria ya kimsingi ya kuwaelekeza magavana katika kazi zao. Tazama mambo ya barabara. Kuna sheria inayoitwa Kenya Roads Act. Hakuna sheria nyingine. Hii ndio sheria inayoelekeza jinsi mambo ya barabara yanafaa kufanywa. Bunge hili halijapitisha sheria nyingine. Tunaomba kwamba magavana na hata Mawaziri wafuate hii sheria. Hapana sheria ambayo inamwidhinisha Waziri wa Fedha kupeleka pesa kule kwenye kaunti. Hatujaunda sheria bado ya kusema kwamba pesa hasa zile za KERRA zipelekwa kwenye kaunti. Sheria iliyoko inasema kwamba pesa za KERRA zitapelekwa kwenye maeneo bunge. Hilo halifanyiki sasa! Ndiposa tunasema kwamba magavana na Mawaziri wafuate sheria. Iwapo hawatafuata sheria basi waende nyumbani na tutafute wale watu wanaojua kufuata sheria.

Thank you, hon. Speaker for giving me this opportunity to say something about the governors. I am very sorry for them. When they went round seeking votes, they said that they were going to serve the people. We passed money here for them, but they went round saying that we had not passed the money. The governors are just thinking about their big cars as if they have never seen a car. They think about big houses. Why can they not think about the people? When the doctors and nurses said that they do not want their money to be taken to the governors, I think they were clever than us. They said that they would not be paid if the money was taken to the governors. This is because the governors want to entertain their friends. We must define powers. The roles of the President and the Deputy President are defined. There is a flag for the President. I am very sorry that when the governors will be on the road passing we will be made to think that it is the President passing. Why can they not be given their county flag? As the National Assembly, let us pass that they be given their county flag instead of the national flag. If we are not careful, we are going to fight.

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Thank you, hon. Speaker. I would like to thank hon. Junet for raising this issue. Indeed, when we passed the new Constitution and went for devolved governments, we were not devolving powers of the President. I am wondering why the President was so lenient to even have allowed them to use number plates which are going to make the people confused. That is because when we are at the counties, people really mistake them for the President. The motorcades that they are using to cruise at the counties are causing confusion. Unless this matter is checked, we are going to have problems very soon in this country. Indeed, we were devolving revenue and development when we went for devolved governments. The governors should toe the line. They should look at the Constitution and adopt the powers that are given by it. The law is very clear and it is good. It is them who are not obeying the law. I think, as a House, we can make sure that the Constitution is adhered to even by the governors.

Indeed, when the county representatives are in the counties, they do not know that they are supposed to play the oversight role. I think it is high time one of the relevant committees here called those MCAs---

Thank you, hon. Speaker. Let me also thank Junet, who is my friend, for bringing this issue as regards the governors. But, at the same time, recently in our Committee on Administration and National Security, hon Keynan came up with a proposal to amend the National Flag and Emblem Act so that we can understand who is supposed to use a flag. I think the only noble thing we can do in this House, other than just talking, is to try and change that law, so that we can put up some legislation that can guide us and give us the direction that we are supposed to take.

Secondly, today I was reading in the newspapers and the Controller of Budget – and I want to thank her – has made it very clear that she is not going to give out money for purposes which are not destined for the functions of the county governments. We need to support her, so that she can only give monies that are supposed to be used for purposes of county functions. Recently, we had a crisis in Nakuru. I remember on 1st June when I went to the stadium for the Madaraka Day celebrations, I was heckled by a few people because I tried to talk about the governor and his MCAs. But I want to say that it was only the intervention of the President recently that has restored peace in Nakuru. I want to thank the President. He interceded when he came to open the agricultural show, for us to be able to--- I want to thank him for bringing some sanity.

Recently also, in the---

Thank you hon. Speaker, for giving me a chance to contribute. I am happy that Members of this House have, at the end of the day, seen the light. Indeed, we have serious issues with the governors. You find that they are calling themselves: “Your Excellency; His excellency”, everywhere. We should preserve that term for our President. Everybody is using it everywhere, even in the streets. That is a title which is supposed to be used very, very sparingly. Tomorrow, you will find me calling myself “His Excellency Ben Momanyi”. It appears like you wake up in the morning and call yourself anything. So, indeed, it is a very serious problem. It is important that the relevant committee – like some of our colleagues have said – comes up with legislation so that this country can be governed.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, the motorcades we are talking about; we thought we gave money to the counties so that our people can benefit. But, as most of my colleagues have

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Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir, for giving me a chance to contribute to this very important Motion and say that, as a country, we have what we call national symbols. We have the national flag. We have the Coat of Arms. We have the President. The President is a national symbol in this country. There are those aspects that make the President to be a President. Some of them are like the title: “Your Excellency”. So, what we are doing now as a country is actually diluting the Presidency by giving that title to other individuals in the country. So, what we wanted as a country was to devolve the country, but not to devolve the aspects that make our national symbols. There is a governor who wanted to post ambassadors for his own county. If you are not careful, the same thing will happen. We should be very conservative when we use the titles. Actually, if you go to the ground, even MCAs are calling themselves “hon. Members”. You see! So, we are starting to dilute the aspect that gives us titles. I want to say this: We have 47 governments currently. If we are not very careful, we are going to have 47 countries in one country. That is because every governor will make his own budget – the way they are doing. They will start drifting towards their own direction. In the Constitution, we are supposed to be a unitary country.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the matter raised by hon. Junet. This august House must enact legislation that will govern the way people conduct business where they are charged with the responsibility to serve Kenyans. I detect that there is a silent war between governors and Members of the National Assembly, Members of the National Assembly and Senators and even between the Members of the National Assembly and MCAs. Indeed, it is a concern to all of us because every governor wakes up and decides to do what he or she wants. In some counties, I see long motorcades running after the governors and I wonder whether the money that is used to run those vehicles belong to this Republic. Who sanctions the use of that money? We should be concerned that our resources should be mismanaged in the name of devolved governments.

I agree with my colleagues that it is high time that we, as a House, discussed this matter and charged the relevant Committee of this House to come up with a report.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I also want to thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to contribute on the role of governors. I just want to ask Kenyans the following question: Between CDF and county governments, which is the best form of devolution? Which money reaches the ordinary mwananchi most? I also want to ask the governors that when they are given the money, who told them they must buy ten Prados for the ten executive officers at once? What can they not buy them in phases? I want to challenge the governors. I want to join my colleagues in saying that we should not use names just anyhowly. Names like Your Excellencies and First Ladies, we know the people who should use them. I want to challenge the governors that they should use the funds prudently for the benefit of wananchi.

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Hon. Speaker, Sir, I appreciate the debate that is going on. First of all, devolution is here with us. It is something that we cannot do away with, unless we go for a referendum and do away with the devolved system of government. All the Members are in agreement that, that is not the route that we want to go. But at the same time, it is very much in order for us, as leaders, when we see possible misuse of resources, we must point it out. We should be understood. I know that when you discuss matters like these, later it will be interpreted to mean that the National Assembly is fighting governors and devolution. That is not our intention. Even if we talk about these things, we talk about them because we, as other Kenyans, are concerned.

The talk about Ksh210 billion for example, being not sufficient, truly, it may not be sufficient in the long-run, but if this money is well utilized in the first year, it is sufficient. We did not budget for wastages through purchase of what hon. Bett has just talked about - of Prados in one year. We did not budget for the construction of the governors houses in one year. It cannot even work. Even the Vice-President’s house had to take many years. We did not budget for the construction of huge offices for governors and the county governments in one year. We want to speak to the governors and remind them that, all functions, and this is something that we need to address with a lot of soberness, in the Fourth Schedule, the governors have fought for them to be devolved in one year even though Article 15 of Transitional Clauses gives us three years. I want to give an example---

Hon. Mbadi, your three minutes are over.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, allow me an extra minute.

Then it will be deducted from the next speaker?

No.

Well, since we are a House of rules and procedures and we agreed to take three minutes each, you must end there.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, if you deducted that minute, it would be from me, but I can say something similar to what hon. Mbadi is trying to say. There is need for an urgent national discourse on this matter of devolution. Indeed, it is there and it must be implemented. When Kenyans passed the Constitution, the highlight of the Constitution was devolution. But what is happening is not what Kenyans wanted. The principles of devolution are not understood and are not being adhered to. Governors and such players are only focusing on the money that is coming to them. Of course, spending has nothing to do with priorities. But if we look at the principles that govern devolution, the biggest and most important thing is devolving power and finances, so that Kenyans can prioritize what they want in their respective counties. That is because in a centralized system, “one size fits all” approach does not help Kenyans.

If we ask ourselves how many Kenyans have been involved in the budget-making process in the counties, I think they are very few. If we ask ourselves how many Kenyans have said that they want to see big houses for their governors and vehicles, there are none. If you look at the principle of subsidiarity, which governs devolution, it says that a

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Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir, for giving me an opportunity to give my views on this issue. Devolution will only be meaningful if it reaches the lowest person possible in the village. I am grateful that this concern is being shown at this early stage, so that should there be cases of those who might be tempted to overstep, they will be hearing from us as early, as we are doing now. The best model of devolution has been shown through the way the CDF has been handled and it has worked. I am aware that there are some governors who would have wished that even that CDF be given to their offices for them to manage. We have been saying this very clearly and strongly that, that will only happen over our dead bodies. We will resist that to the end and this applies to the Road Levy Funds. Those must continue to be administered at the constituency level and we shall, under no circumstances, allow that to be handled by the governors. I support devolution and I want to assure our people in the counties and the governors that we fully support it.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I think the question at hand is very critical. It stems from the fact that people do not appreciate what they are supposed to do. We have the Transition Authority (TA) which has its mandate. It has indicated what is supposed to be accomplished in the next three years, but we want to achieve everything in the first year.

We are now doing a propaganda campaign that the National Government and the National Assembly are frustrating devolution and yet, we have given 34.6 per cent of the revenue. That is more than double of what is deserved.

We urge the Controller of Budget not to release monies that are misdirected. If the county assemblies are not satisfied – these are elected hon. Members of the County Assemblies--- We have counties without cabinets and governors are re-submitting the same names because it is like they are dying to have their relatives and their friends nominated. That is nepotism and favoritism. Therefore, this House urges, and I am personally giving an opinion that the Controller of Budget should not release money to build a Kshs1 billion residence and buy 10 or 15 vehicles. That is the case and yet, the governors inherited the municipal councils. In some counties, you have two municipalities namely town council and county council. Those local authorities had vehicles, most of which were bought in the last three years.

They do not want to use the vehicles of the mayors, the chairmen and so on and so forth.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, many of us are very proud even on the position you have taken on the issue of the leadership of this House. That is across the House---

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Hon. Members, it is not that I want to demean those other Members who have pending requests. As it is, I appreciate that Hon. Junet has raised a matter of great moment. This matter goes to the core of the real functions of Parliament. If we go historically and in sequence, we will find that devolution is not a choice. A clear reading of Article 6(2) will leave everybody in this country and, indeed, even visitors in no doubt that this country has two levels of governments. That is the National Government and the county government.

The National Assembly has also played its part in the budget-making process of the Republic of Kenya, in terms of Article 218 by passing the Division of Revenue Act. It is clear, therefore, from that Act that a sum not less than Kshs210 billion has been allocated to the second level of the Government of the Republic which is the government of the counties. The balance of the sums that the Cabinet Secretary in charge of National Treasury came up with has also been allocated by this House to the National Government. It, therefore, means that Parliament, through the Parliament Service Commission, has a budget and can operate. It also means that the National Executive has a budget and can operate because this House also passed the Appropriations Act, 2013, authorising expenditure or withdrawal of funds from the Consolidated Fund. It also means that the Judiciary which is part of the National Government also has a budget from which to draw money for its services. The issue is if the Bill or the law that would allocate money to the counties remains a Bill for more than 30 days--- Hon. Members, I invite you to go and look at Sections 42 and 43 of the Public Finance Management Act. Hon. Mbadi who is around can confirm that if you have a public Bill especially that Bill – and in terms of our Standing Order No.234--- If we publish a Bill and it remains a Bill for more than 30 days, then it may easily find itself in the dustbin. It is for that reason that I have felt that hon. Junet has raised an extremely fundamental issue. It was necessary that the House express itself so that the country knows who is working and who is not working.

The National Assembly has played its part in the budget-making process. Several Bills are on the way into this House as we have been told earlier on. I am sure that the House will rise to the occasion because we must do what we must and leave the others to do what they do best. Therefore, I want to thank hon. Junet for raising this matter. I also thank you, hon. Members, for your contribution and views. I am sure that they are not in vain. Those who may have been keen to listen to what hon. Members were saying must have taken note that this House means business.

Thank you, hon. Members.

On a point of order, hon. Speaker, Sir. There is nothing really to emphasize on what you have said. This is because you have eloquently and elaborately mentioned what should be done. However, there is something that I wanted to point out

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Of course, they do that in accordance with the laws passed by the House. Hon. Members, you know that the last Parliament passed the County Governments Act, the Inter-governmental Relations Act, the Transitional Authority Act and many other Acts to which anybody can make reference to and, of course, the Constitution as rightly pointed out by hon. John Mbadi.

Can we move on to the next Order so that the hon. Member who has a Motion can move it?

Hon. Speaker, Sir, before I move my Motion, I would like to, on my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Kiambu, send my condolences to the family and the loved ones of the late hon. Chelagat. I would like to say that this is a loss for our country and we recognise the role that she played in order for us to be where we are in terms of democracy. It is my prayer that God will rest her soul in eternal peace and that He will give courage and strength to his family to bear the loss. I hope that the late Hon. Chelagat will remind us of the responsibilities we have to remember our heroes when they are still alive. I remember Bildad Kaggia died a very poor man despite the role he played for the Independence of our country. We also know that Kenneth Matiba, a hero for Kenya, is ailing and we have almost forgotten about him. It is my hope that the life of the late Chelegat Mutai will be a lesson to us as a country.

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Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the following Motion:- THAT, aware that the Industrial Training (Amendment) Act, 2007 provides for the submission of levy for each employee by the employer to the Industrial Training Levy Fund to facilitate the training of persons involved in the industry; concerned with the increasingly high number of apprentices engaging in drug and alcohol abuse after the programme due to lack of employment; noting further that the youth continue to have limited access to training and employment opportunities, this House urges the Government to enforce compliance with Article 55 of the Constitution and Vision 2030, in regard to the youth by expanding the structure of the Fund to include SMEs and setting up a Fund for the purposes of utilizing part of the Training Levy Fund to provide capital for the apprentices who have undergone instruction using the Training Levy to start businesses. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, the economic growth of any country is dependent on the strength of its workforce. Our country is like a rally car rearing to go. Our rally car, model Vision 2030, as I can envision it, is driven His Excellency the President of this Republic Uhuru Kenyatta and navigated by his Deputy, His Excellency William Ruto. But that vehicle needs to be fuelled and the fuel of that car is the strength of our workforce. If we do not have a strong workforce, we will not be able to finish the race. The purpose of our race is to industrialize our country. That is how we shall win the race. This will result into economic growth, we will increase employment, and our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will go up. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, before the Nyayo Era, we only had one university of Nairobi and this is the university that was providing graduates for our country. If there is one thing we have to thank President Moi for, is his engagement and work on the education system of our Republic. It was during his time that the number of our universities increased. That is why, today, we have so many graduates in our country. That is why we have sharp decision makers in our country today and that is why we are able to move forward in our country. That is why things are being invented in our country, like the Mpesa service which was invented in this country. That is because people have received good education from our universities. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, that is the reason why even the Jubilee Government is able to come with a very good manifesto that will move this country to the desired level. That is because we have sharp minds and people who are well trained in our universities. That is why we are able to conceptualize and to look far much ahead and to see that our children need to have digital education and thus, we provide them with laptops in their schools so that they are able to learn. They will not be scared of technology later in their lives. We will have people who are well trained in the universities and they will be able to make decisions and see how the future will be.

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(Hon. (Ms.) Shebesh): Hon. Gumbo, you have ten minutes.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I wish to start by thanking hon. Njomo who has got a technical background, for thinking about our youth and bringing this important Motion. In any society, the importance of youth cannot be gainsaid. That is why in our Constitution under Article 55, it is stated clearly that the State shall, and the operative word is “shall” take measures, including affirmative action programmes to ensure that the youth access relevant education and training. It also states that the youth shall have opportunities to associate, be represented and participate in political, social, economic and other spheres of life in addition to accessing employment. They are also protected from harmful cultural practices and exploitation.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, much as we recognize the role of the youth, the biggest problem in our country today is youth unemployment yet I dare say that it is not impossible for our country to engage our youth productively. A population that is just about 40 million is comparable to the population of several metropolis in the developed world which are managing very well. But it is true that countries which have taken steps to look after their youth have seen a lot of improvement in their economies. Here for instance I have in mind countries which just 50 years ago had lower GDPs than Kenya, but they invested in their youth and today while we are fighting to look for employment for our youth, in some of those countries, they have managed to reduce unemployment to as low as 2 per cent. It is possible and it can be done. Therefore, with this Motion I hope we can take the cue and progress it forward into a Bill so that we are able to engage our youth more productively. By engaging the youth more productively, we are actually increasing the productivity of the nation. There is a lot of hope even as we engage in this process. There are thousands of youth all over Kenya who are very creative. I remember

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Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I rise to support this Motion and thank hon. Jude Njomo, Member of the Departmental Committee on Labour and Social Welfare, for bringing it up. It is a timely issue. I want to comment about this Motion in the sense of our education system, in a broad sense, and how it serves or does not serve our young people. Training is at the last end of education once we are done with basic education and preparing our young people to be productive citizens in different careers. One of the key things, and I think is an initiative beyond what we are talking about in this Motion would be to consider basic financial skills and business management skills. One of the aspects of this Motion is to look at ways where apprentices who gain practical experience can also go ahead and gain the funding and capital to start their businesses. Our young people are crying and dying to get capital to start their businesses. Without access to title deeds or other resources which they can put up to get funding from commercial sources, their ideas, opportunities and training does not move them far in life. We are looking at one or two ways to generations already in Kenya just based on this issue of lack of a clear plan of transitioning our young people from the education system into the labour force in a very productive manner. So, I would emphasize and ask that we look at ways in which our education system at all levels, beginning at the primary school level, can have an introduction to financial literacy and business management skills, so that by the time we get to a point where young people who have practical knowledge and skills, for example, mechanics and plumbers, can also get funding. I appreciate initiatives that are coming out of the private sector. My Kibra Constituency is the headquarters of banking and insurance in this region. We have in Upper Hill, banks such as Equity Bank. I hope others will follow in their footsteps because they have already been filling in these gaps to know that we cannot lift our people out of poverty if we expect all of them to wait to be employed. We have to give

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Your time is up! You have made some very useful contributions.

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Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me this chance. I want to congratulate Hon. Njomo for coming up with a good Motion and I rise to support it. This is because many times we talk about youth empowerment and it is just a mere talk. I am happy that this Motion will address a key component in the development of the youth in terms of funding. If we can expand this Fund to include small and micro enterprises and we make sure that every corporation or company pays, I am sure that there will be enough for that. Besides whatever they put in for the employees, this Government should put up an affirmative action the way they have done with the girl child. If you visit some schools, you find that there are more girls than boys in primary and secondary schools. That is the affirmative action that the Government should put in place for the youth of this country. Any country that wants to develop and has to be in good path to industrial development has to train its youth and make sure that they access credit and funds set aside for their development and things will move very fast.

On our training, as my colleagues have said, parents push their children to get degrees and diplomas and it is like certificate courses are outdated. If you look at foreign students in countries like in India, USA and UK, you will find that Kenya is always number one or two in training its children in those countries. Most of these children go there to train for degrees and not middle level courses that are very key for industrial growth in any country.

It is good for a Bill to be brought to this House stating that a certain percentage like 10 per cent of the budget should be directed to youth training and youth enterprise funding. The SMEs should be funded. This is because all the innovations and discoveries in countries where science has taken root were never made by small children or old men and women. It is the youth during their prime age who came up with those discoveries. That is why we can enjoy the services of a mobile phone, a radio, a television, automobile and other things today.

However, in Kenya, we talk and we know what is needed. But mid-wiving that idea into action so that our youth have resources to develop, has been lacking because there is disconnect. It is very easy if we take all counties; we have 47 counties which are distinct governments. If all the governors and the all the local leaders set aside for their budget, a certain percentage and lend money to the youth in a kind of revolving fund. They should also set aside some of the jobs, like the rural roads construction, even bush clearing on the roads and drainage. If those jobs can be a side for the youth, I am sure you will see a lot of development, as we will be killing two birds with one stone. First, you are reducing crime because the youth are engaged in economic and productive services and at the same time you are generating wealth for the youth.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, if we look at the map of Kenya, where each one of you hon. Members come from, in most times you see most of the youth are reserved because they are not part of the economy. In most of the time, they are either chewing Miraa or

or they are drinking alcohol. From morning, you see them sitting in the shopping centres because they are idle and have nothing to do. It is good if these youth could be made productive. One thing that can make them productive is to train them in these middle level colleges, polytechnics, technical colleges and make sure that after training them, you advance credit to them. Once you do that, they will start small micro-

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Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. I rise to support this Motion. I also want to thank hon. Njomo for remembering this segment of the society. In Kipipiri where I come from only about ten per cent of the candidates in Form Four are able to make it to the university as per the last KCSE results. We do not have any middle level college in that constituency; in fact we do not have one in the entire county of Nyandarua. The effect of this is very clear that majority of the Form Four leavers end up loitering in the village. They end up being unemployed drunkards. Soon we are going to have a big problem with the unemployed youth in the constituency. When my colleague

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Yes, hon. Muia.

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. In supporting the Motion, I would like to thank hon. Jude for bringing it to the House. It is very important for all of us. I want to urge the Government to enforce compliance of Article 55 of the Constitution. Hon. Members will remember that during the referendum on the

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Order, hon. Members! Hon. Regina, you will have your balance of seven minutes when debate on this Motion resumes next time.

Hon. Members, it is now time for interruption of our business. Therefore, the House stands adjourned until Tuesday, 16th July, 2013, at 2.30 p.m.

The House rose at 6.30 p.m.

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