Hon. Members, we have no quorum. Ring the Division Bell.

Order! Order, Members! We are now properly constituted. Can you settle down?

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I rise to present a public petition on behalf of the residents of Galole Constituency regarding the de-gazettement of Legal Notice No.29 of 2013 on the declaration of Wayu as a forest area, as contained in the Forest Act of 2005. I, the undersigned, on behalf of residents of Galole Constituency in Tana River County, draw the attention of the House to the following:- (i) THAT, aware that Legal Notice No.29 of 29 curved out more than 42,520 hectares of land to create Wayu Forest Reserve; (ii) NOTING, that Galole is largely a pastoralist region and that the majority of the residents have no other income generating activities; (iii)THAT, the gazettement of the forest area was done without the local community’s participation; (iv) THAT, the area declared as forest area encloses local villages, including Wayu Duka, Wayu Boro, Daba, Titila, Ongola, Woldenna, BultoMulitu, Doke, Konekaliti, Dida-Ade, Koticha, Motiboka and Haboye, thereby infringing on the movement of the residents; (v) THAT, efforts to have the matter addressed have borne no fruit yet competition for the limited farming and grazing resources continue to heighten tension among families; The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

(vi) THAT, the matter in respect of which this petition is made is not pending before any court of law or tribunal, your humble petitioners pray that the National Assembly, through the Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources:- (i) Intervenes to have Wayu Forest Reserve de-gazetted and land reverted to the community; and, (ii) The Cabinet Secretary is barred from further gazetting any forest area in Galole Constituency without consulting the public as required by the Constitution.

And your petitioners will ever pray.

What is your point of order, Leader of Majority Party?

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I urge you to give us a few minutes to ventilate on the Petition because the matter is very sensitive. Hon. Dukicha is my neighbour. The only economic activities of the people we represent are camels, cows and goats. Forests are rarely found in that region but somebody somewhere within the Government, without public participation as demanded by the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, decided to curve out Wayu as a forest. We want the Committee to go to the ground, through the facilitation of Parliament, and see the number of livestock that we have in that region vis-a-vis what you would expect in a forest. That is how we found ourselves with serious problems in places like Mpeketoni and elsewhere. Carving out a particular ecosystem meant for pastoralism and declaring it a forest reserve, is denying the residents of that area their only source of livelihood. Unless someone wants to tell us that this is the end of pastoralism in Kenya and that region, one should not even have thought of creating a forest in an area that is inhabited by livestock keepers. Hon. Deputy Speaker, we, therefore, want the Committee to take this matter very seriously. I want your direction regarding facilitation of the Committee to go to Wayu and talk to the people of Wayu in Galole Constituency, Bura and Garsen constituencies and then proceed to Garissa Town and Ijara County to collect information, so that it can reach a decision to revoke that particular Gazette Notice and give the land back to the people of Wayu, so that they can rear more cattle, goats and camels. Thank you, hon. Speaker.

Yes, hon. Abdikadir!

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak on this matter. Indeed, the Petition brought by hon. Hassan Dukicha with regard to de- gazettement of Wayu Forest is one which touches on the lives and livelihoods of the very many pastoralist communities that live in that particular area. As the Leader of Majority Party said earlier, as a pastoralist community, we depend on that vast land for our animals to graze. Unfortunately, there is a growing trend by people who do not understand, or who do not value the livelihood of pastoralist communities to, without consulting those communities, gazette grazing areas as either reserves or conservancies. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

In addition to the Petition brought by hon. Dukicha, I must say that attempts by county governments and particularly by the Garissa County Government, to try and create a conservancy just outside Garissa Town is not acceptable. The move will kill the pastoral economy of the people living in those areas – something which is not acceptable. I urge the Committee to get to the bottom of this matter. Not very long from now, we, from Garissa County, will bring a Petition to this House with a view to removing the Rahole National Reserve and stop the so-called county governments, which blindly appear to want to undertake similar gazettement at Bour Argi. Such a move is not acceptable. It is not well intended. It is intended at killing the pastoral economy. Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker.

Yes, hon. Ali Rasso!

Hon. Deputy Speaker, the Petition brought by hon. Dukicha is very important. It is key to adjudication and settling issues of ASAL resources. The only remaining land that is considered to be free and open for settlement and development today is in those regions, where the Government is trying to set aside forest land and land for other developmental issues without consulting the local people. I wish to ask the Committee to also look at many other areas. About 70 per cent of Saku Constituency is considered a forest gazetted area and yet, people live there. Therefore, it is becoming difficult for people to acquire title deeds and access grazing areas and watering points. For that reason, I support this very important Petition, which is likely to trigger the settlement of some of the many issues that have been pending for quite some time. Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker.

Yes, hon. Kamama!

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I stand to support this Petition because that area is very familiar to me. Having worked in that area, I know that we have some semblance of forest along the river belt. Setting aside land in areas like Wayu and Woldenna for creation of a forest is being unfair to the pastoral people of Tana River and, specifically, Galole Constituency. Therefore, the Committee should be facilitated to go and establish the priority in that area. The priority in that place is pastoralism. It is cattle keeping and not the creation of forests or conservancies. What was raised by the Member for Balambala is also valid. I have also worked in Rahole and Bour Argi. Let us not endanger the lives of pastoralists. Let us give pastoralism first priority because that area is occupied by them. Therefore, let us get away from the idea of creating a forest and keep cows in that area. Thank you.

Let us hear the County Member for Tana River.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I am happy to be given this chance. Tana River is a pastoralist area where we have animals. We do not have enough farms. It is important that the Forest Department discusses this matter with the local people, so that they can be shown where we need a forest. We do not need forests in Wayu, Bura and Garsen, where they have identified areas for curving out forests. I am sure that if they sit with the local residents, they will discuss and agree on the areas that are favourable for forests. Wayu is a grazing land. We would not like to have a forest there. If it is a must for forests to be introduced in Tana River, it is important that the relevant authorities and the people sit together and identify a place where we can The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

establish forests. People should not impose on the people, a Government policy on which they were not consulted. Hon. Deputy Speaker, we appreciate the importance of having forests. We are not opposed to having forests, but not in the mentioned areas. We are not accepting the creation of forests in that area because it is a grazing area.

Order, hon. Members! The tones of your consultations are rising.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I thank you for rescuing me.

Hon. Members, remember that there is going to be an inquiry done on the matters raised in the Petition. So, the rest of you who have not spoken should feel represented. The last chance will go to the Majority Whip. Conclude hon. Duri.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, it is important for the Departmental Committee concerned to visit Galole, Garsen and Bura with a view to coming up with a Motion for the Members of this House to debate and resolve on the matter. The Forest Department is trying to push people towards clashes. We do not accept such a move. We want the area to be de-gazetted, so that people can graze their livestock in comfort.

Yes, Majority Whip!

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I also rise to support the Petition by hon. Dukicha. The relevant Committee needs to invite the Ministry to discuss this matter. Ministry officials are going round the country and gazetting some areas as forests and others as wetland areas. It would be irresponsible of them to gazette such lands without consulting the communities on the ground. Some of those areas have, for a very long time, stood out to be the only livelihoods of those communities.

Order! Order, hon. Members! There is a kamukunji at the back there!

Hopefully, they are not talking about Kapedo.

Hon. Ng’eno and company, please, find another place to hold your kamukunji !

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I was saying that the key words here are for the Ministry to hold a very consultative process before any step is taken to gazette any part as a forest or a wetland area. We would even ask the Ministry to first of all protect the areas that are already gazetted as forests or wetlands. We have not seen them doing much on the preservation of our water towers in this country. If they continue going to other areas even before securing the already gazetted areas, it is adding insult to injury. So, my plea is for the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources to summon the Ministry officials and tell them to take that gazettement of forests or wetlands through a very consultative process that can have ownership on the ground from the people who are living there.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, let me also say that this Petition belongs in this House rightly. However, let me thank the Member for trying to do what the Government should be doing on its own. The issue of pastoralism is an issue generally of agriculture. Where are our competitive advantages as a country? It is important to note The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

that countries like Botswana are prospering in meat exports and animal farming because they have put in place the right policies of grazing. How is it possible that the Government can gazette a grazing land as a forest without consulting the pastoralists? This is very important because it is a tenet of our Constitution that the public must be consulted. If the public is against it, you cannot do it.

I want to agree with the Minority Whip that---

Order, Members! The consultations are too high. Hon. Korir and company, can we have Members, please, settle down, so that we can hear each other?

This one called Gichigi! Hon. Gichigi, sit down! This is not a grazing land. We are trying to protect one.

The communities that are concerned must be involved. How is it that, as a country, we do not see the importance of pastoralism? We do not even have meat or food in our midst. We should be financing this sector. I want to plead with the Members from the pastoralist areas that during the Budget process, let us increase the budgetary allocation. That is the only way that we are going to get our people out of poverty. The national Government must do those things that enhance poverty alleviation as opposed to sending our people into poverty. We must stand as a House and condemn any imaginary people; be they governors or others, who want to condemn our people to poverty. I support.

Members, feel sufficiently represented. Once the inquiry is going on, you can always go and make further contribution. So, it stands committed to the Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. Hon. Members, next Order!

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table of the House:- Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of the Coast Development Authority for the year ended 30th June, 2013 and the certificate of the Auditor-General therein. Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of the Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute for the year ended 30th June, 2013 and the certificate of the Auditor-General therein. Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of Bukura Agricultural College for the year ended 30th June, 2013 and the certificate of the Auditor-General therein. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology Enterprise Limited for the year ended 30th June, 2013 and the certificate of the Auditor-General therein. Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) for the year ended 30th June, 2013 and the certificate of the Auditor-General therein. Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of Agricultural Settlement Fund Trustees for the year ended 30th June, 2013 and the certificate of the Auditor-General therein. Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of ADB Capital Limited for the year ended 30th June, 2013 and the certificate of the Auditor-General therein. Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of East African Portland Cement Company Limited for the year ended 30th June, 2013 and the certificate of the Auditor-General therein.

The Chair, Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations, I do not see your request. Hon. Rasso, are you the one presenting?

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I beg to lay the following Paper on the Table of the House:- Report of the Departmental Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations on the Petition regarding non-payment of pension benefits to Capt. Rtd. J.N. Wafubwa, ex- member of the Kenya Defence Force.

Hon. Abdikadir Omar!

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table of the House:- Summary Report of the ACP/EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly Meetings attended in 2013. Summary Report of the 11th Regional Meeting for East Africa of the ACP/EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly held in Port Louis Mauritius from 12th to 14th February, 2014. Report of the 35th Session of the ACP Parliamentary Assembly and the 27th Session of the ACP/EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly held in Strasbourg, France, from 12th to 19th March, 2014.

Next Order!

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I beg to give notice of the following Motions:-

Hon. Members, next Order.

Hon. Members, what was left is the putting of the Question. So, can those Members who are standing and about to leave not do so? That is hon. Waluke and company. Can we first prosecute this business of putting the Question? Hon. Sumra, kindly settle down. Having established that we have a quorum, I now put the Question.

Let us move on to the next Order.

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. I beg to move that the Public Service (Values and Principles) Bill be now read a Second Time.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, at the outset, I want to say that this is one of the Bills that had a constitutional deadline and I thank the House for giving a nine months’ extension period in which we hope to complete this Bill and the other four Bills. That is because another extension is not provided for. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, the Public Service is provided for in Chapter 13 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010. This Service is administered as the Public Service Commission, Parliamentary Service Commission, Judicial Service Commission, National Police Service and Teachers Service Commission.

The Public Service as provided for in this Bill is bound by national values and principles of governance as enshrined in Article 10 of our Constitution. It is also bound by the values and principles of Public Service as enshrined in Article 232 of the Constitution. This Bill is before the House in pursuit of Article 232 of the Constitution.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Parliament over the years has enacted several laws to ensure that Public Service serves the people of Kenya and it does so with a common goal. That is to ensure that we get a Public Service that is efficient, effective and responsive to the needs of the people of Kenya in pursuit of the service delivery of none other than the Public Service that we demand.

In making sure that the Public Service Code of Conduct and Values as per Article 10 are followed, there is the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act of 2013 and the Leadership and Integrity Act of 2012.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, this Bill started through a national task force which was initiated in the last Government by the then Minister for Public Service and the current Member for Rongo, hon. Dalmas Otieno, and in the obligation and fulfillment of Article 232 of the Constitution.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, the objective of this Bill is to give effect to the provisions of Article 232 of the Constitution and, more so, on values and principles of a very good Public Service. Clauses 1 and 2 of the Bill provides the short title and interpretation of the provisions of this Bill. Clause 3 provides for the objects of the Bill which, in this case, are given as the creation of a general code on values and principles of public service. That is what the Public Service is supposed to entail. That is the principles of a good Public Service for our citizens in the delivery of service.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, Clause 4 contains provisions touching on the scope of the application of this Act. What is the scope that this Act applies to? Who are the players in this Bill? This Act applies to all State organs both in the national Government, county governments and all State corporations.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, Clause 5 deals with the standards of professional ethics as applicable to public officers. That is what is to be expected as professionals. What are the ethical standards that we expect from public servants? The standards that we expect from the public servants in our country include transparency, honesty, integrity, upholding the rule of law, among others.

Hon. Wamunyinyi is asking what is going on. We are dealing with the Public Service (Values and Principles) Bill, 2014. He is my very good friend and so, I want to bring him up to date. You do not need to harass my good friend, Dr. Wamalwa. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, Clause 6 of the Bill requires a public officer in the performance of his or her duty to use public resources in an efficient, effective and economic manner. So, that clause deals with how a public officer should use public resources under his or her disposal.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, Clause 7 of this Bill requires the Public Service to provide service to the public. The service that they are supposed to give should be prompt, effective, impartial, equitable and respectful.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, Clause 8 of the Bill prohibits a pubic officer from giving or providing any information that is inaccurate. This is important because the days when you used to go to a public officer and you ask for your file and he says it cannot be traced, with the enactment of this law, will be a thing of the past. So, it is the duty of a public officer or public servant, be it at the national, county or State corporations level, at all times, to provide any information that is correct.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, Clause 9 of the Bill deals with a scenario where the Bill imposes a duty on a public officer to be accountable for his or her administrative action. So, there is a duty under this Bill that every public officer must be accountable for his administrative action; that the days when you can commit a crime as a public servant and you get away with it or pass the buck to somebody else will no longer be there. Clause 10 deals with appointment and promotion of public officers based on fair competition and merit. So, the days when you were promoted or given a job because you come from the community of the President or you do not get a job because you come from the community of the Leader of the Opposition are gone. When this Bill comes into place, promotions and appointments will be done on merit and fair competition. But the same clause provides for exemptions. When I read this section, it is the section that my colleagues on the other side wanted to take to the Referendum. I want to say it here that this Bill is curing that Referendum question. So, from here, the questions must reduce. Every time a solution is found to the Referendum questions, we should remove or reduce them. Reducing Referendum questions is even good for the owners of the Referendum.

Which are those exemptions? Exemptions are being provided to the general principles. The exemptions are that if a particular community in our country is not well represented in the Public Service, an individual from that community might be exempted from the first two criteria of merit and fair competition if that ethnic group is not well represented in totality within the workforce of the Public Service. If in promotion, one gender has more than the other, then the principle of fair competition and the principle of merit will not be used. It is the same case for people with disability.

Clauses 11 and 12 of the Bill provide for public participation and involvement in the promotion of values and principles of Public Service and policy making; that public participation is a key ingredient in our Constitution. So, Clauses 11 and 12 basically re- emphasize that public participation and involvement in the promotion of values and principles of Public Service and policy making is critical. Clause 14 of the Bill requires each service commission; that is the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC), the Public Service Commission (PSC), the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and the National Police Service (NPS) to keep and maintain a register of complaints made against a public officer, which is to be made available to any complainant. What is happening now is that those commissions--- The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Our Members of the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC), if they are here, must listen to us. When this piece of legislation is enacted into law, all these service commissions must keep a register of complaints against any public officer serving in those service commissions. Clause 15 provides for the recognition and commendation of public officers who excel in their duties to the service of the people of Kenya. If a public officer has done very well in service delivery and he has maintained all the professional standards of transparency, integrity, honesty and the rule of law, then Clause 15 says that, that public officer he must be recognized, commended and honoured by the State or that service commission.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, Clause 16 of the Bill further requires that each of those service commissions that I have mentioned make reports on the status of promotion of the values and principles of Public Service. This is very good. I belong to the Parliamentary Service Commission and I want to go on record that the staff of the Parliamentary Service Commission of the National Assembly and the Senate do not represent the face of the 47 counties of our country.

So, before we point a finger to the TSC, the PSC and the JSC, we must clean the Parliamentary Service Commission. I want to say that if Commissioners are here, I have nothing against them because I gave them my vote. This Bill should start cleaning the Parliamentary Service Commission.

The days when commissioners who have been nominated by political parties would recruit their relatives, boyfriends, girlfriends, cronies and political campaigners---That, as the Leader of Majority Party, I can say has led to the low standards that we receive from some of the staff of Members of this House. When reports are not good, it is because we did not follow the law. We did not recruit competitively and on merit. We went back to the village and picked people who have no papers.

Leader of Majority Party, you may be treading on very dangerous grounds and you may be required to provide evidence of the allegations that you are making. Kindly, just refrain from taking us there.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I can table more than five reports. It is in the Minutes of the House Business Committee (HBC) that I sit with a number of people here. There are reports that we have amended on the Floor here. One of them was the Safaricom Surveillance Report from the Departmental Committee on Administration and National Security where one of the recommendations was that Parliament approves the tender. Parliament does not approve and we had to change it here. Who is this Clerk who sits in that Committee and cannot even advise and writes that Parliament can approve the tender for Safaricom? Parliament does not approve tenders. So, what we are saying is not something that we just woke up to this morning. We are saying that this law is guided to make sure that how we run the business of Public Service in five commissions; the Parliamentary Service Commission, the PSC, the JSC, the TSC and the The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

NPS is within the law. So, it starts at home. Charity begins at home. We will not play oversight role on the PSC or the JSC if our Parliamentary Service Commission is not up to the standard that we require.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I am sure there is a Committee of this House chaired by hon. Jakoyo Midiwo and hon. (Dr.) Naomi Shaban. When they bring their report before this House, it will be good evidence. But this Bill concerns Parliamentary Service Commission. Clause 16 of the Bill further requires each service to prepare a report on the status of promotion of values, and this is very important. I want my colleagues to listen to me. Clause 16 will make sure that the Parliamentary Service Commission tables a report of each and every promotion done. That is why this Bill is very good. If they promote somebody, that person must be scrutinized to find out whether he is a close relative of hon. A.B. Duale; or is related to his girlfriend; if at all he has one. I know I do not have one.

Is he related to his dear wife? If that is confirmed, then they ask whether hon. Duale’s relative qualifies or is fit within the provisions of Article 10 of the Constitution. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I will give a chance to hon. Jakoyo Midiwo to also say his bit. Therefore, we are saying that this report is very important. Every service commission, including the Public Service Commission and Parliamentary Service Commission will prepare a report on the status of promotions to Parliament, to each governor and the county assembly by December of every year. Therefore, from January to December, anyone promoted by the Public Service Commission (PSC) and by Parliamentary Service Commission and the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), a report will be brought to Parliament and it will be given to the President. This is good for Kenya. Hon. Deputy Speaker, my colleagues in CORD wanted to have that as one of the Referendum questions. We have solved your problem and, therefore, you should drop one question. We will go to the next question and by next year, all your questions will be solved and there will be no Referendum and Kenya will develop. We will build roads and provide laptops. We will do the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) and we will grow the economy by 10 per cent. Finally, Clause 17 requires all service commissions to prepare regulations for better implementation of the objects of this Bill. Therefore, there will be regulations that will come to this House from the PSC, JSC, Parliamentary Service Commission and Teachers Service Commission (TSC).Those regulations will be approved by this House having been subjected to the Committee on Delegated Legislation; so that we set the benchmark on how to promote staff of the Parliamentary Service Commission. It can never be done again through the back door. No way! We must have transparency. We must see people through the glass. Hon. Deputy Speaker, the enactment of this Bill shall not occasion any additional expenditure of public funds. It is very important to note that. With those many remarks, I beg to move and ask the Majority Whip, hon. Katoo ole Metito, Member of Parliament for Kajiado South, to say his bit and allow hon. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Wamalwa, hon. Wamunyinyi, hon. (Ms.) Kajuju and my very good friend, hon. (Ms.) Millie---

Order! I thought I am the Speaker in the House and I decide who speaks? Are you taking those jobs; yours and mine as well? Hon. Leader of Majority Party, let each one of us play our roles. Hon. Katoo ole Metito, you have the Floor.

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. I rise to second this very important Bill, the Public Service (Values and Principles) Bill, 2014. First, of all, if you look at the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, this Bill is supposed to be enacted by this House in the fourth year; after the promulgation of our new Constitution. We are on time and, therefore, it is very important that we do this business at the right time. Hon. Deputy Speaker, this Bill is very straightforward and I want to follow in the footsteps of the Mover, the Leader of Majority Party, by saying that it applies to all commissions, both at the county and national level that are mostly tasked with employment. If you look at Clause 2 of the Bill, it talks about County Public Service Board and County Assembly Service Board. It also refers to those commissions enumerated by the Leader of Majority Party, constitutional commissions and independent offices that are in Chapter 15 of the Constitution; specifically Article 248 of our Constitution, the 10 commissions and the two independent offices. Therefore, everybody has been brought on board. Hon. Deputy Speaker, if you look at Clause 5 of the Bill, the issue of values or principles of PSC is covered. If you read through sub-clause (1) up to sub-clause (2) (h), it talks about the values of a Public Service officer. He is supposed to be honest and display high standards of integrity in his or her duties; must be transparent, accountable to his or her action, be respectful towards others, objective, patriotic and must observe the rule of law. Then read it with Clauses 5 and 6, where it requires efficient, effective and economic use of public resources. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I just want to underscore the fact that civil servants should not feel that they are being intimidated when discharging their duties or when they are in the line of duty. That is because these are the principles that can make somebody feel like his or her hands are tied. It may make some to be very indecisive in terms of taking action because fear is being instilled in them. They fear to be accountable because they have not seen this Bill for a long time. There have been regulations in the PSC that always enumerate these features. But I want to plead with the public servants that this is a Bill that is meant to make their working environment very conducive and to bring fair play in the field of work. They should not shy away from taking action or from being decisive in their duties. Hon. Deputy Speaker, if you look at Clause 7, it talks about PSC being very responsive. That is what we are lacking. The PSC should be very prompt, effective, impartial and equitable in terms of provision of services. In terms of being responsive and prompt, you sometimes go to public offices and it takes a of lot time to be served or to receive a service. This is what is being legislated to ensure that there is a timeframe for every action that is expected from Public Service. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Clause 7 (2) talks about public services that are not prompt; where there is unreasonable delay. These are the key words “unreasonable delay.” It is so common in public offices whereby you find long queues. Somebody queues for a long time. If you try to compare some of our offices with other democracies--- I want to give an example of immigration department at international airports. When you go to other democracies like the United States of America, once you alight and go to the immigration department at the airport, at first, you are shocked. You will ask yourself how long you are going to take to be served. You find hundreds and hundreds of people queuing, but the time it takes for those people to be served is less than the time taken in our international airport, where you just queue in a line of 50 people and you wait until you start thinking otherwise. Therefore, that is an unnecessary and unreasonable delay that should not be experienced in public offices. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I want to appreciate Clause 10 which is the main clause. I want to invite hon. Members to look at it. It is the main clause in this Bill. This is the Bill that is going to cure what we are seeing now at the PSC; both at the county and the national level. First of all, it has introduced affirmative action. If you look at Clause 10, Sub-clause 2, especially (b), (c) and (d); (b) is about gender balance; (c) is about giving affirmative action to an ethnic group that has been disproportionately represented there before. So, you can take affirmative action even if they do not meet a certain criteria, but in order to bring that constituency of the Kenyan public on board or into the Public Service, that clause has been put there. Sub-clause (d) also considers disabilities. I think what I should really do when it comes to the Committee of the whole House is to include the youth because they are very minimally represented in the Public Service. That is because of unfriendly qualifications that are put there and mostly, they say that one must be of a certain age to take a certain job. The worst of them is that one must have a certain number of years of experience in order to get those jobs. If you advertise a job and say that somebody must have a degree, that is okay. But when you have a fresh graduate from the university or from college, but you require that person to have ten years of experience, then how can you get experience before working? Therefore, I would kindly request hon. Kamama, the Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Administration and National Security to look into this.

Order, hon. Members!

I, therefore, invite the Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Administration and National Security to include the youth. That is because Clause 10 has included gender and people with disability in terms of affirmative action. The youths also need to be considered. They must not have the ten years of experience that is required to get a certain job. Hon. Deputy Speaker, what I also like in Clause 10 of this Bill is that, if you look at our counties surely, we have “localized” Public Service whereby if you come from Kajiado County, you must only work in that county. This is very serious. We must know The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

that we are a unitary State whereby you can come from Lamu and work in Kajiado. You can even go to work in Laikipia County. So, Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Administration and National Security, I was going to propose that we should have a certain percentage of the locals that can work in any county, and then you leave another percentage for the rest of Kenyans so that we have a unitary country. Hon. Deputy Speaker, the way it is happening in our counties is not right. We are “localizing” labour. Then it brings a lot of tribalism, clanism and nepotism. That is very important. My other concern is Part 3, Clause 11. Clause 11 is about public participation whereby you need to promote policy-making through certain fora as it has been said - citizen fora, faith based organizations, welfare organizations, resident organizations, self- help groups and others to try to let---

Hon. Deputy Speaker, we have a Kamukunji really disturbing the House!

Hon. Members, hon. Bett and company, really this is the last time I am making this announcement. The next one, somebody will go out of the Chamber!

It is true. Hon. Deputy Speaker---

Hon. Members, we cannot keep saying the same thing.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, we just came from recess yesterday, but it seems we should have extended it. But we will go back on recess very soon for a very long time. I was talking about the issue of involving the public in policy making. This is very good and it has been legislated upon. I welcome that move. I am rushing because of time. Clause 13 is on the issue of how people can make complaints and petitions. I just want to appreciate that it has put some timelines. It should be within three months so that we do not have unresolved complaints for a very long time. There is transparency in terms of register displaying. However, there is a concern on Clauses 14 and 15. We should also try to do something about those complaints so that we avoid politically motivated complaints on public officers, witch-hunting, frivolous petitions and maligning of peoples’ names. Then under Clause 15, I really support the issue of compliments, commendations and honours. That will motivate public servants. There should be competition in terms of effectiveness and efficiency. A reward should be given. Clause 16 is on reporting progress. There is (c) and (d) where you report challenges faced in trying to promote the values. It may even be the issue of the gender rule or that of a third for youths and the disabled. Those challenges should be reported. In the general provisions - and that is my last comment- every service commission needs to - and I want the Chairman of the Committee to take that into account--- All the regulations that the commissions will make in terms of employment must be tabled on this Floor – even those of the county governments and assemblies - for approval. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Finally, this Bill concerns the counties and, therefore, in accordance with Article 110, it will go back to the Senate. However, I want to say something about the Senate. Maybe, we should---

Order, hon. Katoo ole Metito. You can see that it is red.

Yes, it is my final comment. I just want to say that if you look at the democracies that are purely presidential, the Senate is devolved. We have senates in the states of USA. I think it is high time we also devolved our Senate and have it in our counties. There is no democracy where you have only a two-chamber House at the national level. We should have two chambers also at the county level. I beg to second.

Hon. Cecilia Ng’etich.

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity. I stand here to support the Public Service (Values and Principles) Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 29 of 2014) which once passed, will bring sanity in Public Service. That way, we will go a long way in achieving our mandate within a certain given time. Hon. Deputy Speaker, quality service is also dependent on the qualifications of the people. If people are not qualified, then no one should expect quality services. Secondly, as stipulated here, this Bill seeks to put in place certain high standards of professionalism. In particular, I want to refer to Part 2 of the Bill which actually stipulates that one has to exercise high standards of professionalism with honesty and integrity. I also want to say that the big problem in Public Service has been supervision. Sometime back, the Government tried to bring performance contracts which, though they brought about some improvement, have not worked. That is because they did not last. They were only seen to be meeting deadlines et cetera and yet, the quality of service was not translating to what the contracts were reading. I, therefore, want to suggest that what is important and which I have noted in one of the clauses here, is to ensure that there will be a professional body. It should be a body that can regulate the qualifications, register the professionals and even license them. That is because professionals who will be registered and licensed will be very careful to perform highly because of fear of cancellation of their licences due to poor performance or offering shoddy services. Section 5(3)(a) says that a public servant shall comply with the provisions of the relevant professional associations regarding registration and continuing professional development. At this point, allow me to bring to the attention of Members the fact that the current stalemate and crisis that we are seeing in technical universities pertains to the concerns about the qualifications of engineering technologists and technician students. It also concerns lack of a registration body or a board that can register them, so that even as they offer their services, we can know whether they are the right people to perform such services. For example, we will know that a certain building took an architect to draw and come up with a very good design, but it will take a mason, plumber, artisan and other The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

people to build it. However, those technicians and technologists are not registered. Our lives are, therefore, completely endangered in the sense that when a profession is not regulated, then anybody can say that they can build. Many buildings have collapsed and you cannot sue the masons. They are not registered since there is no body to register them. They normally use the certificates of other seniors like engineers. Therefore, they cannot be accountable. This Bill emphasizes the fact that one has to be accountable for any actions or malpractices. In the near future, I will bring a Bill seeking to have a board that will register engineering technologists and technicians, so that we can recognize them. This will go a long way even in encouraging students to join the various technical institutions that we are putting up in the whole country. We have village polytechnics, but students do not want to go there because of poor perception. Another reason is because once they are out, they are not recognized. Many students are fighting to join medical training centres because they know that after qualifying, they have a board that will register them either as lab technicians or dental engineers and they will easily be hired. However, for other technicians like plumbers and artisans, no one recognizes them. The achievement of Vision 2030 will be null and void without those people. We need technicians who will drive the industry in order to take Kenya to the next level and make it an industrialized middle income nation. I call upon Members that when the time comes, I hope I will get your support because the next time you are constructing that house, you will be telling them that before they touch even a single stone, to show you their certificates and qualifications. Should there be a problem, you can sue that person. Otherwise, this Bill is long overdue. It ought to have been in place from the very first time that we came to this Parliament. The days of “hanging the coat” to perform your duties are long gone. We need services because the new Constitution is taking services closer to the people. The only way we can take services closer to the people is ensuring that we have public officers who are duty bound, honest, have integrity and will maintain high standards of professionalism. I support.

Hon. Christopher Wamalwa.

Thank you, Deputy Speaker. From the outset, I rise to support this Bill. In line with the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, you realize that this Bill had a constitutional time-frame. We have been very late. That is why we are saying it is long overdue. It should be a wake-up call to the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC). I have just seen the Chairman, hon. Baiya, coming in. It is also a wake-up call to the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution (CIC), which is chaired by some busy people like Mr. Nyachae. It is very critical because when you look at the GDP of this country, 60 per cent of the contribution comes from the Public Service. For the Public Service to operate, there must be core-values that it has to abide by in order to perform as required. Going through this Bill, you realize that it emphasizes issues of distribution of jobs in terms of gender, ethnic groups and persons with disability. We do not want to say this but, when you go back to the Public Service, you will find that some of the appointments are skewed towards a given community, instead of looking at the entire country. This is very important. Those in authority must be listening to this. The people The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

with disabilities must be involved. The gender issue must be there. It is important that, as we put this in place, it is operationalised as soon as possible. When you look at the issues of promotions in line with Article 232 of the Constitution, you will find some people in the Public Service being promoted because, maybe, they come from a specific community like where the President, Deputy President or the Cabinet Secretary comes from. That is not fair. Once this comes in place, we are going to embrace issues of motivation. Those of you who have been reaping where they never sowed, your days are numbered. It does not matter where you come from, everybody must be given responsibility and an equal opportunity when it comes to promotions. This Bill emphasizes the issue of public access to information in line with Article 35 of the Constitution. It is important that any decision that is made by public servants is communicated. People must have access to this. I am saying this because recently, we had a controversial issue when it came to the tetanus jab. The Catholic Bishops have complained about this. Fertility is God given. Many people in this country have been trying to get children and it has been difficult. People have paid millions of shillings to get children. If somebody somewhere, through the tetanus jab, is trying to make somebody infertile without the knowledge of that person, that is a serious criminal offence. Once this issue comes in place, we want the Ministry of Health to tell Kenyans the truth about that tetanus jab. The Catholic Church has brought the badges. It has shown some tests from reputable institutions like the University of Nairobi, the Mater Hospital and the Nairobi Hospital showing an issue of discrepancy. We must go down the line to know who has been lying to Kenyans. We expect to be given answers. Access to information that the State is holding is very critical. This Bill, again, talks of performance management. This is important for all the commissions or public servants to table a report by the end of every financial year in terms of their performance. The Public Service must have something called performance appraisal. In the sense that, by the end of one year or six months period, we are told how the performance was. We must also be given the criteria they are relying on to avoid subjectivity when it comes to promotion in the Public Service. I want to thank the Immigration Department. The new Director-General has brought a lot of sense. I was supposed to go to India with the Public Investments Committee and I did not know that my passport was full. The other day, I walked to the Immigration Department at Nyayo House and I was shocked. Those of you who have not gone there can go there to confirm.

Hon. Deputy Speaker I was shocked. Those of you who have not gone there, you can go there and see. The way I was received and the prompt services I was given was unbelievable. I did not give anything. The service delivery was good not because I was a Member of Parliament. Many hon. Members have gone there and their passports stay forever. I want to thank the Immigration Department. I went there personally and explained the dilemma I had; my passport was full and I had to fly outside the country for parliamentary work in three to four days’ time. I did not believe it when I was called today that my passport was ready. We want such kind of leadership that the new General who has been appointed is trying to provide. The public sector reforms are very critical. Let us give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. It is not the entire Public Service that is rotten. I know we have problems with the The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Police Service Commission, but I want to say heko to the Immigration Department for the way I was attended. In fact, today morning I went to pick my passport. I want to thank them and we want other public officers to emulate the Immigration Department. Hon. Deputy Speaker, when it comes to values, we are going to bring amendments during the Committee of the whole House stage. It is, indeed, important that when it comes to values here, we must put the element of zero tolerance to corruption. It is missing in this booklet. When we come to the Committee of the whole House, we must emphasize and put it there. It is critical because a lot of issues in the Public Service have been caused by corruption. Unless we include it here, so that when they come they look at it and read that there is zero tolerance to corruption, not much will be achieved. This is in line with what the Government of His Exellency President Mwai Kibaki wanted. In all the Ministries that you visit, you will see the writings that there is zero tolerance to corruption. We want this to continue with the Jubilee Government of His Excellency President Kenyatta. It is, indeed, important that we bring amendments to include this. We have said that 30 per cent of the procurement should go to the youth, women and people with disabilities. It will be critical to bring an amendment to that effect during the Committee of the whole House stage. This 30 per cent procurement must go to women, youth and people with disabilities. When you look at Article 10 of the Constitution, it talks about national values and principles of governance. It is important that some of the critical values that have been left out must apply in this case. At the end of every year, we know very well that His Excellency the President is supposed to address this Parliament on matters of national values, principles of governance, security and many other issues. I also want to briefly talk about the universities. You know very well that the Cabinet Secretary exercises some discretion in the appointment of Vice Chancellors. Right now we have a stalemate in the appointment of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Nairobi. I know interviews have been done and Vice Chancellors have been rated. But in line with the values of this Bill, it is said that promotion will be based on merit. The question therefore should be; who should be the Vice Chancellor of the University of Nairobi? Is it the one rated number one, two or three? The Cabinet Secretary again should exercise discretion and appoint one person among the three. It is, therefore, important we harmonies this so that we do not have confusion. If we go as per the Public Service (Values and Principles) Bill, then it is important that the person who was number one should be given the job. However, there is a clause which says the Cabinet Secretary has discretion to appoint one of the top three. We have to harmonise this. Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. It was long overdue. We support it.

Hon. Kamama, Chair of Administration and National Security Committee.

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. I rise to support this Bill. As you all know, this Bill is constitutional and it has serious deadlines. We need to pass it. The object of the Bill is to give effect to Article 232 of our new Constitution. We must all have a special and new public service, not the old Public Service. The Constitution says that we need to recognize honesty. We need honest officers. We need to observe matters of meritocracy. We need people with integrity and we also need to observe the rule of The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

law to the letter. The enactment of this Bill will revolutionize performance of public officers in the public sector. When you look at Clause 4, it touches on all State officers and State organs, that is both national and county. This will necessitate that the Bill should go to Senate for endorsement so that it can be enacted. We need to make sure we have public servants who are efficient, effective and who know how to use public resources. As you all know, we have a lot of privileges and a lot of corruption in the Public Service. The hon. Member for Bomet County was saying that there was a time when officers used to hang their coats and disappear to go and do personal errands. This is not the time. We need serious officers. A lot of changes have come. We are talking of Rapid Results Initiative (RRI); we are talking of strategic plans coming up, total quality management coming up and so many paradigms have come in to revolutionize how we provide services to wananchi. Clause 7 of the Bill also provides that provision of public service to the public must be responsive, prompt, effective and impartial, which is very critical and respectful. Partiality is still common in this service. Sometimes servants and wananchi are not respected, especially in the disciplined forces. When you go to a station somebody tells you, wewe mzee sit down. Can you do this and that?” Wananchi should be served like kings and queens because they are the ones paying taxes so that public servants can get remuneration. I also want to inform public servants that when you go to some hotels, they have done so well. This is where clients are treated like kings and queens. When you go to a hotel, you are served by a waiter with a lot of respect. After serving you, they observe you closely to know what you want so that you can be served promptly. Let them borrow a lot from the hotel industry. Servants need to be reminded that they are not the bosses. The boss is the one seated before you and that is the poor mwananch i who requires public services. Public officers should be accountable for their administrative actions. As we all know, since Independence, officers make decisions that are not in line with the code of regulations and the law. This time around we need to see a lot of change in this area. Clause 10 says that officers need to be promoted on the basis of competition and merit. It further provides that appointments must be done in a transparent way. Hon. Deputy Speaker, we have a situation where some communities are not represented in certain sectors. You find a situation where the chairman, the managing director and the secretary are actually from one community. So, they can transact business in their mother tongue and translate the proceedings into English; that is how minutes are written. This practice must come to an abrupt end because we do not want promotion of ethnicity in the Public Service. We must be very careful. In Tana River County, we have some very small and endangered communities like Munyoyaya, Wata and Malakote. Elsewhere, we have the Boni, Ogiek and Sengwer communities. We must integrate all these small communities into our Public Service. Let them not feel that, because they are few, they do not matter. Of course, I have not forgotten the Elmolos of Loiyangalani. Gender parity is also critical. As our Chief Whip suggested, we need to provide for the youth. We are coming up with so many amendments at Committee Stage to ensure that this is taken into account. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

We must also look into issues of corruption and take care of people who are living with physical disabilities. We need to enact a law that will ensure that a certain percentage of workers or servants at the county-level are from other parts of the country. Otherwise, we will go back to our tribal cocoons. During the colonial period, all the workers in Baringo, Kisii, Garissa, Turkana, West Pokot and elsewhere were locals of those places. We need to change this scenario to ensure that public service within the counties does not promote ethnicity to the extent that we have only local people serving in each county.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, when you have an insecurity problem in your constituency and you call an officer, you are told: “ Mheshimiwa, we have deployed security personnel. We have done a lot of other things.” However, if you investigate a day or two days later, you discover that nothing was done. Again, if you ask an officer for more information, you are misled. Therefore, we will introduce punitive measures to ensure that---

Hon. Kamama, your time is up.

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. I totally support the Bill but we will come up with amendments that will satisfy the House. Thank you.

Yes, hon. Florence Kajuju.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I stand to support the Bill before the House, which goes towards the fulfilment of that which is demanded of us in the Constitution. The Bill talks about the things that public officers must comply with for them to earn the titles assigned to them. Worth noting is the fact that this Bill will not only be applied at the national-level but also at the county level, so that whatever action we take, as public officers at whatever level, the standards set up in this Bill are adhered to.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, if I may correct hon. Chris Wamalwa, the issue of zero tolerance to corruption cannot be part of this Bill because the matter has been taken care of by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission Act. We must be careful not to duplicate laws. When it comes to public servants and public officers, and the issue of corruption, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission Act addresses it.

It is also important to know that in this Bill, it is expected of professional public officers to undergo what we call “continuous professional development”. This is what was lacking in the Public Service. Those of us who are members of professional bodies have been undertaking continuous legal education and professional development in our professions. It is also important for us to make it a requirement for professionals within the Public Service to adhere to a code of ethics and abide by professional conduct, so that if they do not abide by the ethics of the professions they proclaim to belong to, they can face disciplinary action. That is the beauty of this Bill - it captures the provisions provided in Article 10 of the Constitution.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, another important aspect of this Bill is that it sets timelines within which public officers are supposed to deliver service to the citizens of this Republic. Clause 7 of the Bill says that once a citizen of this country has demanded service to be delivered by a public officer, then that service must be delivered without unreasonable delay. This will be put in the regulations because we need to know exactly what this Bill means by “unreasonable delay”. To some people, “unreasonable delay” can The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

be one month, while to others it can be two weeks or a week. Therefore, we would want a clear interpretation of “unreasonable delay” so that a Kenyan who has requested for service can be served promptly, efficiently and impartially.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, the Bill also speaks to the issue of the kind of information that a public officer gives to a member of the public who is expecting service. Clause 8 talks about a public officer who intentionally misleads a member of the public. That clause says that a public officer shall not give information to the public that he knows to be inaccurate. We know of situations where public officers have intentionally misled Kenyans to believe that something is about to happen, but which is not true. This Bill ties public officers to honesty so that whatever information they give to the people is accurate and beneficial to the person. Clause 10 is about general application of the law, under sub- clause 1, while sub-clause 2 is about the principle of exemptions to the general rule. The general rule is to ensure that public officers are appointed and promoted on the basis of fair competition and merit.

However, Clause 10(2) goes ahead to say that there are exemptions to the general rule. This is where issues of gender come into question. This is where issues of the disabled come into question and where issues of ethnic balance are concerned. However, as it has been said by one of the hon. Members who has submitted before this House today, you will find that under Clause 10, the issue of the youth is not addressed. I think it is important that, that becomes also an exemption to the general rule. This is that in a situation where a young person has not been included, whether or not there is the issue of fair competition or merit, then that young person must be considered as a matter of affirmative action. So, we shall be moving the necessary amendments to ensure, because the youth are part of the affirmative action process, that that is also taken into account. Hon. Deputy Speaker, it is also worthy of note to indicate to this House that under Clause 14 there will be a register that shall be maintained. If I complain against a public officer, my complaint will be entered in a register. At the end of the day if any member of the public wants to peruse the register, they are going to see what a public officer has failed to do or what the complaint has been registered against that person. So, that means in the event that persons are unduly promoted yet they have so many complaints against them, which means they are not delivering service to the people of Kenya, then those promotions can then be questioned. So, that is a very good thing because a register is then going to tame even those public officers who want to unnecessarily not deliver service to the public. Hon. Deputy Speaker, you will also note that this Bill talks about accountability and transparency. Each commission under Clause 16 will be expected to prepare a report on the status of the promotion of the values and principles of Public Service. This is a way of monitoring and evaluating how each and every commission is following the principles that we are setting out in this Bill today, which is a very good thing. Lastly is the issue of regulations. Once the regulations are brought before this House through the Committee on Delegated Legislation, they are going to give effect to this Bill so that we are able to follow the standards that we are setting not just as the 11th Parliament but as a country that is out to deliver service to its people. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

I, therefore, support this Bill and pray that Members support it so that we can pass it not only to implement the Constitution but to ensure that Kenyans are satisfied with the services that they get from us. Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. I support.

Hon Abdikadir.

Thank you very much, hon. Deputy Speaker. I stand to support this particular Bill and I must say that it is commendable of this House that we are handling this Bill because it is one of the constitutional Bills required for this House to pass within certain timelines. I am glad that it is before us today so that we execute our duties as we swore to undertake. Hon. Deputy Speaker, this Bill is indeed one of the very important Bills and for a number of reasons in the various clauses of this Bill, the passage of this Bill will ensure that there will be efficiency in the provision of services in the Public Service. From Clause 4 of this Bill, it is very clear that this Bill is not only limited to the national Government but indeed all provisions under this Act will also apply to the county governments in ensuring that they too provide efficient services to the respective counties as per our devolution. This Bill seeks to achieve among other things, just as stated in our Constitution, to ensure that within our Public Service there are standards that apply which are honesty, integrity, transparency and very importantly the rule of law. It is very unfortunate that in a number of the Public Service organisations, appointments and promotions are not based on transparent ways of doing it. They do not certainly pass the test of honesty and integrity and I think this Bill will create the grounds in which such issues can be challenged on any public servant who does not uphold these particular standards, as they are stated in our Constitution. Hon. Deputy Speaker, under Clause 6, the usage of public resources in an efficient, effective and economic manner is very important. It is very unfortunate especially in the advent of devolution that you find public resources are abused very much. In the counties you will be very surprised that on a weekend when you expect all Government vehicles to be parked, unless they are on official duty, you will find that there are people who will drive from upcountry for their personal reasons to various parts of the country using public resources and fueling their vehicles using public resources. This Bill will ensure that members of the public will be able to launch their complaints with regard to the poor usage of public resources. At times you will find a convoy of ten vehicles escorting one officer just because everybody wants to accompany the officer. I think in this Bill it is clear that economic viability of the utilization of public resources must be upheld. In Clause 7 the Bill requires the provision of services to be responsive, prompt, effective, impartial and respectful. I think hon. Kamama said it very well, that we probably need to borrow a leaf from the hospitality management side of service to be able to understand what this means. Responsiveness is one of the other challenges that we have because you will occasionally seek information from a given department of Government, even if it is the county government. Sometimes you realize that information is not forthcoming in good time and this is something that needs to be corrected. Of course, Clause 8 talks about giving false information. So, from now on any member of the public should be able to walk to the closest provider of services even if it The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

is at the county and ask: “How much money have you spent on this project?” You must be told as a member of public in writing that this particular project has cost this much. I am just taking costing as an example but you can put any other query and if it is proved that you were given any other information which is false according to this Act, action will be taken. Very importantly, Clause 9 of this Bill imposes duty on public officers to be accountable for his or her own administrative action. So the issue of saying that I did this particular thing because I was instructed by my boss, my director or the governor will not work. Let the public officers know that in every field that you are accountable, indeed, you will be held responsible personally for any issues that you do. So, this is a warning to those county executives who pass certain things and whenever you ask them the rationale behind them, they tell you it is because they acted under the instructions of the governor.

Clause 10, which is on the appointment and promotion of public officers based on fair competition and merit, is another very important aspect. Our Constitution is very clear. This Bill also puts those clarities that in places where this is not done, correction must be done. Article 232 of the Constitution states very clearly that appointment to certain posts must represent the face of Kenya. I have recently been going through the appointment of the members of the Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board and I was very surprised to see that the appointments do not represent the face of Kenya. While one particular community may have got five appointments out of the 17 available, none of these comes from either the Coastal or the general North Eastern regions of Kenya. This is very unfortunate because the Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board should have been sensitive and allowed the Muslim, Coastal and North Eastern communities to be represented on the Board. It is my hope that the Cabinet Secretary will correct that anomaly before the enactment of this Bill because certainly, we will go to court to ensure that it is done. As I conclude, public participation is very important. It should be encouraged so as to ensure that policies that are being implemented, more so now with the devolved system of Government have public involvement. You will find projects are done in particular places and the residents of that place; the people who that project is supposed to benefit do not know what is going on. They will tell you that they have only seen a contractor coming with his jembes and construction equipment to put up a facility. The public should know that now they have been empowered by this Bill to question those kinds of actions and put to task the county governments, to ensure that only the issues that they have been involved in, in terms of their participation, are implemented. Finally, with regard to the reports which are being generated by all the commissions, Government agencies and the county governments as well, I would like to seek an amendment to this particular clause to demand that every county government must report, at least, to a Committee in the Senate annually to ensure that there is fair practice of the public service at the county level. With those remarks, I thank you.

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker for giving me an opportunity to contribute to this very important Bill. As other speakers have said, we are debating this Bill as part of the Bills meant to implement the Constitution. This is a very important Bill in the sense that it addresses some of the major shortcomings that were outlined or were The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

sought to be addressed by the new Constitution. These are the shortcomings that the national values in the Constitution under Article 10 sought to reinforce within the new constitutional system. The Leadership and Integrity Chapter Six of the Constitution sought to reinforce values that are going to help in the delivery of services by the Public Service and by the general leadership to ensure that these services are delivered. Under Article 232, the values and principles of Public Service are well enumerated there including high standards of professional ethics among others. Parliament, under Article 232 (3), is required to enact legislation to give full effect to the entire Article 232. Among the challenges the country has experienced is lack of professionalism and low standards of professionalism. If you look at the reports of the Auditor General time and again, year after year, they highlight staff in the Public Service who have a responsibility to ensure accountability of public funds, yet they do not do the actual reports. Where they do them, they do them shoddily and do not fully capture the relevant information. They even go out of the way to defeat the whole purpose of accounting leading to inefficiency and loss of public funds. That is just one example with regard to the Public Service. This Bill requires officers to be accountable, professionally efficient and competent. It will make it a duty of the Public Service to ensure, first and foremost, that the officers given responsibility have the competence, integrity and capability to deliver those services. We believe that the enactment of this Bill will help the country to resolve so many of those challenges emanating from incompetence and underperformance. It requires the Public Service to develop standards of competence and performance. This will ensure that the caliber of standards in the Public Service measure to the best practices mainly in the private sector. The Bill has enumerated other requirements such as the giving of information. That is in Clause 8. Public officers are responsible to give honest, accurate and timely information to the public. This is going to have very far reaching ramifications. The current practice is that public officers feel that they are not under any obligation to do that. There is no law in this country compelling them to give accurate and correct information to the public or even to other key stakeholders who require this information. This law will legally bind them to do that. For this law to be operative, there are other Bills, not necessarily having deadlines for implementation, but nevertheless very necessary for the proper and actual application of this Bill. I have in mind the Access to Information Bill, which has been developed. We have met with the relevant Cabinet Secretary and it is before the Cabinet. This Bill is also important because it sets out the mechanism and process under which information held by State officers can be accessed. Not all information can be disseminated merely because a public officer has an obligation to provide information. Some information may have security implications if divulged. Some information may be private and confidential, for example if a public officer has access to personal information that relates to privacy of some officer, it may also be information that has commercial implications if it is improperly divulged. The Access to Information Bill as well as the Data Protection Bill is therefore, very critical. Without the enactment of these two key pieces of legislation, it will not be very effective to actualize or implement the clear provisions of Article 8 relating to the management of information. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

The country must have a system of managing public information and delineate limits through which public officers must observe before they can share information to the public to safeguard other interests and concerns and not merely to disclose any kind of information. Hon. Deputy Speaker, Article 9 of the Bill is also very important in keeping with Article 232. It requires accountability, not just of resources but even the actions and activities of public officers, in ensuring that they have a system of recording their activities and being accountable and responsible to the public and their supervisors for their respective activities. The system that is to be developed has also instituted the process of appointment, including promotions. It is well known where the Public Service in this country lost track. It is when the system of appointment, promotion and recognition even for merits was thrown away. This new legislation seeks to reinforce this as a critical ingredient in terms of recognizing and rewarding performance in the Public Service. I believe these are basically the performance drivers in the Public Service. If this Bill is enacted and implemented, it will, for the first time, make it obligatory for the Public Service to be service oriented and to recognize that the real beneficiary of the service is not the person giving the service but the recipient of the service; that is the Kenyan public. Therefore, it will be recognizing those who are good performers, giving reward based on that performance, promotion on the same basis and therefore encouraging competition in service delivery. It will encourage career and professional development along the same line of faithful and effective service to the country. The criterion of effective utilization of public resources has also been recognized. It is also important to appreciate when we talk about fairness in terms of ---

Your time is up. Is Hon. Lempurkel in the House?

He is not in the House.

Then let us have hon. Kipyegon.

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. I also wish to support this Bill. Before I do so, I would wish to state clearly and categorically that before we even look at the Bills, Acts or laws of this country, we need to create a culture where people who are employed; people who are holding public offices, have courtesy. We need people who respect clients who visit their offices for services. It does not mean we have to have rules so that we can be good or do things right. We need to create a culture where people respect the positions they are holding, regardless of whether laws are there or not. I support this Bill, first, because of the values and the principles that are enshrined in it. Kenya is a civilized state and therefore, we must also comply with civilized codes of conducts in the way we behave in our offices. Clause 3 talks about public participation to promote values and to look at issues of how these people are assessed. When you talk about participation to promote values, public participation is very necessary because at times people do not even know exactly what services are provided in certain offices and how those people are supposed to be providing those services. Also the people who are working in those offices sometimes do not respect the public. They do not know that they are the ones who are supposed to serve the public. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

It is very necessary for this clause to allow public participation. Clause 5 talks majorly about the standards of professional ethics. These are the core values which each and every individual employed by the Government, both at the county and the national Government must adhere to. Honesty and integrity are so important as we look at Chapter Six of the Constitution. Every officer and every person who is working in any public or State office must comply with Chapter Six of the Constitution; to uphold integrity, honesty and transparency. In most of these offices, you will find people are not transparent. They do not even reveal the information they have. They do not serve as per the law. They do things the way they want. Some of them believe those offices belong to them. This particular Bill is handy so that we can check those particular people. Clause 5 is especially vital because it deals with the rule of law. Most of the people especially those who are serving in positions where there is authority do not even believe there is rule of law. In most of the offices, most of the officers who are serving in those positions believe that they are the law themselves. They believe that the uniform they put on is the law by itself. They believe even the guns they carry is the law by itself. They use it to intimidate the citizens they are supposed to serve. This particular Bill will put sense in those people who are working in those positions so that they can understand that there is a law that guides and governs the way people are served. Clause 6 talks about the use of resources in the most efficient, effective and economical way. We have had situations, especially in the county governments where people do not believe that the monies which are in those counties are taxpayers’ money. Some of the people believe that this is their money and they can use it the way they want to the extent that we have information where people are carrying money in their cars. Some are carrying money in their helicopters. This is taxpayers’ money. This law will put those people in their rightful places to know that monies which are in those counties must be used diligently, effectively and in the most economical way. Clause 7 talks about impartiality. Impartiality does not only look at the ethnic partiality and so many other issues which we usually look at. We also have political situations where when people are employing others or when they are discharging their duties, they do that based on their political inclinations. This law will prevent those kinds of activities which so many people have been exercising. If you go to some places where a certain group of people was elected from a certain political party, some people who belong to a different party or an opposing party in that particular area may not be served simply because they belong to a party which opposes theirs. I believe this law is handy so that it can cure the disease and perception which has been put in our minds that unless somebody belongs to your tribe, political party or is your close relative you cannot serve them. This law is handy and I support it basically because of this particular provision. Clause 8 talks about inaccurate information which some officers usually give. We normally have issues especially on tendering processes. Some people normally conceal information. They do not reveal all the information especially on tendering processes and even on promotions. This law will force these people to reveal all the information they have in their custody. On the same, there is also the question of security. At times we need to be given information based on security matters so that people can The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

know which area is insecure or secure. Some officers cannot even reveal what is happening. I think this law will force these people to reveal the information they have. When some of the public officers appear before committees, either of this House or committees of the county assembly sometimes, they conceal information. They do not reveal all the information. That is why sometimes we force them to take oath before they give information. If everybody knows that there is a law that will put them on the wrong side of the law if they do not reveal information or if they give impartial or inaccurate information, people will begin to do the right thing.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Clause 9 talks about accountability which we have always been talking about. It is high time we put serious penalties on people who refuse to be accountable, those who do not give accounting information or those who do not answer to the right institutions when they are asked to. I also believe in Clause 10 which talks about employment, that employment in most of the areas is based on nepotism. They employ either their brothers, sisters, cousins, tribesmen or their political cronies. This law will talk to those people and tell them that it is time people are employed based on merit, qualifications and matters to do with competition so that people do not just get employed. I can imagine a situation where instead of people getting employed based on merit or qualification, they are employed because they are somebody’s friends. This law will cure that situation which we have actually seen. This Bill will also address the concerns of the marginalised groups like women, people with disabilities and the Ogieks who have been having a lot of employment problems in this country including getting elected to this House. This law will cure such cases so that anybody who employs people without looking at these values will have to face the law. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I will end by looking at Clause 14 on complaints. People take complaints to the police or to the Deputy County Commissioner’s office or to the Ombudsman, but nobody takes care of those complaints. This law cures that problem. I support it because I know that from today if somebody were to take a complaint to the Ministry of Land, Housing and Urban Development or any of the Lands officers, they will begin having somewhere where those issues can be articulated. Thank you very much. I support this Bill.

(Hon. (Ms.) Mbalu)

Thank you very much, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I also rise to support this Bill. I want to speak on two clauses. One is Clause 5(2)(a) and (h) where we are given the values that a public servant must have. They are very good values if only they would be implemented. However, my question is: Where are we going to find that when in our school curriculum we do not inculcate those values in our young people? We have so many laws enumerating a lot of things we need to do. However, they are never implemented. So, as much as we are enumerating these, it is important that it is in the law so that if somebody does not follow then they can be asked to account for their actions. At the same time, it is important that as a country we start going backwards and looking at our young people and inculcating these ideals in them while they are still young. This is so that by the time they are our age they will be emulating these ideals. When we look at the Public Service at the moment, we realise that so many mega deals have been done like the Anglo Leasing and Goldenberg scandals. We would not have lost so much money if public servants observed the law. So, it is important as a country that, as much as we are progressively changing the landscape of Public Service, we inculcate these values in the people who will come and implement these kinds of laws for posterity. The other point is on Clause 11 which talks about public participation. I do not know how we are going to ensure that this thing is implemented as per the law because at the moment, you realise that even these budgetary cycles do not involve the public. When you go upcountry, you find the citizens complaining that they just heard there was a meeting somewhere. Nobody really tells them. They are not aware. People in the capital city or towns are at least lucky because we have technology. The common wananchi at home, the ones we are targeting, may not even be aware of what they are required to do. They will tell you: “What was that? We heard there was a meeting but we did not know.” So, when we list all these things and say that public participation will be done through markets, we may have to change and provide the procedure under which that kind of information is disseminated so that it becomes a reality. The public should participate by giving their views so that the programmes we do reflect the true position of what the people want. Sometimes public officers stage-manage public participation by calling some few people in a room and say that it is public participation. We may have to change this clause so that we provide the procedure to ensure that people participate in an activity. The Constitution now charges us that ‘ Wanjiku ’ or ‘ Chemutai ’ must speak to everything we do. So, this is a clause that we may need to refine when we bring the amendments. The other point, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, is about officers who, for instance, give false information. In the police force, for instance, when there is a problem and you call an officer and tell him: “There is a problem here you need to look into it,” they will tell you: “We have taken charge.” However, when you go down to the ground, you realise they have done nothing. In this instance, we must have a way of ensuring that when officers give false information, they are held to account. Otherwise, this Bill will help this country. It is incorporating the values that we have in the Constitution. I only pray that we implement them. Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

(Hon. (Ms.) Mbalu)

(Hon. (Ms.) Mbalu): Thank you hon. Member for Mandera West. Is Hon. (Dr.) Kibunguchy in the House?

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I would like to begin by saying yes, I support this Bill. The Bill is anchored, in my view, in three very important areas. One, this Bill is going in a very long way to find impunity that has bedeviled our Public Service for a very long time. Two, the Bill is going to bring sanity in the Public Service. Three, which is very important and must be emphasized, is that the Bill tells us that even as politicians, we are actually servants of the people. We are not the masters. It is the people, the taxpayers who queue to vote for us who are the masters. The Bill requires that before we do anything, we must consult the people who gave us the positions that we hold.

Some of the things that we see out there being practised by some of our civil servants are not good. For example, about a week or so ago, officers from the Ministry of Agriculture visited Moi’s Bridge where right now, maize farmers are having a lot of problems. They are crying that the prices of maize have really dropped. Maize farmers are going through a lot of agony. The officers visited the area and with a lot of impunity told our farmers that if Ugandans can bring maize to Kenya, why can we also not get markets in Uganda. I felt that, that was an abuse for a farmer who has spent the whole year ploughing his farm, planting and tendering for the maize. Some months ago, we were told that there was a deficit of maize in this country. I found that to be the height of impunity.

I know this Bill will eventually end up in the Senate and I would like to ask the Senators to bring a Bill that will address some issues in the counties. As much as we embrace devolution in this country, the devolved funds from the Central Government to the counties tend to be concentrated in the county headquarters. The Senate should introduce a provision in this Bill to compel the county governments to ensure that funds are used prudently and we get value for money. I would like to ask the Senate to compel the county governments to ensure that as soon as they get funds from the Central Government, those funds are not concentrated in the county headquarters. They should be devolved further down. We are finding it very difficult. Some governors in their wisdom think they can micro-manage the counties from the centre. That is the war we were fighting and said that we wanted devolution. If we are going to form other small centres, where power, resources, facilities and employment opportunities are concentrated, then we are not going to get the full benefits of devolution in this country. Let me touch on the aspect of servant leadership, which is something that is lacking in this country. It is lacking in the Public Service and amongst us as politicians. We must learn to practise servant leadership. We must learn to ask our masters what they want us The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

to do. The Bill talks about public participation and I want that to be brought out very strongly. I will bring one or two amendments when we go to the Committee Stage, so that the public knows when the meetings they are supposed to participate take place. It is very annoying sometimes when you see some people amongst us or in the Public Service doing projects and the public has absolutely no idea what is going on. The public looks from very far and wonders what is going on. So, the aspect of public participation is extremely important because the wananchi, who are our masters, must own these projects. They must have an input before we start implementing projects. I agree with the Bill in terms of equity, accountability and transparency. As much as the Bill gives us and the wananchi a forum through which we can air our misgivings about any public servant, I wish we could have a very clear mechanism where these public servants can be brought to account. As I finish, I would like to say, as many Members have pointed out, that as part of affirmative action, it is very important that specifically certain groups of our people who have not managed to get opportunities especially the youth, are involved. I know the Bill specifically talks about women, gender issues, people living with disability and marginalised groups. The youth aspect has not been emphasized and I would like it to come out clearly as we go to the Committee of the Whole House. As we talk about youth, employment opportunities are hard to come by because of some of the stringent requirements that are put forward, especially the requirement of experience. That is something that we should deal with, so that when it comes to the youth, this is relaxed a little bit. Otherwise, thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy, for giving me the opportunity. I support this Bill.

(Hon. (Ms.) Mbalu): Thank you, Member for Likuyani for supporting the Bill. Hon. Members, we will have the Member for Mvita Constituency.

Asante sana Bi. Naibu Spika wa Muda kwa kunipatia nafasi ili nichangie Mswada huu ambao umeletwa mbele ya Bunge hili. Ningependa kutoa mifano ya vipengele na maelezo yake ambayo yamenifurahisha katika Mswada huu na sababu za umuhimu wake katika Kenya hii ya leo. Kwanza, kipengele cha tano kinazungumzia uaminifu, uadilifu, uwasi na ufuataji wa sheria ambao unastahilika kwa kila mfanyakazi wa umma. Kipengele cha tisa kinaelezea uwazi kuwa kila mmoja atahukumiwa kulingana na vile ambavyo atakavyokuwa amefanya yeye mwenyewe. Mtu hatakuwa na sababu ya kusema kuwa alifanya vile alivyofanya kwa sababu aliambiwa na mkubwa wake ama alifanya vile alivyofanya kwa sababu aliteleza kwa njia moja ama nyingine. Lakini zaidi ya yote hayo, Kipengele cha 10 katika sheria hii kinaelezea uwazi kwamba kuna ulazima wa kila jamii, kila jinsia, kila kabila na hata wenye ulemavu kuwekwa usawa katika kila usajili na uteuzi wa maswala yenye kuhusiana na sekta ya umma. Nasema kuwa nimependezwa zaidi. Tarehe moja Novemba, katika notisi iliyochapishwa katika Gazeti rasmi la Serikali, Waziri wa Afya alichagua watu 17 kuwa katika bodi ya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board. Jambo la kusikitisha ni kwamba katika majina hayo 17, matano yalitoka kabila moja na makabila mengine yakapewa watu watatu watatu. La kusikitisha zaidi ni kwamba eneo zima la Pwani halikupata hata mtu mmoja. Eneo la kaskazini mashariki pia hakuna hata jina moja The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

lililowekwa. Swali tunalouliza; ni lini matumbo ya mama zetu yakawa hayawezi kutoa watu wanaostahili kushika nyadhifa katika sekta hii?

Kabla Mswada huu haujawa sheria itakayopitishwa na Bunge hili, nitaliuliza na kuweka wazi katika Bunge jambo hili ili waziri aweze kujibu kwa nini akawachagua watu bila kufikiria wengine. Alivunja Katiba ya nchi hii alipofanya hivyo. Mwishowe, kuna kipengee cha 14 ambacho kinaeleza kuwa kila sekta ya umma itaweka orodha ya kila mtu anayeletewa lawama dhidi yake, ama dhidi ya sekta fulani ya umma. Ndugu yangu alizungumza hapa mbeleni na akataja kwamba hivi majuzi alienda katika afisi za kutoa paspoti za Kenya. Alieleza kuwa kwa muda wa masaa machache alipata paspoti yake. Nataka kumkumbusha kwamba hata mimi katika muda wa masaa kadhaa nilipata paspoti yangu. Sababu ni kwamba sisi ni wabunge. Hatuko hapa kwa sababu ya kujitetea sisi wenyewe, lakini tuko hapa kwa sababu ya kuwatetea watu walio mashinani. Kuna fununu kwamba Idara ya Uhamiaji ina nia ya kufunga afisi zake katika eneo la Mombasa, jambo ambalo halijafika rasmi katika Bunge. Hilo likifanyika, bila shaka maelfu, au mamilioni, ya watu watateseka. Tunaiomba Idara ya Uhamiaji kabla wakati haujafika wa kupigana na kuelezeana, itakuwa sawa kama kuna shida itatuliwe kabla ya jambo lolote lingine. Sheria hii itatusaidia sisi hususa watu wa Pwani kwa sababu kama kuna kitu chochote ambacho kinawatesa watu ni suala la vitambulisho. Unaweza kufika katika afisi ya vitambulisho na una kila kitu chako--- Nasikitika sana kwamba hivi juzi kuna mzee mmoja wa mtaa ambaye alipoteza kitambulisho chake, lakini watoto wake wote wana vitambulisho vya Kenya. Alipoteza kitambulisho chake na hana nakala ya kitambulisho hicho. Leo ana miezi minane hajapata kitambulisho kingine kwa sababu anaambiwa kwamba yeye si Mkenya. Haya ndiyo mambo yanayojiri katika mitaa na miji yetu. Tukiwa hapa kutetea haki za umma wasiojiweza na walala hoi, lazima tukubali Mswada huu upite ili kila mwisho wa miezi mitatu, miezi sita au mwaka mmoja, tuwe tunajua hatua mwafaka zitakazochukuliwa dhidi ya kila sekta iliyoelekezewa kidole cha lawama kwa kuwatesa wananchi kwa kutojua ama kwa kusudi. Asante sana mhe. Naibu Spika. Nina imani kwamba yale makosa yanayoendelea kufanywa yatarekebishwa kabla hatujaanza kupambana na wale wenye kusumbua watu wetu. Asante.

(Hon. (Ms.) Mbalu): Thank you, for your well spoken Kiswahili. Hon. Members, we have two languages that we can speak in the House; Kiswahili and English. That is, of course, pursuant to your standing orders. Member for Central Imenti, hon. Irea, you have the Floor.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support this Bill. This is a very important Bill because it brings the public into link with the public servants. This Bill will have checks and balances on the way the Public Service conducts its work. In some areas--- I have visited some land offices that are all over the country. There are times when you visit the Lands office and you find the Lands Registrar missing and nobody knows when he or she will come back. Therefore, this Bill will make Public Service workers accountable; it is a Bill that will ensure that during the time of employment, people are not employed because the The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

employers are from their tribe. I will give you an example of an office I visited; a senior office, the State Law Office. The Attorney General, the Solicitor General, the Deputy Solicitor General and the Chief Litigation Counsel are all of the same tribe. We can go down up to ten and you will find that those people are all from the same tribe. The question is, do other Kenyans attend universities to study law? This Bill will bring sanity in the Public Service, and people will ascend to promotions due to their performance. It will also bring sanity in the use of the tools of trade in the Public Service. This is because you find that vehicles in the Public Service are grounded in some stations because of simple spare parts. These vehicles, at a later stage, are sold to people who are used to buying them. You will find that vehicles will be grounded and undervalued at the time of selling them because there is no proper order in selling such vehicles. This Bill will also bring a relationship among workers, who should show some kind of teamwork. When the Government employs, it puts a team together to work but some of the teams put together do not relate and work together. I will give an example of what teamwork is supposed to be.

Somebody wanted to find out what the word “teamwork” stands for. He found out that letter “T” stands for team spirit. If you go to some stations, do you find team spirit? Does one worker know where the other worker is? Letter “E” stands for energy. Public servants are all very energetic, but do they use that energy to serve the public? Letter “A” stands for alertness. They are not alert because I cited an example of a Lands office where you are told title deeds are not available. You should know the sequence of how people are receiving title deeds like in the Meru Lands Office; you bring in title deeds for people to collect when they apply for them. Letter “M” stands for motivation. They are highly motivated because the salaries of the public servants are reviewed almost all the time and they have a lot at their disposal. Letter “W” stands for work. Do they really work? You find that even in some hospitals, the doctor in charge is in a hospital three times a week. Does he work? Is there order? That is letter “O”. Letter “R” stands for readiness. Are they ready to work? Letter “K” stands for keenness. You find that if you apply a benchmark on how public service workers perform, you will find that performance may be below 40 per cent. Others who are ready to perform may not be able to perform because the people ahead of them were employed the wrong way. They were employed because they know the employers. They were employed because they come from the same tribe as the employers. They may be employed because they come from the same party. They may be employed for other reasons, including corruption. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, this Bill will check all that; it will also minimize corruption in the Public Service. This is a Bill that will help check whether public servants are honest. If you look at the land that has issues around Karen, how many kilometers is Karen from the Lands Office? These people are not able to say who the owner of the land is. This is because of the line up in that Lands Office. There is no transparency in that office. There is no honesty in that office. There is no integrity in that office. This Bill will check that behaviour in public service. To conclude, ghost workers will also be checked by this Bill; every time the Government is struggling with the wage bill and they say there are ghost workers. This Bill will help check how workers perform and how many workers there are. It can even The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

introduce checklists on how people perform their duties. It can introduce attendance registers, so that when officers are to be promoted, it can be confirmed how many days they have reported to their places of work. This is a very important Bill, and I urge other Members of Parliament that we pass it, so that it can improve service to the people in our country. It will also improve service in all sectors, including in the police force. I have an example where somebody called a police station and said he had been harassed in a hotel. The police came running and arrested somebody. When you call them they say they have been called by somebody senior. It shows if they were called by somebody they did not know, they would not have arrested that person. Therefore, this is a Bill that is going to improve service in this country. It is a Bill that I fully support.

Thank you very much, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker.

(Hon. (Ms.) Mbalu): Thank you very much; very well spoken hon. Member for Central Imenti.

Thank you very much, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I also rise to support this Bill. For one, obviously we must pass this law to comply with the Constitution. Looking at the Constitution, the drafters had very good intentions. They required core values in the public service, even where various organizations and Ministries did not have them. I can see we have mostly repeated what is in the Constitution in this particular Bill. I believe it is difficult to legislate on morality, which this Bill is attempting to do; trying to change the behaviour and culture of the civil servants. It is difficult to say people should be honest. Indeed, it sounds like it is going to be a sermon to civil servants. Nevertheless, it is necessary to remind ourselves as public servants that we need to be good guys. I think, basically, this is what this law is saying. Having said that, I think there are some areas that we need to address. I am looking at Clause 13; it is indicated as Clause 13(7), but it should be sub-clause (4) because the preceding sub-clause is (3). It is says that a person aggrieved by the decision of a service commission may appeal to the High Court against the decision. Actually, what will happen is that you will go, lodge a complaint; if the office does not deal with the issue to your satisfaction, it says you will go to the High Court. That clause is so ambiguous that it does not say what happens when you go to the High Court. How will you go to the High Court? Will it be through a petition or through a suit? What is it you will go to the High Court to seek? When we come to the Committee Stage it will be necessary that we clarify why we will go to the High Court, how we will go to the High Court and what the High Court will actually do when we go before it. We should also explore other ways. I do not think going to court should always be the case. If, indeed, there is dissatisfaction when a certain office investigates an issue, we should, probably, create another forum still within the Government structure to deal with this issue as an alternative dispute resolution mechanism. It needs to be amended and all of us need to think about the way out of it. The other issue is on sanctions. This Bill says that civil servants should do something and do it in a certain way, but there is no single attempt to say what happens if they do not do it; there are no sanctions. Even in a church, the preacher tells us that if you do not behave well, at least you will go to hell. This proposed law does not give any sanctions. I think we should amend it to say if you do not behave well, there will be sanctions to be visited on you. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

I also propose that there should be an amendment to Clause 11 to indicate the groups that should participate when it comes to complaints. It covers several groups but omits the category of people living with disabilities. The truth is that while the Constitution has clearly said that this segment of the society should be considered in all aspects, most of us, the society and the Government, have been paying lip service to them. If you go to the county governments, you will find that they do not employ these people. If you look at the Budget, out of over four million people living with disability in this country - serious and severe disabilities - we are only targeting about 27,000 individuals. I would want this law to be used to help this particular part of society. I am happy that there is an attempt in Clause 10 to say that when it comes to promotion, people living with disabilities are going to be given some affirmative action; when it comes to qualifications, theirs will be relooked at. This is a good clause; I am happy that it is in the Bill. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, when we come to what is happening currently in the Civil Service, there is a lot of wastage. There is no doubt about that, yet we keep on dealing with this issue. I am hoping that this proposed law is going to deal with this, because it is not only talking of expeditious action on the part of the civil servant, but of the fact that he should not waste time. Also when it comes to utilisation of public funds, we need to ensure that we get value for every shilling that is spent. This is because in situations where projects would ordinarily cost say Kshs1 million they end up costing about Kshs 5 million. I am hoping that we will strengthen this proposal, so that it deals with that particular issue. The other thing is, looking at the money that is earned by civil servants, especially the ones who deal with development issues. It is very sad that every time you review the Budget, or its implementation, the Development Vote is poorly absorbed or used. What is happening is that civil servants are earning salaries for purposes of coming up with development projects, but money keeps on going back to the Treasury, because they have not utilised it. So, in a way, such public servants are obtaining money by false pretences, because they are getting paid to do a job which they do not do. So, we need to agree on performance contracts; if you do not use money that has been given to you to implement a project and it goes back to Treasury, then you need to also get a smaller compensation in terms of salary. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, as I wind up, I am happy that at least for once we have a Bill that we can comfortably forward to the Senate, so that our brothers, probably, get some job to do and stop complaining. Finally, a copy of this Bill once it is enacted needs to be given to all public servants, so that it becomes some sort of sermon to them. I support subject to the amendments I have proposed.

(Hon. (Ms.) Mbalu): Thank you, Hon. Members, we have eight requests. So, you must be assured that almost every Member will have time to speak. Be patient. Hon. Sunjeev Birdi.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this chance to contribute to The Public Service (Values and Principles) Bill. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

From the outset, I must say that this Bill was supposed to have been brought to the Floor of the House like not yesterday; it should have come here long time ago, or at least ten years ago. This is because this Bill is basically on the responsibilities that public servants should be performing to citizens, who spent their time voting in the year 2013 for leaders. Basically, we owe it to the citizens of our country to pass this Bill. I would also like to say, having heard from everybody else, that this Bill will regulate professions of the civil servants, that is very important because we need professionals who are ethical. We do not want to have people who are going to manipulate the views of the citizens of this country. I applaud the system of complaints that the Bill has put in place. I would also like to say that public officers who are going to be using resources--- It is very important that those resources are used in an ethical and value-based manner. This is because at the end of the day, the Bill will curb one of the biggest problems that we have in our country, namely corruption. I understand that part of this Bill does not look into levels of corruption, but it brings into mind--- Job security is one of the most important things for citizens, and we also cannot rule out corruption.We cannot say that corruption is in line with accountability and transparency. Providing service promptly to our citizens is very important. I can cite an example of some business communities in Embakasi who have been waiting since 2007 to know the status of the road in the area. Since 2007, they have been writing complaints that have not received any sort of attention. This Bill is going to work for the benefit of such citizens, who have, for ages and ages, been working to sort out the facility that they are logically entitled to. This particular Bill is very welcome. We need to offer promotions on the basis of competitiveness, gender and disablity. I am also happy that this register is going to be provided to the President, Parliament and the governors. It puts in place a system of checks. Everybody should know which Public Service organization is pulling up their socks and which one needs to work harder. Sometimes, it is not a law that is required to sort out a situation. Sometimes, we just need good people doing the work that they are required to do. In our country’s case, no matter how much you put laws and slap laws on people, unless we have good citizens doing their job, we will just be defeating the purpose of putting a law after a law. Sometimes we need to ask ourselves, as citizens, how we got to the state where we have to put a law over a law just to check on the accountability of a person. This is the message that is going out to everybody. That if you have been given a job in the Public Service, then you must do it to the best of your ability. You are not doing anybody a favour. You have been elected by people, you got a job to do and you better do it properly. Therefore, this Bill is definitely going to check on the behavior of these public servants. Sometimes when we talk about laws that are brought haphazardly, it works against the happiness of the citizens. Just recently before the speed checks were set up in Nairobi, it brought up a lot of problems for people because they had not been notified that from the next day, they were going to be driving at 50 kilometers per hour on a particular road. Before this was brought out to the public, people were extremely frustrated. That frustration led to people underperforming their duties. Citizens should not use this Bill or privilege to bring out their malicious side. I want to clarify what I am saying. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Member for Muhoroni, contain yourself.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I was getting rather distracted with the level of noise. Citizens sometimes use such laws to act in a malicious way. For example, we went to Lang’ata Police Station to find out why a youngster had been put behind bars and I can tell you that, that young gentleman tried everything to bring out the fact that the police officer had not acted properly, but the police officer had acted properly.

I would like to say that this is a good Bill; once again, I support it whole heartedly.

I would also like to urge Members of Parliament, who are also my very good friends and great colleagues, to pass this Bill as soon as possible, so that we see light at the end of this tunnel. Thank you very much, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker.

All right, thank you. Hon. Member for Rarieda, the Floor is yours.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity. I want to differ from those who have contributed. I want to say that this is not good law, at least, not in the form it is drafted now. In my view, for this law to make sense and address the problems that have faced this country, it has to be redrafted, or be amended comprehensively at the Committee stage. In my view, this Bill ought to lead to a landmark law. But it is only a very shallow attempt to address the most pervasive problem in Kenya today; nepotism and negative ethnicity in the Kenya’s Public Service. The fact that this Bill is so shallow--- It is not really a mistake. I want to believe it is a representation of nothing more than the mischief of the drafters to perpetuate the elusive search for a lasting societal conviviality in Kenya. I have said it before and I want to say it again that laws exist--- Just as hon. Birdi said, laws exist because of the perversity of nobility. If you look at the preamble to our Constitution, it starts by saying:- “We, the people of Kenya, acknowledging the supremacy of the Almighty God of all creation; honouring those who heroically struggled to bring freedom and justice to our land; proud of our ethnic, cultural and religious diversity and determined to live in peace and unity as one indivisible sovereign nation---” That is what the preamble says. If you look at the first stanza of our National Anthem; it says: - “Oh God of all creation, bless this land and nation; justice be our shield and defender. May we dwell in unity, peace and liberty, plenty be found within our borders.” Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, the constitutional provision, in my understanding and what I believe, is the reason we have Article 232 of the Constitution. It attempts to address this very pervasive problem that has held back the promise of Kenya for over 50 years now; it is now the problem of negative ethnicity. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

When you look at this Bill, is it clearly addressing the intention of Article 232 of the Constitution? Look at Clause 13 for example; it says that where a person alleges violation of the values and principles of Public Service by a public officer--- What is one of those values of Public Service? One of those values is ethnic inclusivity, and it is stated in this Constitution. It closes by talking of the supervisor and then it goes on. Curiously, it does not say what will happen if that complaint is not acted upon. I am wondering what kind of law is this. We are addressing a major problem in this country. This Bill curiously does not--- Despite the fact that the gravity of the problem it attempts to address--- In my view, the problems of efficiency in the public sector are window-coating. To call a spade a spade, the problem in Kenya is negative ethnicity and nepotism. That is the intention of this Bill but where is it talking about it? I have been in this House for a while. This is the first time I am seeing a Bill which does not list any offences. What happens if you report and nothing is done? There is no single offence that is mentioned in this Bill. What kind of Bill is this? I have been speaking about this thing from the time I was privileged to join this House in early 2008. I have, since then, been speaking about this problem passionately and with conviction. I have said that once Kenya addresses the problem of negative ethnicity, this country would move forward. This Bill is an opportunity for us to do exactly that but does it seek to do so? Absolutely not! If we are serious about addressing what is envisaged under Article 232 of the Constitution, we need to withdraw this Bill and re-draft it. We must take bold steps. Dealing with negative ethnicity in Kenya requires boldness and courage. It does not require scratching the surface. All of us suffer. We have been told that if we support our own, we are on our way to heaven but what do we see? Daniel Moi was the President of this country for 24 years. Did we not see people eating dogs in Baringo? If that is the cure to our problems, did it work? It did not! The solution lies in serving every Kenyan equally. The solution lies in giving every Kenyan justice as envisioned in our National Anthem. The solution lies in forging a unified nation where we live as one indivisible nation. Therefore, in its current form, I find it impossible to support this Bill. I cannot support it because it clearly dodges the aspirations of the good intentions of Article 232. This House cannot sit here to rubber-stamp a Bill which is going to take us back to where we were. We are addressing qualitative issues of efficiency. How do you measure efficiency? We have a chance to quantitatively deal with the problem that has dogged this country for decades but we are dodging it. We are pretending that we are presenting a clean Bill to deal with Kenya’s biggest problem. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I will bring major amendments to this Bill. I am, in fact, even proposing that it be withdrawn because it does not help us in any way. It does not help us to move forward. Some of us have embraced Kenyan communities from different parts of this country in our own small ways but that has not stopped us from coming here. Why are we afraid of tackling the problem of negative ethnicity in Kenya? Why is this House not tackling this problem? It affects everybody even within the counties. Go to counties like Narok and Baringo, where there are more than one ethnic community. These problems are there. It is no longer a national problem. It is even an inter-county problem. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

We have to comprehensively deal with it by fulfilling the intentions of Article 232 of the Constitution. This Bill does not help in any way in terms of addressing this problem. Therefore, this House must gather courage and throw it out and bring to this House another Bill which will deal with the problem, so that Kenya can move forward. The problem of negative ethnicity in Kenya is so pervasive that it requires a surgery. This Bill does nothing more than give an under-dose of painkillers. It will take us nowhere. Therefore, I am afraid that I oppose this Bill in its current form.

(Hon. (Ms.) Mbalu): Thank you. You have very strongly and passionately opposed the Bill. Of course, we are at liberty to do what we have to do in debating: Support or oppose. Let us now hear the Member for Narok County, hon. Soipan Tuya.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. In supporting the Bill I just want to reiterate the fact that I see this Bill having the principal objective of giving effect to Article 232 on values and principles of Public Service. However, in the same breath and by extension, we have Article10 of our Constitution on national values and principles of governance, which this particular law once passed is going to breathe some life into. Article 47 of the Constitution on fair administrative action will also find a place in terms of implementation once we pass this law. This is a law which touches on all State organs. It touches on all State officers; public officers in the sense of making sure that these public agencies will be guided by certain core values and principles in their interpretation and application of the Constitution, in their enacting, applying and interpreting any form of law that they operate under, in making and implementing public decisions and policies. Key to these national values and principles is public participation. It was only this afternoon when an honourable Member presented a petition to this honourable House on the issue of Kenya Forest Service (KFS) establishing forest reserve within a grazing area in a certain part of this country. This plays out as a typical example of policy directives or policy interventions by public organs without the participation of the public. These are policies which may come out to be very blind to issues affecting Kenyans on a day-to- day basis. This is denying access in that particular example to pastoralists’ groups to exercise their way of livelihood in the sense of according them access to grazing areas. It actually goes to touch on impediment of the right to life, the right of Kenyans to exercise their way of livelihood and to really support their way of life as a matter of choice. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, the other very important aspect of this legislation is the provision of efficient, effective and economic use of national resources by public officers. This is a very critical issue where we will have accountability by State agencies, public officers and public organs in the way they utilise public resources which we all know are taxes paid by Kenyans. The impartial and equitable provision of services is one other key aspect of this particular legislation which is very impressive and is going to make sure that accountability is effected within the Public Service. The issue on Clause 8 about taking to task a public officer who gives false information to a member of the public or anybody who requests for such information from a public office is another key issue provided for by this legislation. This will do The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

away with the common feeling that when a member of the public asks for information, he is disturbing the officer concerned.

This legislation, therefore, comes to deal with shortcomings in service delivery to Kenyans in the public sector by public officers at the national and county levels. This law, at the same time, looks at the need to balance between fair competition and merit and affirmative action in promotions, employment and even in training opportunities for Kenyans who may want to be part of service delivery. It is explicit in saying that certain affirmative action groups must be taken into consideration in assessing the delicate balance between the need for merit and fair competition to make sure that women, the youth, persons with disability and disadvantaged communities get their fair share of an opportunity to serve this country. We know very well that this is an issue which has riddled a number of public appointments and employment within the Public Service. Therefore, this law will come in to deal with this. For once, we will have an opportunity for Kenyans to have value for their money in terms of the taxes that they are paying. As I support this Bill, I wish to say that there are certain reservations which I hope we shall deal with at the next level, that is when the Bill gets to the Committee Stage. Some of these Members who have spoken before me have touched on them. This refers to the issue of sanctions. We are in danger, as a House, of passing a very critical legislation which is toothless. We will pass a legislation which will be key too in fighting the whole question of corruption in this country, negative ethnicity and nepotism; but it is without clear penalties, or sanctions, that will--- Whenever a public officer will be found to have violated these particular provisions, or not to have complied with the requirements of this law, then there should be a clear consequence to follow. The other point, as I conclude, is to make sure that it is mandatory for public organs to formulate regulations to operationalize the Bill. For now, it says that these organs may develop regulations. We will have to bring an amendment, so that it is mandatory for them to make regulations to operationalize. Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I support.

(Hon. (Ms.) Mbalu): Thank you, for your good contribution. Member for Kesses, hon. James Kimaru Bett.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I want to thank you very much for giving me this opportunity. I rise to support this Public Service Bill 2014, which sets a broad framework on how public officers will conduct and regulate their professional standards in delierying service to members of the public. I want to say that even as we legislate, the most important thing, because we are a civilized society, is that we need to conduct ourselves in a civilized manner; even if we come up with good rules and regulations, we need to have good ethics and execute our duties to serve humanity. I am particularly drawn to Clause 5 of this Bill, which states the broad professional ethics that every public officer should practise while carrying out their duties. Public officers must carry themselves with honesty. For me, the concept of honesty is very important; when you deliver service to members of the public, you must be precise. We must say it as it is. If we have transparency and integrity of civil servants, there will be correct connectivity between members of the public and civil servants. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Clause 6 talks about proper utilization of public resources. This refers to both fixed and current assets by way of cash; resources of the Government at national, county and State corporations should be applied in the most efficient and effective way, so that we do not incur losses. This is so that we remove this concept of believing that public money is there to be misused. This means even assets like vehicles--- Some people use Government vehicles and maybe vandalize them, because to them it is not an issue. This is a very important clause and the law itself should set stiff penalties for those who misuse public resources. When you are given a car and you run into an accident, there should be a provision on how such people should be penalized for misusing the resources. I am impressed with clause 8 where public servants are supposed at any time to provide truthful information.They should not cheat members of the public. For example, if you want to secure an identity card, or a passport for that matter, you should be told how long it will take you to get such an important document, so that if you are supposed to be travelling you can plan your journey promptly. Lastly, I want to mention clause 7 which talks about promptness and effective delivery of services. This means proper utilization of time. This may touch on people in the teaching fraternity, where some teachers could be reporting to work very late, as late as 10.00 a.m. and they want to leave very early. We need to impress upon them. As we enact this Bill, we should come up with penalties, so that time is used in a very prompt manner. As I conclude, I want to refer to my friend, hon. (Eng) Gumbo, who engaged in a relatively negative connotation that former President Moi was a President for 24 years and people in Baringo County ate dogs at some time. I think that is really unparliamentary. If you think of CORD; the leader of that party has been moving from party to party and has been unable to stabilize his party. Just the other day, he could not conduct a simple election and they dragged hon. Magerer from a meeting in public. I do not think it is right for him to tell us that. Otherwise, I support the Bill and thank you very much for this opportunity.

(Hon. (Ms.) Mbalu)

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this Bill. This is a good Bill and I support it with the following reasons. Our Government is using a lot of resources to generate growth and development. However, we are not seeing the results. There are a lot of complaints from the taxpayers. One reason why growth and development are not taking place is the attitude, or mindset, of the public service worker. This is the person who is frustrating Government efforts to attain development and growth. This is also the same person who fails the Government in its efforts to deliver services to the people. If you go to our institutions like the hospitals, courts and schools, you will be shocked. You will go to a court and find a doctor, an accountant and a teacher waiting for service. The judge who is supposed to be there, and who is a civil servant, decided not to come to work for one reason or another, and all these professionals are waiting for him. They have left their work where they would have The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

been building the country. They are waiting for a judge who has not reported to work. In hospitals, patients go there and they wait for a doctor who has not turned up. There is no notice that the doctor will not turn up. This is ouright human resource wastage. So, by bringing Public Service workers to book, and setting up what is expected of them, we will be going a long way in making sure that we get value for the resources that the Government collects and deploys to promote growth in our country. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Part I of this Bill, Clauses 5 to 8, tell us what is expected of a public servant. The wastage of assets within the Public Service offices is there and it is seen by everybody. You go to a police station and get a completely new vehicle, which was bought the other day. The vehicle is dented and nobody bothers about taking care of it, or repairing it or making sure that it does not remain in the state it is in. This Bill will go a long way in instilling a sense if responsibility into the minds of public servants. The Bill also talks about the need for professionals at all levels to adhere to their professional ethics. This is another thing that ails this economy. You find that somebody is trained as a technician, or an accountant, but he does not take seriously professionalism, ethics and code of conduct that he or she learnt during their training. He or she does not care because nobody is looking at them. This Bill will bring sanity to the running of our systems. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, all that I have said will affect our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In a study that was done in Ecuador, it was found out that all delays, mindset and lateness in going to work cost Ecuador between 2.5 per cent and 5 per cent of its GDP.I think if we were to do the same thing in our country, we would find out what the same behaviour is costing us; all the delays, all the lateness and all the I-do- not-care attitude---

With those few remarks, I support this Bill and hope that the penalties stipulated in this Bill will be looked into and adhered to, so that this House does not just become a talk show. With those few remarks, I support.

(Hon. (Ms.) Mbalu): Thank you for your contribution. Hon. Members, this is a House of rules and procedures. I have four or five requests. At 6.15 p.m. we will call upon the Mover, who is the Leader of Majority Party, to reply. So, be brief and in the next five or ten minutes the Mover can be called upon to reply.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this Bill. If there is anything that we can pride ourselves in as Kenyans, it is in devolution that takes resources and services closer to the people of this country. When we look at this Bill, it is not timely; it has come past time. I thank the Mover of the Bill for bringing it because if we look at this country, the amount of resources and funds that have been channeled to the counties by the national Government to Kenyans at large--- It is important that we get service that is timely, efficient and useful to all Kenyans. If I may point out some of the current issues--- If we look at some of the things that have not gone through like laptops - even though it is due to a court order--- The Lamu Coal Plant that is supposed to be operational--- Some of the reasons why particular The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

cases are in court, or have been challenged, are because the officers who have been assigned the duty, or the responsibility of doing an evaluation that is truthful and is in the best interests of this country are not doing what they are supposed to do. They sit down and collude among themselves to ensure that they make decisions that only benefit themselves and not Kenyans at large. These people must be held accountable. If we are going to move this country forward, this is not only important, it is absolutely necessary that those who have been charged with the responsibility of providing service to Kenyans in this country do so and do so honestly; they should have a Bill on values; if they have not been brought up to have the right attitude in order to give the necessary service to this country--- Many Kenyans have a lot of hope in us as parliamentarians; in order for us to create Bills, legislate and oversee to ensure that services get to Kenyans, and get to them in a timely manner, and are affordable we should try and get rid of corruption that has bedeviled this country for many years. I support this particular Bill. I am hoping that we will have an amendment that will ensure that services are delivered, and that those who do not do so and misuse the positions that they have been given in order for them to deliver services, are not only held accountable but are jailed for misusing their positions and the resources of this country. When you look at it, many projects that have been started are using taxpayers’ money. This is not free money. This is money that you, I and the rest of Kenyans work hard for. It is not money that is given to us freely. It must be repaid; if it going to be repaid it means that those who have been given the privilege--- It is a privilege to serve Kenyans; that is the meaning of public service. It behooves every person who has been given the opportunity to serve Kenyans to do so in a manner that is transparent and in the interests of Kenyans in this country. I support.

(Hon. (Ms.) Mbalu): Thank you, Hon. Mohamed Abass, you have a minute or two before the Leader of the Majority Party replies.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I would also like to join my colleagues in supporting the Bill on Public Service (Values and Principles). It has come at the right time.

Hon. (Ms.) Mbalu

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. Since Independence, this country has had a beautiful code of conduct for the Civil Service. However, having the code of conduct and values on paper and implementing them are two different things. Most Kenyans lack patriotism. The issue is not having ethics on paper or in Bills, but it is having this as part of personal values. It starts from the individual as a civil servant or a private investor. Every Kenyan must have values. It is very unfortunate that most of our civil servants, or public servants, have not been conducting themselves very well in terms of promotions, rewards and honours. All these are based on ethnicity. Reward is not given on merit. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

(Hon. (Ms.) Mbalu): Hon. Abass, you should be summarizing. You had two minutes.

Do I summarise?

(Hon. (Ms.) Mbalu): Yes.

It is okay, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker.

The Bill talks about the general conduct, which is very good. One other thing is public participation. Even if the public is given time to participate, most of the registers and books that are kept are not open to the public. This Bill will give the public an opportunity to know what is happening within the Public Service.

Clause 5 deals with values like honesty, integrity, transparency and the rule of law. It is unfortunate that we do not know how to measure this. How will we measure that?

One other thing is to do with Clause 7, where public servants are required to be responsive, prompt, effective and respectfull.

(Hon. (Ms.) Mbalu): Thank you, hon. Member. Very well stated. This is a House of rules and procedures.

Hon. Members. I have four other requests, namely hon. Sylvester Anami, Member for Shinyalu; hon. Priscilla Nyokabi, Member for Nyeri County and hon. Leonard Sang, the Member for Bureti Constituency. This is a House of rules and procedures; if the Leader of Majority Party is philanthropic enough, it is his time to reply.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. My colleagues have been sitting here and they have to make their contributions and appear in the HANSARD. I will donate one minute to the Member for Shinyalu, one to the Member for Bureti and one minute to hon. Priscilla Nyokabi of Nyeri County.

(Hon.(Ms.) Mbalu): Thank you. Please, hon. Members, the Leader of Majority Party is philanthropic enough to donate some minutes to you. We will start with the Member for Shinyalu. Take just one minute. Please, plan you time.

Thank you very much, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I would like to thank the Leader of Majority Party, hon. A.B. Duale, for granting me this minute. I would like to thank the Leader of Majority Party, hon. A.B. Duale, for granting me this minute. This is very important Bill because the Public Service is the face of Kenyans, the Government; the Bill is an answer to all our challenges. Kenyans entrust all their commitments to the Government, and it is very important that we have a Public Service that is value-based and that provides servant leadership, and not one that turns things round and behaves the master instead of allowing the public to be the master while the Public Service is the servant. I support this Bill, especially on the area of promotion of public participation and universally driven values.

(Hon (Ms.) Mbalu): Thank you; very well planned. Member for Bureti Constituency, hon. Sang, You have one minute.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I thank the Leader of Majority Party for making us proud. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

When this very good Bill becomes law and operational, I know Kenyans will be proud. I had a lot to say, but because of time constraints; I am saying I support the Bill. Once we professionalise the Public Service, I know Kenyans will get adequate service and in good time. Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker.

(Hon (Ms.) Mbalu): Bureti constituency very well represented. Member for Nyeri County, hon. (Ms.) Kanyua, you have the Floor.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I also thank the Leader of Majority Party for the one minute and congratulate him for bringing this Bill. It sets a new precedent for our country. It is in very few countries that values are legislated upon. In 2010, we passed a new Constitution; we have continued to put values and morality in our laws. This law is looking for new Kenyans who will work for our country with patriotism; these words are in the law. I celebrate this Bill very much because it has a lot of useful provisions for public officers. It is going to make sure that people who go to public office do not go to it to steal or eat from the Government; they should actually go there to serve our country. Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker.

(Hon (Ms.) Mbalu): Very well planned. I wish we had more time. Hon. Leader of Majority Party, I call upon you to reply.

Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I thank colleagues who, this afternoon, from 3pm to close to 6.30 p.m., have debated this constitutional Bill, which has a deadline. Secondly, this is one of the Bills we gave an extension of time of nine months. This is an indication that the National Assembly of the Republic of Kenya is working. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, people say that 46 Bills have been enacted by the National Assembly. They are now waking up and saying that they have not been given a chance to debate; where were they in the last two years when we were enacting 46 pieces of legislation? I will do it on another day but last night I agonised over the bicameral system in Kenya. I read newspapers and got what the late Tom Mboya, and many others, said about the Senate; what they said unfolded in my mind. I have no intention of winding up the Senate. The Senate can only be wound up through a referendum, and the wishes of the Kenyan people. I want to make it clear that after wide reading I can confirm that Kenya is not fully bicameral. What is in Kenya is what was borrowed from South Africa. The Senate in South Africa is called “The National Council of Provinces.” So, in Kenya we do not have a full bicameral Parliament like in the United States of America and other developed democracies. That is why the Kenyan people decided to give the Senate limited powers. Today we have concluded a Bill in one afternoon and I hope this Bill will come for Third Reading. Coming to the Bill, what is the Public Service? The Public Service is the biggest employer of the Kenyan people compared to the private sector and the domestic market. What are we doing? We are complying with Article 232 of the Constitution. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

If this Bill is assented to and fully implemented, number one, Kenyan taxpayers will get value for their money. They will have a Public Service that will breed cohesion; that will have the face of our country; that will have the gender composition of our country; in which the disabled and the marginalized will be considered. You will see a Turkana and a Pokot in our Public Service. I hope when they will stop fighting, and killing the people of Kenya and security forces, we will have a Public Service that is efficient. We will have a Public Service that is effective. We will have a Public Service that is responsive, prompt and is full of respect for the people they serve. We will have a Public Service that respects the rule of law. We will have a Public Service that has honesty and transparency. It will be a Public Service that believes in the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act of 2013, a Public Service that believes in and cherishes the Leadership and Integrity Act of 2012. When you walk to Barclays Bank or British American Tobacco (BAT) customer service desk, workers receive you with a cup of tea and a smile; it is the same way the Public Service will receive Kenyans when they walk to the Office of the President. This will mean that never again will the Public Service of the Republic of Kenya use one language; vernacular when transacting business: If you walk to an office where there are many public officers from the Luo community, you will be better served if you know their language. That will be something of the past.

Finally, I remember my colleagues in the CORD, a coalition that I have a lot of respect for; in one of their referendum questions, they want to bring in something about creating a Public Service that represents the face of Kenya. They were trying to entice marginalized communities like the one I come from by telling them that if they support them in the referendum, they will have a clause--- But I think that referendum question on the Public Service and its ethnic composition, or having the face of Kenya, will be taken care of by this Bill. Today we have dropped one referendum question by the CORD Coalition; as we go into next year, we will answer all their questions. By June next year, the CORD Coalition will be a very happy lot. The Council of Governors will be a happy lot. There will be no referendum.

If there will be no referendum, we will build railways, provide laptops, build airports, grow our economy by 10 per cent; we will make sure that we fix security by employing 10,000 recruits every year. We will make sure we irrigate one million acres of land. We will give free universal healthcare and Kenya will be a better place to live in.

Come 2017, the generation that Uhuru Kenyatta leads will be voted in for a second term. He will continue with that in his second term, and he will make Kenya join the countries that are called “high income middle class countries”. I am happy today that this House has concluded the Second Reading of one of the constitutional Bills that are before the House.

I thank the Clerk’s Office, the Speaker’s Office, the Committees and everybody. I beg to reply.

(Hon. (Ms.) Mbalu): Hon. Members, the Leader of Majority Party begs to reply. I must appreciate and thank you for the good work that you have done. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

The Leader of Majority Party has replied and, because of the obvious reasons that we are all aware of, we will not be able to put the Question. I order that the Question be put in the next sitting at the most appropriate time.

(Hon. (Ms.) Mbalu): Hon. Members, this is a House of rules and procedures; the time now being 6.30 p.m. the House stands adjourned until tomorrow, Thursday 13th November, 2014 at 2.30 p.m.

The House rose at 6.30 p.m.

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.