Hon. Senators, I am informed that we have quorum. So, let us proceed.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to seek a Statement from the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Land and Natural Resources concerning the Konza City boundary. In the Statement, the Chairperson should confirm the following: (a) Confirm that the boundaries of the 47 counties were demarcated in accordance with the Districts and Provinces Act, Cap.105A of the Laws of Kenya. (b) Confirm whether Konza City is located in Makueni County; (c) Explain the legal basis upon which the director of survey has placed the Konza City boundaries within Machakos County; and, (d) State whether any measures have been taken to address the discrepancies. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Statement is sought out of a publication that was made by the Cabinet Secretary in charge of Lands and Housing on 16th October, 2013 in the Daily newspaper where the map of the 47 counties was published. From the said map, the Konza City was placed squarely in Machakos County. The Cabinet Secretary in charge of Information, summoned stakeholders from Makueni County and gave us a Draft Bill. In 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. Speaker, Sir.

What is it, Sen. Mositet?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I can see that the Senator for Makueni is only talking about Makueni while I know very well that when the Cabinet Secretary called for a meeting, he also called the people from Kajiado and Machakos. For sure, there was a dispute but we agreed that there would be another meeting before the Cabinet Secretary proceeds.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Will I be in order to give guidance to my two fellow Senators on what it means to request for a Statement? The first Senator continued contributing to a Motion that is not before the House and the second one is responding to a question he has not been asked.

Sorry, Sen. (Dr.) Machage, what did you say on the second one?

The second one is responding to a question that has not been put to him.

Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr, have you concluded? Although you had actually exceeded, so just conclude.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for your intervention. We were just seeking a Statement so that we can have proper clarification in terms of the issues that I have raised in my Statement.

Order, Senators! Indeed as Sen. (Dr.) Machage had correctly observed, Sen. Mositet is completely out of order. You should have waited for the response to be brought and then you can make your intervention. I would imagine the response which is intended for the Statement will try to demarcate the boundaries, then you can tell whether you are a part of it, excluded or a neighbour. Those other details of the meeting you can keep them for the time being.

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Mr. Speaker, Sir, I will take up the matter with my Committee and the Ministry of Lands and Housing. Therefore, I request to bring the Statement in two weeks time.

Senator, are you okay with two weeks?

Yes, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Before we move to the next Order, I would like to acknowledge the presence of some visitors, who are visiting us today. Allow me, hon. Senators, to introduce to you a delegation of Members of Mombasa County Assembly who are seated to my right. The delegation is led by hon. Jimmy Ondari – Chairperson, Justice and Legal Committee. As I introduce the rest, I request that a Member of the Assembly called should stand up and be acknowledged in the normal tradition of the Senate. The following are members of the delegation:- Hon. Paul Onje Hon. Dancan Onyango Hon. Mohamed Ndanda Hon. Amina Zuber Hon. Hudson Karume Hon. Rashid Muswaba Hon. Chebes Oduor Hon. Fadhili Mwalimu Hon. Abdallah Hamisi Hon. Simiyu Patrick Hon. Lucy Chireri and, 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, on the Order Paper, we have two Motions and one Bill, that is, Order No.8, 9 and 10. We have exhausted debate on all of them and what is remaining is voting. So, we are just taking count to see if we have the requisite numbers for voting. Hon. Senators, as we allow the responsible Whips to whip Senators, we will skip those Motions that require a division. Sen. Wako reminded us one time that there is magic on Wednesday after 3.00 p.m. So, According to Standing Order No.39(2), we will bring up the Motion on Order No.11. We can start with that one, then we will take the division later.

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

What is it, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise under Standing Order No.1 to request you to think deeply about this Motion. Motion No.11 is actually attempting to bring to the Plenary of the Senate, a political party matter. When I scrutinize the list, I see three Members belonging to the Jubilee Coalition, that is, hon. Zakayo Cheruiyoit, hon. Wambui Shebesh and Sen. Kipchumba Murkomen. Apparently, the same names are the ones that left here last time and went to the National Assembly. When I look at the balance of the two names, Hon. Millie Odhiambo and hon. Shukrani Husseni, they belong to the other Coalition of CORD. I want to invite you to remember that this is not the first time political party coalitions are being faced with challenges of this nature. 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. Speaker, Sir.

He is on a point of order.

I am not yet done. I have withdrawn the issue of Orange and Wiper houses and I apologise. If you so grant, you would have done nothing new because a precedent was set for you by earlier Speakers who ruled as much. We would have saved the time of this House and we would also have pre-empted the possibility of again going to the East African Court of Justice or to the International Criminal Court (ICC). I beg that you consider my request.

Sen. Hassan Omar.

Whereas I might agree with Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, but I would also like to differ. What the National Assembly did was to change and fundamentally alter the configuration of the representations to the Pan African Parliament (PAP). As much as hon. Shukran is a member of the Wiper Democratic Party and also a member of the CORD Coalition, I think the Senate needs to first and foremost, assert itself on the matter of how many representatives come from the Senate and how many come from the National Assembly. If we do not pronounce ourselves on that matter, the National Assembly will arbitrarily introduce amendments to Motions that are generated from this House. Therefore, the critical issue is that this matter must be debated to a point where the Senate pronounces itself on what kind of representation and what is the proportion of membership by the Senate to the PAP. Then, I will agree with Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale’s recourse that we sit down as parties or coalitions to resolve what might be outstanding.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. As a matter of procedure, are Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale and Sen. Hassan, in order to begin discussing a Motion that has not even been moved on the Floor of this House? This Motion has not even been moved but they are already discussing it.

Sen. (Dr.) Machage, you will recall that on points of order, Members can rise at any one time. The issue you should be worried of is whether they are relevant to this particular Motion. The Order had been called out but if Members feel that proceeding with that Motion would not be in the interest of the House, there is 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. Speaker, Sir. I also rise to add my voice to this Motion. I oppose it, the reason being that there were two names of Senators who were submitted to the National Assembly and now one name has been replaced with No.4.

Sen. Mukiite, you are making Sen. (Dr.) Machage have the last laugh. The Motion has yet to be moved. The arguments we can only entertain here is whether we should proceed or not. Let me make the following ruling: The first is what Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale has asked. What he has asked of the Chair is perfectly in order although he is using the wrong Standing Order which is No.1, which talks about something not provided for. This is provided for in Standing Order No.40(6). Let us all just have a look at it. Standing Order No.40 (1) reads:- Messages to and from the National Assembly “(1) A message from the Senate to the National Assembly shall be in writing and shall be signed by the Speaker. (2)The Clerk of the Senate shall transmit the message from the Senate to the Clerk of the National Assembly and shall receive messages from the National Assembly. (3) The Clerk shall deliver to the Speaker a message received from the National Assembly under paragraph 2 at the first available opportunity after receipt and in any event, not later than the next day not being a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday. (4) If a message is received from the National Assembly at a time when the Senate is in session, the Speaker shall report the message to the Senate at the first convenient opportunity after its receipt and in any event not later than the next sitting day.” That is what I did yesterday. (5) If a message is received from the National Assembly, at a time when the Senate is not in session, the Speaker shall forthwith cause the message to be transmitted to every Senator and shall report the message to the Senate on the day the Senate next sits.” So, even when you are away, you must be informed immediately. “(6) When the Speaker reports a message from the National Assembly under paragraph (4) or (5), the message shall be deemed to have been laid before the Senate and the Speaker may- (a) direct that the message be dealt with forthwith; (b) appoint a day for the consideration of the message; or (c) refer the message to the relevant Committee of the Senate for consideration.” I am inclined to agree with Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, in the sense that the substance of this Motion is really the issue of political parties coming to some understanding. I am also aware of some movements to that effect. So, since the request has come from the Floor, I think that there is no harm in deferring this matter maybe to next week, so that we allow the discussions that may be ongoing or others that you may wish to initiate, now that you are seized of the matter, and then we can make a final determination next week. 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. Speaker, Sir. While I do respect your decision, it is important that we put things in clear perspective with regard to this particular matter. It will be unfortunate if this House can narrow down this matter to party level. To our knowledge, it will not be right for any organ, whether it is the National Assembly or even the Senate where we sit, to contribute to the destabilization of parties, which are actually the main base for constitution of these very important rather organs. To our understanding one side of the Coalition is said to be having problems at the National Assembly. I want be to honest and say we are not aware of any negations that are going on, on this matter. The Senators sent two Members to represent it in the Pan-African Parliament and, unfortunately, the National Assembly unilaterally decided to do the changes on their own. It is my feeling – and I am sure that it is the feeling of many other Members – that the matter that is coming into sharp focus is actually the integrity, dignity and position of the Senate. This is because we are not going to encourage constant battles between the two Houses. We are not ready for that, but the sanctity and significance of each of these Houses must be respected. It will be unfortunate if we reduce it or narrow it down to parties. Mr. Speaker, Sir, to my knowledge, there is no fight between Wiper Party and ODM. We had a special meeting yesterday and this never featured. It would have featured if it was an item which we thought was for a party. Now that it is before the Senate, this is the best place to resolve the matter that is between the two institutions. If it finally degenerates into our political parties, especially with regard to the CORD Coalition, we will be able to ventilate. But we are far from solving the problem if we go the manner in which Sen.(Dr.) Khalwale has actually proposed.

You must appreciate that the ruling has already been made.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, while I appreciate the ruling that you have made, initially these names were brought to the Floor of this House and, as Senators, we had proposed two Members who were going to represent us in the Pan African Parliament. It is not good for a name of a Senator to be replaced by that of a Member of the Lower House. That is why it is important for us, as Senators, to discuss and maybe give a different view, even if we think that we needed a better person than the one who was proposed. The Senators must speak out and we need a better representation. Therefore, we must have two Senators representing us in the Pan African Parliament. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I oppose.

Sen. Kanainza, are you opposing my ruling?

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise on a point of order just to reinforce what the leader of the opposition has said. I was in yesterday’s meeting too, and we had a very cordial meeting between the ODM and Wiper parties. The gibbering that has been going on in the Lower House was there even before they decided to table these names in the Lower House. Actually, it clear that the Media did 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. Speaker, Sir. I want to thank you for the ruling. Indeed, this is a House of wisdom and guidance. Therefore, it is important that we look at the issue, as the Senate and National Assembly, but at the same time respect the fact that we have political parties and coalitions. I would urge the Senate that we should follow the process that the Speaker has ruled on to make this thing work. If we want to start bashing each other again, it is going to be very political. So, let us manage it the way that we have managed everything in this House, with guidance and wisdom. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Asante sana, Bw. Spika. Kwanza, ningependa kukushukuru kwa uamuzi wako wa busara ambao una masilahi mazuri sana. Lakini cha msingi ni kwamba Seneti hii ilikuwa imeshakata shauri na majina kupelekwa. Yalipokuja hapa hayakuwa na mjadala wa vyama. Yalipopelekwa Bungeni, majina hayo yalibadilishwa---

Sen. Elachi, Sen. Boy Juma Boy anaongea Kiswahili na kama alikosa nidhamu, alikosea kwa lugha ya Kiswahili. Kwa hivyo, ukitaka kumsahihisha itabidi uifanye hivyo kwa Kiswahili.

Bw. Spika, majina yalipoletwa hapa hayakuwa na tatizo. Hoja ilipita na kupelekwa mbele bila matatizo yoyote. Sasa tunakubaliana na uamuzi wa Spika, lakini cha msingi hapa ni kwamba ni uamuzi wa Seneti ndio uliopingwa kule na wala sio uamuzi wa chama. Kwa hivyo, kinachojadiliwa hapa sio nani apate nini bali kinajulikana kinagaubaga. Kama hutaki kulielewa hilo jambo basi itabaki hivyo, lakini anayeona na macho na kusikia kwa masikio, ni kwamba Seneti ilikuwa imemaliza mambo haya. Asante, Bw. Spika.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I also respect your ruling that the matter be deferred to next week. I want to agree with Sen. Boy Juma Boy that there was a decision of the Senate. At that point, we were not told that this thing is a political party decision. I belong to a political party and frankly, I am seeing the names as a Motion in the Senate and not as a political party. What is important is that I sit here and if 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

Bw. Spika, kwa sababu ndugu yetu alianza kwa lugha ya Kiswahili, tutaendelea nayo. Tuliufwata pia ule mjadala uliokuwa unaendelea katika Bunge na ukisikiza fikira zao na tukikubali waweke msingi huo, huenda sisi tukajipata katika hali duni katika kila jambo ambalo linataka uwakilishi.

Sen. Hassan, sasa umeanza kujadili Hoja hii na ilhali hatujafika hapo.

Bw. Spika nataka kujenga ile fikira.

Sasa ndio umeharibu hata zaidi kwa sababu utajenga mahali umeshaanza kuweka sakafu. Utanena hayo siku ambayo Hoja itakuwa ikijadiliwa.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. First of all, I would like to inform the Senator that he is the Chairman of Finance, Commerce and Economic Affairs because of the party. So, he has to respect that the parties have a right to do what is right. The ruling of the Speaker guides us to go back to the political parties. The first reason for that is the Wiper Party – and we have to be open – wrote a letter in May indicating that one Member has to be from Wiper Party and the other from ODM, and I respect that.

(Hon. Ethuro)

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Sen. Elachi, to our knowledge and to everybody’s knowledge--- If you allow me, Mr. Speaker, Sir---

(Hon. Ethuro)

Intervene!

And to that extent, I actually do not need you your permission; I just need your compliance.

You are right.

We want to conclude this matter; so, I wanted to say that after Sen. Abdirahman, then we will take Sen. Chris Obure and Sen. Sang. Proceed, Sen. Abdirahman.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Having heard your ruling correctly and taking into consideration that we do not want to go into a circus, we know that Sen. Elachi does not represent the CORD 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. Abdirahman Hassan, I do not think making reference to a letter is meddling into affairs of another party. Proceed, Sen. Obure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir---

Order, Sen. Elachi!

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I welcome your ruling to the extent that it will allow consultations and discussions in this matter and hopefully, in that process, we will reach some understanding. But, Mr. Speaker, Sir, the issue before us raises very fundamental questions; the Constitution of Kenya recognizes the institution of Parliament made up of two Houses; the Senate and the National Assembly. The issue which this Motion raises is one relating to the relationship between the Senate and the National Assembly. I feel that the decision by the National Assembly just simply to ignore, delete or make changes to proposals which have been made by the Senate after consideration is not right. I hope that we can use this opportunity to cultivate a better relationship between the two Houses. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Sen. Sang.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I want to welcome your ruling on this matter; deferring the discussions on this Motion to next week to provide for an opportunity for the political parties to consult further. But, Mr. Speaker, Sir, I seek your guidance in the sense that, previously, when this Motion came before this House, we had two Members from the Senate and three Members from the National Assembly. It is important if you could help us or shed some more light as to how that agreement was reached. If that agreement was reached, then was it communicated to the political parties that are eligible to nominate Members to this House? I think that the discussion that we are now having here is the discussion between the Senate and the National Assembly, but it is important to note that the names emanate 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, I think we have all heard the sentiments from the Senators who have contributed. I just want to be very clear if I was not clear in the initial ruling. I am not making a statement on whether the names are validly nominated or otherwise; I am only asking for a deferral of the matter to another day next week for the sole purpose of allowing more consultations to take place. Those consultations could assume political guidance; they could also mean consultations between the leadership of the two Houses or it would also mean just consultations between Senators and National Assembly Members on your own Motions. There is really no harm in allowing the opportunity and I think I want to agree with the words of Sen. Elachi; that this House has always acted on the basis of wisdom and understanding. That does not mean that we are going to cede ground under whatever circumstances; that is very clear in my mind.

So, do not leave here with a notion that we have ceded ground. It may be as well that those discussions will uphold our original position. So, why would you want to pre-empt debate? And for the good cause of really ensuring that, you know, when these kinds of debates start, they assume their own life and we go beyond what we may have wanted to say. So, I think the consultations will allow us to resolve the matter amicably either within the parties, between the parties or between the Houses; if that is what it will be, then so be it! That is what we will always go for at anytime, but there will be a limit. By next week, we will take a position depending on the outcome of those deliberations. And as invited by Sen. Sang, I will also be making my communication on the issues around these matters, and the House will be guided before the Motion is debated.

So, it shall be ordered.

We are obliged.

We still cannot get the numbers as others come in and others leave.

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Who was contributing? Sen. Karaba, I am told you have 15 minutes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me this chance to contribute towards this Motion on a report which was tabled here yesterday on Energy, Transport and Roads by the Chairman, Sen. Moi. Mr. Speaker, Sir, before we adjourned yesterday; at the rise of the House, I was trying to say how important it is that when delegations get out of Kenya to go and study what happens outside, they should then come back and implement what is important out there and discard what is not useful. As far as I am concerned, the delegation from Kenya left, visited South Korea and saw, and now they have tabled a report which we are discussing. It is my hope that after this discussion and as soon as we adopt the report, the Senate should implement what is already contained in the report; and that is the essence of us discussing this report here. Mr. Speaker, Sir, it was noted that South Korea is a very efficient country and they are able to develop and surpass what was there in the development of Kenya at the inception of Independence in 1963. It has also been noted that South Korea, amongst other South East Asian countries, has come up very well so that we can compare ourselves with them and say that they are ahead of Kenya, even if w were at the same level at one time. It is not only South Korea; it is the south East Asian countries, hence referred to as the Asian Tigers. But when you compare them to Kenya, you find that there must have been reasons why the differences are too striking in a time of 30 years or so. It is also true to note that these two countries have diverse populations; the attitude towards work, particularly in Korea, is that the Koreans are very hardworking people and they devote a lot of their education and teaching especially towards technical education. I was able to remind the delegation that when I was the Chairman in the Ninth Parliament, we also visited Korea and we found that they specialize a lot in the scientific teachings and, more so, using their polytechnics – and the greatest of them all is the Korean Institute of Science and Technology. In that polytechnic, they teach serious nuclear physics and other related sciences that are very rare in Kenya. That is what 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

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I stand under Standing Order No.51 (3) to seek your indulgence because there should have been voting on the County Governments Public Finance Management Transition Bill today. I seek your indulgence that we postpone voting to tomorrow.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise on a similar issue. Motion No.8 was also supposed to be subjected to voting. This is for the same reasons that the numbers in this House do not meet the threshold. I request that we move to the division tomorrow afternoon.

Order, honourable Senators. That is all fine but we are yet to get to those issues. We will defer them once we get to them.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for recognizing me and allowing me to contribute to this Motion. I take this opportunity to support the Motion and thank the Chairman of this Committee, Sen. Moi, who has provided focused and able leadership to the Committee, to which I and other Senators are members. Since we were elected to this Committee, we have done a lot in monitoring the activities in the entire energy spectrum including the electricity, coal and now nuclear. The purpose of this visit, as stated in the report, was to allow us to learn lessons from the Korean model of utilizing nuclear power for industrial and economic development, to expose Kenyan policy makers to the opportunities that nuclear energy offers to a country’s prosperity; to explore the opportunities available from bilateral cooperation with Korea and to enhance the understanding of the policy makers on the fundamental aspects of nuclear power programmes, especially, the importance of public stakeholder engagement during new phases of nuclear programmes. I am happy that it was during my tenure as the Minister for Energy that we established the nuclear power projects for the first time in the history of Kenya. The reason why we did it was because Kenya is like 100th person as far as nuclear energy is concerned. People talk about Africa as a dark continent. However, indeed, it is literally a dark continent because we do not generate enough electricity. Much of our electricity, in fact, 70 per cent, used to come from hydro sources. However, there have been frequent cycles of devastating droughts in this country, which have, at times, cut our hydro 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

It is Madam Temporary Speaker!

I am sorry, Madam Temporary Speaker. I had not noticed that there was change of Chair. In America, I read somewhere that they have now adopted a new terminology where there is a lady committee chair in the Senate. They are now calling them committee chairwoman and not committee chairperson. So, we hope you will be looking at those other experiences to redefine our terminologies. Coming back to our subject, I want to commend our Committee on Energy and Communications for its very good and great work and encourage them to sponsor more trips abroad because they say that unless you eat another mother’s food, you always think that your mother is the best cook. So, I would like to encourage the membership of this Committee to visit other countries especially the Latin American countries like Brazil which have come up very well. Personally, I have been to Iran and despite all the stories we hear about Iran, it is a very well organized and developed country. Although I did not get to the nuclear stations, I found that whereas Kenya produces only 1,500 megawatts of electricity, Iran was producing 66,000 megawatts of electricity and they were adding another 5,000 megawatts when I was there. So, it is a country which is very well developed. When the Committee goes to those countries, we should not just focus ourselves on the technical aspects of production of nuclear power. I think it is also good to look at the broader context of leadership which permits such development to take place. Madam Temporary Speaker, although we have Vision 2030 in this country, it is not going to be achieved until we have Leadership 2030. We need a very bold and courageous leadership for you to introduce nuclear power because there will be a lot of people making noise. If the leadership is focused and firm, that is when the country can move forward. The people who transformed South Korea were military generals who were there between 1960 and 1980. They were people who had a vision and the strength to pull the vision through. The person who has transformed Singapore is one man called 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, Madam Temporary Speaker. I wish to support the Motion. I commend the Committee on Energy, Roads and Transportation for their expeditious, courageous and wonderful work, having been sworn-in in March and barely before the ink dried, they were out in June doing a commendable job. That is well done. Madam Temporary Speaker, I support this Motion because it works towards improving the economy of Kenyans by bringing in new ideas. This is a very daring one, in an area which we should say is relatively new to Kenyans. I, therefore, urge that the Committee comes up with a Bill or strategies to ensure that creation of awareness is done carefully, first, to the legislators and then to the ordinary Kenyans, of course, together with the Government, the people who will implement it. I also wish to commend the Korean Government for sponsoring ten students to undertake masters’ degree courses in nuclear science at their respective institutions. I would also urge the Kenyan Government to follow suit. If Korea has sponsored ten, let the Government also empower and sponsor about 20 Kenyan students, who can go and learn about the nuclear studies accordingly and come back and disseminate the knowledge and put it into practice. That way, we shall own it and there will be continuity. New ideas will also come up. Madam Temporary Speaker, looking at the report, the recommendation that there be a nuclear power programme is very welcome. However, we should take all the precautions because we know and have learnt that there is a side that can be very dangerous. The dangerous effect can take more than a decade. As we put up the nuclear plants, I would urge the Government to ensure that the plants are put up as far away from residential areas as possible. This will avoid calamities and ensure that human life which is paramount to Kenyans is safeguarded. Madam Temporary Speaker, it is not enough to go and study outside the country. The Government of Kenya should ensure that locally, we have enough institutions that can give knowledge and education on nuclear science and technology. So far, and I stand to be corrected, I only know of one, which is the Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology, which falls under the University of Nairobi. With devolution, we should consider devolving learning institutions down to the counties. This way, we are sure that more Kenyans will be able to access technology and own it down at the grassroots and come up with all the information they can get and God willing, without even the Millennium Development Goals, (MDGs,) Kenya can be one of the future super powers. Madam Temporary Speaker, that is all I wish to say. I thank the Mover. I beg to 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

I thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this Motion of the Standing Committee on Energy, Roads and Transportation regarding the findings and recommendations of their visit to South Korea. Visits of such kinds are very important. They allow us an opportunity to learn from one another. Choosing to visit South Korea and some other Asian tiger countries that were at par with us at independence is quite encouraging. From the report that was distributed, this is a story that anybody can begin if we chose to. From the report, they talk of an economic miracle, which was deliberate. They also talk of another miracle which they call the hand river miracle. When I read about what happened in Korea, there was a time in the 1970s and 1980s when out of the war, they had with their neigbours in the north, many people became Christians. No wonder they talk about miracles. At one time, because of the collapse of the economy, anybody with long hair was asked to shave it and submit it as a gift. The hair was eventually sold and a lot of money was raised. This was a deliberate and dedicated team of people who wanted to build their broken country to where it is today. The challenge that we have in Kenya is that we are a nation that is excellent in producing reports, this one being one of them. I am not surprised if this one finds its way in the archives of our universities or in the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum where the distinguished Senator for Meru County was once a Minister for a long time. The Koreans called people from the West and learnt and took over from there, sending their young brilliant people from the entire country. Today, in our version, we could send brilliant people from our counties, dedicated to some of the top universities in the world where practical experience is supposed to be learnt. Funding was deliberately given to local universities by their Government to support science and technology. If we look at the money that was given to our local universities, public universities have been given very little money for research. In the developed world, the level which Korea has reached, even private universities are given money so long as they have a laboratory and the people that can add value. Madam Temporary Speaker, while we are saying that we need to adopt this Motion, it is brilliant, I have no problem supporting the Motion. In South Korea, there was once a Minister as powerful as Kiraitu Murungi. At that time, he was called Hahn. He came up with phenomenal success and it was named after him; the “Hahn Miracle”. It talks about four things which are not peculiar here in Kenya. One is the eagerness of young engineers for new technology. Do we have that type of appetite here in Kenya where we entice our children? Two, is devotion and passion for education. This is mandatory even when you are going to pray at 3.00 a.m. Today, there are people who just walk to class waiting for lecture time to end. Nobody is dedicated yet we want to compare ourselves with other developed countries. Three, is strong political leadership and finally, four, national need for energy security. Madam Temporary Speaker, we have three avenues for our sources of energy. We have hydro, which we have entertained for a long time; at 1,250 megawatts, we have not grown. Secondly, we have geothermal, which is now the in-thing in Kenya. Sen. Murungi will tell you that we have a potential of between 5,000 to 10,000 megawatts asleep at the Rift Valley, and we want to move to the direction which I am supporting, that we bring 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 information, Madam Temporary Speaker.

Do you wish to be informed?

Agreed, Madam Temporary Speaker.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I would like to inform the Senator for West Pokot County that, indeed, over the years, it has not been possible to convert the enormous potential of solar power in the country into reality because solar technology was very expensive. But the news we have now is that the cost of solar technology has come down. Right now, the Ministry has introduced a feed-in tariff for solar power projects for the grid. They come in units of 40 megawatts. So, any investors who can produce up to 40 megawatts of electricity can apply to the Ministry for power purchase agreements and put up solar power plants. Madam Temporary Speaker, the only challenge that there is, wind blows best at night. Wind power is more available at night because wind speeds and reliability are better especially at midnight. Solar power is available during day and not at night. So, if you combine wind and solar, then we will have power during the day and also at night. I would like to encourage as many Kenyans as possible to look into possibilities of solar power, which is really the greatest African resource for power generation.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I am sure we have all heard from the Senator that we have a lot of potential compared to other areas yet the technology for solar comes from where there is no sunlight. We could have sent our engineers, young brilliant Kenyans to go and learn. We could put aside money, as appropriately as possible, for counties such as Isiolo, Marsabit, Turkana, West Pokot and many Ukambani counties where there is sun shine from dawn to dusk. We could harvest this energy. Around Lake Turkana, we could take advantage of the winds for wind power. The same applies to the hills of West Pokot and Mt. Kenya where we could harness wind power. As we get reports from the committees, such as this one, where we are hearing what people did, we should be able to translate the same and say: “Can we harness these ideas, some used in the nuclear projects, and translate them to the use for solar energy, which is available in this country?” We could also further harness wind, hydro and geothermal power generation. Madam Temporary Speaker, what is lacking in Kenya and we must face this head on, is that in Vision 2030, we talk of three pillars; the social, economic and political pillars. The political pillar in this country is messing up all the other pillars. If we have to move on, then we must have a Kenyan version of the Lee Kwan Yew vision. We have a 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 information, Madam Temporary Speaker.

I accept, Madam Temporary Speaker.

Madam Temporary Speaker, the Professor is trying to impute the wrong connotation of the meaning of NATO. I would like to inform him that the NATO convention means Northern Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Madam Temporary Speaker, my colleague, the Senator for Kirinyaga needs to know that an abbreviation for anything that you may want can actually collapse into thousands of meanings. I want to inform him that in the context that I am talking about, NATO is “No Action Talk Only.” Madam Temporary Speaker, the moment that we will sit down as a nation, build our people and choose the right direction, we will be able to deliver. Even when we talk about farming, what are we doing? Our economy heavily depends on rain-fed agriculture, but we have not come up with new technologies. If you go to some of our supermarkets, you will get powder milk which comes from Egypt and New Zealand. They come through the Port of Mombasa and the Kenya Bureau of Standards knows about this. But there is no dry milk that is produced in Kenya, yet we are consumers of the same. We are capable of producing dry milk if we could invest in the same. Madam Temporary Speaker, we need as many of these reports as possible, but we also need to know where our problem lies. Our problem lies in our ability to choose and listen to the leaders. The Senators were talking about having fora in their counties, where the leadership of the entire county will choose to move in a particular direction, so that it is not only one person running the show. We need to face one direction and decide. Madam Temporary Speaker, two years ago, we had the privilege of going to Singapore as a high-power delegation led by the then Prime Minister. It was a big delegation. When we reached the airport, they said: “The Kenyan delegation, as usual.” I was with my Minister then, Sen. Obure, and when we asked what the problem was, we were told: “There is even another delegation of Kenyans roaming around Singapore now.” Now they have banned Kenyans from visiting Singapore, unless you pay. That is why they gave us somebody who was attached here in Kenya and was working under the former Office of the Prime Minister, to advise Kenyans. I do not know whether or not the fellow is still around, because nothing has moved. I have not heard about the National Social Council since the Jubilee Government took over. Do they still exist? Those are the people who were supposed to propel us in this direction. So, as we go listening and benchmarking, we need to go to our archives and remove all the documents that we have, and move on from there. We can start small but move to implement them. Madam Temporary Speaker, I support this Motion. 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

There being no other further interests in contribution, I now call upon the Mover to reply.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I want to reply on behalf of our very able Chairman, Sen. Gideon Moi, who is the Chairman of the Committee on Energy, Roads and Transportation. Madam Temporary Speaker, first, I want to thank the Members for the interest that they have shown in this subject. Particularly, I thank them for appreciating the urgent need to enhance our electric power generating capacity. I am extremely touched by the vigour and enthusiasm that Members have shown in this subject. I am sure that the excellent views which have been put forward will enrich the Report considerably. Madam Temporary Speaker, I want to take this opportunity, in particular, to thank Members of the Committee for compiling this Report. I also want to thank the Government of the Republic of South Korea for making it possible for the Kenyan delegation to visit their country and conducting Members of our delegation around their installations and facilities. Madam Temporary Speaker, we have seen the impact in the energy sector of South Korea, and significantly so the impact and contribution which nuclear plants have made to the economy of South Korea. We have also seen that South Korea is prepared to work with us and, therefore, I want to urge that we make use of the experience that the Koreans have so that we are not compelled to reinvent the wheel ourselves; we should take advantage of that experience. Madam Temporary Speaker, we have been warned, in fact, by the very able Senator for Meru, Sen. Kiraitu – who has himself become an authority in this sector – he has asked us to beware that there are those who are going to come round to discourage us; there are those who would not want to see us pursue this cause of the nuclear programme in particular and they will tell us how dangerous nuclear power is, what amount of devastation it is going to cause to our environment and so on, and so forth. But Sen. Kiraitu has also told us rightly that even as they come here, their own countries and governments are busy expanding their nuclear capacity and technologies, yet they come here to discourage us from pursuing it! Madam Temporary Speaker, we have also been told that it is not going to be easy, going forward, particularly in terms of initiating this programme because it will require leadership and commitment. So, we are saying, as the leadership, that as a people, we should understand the benefits that we are likely to derive from expanding our electric power generating capacity and the contributions that we are likely to get from the nuclear programme in particular. Therefore, I want to urge hon. Senators, Kenyans at large and all the institutions that will be connected with this programme to support this initiative. Madam Temporary Speaker, the hon. Senator for West Pokot has pointed out that a lot of the recommendations which have been made in the past feasibility studies and all that end up in the shelves of Government offices and in the archives. I am hoping that this report will not be one of those which will end up in those shelves in Government offices or in the archives. But, rather, I would request that it be seriously implemented so that Kenyans at large can benefit from this programme. 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! Debate is over on this Motion. This Motion does not affect counties and, therefore, I will proceed to put the question.

Next Order! Order Senators! I am informed that debate that was to be resumed on Motions No.8, 9 and 10 was suspended. I now direct that we go back to those Motions at Order Nos.8, 9 and 10. Proceed, Sen. (Dr.) Kuti. ADOPTION OF REPORT OF DEVOLUTION/LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEES ON JOINT COUNTY VISITS TO MOMBASA AND KILIFI THAT, the Senate adopts the report of the Sessional Committee on Devolved Government and Standing Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights on the joint county visits to Mombasa and Kilifi counties laid on the Table of the House on Thursday, 10th October, 2013.

Madam Temporary Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order No. 51(3), I beg that this Motion be deferred to the next sitting because of numbers.

Well, all these Motions affect counties and we do not seem to have the numbers. So, I order that we put the questions tomorrow in the afternoon.

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, Motions No.8, 9 and 10.

Therefore, Motions Nos.8, 9 and 10 are all deferred to tomorrow in the afternoon sitting. ADOPTION OF REPORT ON VISIT TO LEVEL FIVE HOSPITALS IN UASIN GISHU, ELGEYO MARAKWET AND NANDI COUNTIES THAT, the Senate adopts the Report of the Standing Committee on Health, Labour and Social Welfare on the visits to levels 4 and 5 hospitals in Uasin Gishu, Elgeyo Marakwet and Nandi counties laid on the Table of the Senate on Tuesday, 15th October, 2013.

Next Order.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. I beg to move:- THAT, the Senate adopts the Report of the Standing Committee on Education, Information and Technology on the visits to Kisii, Nyamira, Kisumu, Kakamega and Vihiga counties laid on the Table of the House on Thursday, 17th October, 2013. Madam Temporary Speaker, I will, first of all, start by giving a brief of the objectives of our visits. Normally, in our Committee, we call these visits ‘CONE,’ meaning County Oversight and Networking Engagements. I ask for permission to refer to the report in order to give you the objectives of our visits. (i)To identify salient issues that promote and hinder the implementation of devolved functions in education and Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) sectors in the counties. (ii) To find out the county priority areas in education and ICT sectors. (iii) To gain insights on the experiences of the county take- off in the education and (iv) ICT sectors, including the required financial resources that would guarantee equitable development of the infrastructure of the two sectors; that is education and ICT. (v) To build networks for working in the counties in developing policy and legislation on Early Childhood Development (ECD) and education; and youth polytechnics subsectors in the counties; and, lastly, (vi) To assess the progress made in the infrastructural development on ICT connectivity in all the counties. Madam Temporary Speaker, our first visit was to Nyamira County, where we visited a polytechnic called--- I am sorry; the Kisii name was difficult.

It is not a Kisii name; it is a name in the nation of Kenya.

We visited Matongo Polytechnic, where we found a few issues here and there. The positive thing is that the polytechnic has 604 students, and it is still supported by the church and the community there. One challenge we found in this polytechnic is that the students have to take exams away from the school because of lack of proper planning and infrastructure; and also lack of financial support. The chairman of the school informed the committee that they have not been receiving enough funds from the national Government and, thus, they are not able to employ enough teachers. Some teachers are employed by the board of governors while a few are employed by the national Government. So, this was hindering the development of the school. Also, the students were having problems registering in this school as they have a problem with the name. Commonly, polytechnics are known as village polytechnics, so they have this attitude of “I am learning in the village; I went to school in Matongo Primary School, Matongo Secondary School and then I am going to Matongo Polytechnic.” But in this case, we are in the process of trying to encourage counties to change the names of these institutions and also to create awareness amongst the students so that they can have the right attitude to go to these polytechnics. Madam Temporary Speaker, we also visited Chisaria Primary School – which is an ECD institution – and also Ikonge Primary School. The common problem we found in these ECD centres is that the children go for a long time without food, which is a common problem not only in Nyamira County, but in also other counties. The ECD 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, Sen. Gwendo! What is that word

? You are making your contribution in English and you have to be persistent in that.

I apologize, Madam Temporary Speaker. It is a tin of flour. If five students bring five tins of unga, this can feed many other students because if this child was at home, he or she would not have gone hungry. Madam Temporary Speaker, after visiting Kisumu County, we went to Kakamega County. While there, there is one wonderful thing that we found; we went to Sigalagala Polytechnic and we were wishing that all the other polytechnics would be like this polytechnic. We were taken around and this polytechnic is on a huge piece of land. They train in masonry, electrical engineering and all manner of things. One problem though is that the area where Sigalagala Polytechnic is located was a gold mine. Polytechnics should specialise in something that is unique to the county; something that will benefit the county and students. 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, Madam Temporary Speaker, for giving me an opportunity to second the Motion before the House by the Committee on Education, Information and Technology. We covered the education bit and the ICT. As we went round the counties, we saw the level of ICT connectivity and the use of the Integrated Finance Management Information System (IFMIS) and the fibre optic installations. I will start with what we encountered when we visited the counties. I will start with the ECD. We noticed that there was a big gap in the ECD structures. In some places, ECDs are referred to as nursery schools. They are managed by the society, churches and even individuals. We realised, in the institutions that we visited that the school feeding programme is a big challenge. In some places, children stay in school up to very late hours without taking anything. That is why we recommended that the school feeding programme be a responsibility of the community and not even the Government. The other thing is about recruitment and employment of teachers. In Kisii County, teachers are employed by the county government. This is the same thing we saw in Vihiga and Kakamega counties. They have structures to have teachers in place who can teach these children. However, there was a challenge with the TSC. Now that this is a devolved function, they want to take up the responsibility. The county governments were not very comfortable with that. The other one was about the curriculum. There is no standardised curriculum for teachers to use. With regard to infrastructure, we did not see any good playgrounds. We know that these children are not just supposed to stay in class. They also need to play because that is part of growth. In Kisii County, there is a school we visited where ECD stage one, nursery and the pre-unit children were sharing the same classroom. They were kept in different corners. I do not know how the ECD and nursery children would concentrate when two teachers are teaching at different corners. The teaching material was not also sufficient to allow learning to take place. With regard to polytechnics, it was very important for county governments to rebrand polytechnics so as to improve attitudes of learners. Learners tend to think that going to village polytechnics can only give them poor quality of education. In Kisumu County, it was felt that we could have marine courses since we have the lake there. In Kakamega County, we had two well equipped polytechnics. We visited Sigalagala and Shiamberere polytechnics. The problem we have with these institutions is that the names of the institutions hamper learners from enrolling. The other challenge that the institutions are facing is the training grants. There is a grant that comes from the national government. I believe the minimum is Kshs15,000. To some extent, it does not 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

Madam Temporary Speaker, I support the adoption of this report by this House. I will not necessarily talk directly to the report, but broadly on the intentions of the report. I think this country needs to review its philosophy on education. The philosophy on education has been used to generate a certain level of literates so that they can to take up certain functions in established institutions, be it in the Government or the private sector. I think our philosophy on education has not evolved sufficiently. It is only 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, you are out of order! You cannot be up standing when another Senator is still contributing.

Madam Temporary Speaker, the nature of this House is for us to contribute on this equal platform. I beg to support.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for allowing me to support the Motion and contribute towards the same. I have a few issues to put across. I thank the Committee for the effort and for this detailed report about their visit to different counties. I wish to put a correction about the physically challenged persons in the society. It does not sound good because it is eliminating other types of disabilities, more than five of them, other unknown or invisible disabilities. The best words to use are that the learning institutions should be disability-friendly. The facilities should be disability- friendly to accommodate all types of disabilities or learners with different abilities. Madam Temporary Speaker, on the issue of polytechnics in our counties, we face a lot of challenges whereby admitting and retaining the users who are young people within the community is a challenge. We need to come up with a resolution or solution on this issue. How will we retain the users of these polytechnics? What are the problems that make the users not to use these polytechnics? We have a large number of village polytechnics. However, young people are not using them. We, as a House, need to evaluate where the problem is. Each county has its own challenges or problems that can be addressed to retain the users in these learning institutions. I want to cite one polytechnic that could be used as the best practice among other polytechnics. This is Sigalagala Polytechnic. This is where learners with disability have managed to pursue their courses without difficulty. The polytechnic is accessible to persons with all types of disabilities. 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, Madam Temporary Speaker, for this opportunity you have given me to support the report from the Committee on Education, Information and Technology. I am a Member of this committee. Before I make my contribution, it is unfortunate that my colleague, Sen. Omar Hasasn has already left, but he raised some points that I can highlight. He actually poured cold water on our education system and gave the impression that it is a system that has produced nobody. If you look at the intellectual property rights of this country, this is an education system that has, not only produced factory workers, but has also some intellectuals. I can give examples. The greatest researcher in the area of coffee diseases and new varieties that are resistant to diseases, and who is currently the head of the coffee foundation in the Caribbean is actually a Kenyan who went to school at Kagumo. There is just about to be a breakthrough in the production of malaria vaccine. At the moment, this is being done in South Africa. The head of that project is a young Kenyan girl from Bungoma County who went to school at Kenya High. There is also the tissue banana which has almost gotten rid of all the hunger in Nyeri and Murang’a counties. Mrs. Wambugu, who is a former student of Tumu Tumu Girls, is the one who created innovation on tissue banana. 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, Madam Temporary Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this Motion. Madam Temporary Speaker, as my colleague who has spoken before me said, I am also one of the Members of the Standing Committee on Education, Information and Technology. We had the privilege of visiting four counties in Western Kenya. Our inaugural visit was in the central part of Kenya. We were able to identify salient issues. Under Schedule Four of the Constitution, the nursery schools and polytechnics have been fully devolved to the county governments, except maybe the curriculum and standardization of recruitment of teachers, where the national Government, through the TSC has a say in the recruitment of teachers. Madam Temporary Speaker, it is a pity that when we visited some of the nursery schools, we found out that we have not paid much attention, as a national Government or country governments, to the basic foundation of our children. The only good news that we have had over the last 10 years, was the introduction of academies in Kenya where we pay good money. Therefore, a few parents in Kenya manage to take their children to schools. But we have not paid attention to the entry point of our children to nursery schools. How do they reach school and what do they learn? The one that we saw in Nyamira was a bit pathetic. In a majority of the nursery schools in the country, children sit on stones or improvised desks. They are exposed to a lot of dust. As a result of this, they become sick every now and then. The other problem is that anybody can walk into those classes to teach those children. In the villages they just say: “Whoever reached Class Four or graduated from Class Eight should come and teach.” Those who failed in Form Four can also be asked to teach. After these children have been taught by every Tom, Dick and Harry, we wait for them to join Class One. We all know that the beginning or foundation is very important. Madam Temporary Speaker, this Senate needs to pronounce itself and ask for serious direction. We need to put more resources and efforts at the entry point of any human being going to school, than even the university. This is because if we begin right from the foundation stone, we will not go wrong. Many countries have developed because of the way they introduce education to their children in nursery schools. The children are given all the tools that they require to play with and the environment is very conducive. In the top private nursery schools – they call them kindergarten – a child is even more secure and peaceful than at home. This is the type of policy that we need to anchor as we go to devolution. Even as we devolve this function directly to the governors, who have the governors appointed as the CECs in charge of education? Do they know what they are doing? Who has been identified by the county assemblies in the whole country to be responsible for education matters, particularly in the nursery schools and polytechnics? Sometimes we just put our friends and say: “Let so-and-so sit there,” rather than looking at the quality of the people who are going to work there. 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

Prof. (Sen.) Kindiki.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. I feel very passionate and proud to talk about education. I feel even more proud to talk about ECD. The greatest, the most learned, the richest people and the great philanthropists we have in this country are products of our education system. What we put into our education system is what we get out of it. Madam Temporary Speaker, I want to start by thanking the Committee on Education, Information and Technology. Honestly, they have done a good job. As I said last week when we were debating their other report on the other counties, this Committee has become a trail blazer of how Senate Committees should conduct their business. We are the House of devolution; the House that represents the people of this country. For that reason, we should be seen as a House that reaches out to the people. Therefore, sitting here in Nairobi will not give us a lot of legitimacy. We want to encourage as many 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, Madam Temporary Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this Motion. First, I would like to thank the Members of the Education, Communications and Technology Committee for having taken their mandate seriously. I hope that this will be emulated by the other committees of this House. We cannot fulfill our duties in this country if we do not go round and take stock of what we are going through. That would make it easy for us to legislate based on the situation we are in and where we want our people to be. The report is comprehensive since they have given us the experiences they went through, their findings and even suggestions. I can see that the committee has been 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

Madam Temporary Speaker, I would like to congratulate the committee for a good job and for taking the role of the Senate very seriously. In particular, I commend their role in putting a lot of focus on our interaction with the county governments and counties. Reading this report, I was excited that the interactions were with the real policy makers and implementers at the local level, that is the county government and ECD institutions; various primary schools such as Saria, Ikonge and polytechnics like Matongo in Nyamira County. It is important that we contextualize our role as the Senate, particularly when it comes to the functions of county governments as highlighted in Schedule Four of the Constitution. Today I want to speak about the most important function here, which is the ECD. There has been a lot of clamour by the county governments that they want to be given all education functions. Basically, that they want transfer of functions under Article 187 to give them the opportunity to serve the people of the counties by building primary and secondary institutions. But there is a big test for them; this is the early childhood 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, Madam Temporary Speaker. I also rise to support the report. Having looked at it, I realise that the committee did well in terms of concentrating on the ECD. They also brought out a critical analysis in terms of how the counties are failing in terms of education. When you look at some counties, they are performing poorly in this area while we know that it is within the ECD that the foundation of a child is built. The ECD is a very interesting process for children because they stay in that system for five years before they transit to standard one. As other hon. Senators have said, it is time that we reviewed the curriculum. There is no way a three year old child is supposed to do mathematics of addition. There is no way a three year old child can begin by learning one plus one. This is quite unfair to the child and the teacher, who will end up teaching that child when he or she gets to standard one. As a teacher, you need to improve yourself and go back for training to understand children. The other issue raised in the report concerns the number of teachers we have. For example, in Kakamega County, they have 2,200 teachers while they have 168 institutions of early childhood education. This means there are only two teachers per class or may be even less. It is also very wanting when we imagine that in early childhood we have children who are three, two or even four years. They are very young and they need a lot tender care. This is one thing that we need to invest in, not just under the Ministry of Education, but parents should assist in looking at the well being of our children in terms of when they are young and how they grow up. The report talks about ICT. However, I would also request the Committee to look at it in terms of bringing more ICT in the polytechnics that they are talking about. For example, Sigalagala Polytechnic in Kakamega has been in existence for many years. If the Government were really to assist, Sigalagala Polytechnic would be part of Masinde Muliro University in Kakamega County. Today the Jubilee Government has a programme to give every constituency money to build well furnished institutions of science and technology. But I would also request the Government to look at some of the institutions that already exist and decide whether they can develop them, instead of building new ones. For example, in Kakamega County, we do not need to build another one. There are many technical schools that are very good and well equipped. However, some of them are growing old and they require refurbishment. In some of those polytechnics, you will find only 300 students, yet they are well equipped. This means that also the awareness about our own polytechnics is very low. Therefore, as we build these polytechnics, we need to also rethink how we can ensure that people embrace them. Madam Temporary Speaker, during Kibaki’s Government, it was agreed that we rehabilitate the existing village polytechnics and build new ones. Today, I do not think that anybody has done an assessment to know how many of them are still operational and whether they are able even to give that expertise and skills that we are looking for. Those are some of the things that we need to ask ourselves as we use and manage public funds. Do we manage and use public funds to benefit the public or for the sake of just building? This is a question that I think the President has taken very seriously. That is why he is looking at even the parastatals that exist and trying to reform and reduce them. So, we have to look across all sections. 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, Sen. Elachi! You will have 17 minutes to continue with your contribution when this Motion resumes.

Hon. Senators, it is now time for the interruption of business. The House, therefore, stands adjourned until tomorrow, Thursday, 31st October, 2013 at 2.30 p.m. The Senate 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