Order, hon. Senators! We need to determine if we have a quorum.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have 11 hon. Senators in the House. We do not have a quorum.

In that case, can the Division Bell be rung?

Hon. Senators, I am very happy to report that we now have a quorum. I thank the hon. Senators who have just come in. Let us proceed with today’s business.

Hon. Senators, we are resuming debate on this Bill, whose debate was interrupted on Thursday, 18th July, 2013. Debate on this Bill is still open. Yes, Sen. (Dr.) Machage.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for this opportunity. We are deliberating on allocation of finances to the counties albeit in a low tone after the Constitution was deliberately not followed by our sister House. This is an anomaly that deserved to be looked at critically. Thank God the courts are there. I believe the courts will be able to give a very sober decision on the matter. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have a duty to allocate funds to the counties. Unless we do that, counties will be grounded. A sum of Kshs198 billion, as indicated on the Order Paper, is what we are supposed to approve although the Senate Majority Leader keeps referring to Kshs210 billion. This is not on paper, but he says this will come as an amendment. Our desire, as a House, was to get Kshs258 billion to the counties. It is interesting that this was opposed by the very legislators who come from the grassroots, the hon. Members of Parliament. It is a shame that when they reach Nairobi, at the National Assembly, they forget the grassroots problems they have left back home. In a way, they want to support the Executive who have a different agenda. That money is not adequate to run county governments. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we need, at least 40 per cent or thereabout of the total revenue of this country taken to the counties. What we have been given, although they are trying to convince us, is about 15 per cent of the total revenue. In fact, it is, indeed, about 14 per cent or so of the national revenue. They used the calculations from the figures of the Financial Year 2010/2011. If we have to interpret and look at the figures that are available for the Financial Year 2012/2013, that figure that has been allocated to the counties is below the constitutional threshold. The question is: What next? What will happen to that balance that is constitutionally due to county governments? This is a major question that needs to be answered. We cannot be cheated that, that was constitutional, that, that figure is above 15 per cent. It is less. We have our minds open to these blatant falsehoods. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, even the distribution of this money is skewed with a column that was inserted to create additional revenue to some counties---

Order, hon. Senators seated at the front! Please, let us observe consultations in low tones.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this distribution is beating the essence of equitable distribution of resources. You find that Nairobi County, for example, after having been allocated slightly above Kshs4 billion, was again given an additional Kshs14 billion. Likewise, this has happened in major counties of this country. This is to the detriment of the marginalized counties of this country. The top most beneficiaries of these allocations are counties that have an ability to collect taxes. Nairobi County collects taxes in billions per month and yet we allocate this county another Kshs14 billion. We have other counties receiving as low as Kshs2 billion to meet their The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Yes!

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, that must not only be seen to be done, it must be done. They should not forget that the Senate is keenly watching them. This is not a joking matter for self gratification by the people in authority at that level. The law is there to guide us on the decisions we make on the distribution and utilization of these funds at that level. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the question is, if only 15 per cent has been allocated to county governments, what will the national government do with the remaining 85 per cent? It is a lot of money. We deserve to know, in detail. We think the county governments have been short changed. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those remarks, I beg to support.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is the responsibility of this Senate to facilitate county governments in the execution of their mandate. With that specific caveat that my colleagues before me have mentioned, we are left with little choice but to ensure that the County Allocation of Revenue Bill is passed by this House. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, you will realise that all our counties have so far not received any money. Counties are in a dire crisis which they may have inherited. It is important at this point in time for this House to distinguish itself as the House of the wise regardless of the circumstances that we find ourselves in as we wait for the outcome of other judicial and political processes. This House must discharge its responsibility and ensure that counties are facilitated to deliver on their mandate. Sen. (Dr). Khalwale has always reminded us that the primary responsibility of this House is to protect counties. It is does not serve the interest of our counties if for whatever reason our differences or lack of appreciation of what has happened to the Division of Revenue Act will guide us with emotions not to facilitate those interests not to be protected. If our counties have no money to ensure that they are able to transact their businesses and execute their mandate, devolution will be at a loss. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, you will be reminded that even hon. Members of the lower House have tried to insinuate that this Senate is reluctant or trying to forestall The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Yes! True!

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, therefore, we want to ensure that we devolve--- I can see some of my colleagues are murmuring. The reason countries in the west are able to transit from one Prime Minister to another or from one President to another smoothly is because there are systems in place. These are not countries that are monopolized by a few people within the centre of politics because services are rendered, people enjoy the economic benefits and there is equality in opportunities both in terms of employment and business. Mombasa is called the port city. If there is any institution that is said to be national, it is the Port of Mombasa. If you visit institutions all over the country, you find that they are heavily populated by people from those areas. When I was a student, I travelled quite a bit in Rift Valley and certain parts of this country. You will find that a managing director of an institution has a name that is familiar to the area he comes from. When you come to Port of Mombasa, we are always told it is a national asset. As my counterpart from Kwale County warned, the younger generation of the leadership of Coastal Province will not entertain these kinds of things that we have seen from one successive generation to another.

Tell them! Tell them!

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we must ensure that whichever institution that has a commercial implication to a county, that is the citadel of the economic prowess of that area, it must also bear the face of that area in many material forms. You cannot tell us that there are no receptionists or tea girls in Mombasa County and that certain jobs need expatriates from upcountry communities! We have expatriate tea girls, gate keepers, receptionists and telephone operators in public institutions in Mombasa County. For heaven’s sake, even if you look at us as people who have waited for too long for the cocunuts to drop---

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir.

Yes, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale.

Order, hon. Senators! Let us have some order in the House, please. Proceed, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the hon. Senator for Mombasa County has repeatedly referred to Kenyans who work in Mombasa and were born The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Sen. Hassan, did you say that?

I did say that, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir.

Did you say that in those terms?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I said that---- Let me clarify---

Did you say it in the terms that Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale has quoted you as saying?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I said that there are expatriate people---

If you did so, you have to withdraw those remarks and apologise to the House because there are no expatriates within the Kenyan territory.

Yeah! Tell him.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in oratory, you can use metaphors.

Order, Sen. Omar! Let us not go to semantics. Did you or did you not utter those words?

Withdraw and apologise!

Sen. Chiaba, you do not even know what you want me to withdraw and apologise!

Order, hon. Senator! My question is very simple. Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale has risen on a point of order over some remarks you have made. You either said what you said or you did not. If you concede you did, then you have to withdraw and apologise. If you did not, we shall check the HANSARD.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I apologise for calling those working in Mombasa and were not born there as expatriates. But I was doing this in the context of a metaphor. I apologise and call them the following term---

Could you withdraw and apologise? Let us get things right, please.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I apologise subsequently for the use of that metaphor “expatriate”.

Senator, can you withdraw and apologise?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have apologized.

You have apologized but not withdrawn the remark.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I withdraw that remark and apologise on the same.

Thank you, Senator.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we cannot have people doing odd jobs, who are employed in Mombasa for things that even the local community can do. That is what breeds and sows the seeds of discord. The metaphor might have been wrong but the message has been sent, that we cannot allow ourselves to be subjected to the kind of situation that we see in this country of economic marginalization and exclusion. That is why the county governments are here. That is why I support this Bill with a caution that The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. You have heard Sen. Omar say that there are a privileged few. Could he substantiate and state who these are?

It is obvious!

No! It is not obvious. You have to tell us who these are. These are people who have worked very hard.

What is your point of order?

Hon. Senators, if we do not listen to each other, then we will not be making headway at all.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Senator here is talking of “privileged people in Kenya.” We need to know them. That is my point of order.

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. Is Sen. Karaba in order to ask for substantiation of the obvious?

Everything depends on the context in which it is said. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, just on a light touch regarding what Sen. Karaba has just said, when he interrupted my very eloquent presentation, we are saying these things because this nation eventually must face up to the truth. This is what we used to call memory work in the human rights jargon. Unless you face your past, you cannot face your future. We cannot live in a perpetual state of fear, that we are unable to mention it by name. I am not sure whether Sen. Karaba felt a bit offended that he is part of the privileged few. But it is not also right for him to impute that some people worked hard and others did not.

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. At the level of the Senate, maybe with your indulgence, we need to find out whether we want to promote allegations that can very easily visit insecurity on innocent Kenyans who work away from their homes when, in fact, the so-called “privileged” are not so privileged because of their own making, but because of you, the politicians. We are the ones who go into power and extend goods to our close relatives and friends. Is Sen. Hassan in order to make a statement that can create insecurity, especially amongst upcountry people, who have already gone through the experience of 1997, when similar sentiments led to a bloodbath in Likoni?

Hon. Senators, all I can say is that we must take responsibility for our statements at all times. Proceed!

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I think that Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale is imputing the far-fetched. In fact, if anything, in this country what will promote cohesion and a sustainable nation is not just hugs and kisses, but equality, equity and social justice. Those are the fundamentals of any tranquil society that enjoys true national harmony. It cannot be about all the time having council of elders telling us to come together, hug and say all kinds of nice things. It eventually must be about development and equity. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in conclusion, I also will be asking at the relevant time, when we come to debate the second phase of allocation, because we must do it as this House--- The Kshs190 billion is insufficient to even mop our floors in the counties, metaphorically, in the sense that we need to do more. That said and done, I will be asking also that Mombasa, as a county which brings the highest income to this country, should also enjoy “consumerate” resources. You must yield where you sow. It would be disenfranchising an entire county for us to pretend and that we can continue to give these kinds of counties less money than they deserve in terms of meeting their developmental agenda. We keep that city beautiful because most of you like it. That city is beautiful for everybody to invest in, but we must also ensure that we have the necessary and requisite resources, so that it can progress, because we have not yet reached our saturation point of development.

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I am really sorry to interrupt the young Senator. But, really, when you assert that counties must be given money “consumerate” with the tax that they pay, knowing very well that the question of equity in the Constitution is not based on tax collection as a weighting factor, are you in order to mislead the House by pursing an unconstitutional process of trying to The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is about an opinion and I did make it very clear that we need social justice in this country.

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. There is a word “consumerate” that has been used by both Sen. Khalwale and Sen. Omar, which I want to understand.

I am sure that they meant “commensurate.” Did you mean commensurate?

Thank you, Sen. Mutahi, for that clarification. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, just to finalize my last minute, we must not disenfranchise counties so much so that they are unable to continue to be productive. Therefore, we must continue to keep them competitive. While others are able to catch up, those counties that are competitive must be kept competitive. I assure you that if you give us the right support – Sen. Murungi tried to light us up when he was the Minister for Energy – the whole of this country and our cities will turn bright; they will have colour, they will have development and they will have pomp. But you must give the right quality to devolution; you must give the right finances to ensure that, that vision is realized; we must have devolution that is economic; not devolution that is simply political by just giving our governors sirens and chase cars. That is why we all call them “warlords,” because we are not giving them money to do the business they were sent to do in those counties. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to support the Motion.

Sen. (Eng.) Muriuki Karue.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I can assure you that I will not say “consumerate.”

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I stand to support this Motion, that the Bill be read a Second Time. But it is very unfortunate that the Senate is debating this Bill under the circumstances which we find ourselves; which is that the money which was allocated, of Kshs210 billion. When that Bill was brought to the Senate, the Senate, in its wisdom, did look at what is appropriate to go to the county governments. The county governments and the Senate did evaluate, through the Committee on Finance, Commerce and Economic Affairs and the Committee on Devolution, and they came up with certain figures. I do not wish to reopen that debate now, more so because an application for interpretation is before the Supreme Court. But, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is very important for us, as Senators, to do our job and whatever it takes – even if it means revising or---

The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Order, Senator! Is there a Senator using a mobile phone that is making some sound in the House? Could that be out of order? Please, let us respect the protocol and dignity of the House. Yes, Sen. (Dr.) Machage?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, our Chamber is made in such a way that noise can come from outside.

Order! No; the noise I heard was from inside the Chamber.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I hope every Senator will put off their phones. I have put mine off. So, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I find it very unfortunate that we have to deal with this matter at the stage in which we are dealing with it, because for one, passing this Bill as it is, it is as if we, as Senators, are saying that all the work that we had done – to look at what the county governments require – we were wrong. On the other hand, if we do not pass it, it is like stalling the same county governments which we are mandated to support. So, on this basis, my comments are that we must, at this stage now, accept the mistake which came from the Lower House, because that was a mistake. Although it was supported by the Executive, I think somewhere along the way, we must have a chance to review how a Bill like this will be dealt with in future. What has passed has passed. The other item that I would like to talk about, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, is on this issue which the Senator who was here before me talked about; that Mombasa has the highest income or the second highest income--- Whether the income is the highest or the second highest is not the issue. The point here is that we have some counties which have a very, very high income mainly because they were favoured previously. When some Senators say that some areas are marginalized, it is true; there are some areas which were forgotten for a long time.

I know you think I am from Central Province and, may be, we were favored. The part of Central Province where I come from, called Nyandarua, was completely forgotten, just like yours! That is why we do not even have a county headquarters.

So, we would not want to have a county – like when we had elections for governor in Nairobi, each of the candidates was very proud of saying that “Nairobi is generating 65 per cent of the Growth Domestic Product (GDP).” I think that is a sin for any county! We cannot have one county – whether it is the headquarters or whatever else it is – such that it is somehow capable of holding 65 per cent of the GDP. That means something is very, The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Sen. Kajwang.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. First, I want to support this Bill in protest. I am supporting it in protest because at one time, I was voted into Parliament in protest. When I first vied for a seat in the National Assembly, there was a region in my constituency that would not have voted for me because they were supporting another candidate in KANU. They were fighting with another person in another region, also in KANU. But now, when one of them was elected or nominated by KANU, the other people who lost in the nominations said “we are not voting for that one we were fighting with; we are voting for Otieno Kajwang in protest!” So, sometimes, you can do something in protest. I am doing this in protest because it is not right that we should not participate in the division of revenue, but participate in the allocation of revenue. It means that we are not participating in the division of the cake, but we are participating in the division of the little crumb that has been given to us. If we are not careful, the signature that was put on this Division of Revenue Bill – the one that has gone by – I think wrote us off as an irrelevant institution.

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir.

What is your point of order, please?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, is the hon. Member in order to say that we have been written off, yet he is standing here contributing as a Senator? Secondly, this matter – although we do not agree with it – is already before the Supreme Court and, therefore, it is really sub judice to discuss it.

Sen. Kajwang, what do you say about that?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, sometimes it is a problem to be a provincial commissioner for too long!

But, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I do not think he has said anything that affects my contribution; there is nothing sub judice in what I am saying. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Would you, at least, answer to what he has said?

I do not know what he said!

You did not listen?

Because, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, what is it that he said? What was his point of order? I did not even notice. But the fact that I am speaking here does not mean---

Sen. Kajwang, there are two issues here---

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir.

Just a minute, please?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, he should tell us whether he is deaf or not. What I have said is already in the HANSARD and, therefore, it is really disrespect to refer to my position as a provincial commissioner. I am a Senator here and I can say many things about him too which will be hurting!

Is there another one?

Order, hon. Members! Order! Order, Sen. Kajwang! Order! I think it is important, even as we do these points of order, that we respect the integrity of each person and Senator. I do not think we should be casual about points of order---

(Spoke off record)

Order! Order! Let me finish what I am saying. The point I am trying to make is that, I do not believe that anybody would want to make a point of order just for the sake of making a point of order. Therefore, it is important – so that the Speaker can make a ruling as to whether there was substance to it – that you should try and answer it. If you did not quite follow what the Senator said, maybe you could ask him to say it again. But I think dismissing it off- hand may not look too good. What is it, Sen. (Dr.) Machage?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to inform Sen. Kajwang that, actually, he has forgotten that the person who signed that paper that ruled us out is His Excellency, the President, himself, Uhuru Kenyatta.

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir.

Yes, Sen. Kiraitu?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, should we sit here and listen to irrelevancies, contrary to our Standing Orders? Where does the President come in all this and how does his signature write off the Senate? The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

He does!

Sen. Kajwang, please go on, but note what I said earlier.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. First, I think Sen. Haji suggested---

Yes, Sen. (Dr.) Kuti?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we are contributing to a very important Bill. We are also trying to portray the Senate as a House that is serious and is addressing challenges of Kenyans out there. I do not think theatrics here will help us in any way, and I think you should guide us, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, with all due respect, so that debates are reasonable and portray the kind of maturity that Senators are expected to posses.

What is your point of order, Sen. (Dr.) Kuti?

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. Is the hon. Senator in order to bring theatrics in this Motion?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am not sure whether I should respond to that one unless you say it is a point of order, but I do not think it is. I am seriously on my feet and I am saying that the signature that was put on the Division of Revenue Bill is the reason why we are in court. It is a serious matter for this nation and for this House. It decides whether this House is relevant or not and whether you sit here or not. Let me proceed with my debate.

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. Some of us are professionals and we are not accidentally here. Therefore, we should be taken very seriously. I do not think trying to please individuals who are mourning wounds will not help us in any way here.

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I stood on a point of order mainly because of the statements made by Sen. (Dr.) Kuti a few minutes ago. Everybody in this House is a professional in his own right but he said “some of us”. I do not think it is in order for any Member of this House to actually portray that there are people who are mourning in this House. You just spoke a while that we must have some decorum. Is he, actually, in order to portray Members of this House in bad light?

Hon. Senators, we say many things and I know it is the right of every Senator to make a point of order if he or she wishes to do so. So, I will not stop you from doing so, but at the same time, it is imperative that we take into account the seriousness of the debate that is in front of us and the purpose for which we are Senators. So, the only thing that I would request is that as much as possible, taking into account our Standing Orders and how much leverage they allow us, let us observe absolute decorum and uphold the dignity of this House.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, next time I will ask you to ask hon. Senators to raise the matter that is out of order before you allow them to use the microphone.

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Sen. Haji!

I suppose I am not being bullied in this House.

Is the hon. Senator in order to correct a ruling by the Chair? Is he in order?

I think the Chair knows and could have made a ruling himself. What has just been said by the first speaker about Nairobi managing 65 per cent of the economy of this country, leave alone the revenue generated, should not be considered to be a passing matter. We love Nairobi; in fact, we want it to grow even more but if you went to other countries that have developed, you will find that in every city, there is something going on. If you go to Germany, Berlin is not necessarily the largest city but there is something going on in Stuttgart, there is something going on Bonn and in all other cities and states. For that reason, if wealth is distributed, employment is also distributed. Not everybody goes to Berlin to look for a job. Most times, you will not get a job there but you will get it in Bonn or Stuttgart. This is because they decided from the word go to develop their country evenly. They developed cities in almost every state and even some states have several cities. That did not come as an accident but it was deliberate. That is why we started this long road to devolution. We must develop our cities all over the country. We must develop a city in Isiolo, Lamu, Garissa and so on as we are now trying to develop because the great railway line is going to pass through Garissa and we must also develop Busia and Kisumu so that people can feel as if they are in their country. This will enable people to travel and enjoy whichever part of the country one wants to go to. If you are an observer or for those who travel, you will notice that when you earn your money in Nairobi, most of it remains in Nairobi, and there is little you can do about that. Most of the money you earn here is also spent here, other than the little you travel with to spend for one or two days away from Nairobi. You spend it on your rent, fuel, food, matatu fare and everything else. Essentially, what we are trying to do--- Unless we develop industries in other parts of this country deliberately, Nairobi will suck up this country. It has already sucked it up in such a way that it is already congested. We are already feeling like we are oppressed in our own city. You cannot move and you cannot walk. Sooner or later, we are going to find Nairobi very unmanageable just like I found Mexico City very unmanageable. It is not good for that country and it cannot be good for us. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in the Division of Revenue Bill, that is where you determine how you want the country to go. The County Allocation of Revenue Bill is what you do after you have now gotten the cake and now you are distributing it between Homa Bay and Lamu. So, to suggest that this Senate will not deal with and will not have power over the entire revenue at the point of division is to make this Senate irrelevant and I said it earlier. Even if you make as loud protestations as you wish, this is a fact. Sooner or later, the people who elected you will be asking what the Senate does for them. When we were being elected, the thinking of the people who voted for us is that we are going to determine how much revenue goes to them. Now, it is not that way. It is the National The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

What about Kwale?

Kwale is better because there are industries. It is difficult to debate this Bill without feeling demeaned. It is difficult to debate this Bill to distribute Kshs210 billion without feeling as if we have been taken for granted as the House which should have determined, defended and promoted devolution. Without saying more, I suggest that the next time this Bill comes, the Constitution should be clear. It should say that the Division of Revenue Bill is the business of the Senate. If it says so, even if there is no concurrence with the other House, then we will have business in this House. I recommend that we take the amendments we were suggesting here seriously. We should go out there and sell this idea to the people and tell them that right now, we are not very useful to them. We will tell them that if we amend the Constitution, we will become useful to them. The country depends on this Senate to guide devolution and to protect national interests. So, it is up to us to take this seriously or ignore it at our own peril. I will speak on one more issue and this is why the First Senate was dissolved. The First Senate was dissolved because of the kind of debate we have today. At that time, all the Bills from the Lower House would come to the Senate but the Senate would either The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Thank you Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir for giving me a chance to contribute on the debate on the County Allocation of Revenue Bill. From the outset, I accept what hon. Kajwang said about the Senators who were there in the beginning. The one from my home also lost. We do not want, as a House, to be rendered jobless. However, we should be realistic enough to make the country move forward. I do not want to spend a lot of time on the Division of Revenue Act because the matter is already in court. We will wait for an advisory opinion and deal with what is before us for now. The benefits of devolution cannot be overemphasized. In the past, as a country, we have seen what fiscal decentralization of the Local Authority Transfer Fund (LATF) and the CDF have done in our areas. This is worth a good example. That is where we borrowed a leaf from and thought that it would be good to have a devolved system of governance in this country so that we help develop our regions. The truth of the matter is that there are serious disparities in terms of development in our country. However, it is our hope that with such models, depending on how best the resources are used, will help our people. The power plays and wrangles that we are seeing between institutions even at the highest level of legislature will not make a difference in the lives of Kenyans if we spend time thinking on how best we can utilise these resources. We are debating on Kshs210 billion which may not be commensurate – the word commensurate has been pronounced wrongly many times today - with the functions of the county governments. I just want to pick one example where we have a concurrent function between the national Government and the county governments, and this is disaster management. The Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government was allocated Kshs1.7 billion for this. Issues of disaster management and floods are best handled at the county level and not at the national level. We alll know that relying on the national level has been a problem when disaster occurs. I want to make reference to this Bill, in a specific area. This is page 11 which says that there are differences between the National Treasury’s proposal which were guided by a number of factors. I have a bone to pick with two of them. This is the cost of running county governments’ structures and the cost of ongoing devolved functions; this deviated from what the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) had initially proposed. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I stand to support this Bill. However, I will do this with some exceptions. I would like this Bill to be considered as interim because the figure we have here is not what the Senate had proposed. I only consider it proper that the Senate allocates these funds because they are part of the whole; the Kshs258 billion passed by this House. I say so because the figure used was derived from the 2010/2011 audited accounts. The accounts which should have been used are the ones for the 2011/2012 Financial Year. I do not know what we will do in future. However, I suggest that in future, deadlines be given for auditing so that audit reports come early. This will allow us to allocate the amount stated in the Constitution. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Asante sana, Bw. Naibu Spika,kwa kunipa nafasi hii ili niweze kuchangia Mswada huu ambao umejadiliwa na wenzangu. Bw. Naibu Spika, kwa miaka mingi au tangu tulipopata Uhuru, tuliona vile kiongozi wa kwanza wa Jamhuri ya Kenya alivyotoa ahadi nyingi sana. Pia, kiongozi wa pili na watatu vile vile walipeana ahadi nyingi. Ahadi zenyewe zilikuwa kama kuambiwa kuwa kutakuwa na upanuzi wa barabara, kurekebishwa kwa reli, ujenzi wa shule na mengi ambayo hayajafanyika hadi wakati huu. Kadri tunavyoendelea, tunazidi kupata mambo yakusikitisha katika kaunti. Inadhihirika wazi upande wa akina mama. Watoto ambao wanazaliwa kabla ya muda unaofaa hawana nafasi ya kuishi kwa sababu ya ukosefu wa vifaa kama incubators katika hosipitali zetu. Hii ni kwa sababu ya ukosefu wa pesa za kutosha katika kaunti zetu. Bw. Naibu Spika, kuna hatari zingine ambazo kama hazitazingatiwa sawa sawa huenda zikazidi kuleta madhara kutokana na ukosefu wa pesa za kutosha katika kaunti. Tukiangalia jela zetu, utaona kwamba zina madeni makubwa ambayo mpaka wakati huu hayajalipwa. Wengi wa suppliers wa vyakula wamegoma kupeleka vyakula kwa sababu hawajalipwa. Nikizingatia Jela la Shimo la Tewa, kuna madeni ya ajabu na sasa suppliers wengi wamewacha kupeleka vyakula katika jela hiyo. Haya ni maswala ambayo yamechangia hata kuwa na ushoga katika seli. Inawabidi wafungwa walio na njaa kufanya visa viovu kwa sababu ya kutaka chakula kutoka kwa wenzao. Kwa hivyo, ukitaka nikupe chakula changu, lazima ufanye hivi ama vile. Haya yote yameletwa kwa sababu ya madeni na kutokuwa na vyakula katika jela zetu. Bw. Naibu Spika, tukiangalia congestion iliyoletwa na barabara huko kwetu Mombasa, haswa mahali kunakoitwa Kibarani – mahali ambapo kumetufanyia hata utalii wetu umezorota kabisa – mtalii atawasili nchini kupitia kiwanja cha ndege lakini hadi kufika hoteli, mahali ambapo panafaa kumchukua dakika 20 kutamchukua hata masaa manane. Yote haya yameletwa na barabara kutopanuliwa kwa sababu ya ukosefu wa fedha. Laiti kungekuwa na fedha, upanuzi wa barabara ungekuwa umetekelezwa na barabara zetu Mombasa zingekuwa ziko sawasawa. Jambo hili linaleta hatari kiasi cha kwamba utakaa Kibarani kwa hata siku mbili na magari hayaendi, ilhali ukiyaangalia magari mengine, yamebeba vifaa vya hatari. Katika msongamano wa magari yale kuna watoto wa shule, abiria na watu wengine wengi. Hii ni hatari na yote haya yanaletwa na ukosefu wa fedha katika kaunti zetu. Bw. Naibu Spika, wenzangu wametangulia kuongea kuhusu madeni. Mswada huu utakapopitishwa na pesa zitakapoingia katika kaunti, hofu yangu ni moja – madeni haya ambayo yanaongelewa mara kwa mara – yatalipwa na serikali za kaunti. Lakini lazima tujiulize kabla hatujayalipa, madeni haya yalikujaje? Je, madeni haya yaliwafaidi wananchi na kaunti? Je, tutayachukua madeni haya tukayalembezee Serikali kuu ama serikali za kaunti wakati yaliwafaidi watu wawili au watatu? Nikitoa mfano wa kwetu, Kaunti ya Mombasa, kabla ya kuingia katika Seneti, nilikuwa mwakilishi wa wadi katika

(LASDAP) kwa miaka minane na, mara The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Sen. Madzayo.

Asante, Bw. Naibu Spika, kwa kunipa nafasi hii. Nataka kuunga mkono Mswada huu wa ugawanyaji pesa. Kama tunavyoelewa, kulingana na kipengele cha 96 cha Katiba, sisi kama Seneti kazi yetu ni kulinda na kutetea rasilmali za zile kaunti tunazotoka. Ya pili ni kuhakikisha kwamba ugawanyaji wa pesa zitakazotoka katika Serikali kuu zimefika mashinani na zimefanya kazi inayohitajika kufanyika huko. Wakati ule Mswada wa pesa ulipokuja hapa, tuliona kwamba pesa zile zilikuwa hazitoshi, ndio sababu tukasema ziongezwe kutoka Ksh210 bilioni hadi Ksh258 bilioni. Lakini kwa ukosefu wa nidhamu ama kutozingatia masilahi ya serikali za kaunti, zile pesa zilipunguzwa ama zilibaki pale pale, Ksh210 bilioni. Hizi ni pesa kidogo sana zisizoweza kuleta maendeleo mashinani. Mimi natoka Kaunti ya Kilifi katika nchi yetu hii ya Kenya, na hivi karibuni, tulitangaza hizi kazi na tukasema zinahitaji wasomi. Tunaunga Mswada huu mkono kwa kuwa elimu itaweza kusambazwa vizuri ikiwa itawekwa chini ya mikono ya wale magavana walioko katika serikali za kaunti. Katika zile kazi zilizotangazwa, utaona ya kwamba mpaka ward administrator anatakikana awe ni mtu aliye na shahada ya chuo kikuu; dereva wa kupeleka gari anatakikana awe anajua mambo ya tarakilishi. Sisi tunauliza hivi; tangu lini dereva akajua mambo ya tarakilishi? Kazi ya dereva ni kupeleka gari, lakini hivi sasa tunaambiwa ya kwamba lazima kuwe na pre-qualifications zingine, kama awe na sijui ripoti ya Automobile Association (AA), awe na leseni ya class A, B,C,D na E; awe anajua mambo ya tarakilishi, na kadhalika. Hadi sasa, ni miaka zaidi ya hamsini tangu Uhuru upatikane; ugawanyaji wa pesa kutoka katika Serikali kuu umeweza kutunyima sisi, watu wa Pwani, nafasi ya kuwa na vyuo vikuu. Tunajua kuwa vyuo vikuu viko Nairobi na pande zingine za nchi, lakini haviko upande wa Pwani. Imewabidi watu waliokuwa na uwezo wa kusoma waje huku, pande za juu za Kenya na wengine watoke nje ya nchi ili kupata elimu ama kupata hizo shahada za vyuo vikuu. Lakini tukilinganishana hivi sasa, ikiwa hizo zitakuwa ndizo sifa zinazotakikana kwa muajiriwa, basi ni kumaanisha kwamba watu wengi wa Kilifi hawatapata kazi hizo kwa kuwa sio watu wote kutoka huko walio na shahada za vyuo vikuu. Bw. Naibu Spika, Mswada huu ni mzuri kwa sababu tumeona kwamba kunayo nia ya kuleta elimu karibu na wananchi wa huko mashinani. Hivi juzi tu, pia sisi The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Ndio! Waambie wasikie!

Kwa hivyo, Bw. Naibu Spika, nataka kuunga mkono na kusema kwamba Mswada huu ni mzuri na utaweza kuleta maendeleo, hasa tukihakikisha kwamba wale magavana ambao wako katika utawala wa serikali za kaunti wasitusiwe. Tumeona hivi majuzi kwamba wanaitwa sijui “maraisi.” Ukiitwa “his Excellency,” wewe sio raisi; unaitwa “ his Excellency the Governor ;” haukuitwa “ his Excellency the President .” Lakini tukiangalia watu wengine – kwa sababu wanajaribu kuharibu majina ya hawa watu walio pale – wanaanza kutumia lugha isiyofaa. Mimi nasema ya kwamba magavana wetu wanafanya kazi nzuri, na kulingana na utawala wao mpaka sasa, naona ya kwamba wanafanya vizuri. Kwa hivyo, wapewe nafasi wafanye kazi zao lakini si matusi. Naomba kuunga mkono Mswada huu.

Bw. Naibu Spika, asante sana kwa kunipa nafasi hii ili niweze kuchangia Mswada huu wa Ugavi wa Fedha kwa Kaunti. Ninasimama kuunga mkono Mswada huu kwa sababu ni wa maana sana kwa wananchi wote. Mimi sina shida na ugavi lakini matumizi yake yananitia wasiwasi. Hapa tunawakilisha kaunti mbalimbali hapa nchini. Kwa hivyo, tunajua shida zinazowakabili watu wetu. Kwa mfano, kaunti nyingi zina barabara mbaya, ukosefu wa zahanati na hospitali, upungufu au ukosefu wa maji safi na kadhalika. Akina mama hutembea masafa marefu wakitafuta maji safi ya kunywa. Hospitali ziko mbali sana. Kwa hivyo, ninapozungumza nitaegemea sana upande wa matumizi ya pesa ambazo zitapewa kaunti mbalimbali hapa nchini. Ni jukumu letu kama viongozi kujihusisha katika matumizi ya pesa hizi. Inafaa tuelimishe wananchi ili pesa hizi zitakapofika kule mashinani zitumiwe kwa njia iliyo bora zaidi. Ninapozungumza hapa watu wetu wana shida nyingi. Kuna wale ambao walitimuliwa kutoka msitu na kwa sasa wanaishi kando ya barabara. Hema walizopewa miaka sita iliyopita zimeraruka. Wanaishi katika mazingira duni; wakati wa masika wananyeshewa. Watoto wao wanashikwa na magonjwa kwa sababu ya baridi kali kwa maana hawana nyumba. Watoto hawana chakula cha kutosha. Watu hawa kwa sasa wanaishi katika hali ya umaskini mwingi. Kwa hivyo, shida yangu si kiasi cha pesa ambacho kitapewa kaunti, lakini jinsi pesa hizo zitakavyotumika. Ninaomba pesa hizi zitumike kwa njia nzuri. Ni mapenzi yangu kuona kuwa viongozi wote katika kaunti wamejihusisha na kuhakikisha pesa hizi zinatumika kwa maendeleo. Bw. Naibu Spika, kwa hayo machache, ninaunga mkono.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would also like to join my colleagues in supporting this Bill which is the first one of its nature to be debated in this House. It is a historical Bill. I hope all the things which have been said here will be recorded for the future generation to know that this was the first Bill in this House. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, when I look at this Bill, I find that it needs to have been passed without any argument. We should not spend a lot of time discussing it. Why should we debate it for two or three days? This is a Bill that we have no power to amend or reject. This is an opportunity for the Senators to look in the past and see how much we have achieved since we embraced county governments. The purpose of debating this Bill is to remind us that there is a lot to be done by the Senate, but we have not done a lot since we The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, thank you for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this very important Bill. This Bill is apparently overdue in that the counties are waiting for us to pass it so that they can get money. As I support, I would like to address some issues that touch on my county. Nakuru County is one of the counties with a deficit ofKshs1.2 billion. There are other counties that have a surplus of up to even Kshs6 billion. I find this to be inappropriate because there is no way we can run our 2013/2014 financial year with a deficit. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, when I look at the formula that has been adopted concerning the division of the monies, it means that proper participation by my people in Nakuru in ensuring that the figures that were being used for statistics so that we ended up with such kind of allocation, could have been erroneous. So, I am requesting the people of Nakuru to ensure that anything that requires public participation is well attended and their views listened to so that we do not end up with a deficit. I hope that next year we shall not end up with a deficit. I know that many Senators have spoken before me and that there are many issues they have raised. In addition, the issue about the structures in the counties requires a lot of attention. As much as we are giving them money, it would be very disastrous if they were not ready to spend the money due to poor structures. It is important to ensure that structures are in place. The personnel that will be in charge of these finances should be people beyond any reproach. There is an issue concerning the size of some counties. I know that Kakamega, Kiambu and Nakuru are vast counties. It is important to look at the size of a county because, by extension, it influences the amount of money that is allocated. The amount of money that is allocated to counties although it may not be what the Senate wanted to be disbursed to counties, is something manageable. So, in future, we must ensure the amount allocated by the Government to counties is sufficient. I would like to comment on some issues that are happening in our country. Those who are in Parliament for the first time have observed a trend where once some people lose in elections, they go back to an electioneering mood the following month. Our people elected us to ensure that development is realised within the period we are at the Senate. Therefore, it is important when it comes to politics, we try as much as we can to deal with them ourselves. We have issues regarding the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) which have made this body appear very bad in the eyes of the public. I believe that institutions like the IEBC were formed constitutionally and should be respected all the time. We must respect them whether there is a by-election in Makueni or not. Unless we do so, at one point, we will not have confidence in any of the institutions that have been created by our Constitution. With those few remarks, I support. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Hon. Senators, it appears as if debate has been exhausted. Therefore, I will ask the Mover to reply.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I stand to reply. In doing so, I would like to thank my colleagues who have contributed to this Bill and pointed out issues that need to be addressed. This Bill has come at a time when the Senate needs to be guided in terms of the Division of Revenue Act which is now law. We also had agreed that we should continue to debate the County Allocation of Revenue Bill so that our counties can begin to function now that the Government is about to release funds. In fact, they are waiting for the Bill to be passed. But if there will be need for additional funds, a request can be done with regard to that. Hon. Senators referred to the County Allocation for the Financial Year 2013/2014 table. There are two columns which are very interesting. The first one is on the constitutional minimum allocation of 15 per cent. This is audited revenue which the national Treasury says totals to Kshs91 billion. Column two talks about conditional and unconditional allocation based on a formula which totals to Kshs63 billion. This shows the total amount. There is another one which is the conditional allocation. Hon. Senators referred to Article 203(2) of the Constitution. It says:- “For every financial year, the equitable share of the revenue raised nationally that is allocated to county governments shall be not less than 15 per cent of all revenue collected by the national government.” Hon. Senators have raised the issue of audited revenue accounts which are very old. These are the audited accounts of 2011/2012 Financial Year. These are two years old. Two weeks ago, the Government said that it had collected a staggering Kshs800 billion exceeding the targeted amount by 14 per cent. That is what the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) indicated. This means that this Government can give the current figures and allocations without digging into the history of two years ago. We are also talking about a digital Government. We can get the relevant data as it is. We need to look at this. We are introducing another column which talks about a plus “b” which does not go hand in hand with what is in the Constitution. As I come to the close of my reply, I will refer to a rider in Clause 1(5) preliminary that explains why the conditional allocation is given. You will see that this is meant to provide for the funding of regional referral hospitals and nothing else and to ensure continuation of essential services by the county governments in the manner set out in column “D” of the Schedule. When you talk about referrals, Nairobi ranks 30 in that column. It has been allocated Kshs7,743,130,661. I expected the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital which is in Uasin Gishu to be the second in being given a lot of money. However, it has been given a paltry Kshs300 million. It has even been overtaken by smaller hospitals. Hon. Senators have said that this column should be understood clearly so that services in big hospitals are not disrupted. We, as Senators, also note that the involvement of the Senate is very critical as it is described in the Constitution. The CRA generates its draft and it is supposed to supply it to the Senate. The Senate discusses this with the Treasury. We will take this seriously as the Senate Majority Leader has indicated. We should make sure that the Senate plays its rightful role. This is the first Bill we are presenting under the devolved government. This is just the first step. Hon. Senators will continue to look at it. We will also look at The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I was expecting the Mover of the Motion to clarify to us what Bill we are supporting. Is it the one with the Kshs210 or the one that has the Kshs258 billion? I expected the Mover to also tell us what type of amendments can be made and if we are capable of proposing them at this stage. How can we handle the situation as it is? We are expected to pass this Bill, but up to this point, I do not know what figure we are passing.

Sen. (Prof) Lesan, I think we went through this matter more than once when the Bill was being moved. At that point, the Mover of the Motion indicated what he was moving. We expect to have amendments at the Committee Stage which is in tandem with the Bill we are dealing with now. I do not know whether that satisfies your point of order.

Yes, it does, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

Thank you. At this point, I request, based on Standing Order No.51(3) to defer putting the question to tomorrow afternoon.

Thank you, Senator. That is the usual Standing Order No.51, where at the discretion of the Speaker, the putting of the Question may be deferred. Again, since this is the first time that we are discussing or debating a Bill of this nature, I would also like to point out that under Standing Order No.69, it is clear that in this event, I do not need to rule whether or not, it is a Bill touching on counties. So, we will just proceed to put the Question at the appropriate time. Regarding the request coming from Sen. Lonyangapuo who has replied, I find that under Standing Order No.51 (3), we shall postpone the putting of the Question, therefore, the voting by counties, to tomorrow afternoon. This is an extremely important Bill. I want to believe that all of us shall be here tomorrow afternoon to vote on it, so that we can then move on to the next stage.

Next Order!

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the following Motion in an amended version, after I brought it to the Speaker’s attention and received approval:- THAT, aware that the pastoralist areas account for the largest proportion of livestock production in Kenya estimated to consist of 81 per The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Thank you. Sen. Mong’are, before you second, give me one minute. Hon. Senators, you notice that I have been sitting here continuously, which is unusual. It is good to inform you that the Speaker is out of jurisdiction for now for a short time. Both panelists are similarly out of jurisdiction also on other official duties. So, in their absence, therefore, I can only sit here alone. But in consultation with the Constitution and other legislation, if you refer to Standing Order No.18, it says that:- “The Speaker shall preside at any sitting of the Senate but in the absence of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker shall preside and in absence of the Deputy Speaker, pursuant to Article 107(1) (c) of the Constitution, another Senator elected by the Senate for that purpose shall preside.” If you refer to Article 107 of the Constitution, it says the same thing as our Standing Orders, which is that:- “In the absence of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, another member of the House elected by the House presides.” Now, we have a panelist whom we have elected under Article 107 of the Constitution, but since I may want to take a short break myself, we cannot just pick somebody from the Floor of the House and tell them to come and sit here; it will be unconstitutional. We must follow the Constitution to the letter because we are the guardians of the Constitution. So, I am proposing we do that before the Motion is seconded. I want to take a few minutes leave of absence from the Chair. I would like somebody to come and sit here because the Business of the House must continue. So, I The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, you have been very clear. But because we are a House of rules, could you be further clearer by confirming that the person who shall sit there in your absence will, amongst other things, enjoy the full privileges of the Speaker? Because sitting there, we happen to know certain things which we do not want to put in the public domain. But if you could confirm, so that should this person be shortchanged, later on, in the course of the week, then we can have recourse to the Speaker of the Senate and your direction.

I have made it clear that whoever it is that is elected will sit here for 20 or 30 minutes while I am away. I am just trying to follow the Constitution as much as possible, but he or she shall have the full right to throw you out of the House should the need arise. By “you” I mean the Members present; I am not talking about Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale.

Are there any privileges?

I want to assure you that the privilege is a glass of water as he or she sits here and calls you out.

What is it, Sen. Kittony?

I am proposing, Sen. Kajwang.

I am seconding.

Does Sen. Kajwang have any problem with that?

No, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir.

That is so ordered, Sen. Kajwang, and thank you very much. I am now going to put the Question, with the consent of the House, which is that Sen. Kajwang be elected to preside over the session temporarily under Article 107(1) of the Constitution.

The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

We are proceeding from where we stopped. Sen. Okong’o.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me this opportunity to second this Motion which has candidly been moved by my sister, Sen. Lesuuda. The country is experiencing intense challenges caused by urbanization which lead to high unemployment levels and poverty, among other things. In cognizant of these facts, the county governments should embark on investing in existing industries with the aim of addressing these challenges. Livestock production is one of the oldest industries in the country and there is high demand for beef products both locally and abroad. For instance, Nairobi and Mombasa have the highest per capita meat consumption within Kenya. Nairobi consumes up to 25.8 kilogrammes per person annually, which is much lower than the recommended 40 kilogrammes by the world health standards. This demonstrates that there is a high potential market for livestock products which requires a monthly supply of approximately 27,829 head of cattle, 71,555 sheep and goats and 685 camels to Nairobi. Mombasa is another important terminal market alongside Nairobi for livestock from pastoral areas, particularly North Eastern Province. Mombasa’s annual consumption is estimated to be at 21.8 kilogrammes per person. This was in 2011. This requires a monthly supply of 8,178 heads of cattle, 21,210 sheep and goats and 201 camels. This is just an estimate that was done and is called End Market Analysis of Kenya Livestock and Meat by the USAID in 2010. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, Kenya has experienced an important increase in meat exports since 2005, particularly following the re-opening of the KMC’s abattoir as an export licensed facility for use by private exporters. We have seen an increment in this. But on the other hand, Tanzania and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are Kenya’s most consistent market for meat exports in recent years. However, in 2010 several large markets were opened or expanded. These include Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Somalia and Egypt. Kenya is only a minor exporter of livestock with the number of head exported never exceeding 7,500 in a given year. The only significant markets are Mauritius and Burundi which import Kenyan cattle and goats, respectively. Statistics indicate that Kenya is losing its international market to its competitors like Brazil and Australia who enjoy low production costs due to modernization, enabling environment resulting in a pricing competitive edge over Kenya’s meat despite the fact that we produce high quality meat with no chemical or hormonal contamination. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, one kilogramme of local meat trades at Kshs360 vis- à-vis Kshs315 in other markets. There is increased export potential from emerging markets like Canada and the United States of America (USA) in 2011. In the USA, beef price rose by 11 per cent and the USA Department of Agriculture projected another rise of 5 per cent in 2012. In view of this, opportunities will be available in the local market if we modernize county governments in terms of livestock sector. In view of these market opportunities, county governments should address the production cost of local meat resulting from hard conditions, long maturity periods due to lack of feeds, logistics, The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Thank you for seconding the Motion. According to Standing Order No.55, I will now propose the question.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I will start by congratulating Sen. Naisula Lesuuda for coming up with this Motion. I will limit myself to the factor of what we are urging the Government to consider. One, I would like to call upon the players in the livestock industry, especially the pastoralists, to endeavor in looking for homegrown solutions as we urge the Government to assist us. By this I mean that we should look at issues like education. One of the areas that the pastoralist communities have lagged behind is the fact that human capital is very limited. It is important at this time to urge the community leaders and parents to encourage their children to be professionals in this area. Those who make it to colleges should be prepared to work at home because until now, many people look at working in north eastern as a punishment. Therefore, we have a local human resource. This investment can be sustainable. There is also need for us to look at the best way to keep livestock. In fact, this challenge of cattle rustling as it has been raised by the Mover is because we have not endeavored to have modern ways of animal husbandry. We need, especially in our universities, to have proper research and appropriate technology that can be used to ensure that better ways of keeping livestock for beef are utilized. The other local homegrown issue that must be looked into is that of investment. I would like to urge the national government and the county governments to invest in this kind of venture from the devolved funds that will come out of devolution. Finally on the issue of homegrown solutions, I would like to urge businessmen who come from this area, to venture in into it. It is an investment. I will give you an example of Kakamega County where we are giants, not just in Kenya, but in East and Central Africa in sugar cane farming. Before the sugar industry became what it is today, the local investors, at a very small level started investing in jaggeries. There are jaggeries that 10 to 20 years later, moved on to become the SONY, Mumias and Butali sugar companies that you hear about today. I would like to speak about marketing. It is important that as we set up abattoirs, the Government becomes aggressive in marketing. Ethiopia and Somalia are a ready market for our produce. All we have to do is to add value. We should then go and do risk marketing in Ethiopia. There is an unfortunate area that we can capitalise on. Many populations of Somalia and Ethiopia live on relief food from the UN. So, we should market our produce to the UN Organisations and the World Food Programme (WFP) so that when they need relief food to be taken to Ethiopia, Somalia and some parts of Kenya that invariably rely on relief food, they find a ready source down here. We all remember that one of the reasons our pastoralists fear to keep many heads of cattle is because of the fear of the consequences of drought that normally comes and sometimes wipes out all The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

You have no power to donate any time. Prof. Lesan!

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, first I wish to take this opportunity to thank my fellow Senator from a pastoralist area for bringing this Motion. I know that this Motion is in her heart because it affects her directly. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, in the latest animals statistics that we have in this country, there are 17 million cattle. Out of these 7.6 million are in counties that are troublesome. These are counties where we have encountered serious rustling in the recent past. They are around Trans Nzoia, West Pokot, Turkana, Isiolo and a bit of the southern part in Narok and Trans Mara. I have presented these statistics because I want to talk about the very enormous economic potential that these animals are holding. Therefore, it is a very relevant point that we can discuss at this time, how we can unleash that potential from being a pride within communities into a financial economic activity in the country. What has really made us not be able to tap the maximum potential from this livestock is the lack of peace in these areas where livestock are. Rustling has been the biggest The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Before I go to Marsabit, let me hear West Pokot; Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I thank you. I want to join my colleagues in congratulating Sen. Naisula Lesuuda for bringing this Motion because it touches on a mighty big number of people in this Republic of Kenya. We note that 80 per cent of the land mass in Kenya is inhabited by people who love keeping cows. We call them pastoralists. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, as I stand to contribute to this Motion, I look at the way we have developed our products in Kenya since 1963. If you can remember when the white farmers came and took the white highland farms, there was even an attempt--- Early in the 1900s, there was a farmer called Delamere and Lord Egerton, who kept very good cows and even had enough milk. They wanted to transport milk all the way from Nakuru using pipelines to Mombasa. That was two farmers, almost 80 years ago, but we lost it quickly when we took over because we never built on that capacity. But we have niche products in certain counties in Kenya which were inherited when the colonialists left. We have cotton which is grown in Ukambani and parts of Nyanza during those days. I do not know whether it is still grown now. Cotton had a parastatal dedicated by this country to look after it for a long time. As for coffee, who does not know that Kiambu was the backbone and the engine where coffee thrived? The Coffee Board of Kenya (CBK) was formed to look after this tree. There is a lot of tea in Kericho, Bomet and other areas. The Government of the Republic of Kenya came up with a parastatal to look after that plant called tea. Maize thrived in Trans Nzoia and so many other places. Money was put in a parastatal called Kenya Seed Company (KSC), where they do research; the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB), where marketing is done for one plant called maize. We have another crop called sugarcane grown in Nyanza and parts of western Kenya. There are a lot of The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to join my other colleagues to congratulate Sen. Lesuuda for coming up with this very important Motion as it touches many people in this country who occupy about two-thirds of our land mass and, maybe, constitute about a quarter of our entire population. For us to develop as a country with a vision, there is need to exploit the potential of each and every part of this country. Right now, we are skewed so much so that people tend to rush towards Nairobi and other urban areas to get jobs. We have been investing in sectors like crop agriculture and the manufacturing sector, but neglected what is in other parts of this country. We can only develop in an equitable manner if we develop and exploit the potential of each and every area. That way, we can complement each other; what an area has in terms of production can be marketed to another area. Arid areas, unfortunately, have been referred to as the low potential areas. This statement could only be valid if all of us were thinking from the rain-fed agriculture point of view. Unfortunately, that is what colonialists were thinking and the successive governments have been thinking and that is why we still refer to those areas as low potential areas. If we could exploit the potential which those areas can support like the livestock industry, then we would have the products from those areas being marketed even locally to other parts of the country while we have other products like foods marketed in the arid areas. So, we can easily achieve our vision if we develop all these areas according to their potential. Currently, the unfortunate scenario which has been mentioned and which is known to all Kenyans is that the people in arid areas have been left to their own whims, to survive the best way they know how; and, in fact, the animals they are keeping are not of any much use to them. You look after the animals until a drought comes, wipes them all away, and you start all over again. That is why the issue of cattle rustling is recurrent. It is recurrent because it is used as a means to restock. After the rains, people have to look for animals from elsewhere to restock. Just like if crop farmers lost their crops, they would have to look for seed. That is where the phenomenon of cattle rustling does not end. It will end when we give these people some meaningful way of keeping the animals. That is why we have to urge the current Government to do something. The Government still has a lot to do. The other day, the former Minister for Health said that it takes Kshs9 billion to start one disease free zone. Do not expect the county governments to do that. They do not even have the Kshs9 billion. Some of them are getting Kshs2 billion. To make matters worse, they are being asked to pay salaries. The national Government has a lot to carry. However, in line with this Motion, which I support, the way out for our people is to have proper ways of meat production which county governments can do by providing necessary personnel and extension officers. They have to start employing these officers. The issue of breeding was mentioned. Much as these animals are hardy and can breed in those areas, if we must get something meaningful, then we must cross breed them. We have to get breeds which can still withstand those conditions with the support of the proper feeding and veterinary services. These are things that the county governments can do. They can also provide training as it was suggested. This is necessary because you have to move these people from their way of thinking to meaningful ways of livelihoods where they think about making money out of the animals. This would help The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Asante sana, Bw. Naibu Spika kwa nafasi hii. Watu hawafahamu mambo ya ufugaji kwa sababu ya magonjwa yanayowakumba wanyama. Magonjwa haya yamewafanya watu wetu wasiwe na mifugo kama vile watu wa Kaunti ya Samburu na kwingineko. Sisi sote hapa mtakubaliana nami kwamba hakuna chakula kinachofurahisha Wakenya kuliko nyama. Nadhani wengi wetu saa za mchana walikula vipande vya nyama. Hata tukitoka hapa kwenda katika nyumba zetu, pia tutakula nyama. Hii ni Hoja ambayo kila mmoja ataifurahia na sote tunafaa kuiunga mkono. Tupende tusipende, katika harusi ama matanga, tunachinja ng’ombe au mbuzi. Tunafaa kujiuliza wanyama hawa hufugwa wapi na ni vipi tutaendeleza ufugaji huu ili tule nyama nzuri kila siku? Ningependa kusisitiza kama ndugu yangu Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale alivyosema tuwe na vyuo vya utafiti ili tuboreshe nyama, ngozi na mifupa ya mifugo yetu. Bidhaa hizi The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, although I do not come from a place which is popularly known as livestock areas, actually my father has a few head of cattle and I was a herdsboy. So, I know something about cattle. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Order, Senators! Sen. Kajwang, tomorrow morning at 9.00 a.m., you will have an extra five minutes to finish your contribution or, indeed, your debate.

Hon. Senators, it is now 6.30 p.m., and it is time to adjourn the House. The House shall stands adjourned until tomorrow, 24th July, 2013, at 9.00 a.m. The House rose at 6.30 p.m. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.