(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Hon. Senators, as you may be aware, the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) has awarded a contract for the construction of a modern office block in an effort to ensure that Members and staff of Parliament are adequately facilitated with a good working environment. The office block will be constructed at the current car park of Continental House. The construction site was handed over to the contractor on 16th January, 2014 and the contractor is now ready to move on site. To create space for the construction work, the parking space at Continental House will be closed with effect from Monday, 24th March, 2014. Hon. Senators, therefore, alternative and additional car parking space has been leased at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), COMESA grounds. This parking, together with the visitors’ car park at the Main Parliament Buildings, shall be reserved for Members of Parliament. This is to request Members to cooperate with the Serjeant-at-arms to ensure that the construction site is vacated and made available to the contractor before Monday, 24th March, 2014. Thank you.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I seek two statements. First, I am seeking a very urgent statement from the Chairperson of the Committee on Energy regarding a complete power blackout in Ramu Town, which is the district headquarters of Mandera North for the past four weeks. The first generator of 100KVA failed nearly a month ago whilst the second generator of 80 KVA which was serving key institutions like the district hospital and other security establishments blew up shortly afterwards, plunging the town into total darkness. Most commercial activities as well as water supply, hospitals and schools are in crisis and the residents have suffered serious security situations. They do not know why the Government has forsaken them. Could the Chairperson:- (a) State what emergency measures the Ministry is taking to address the power supply problem facing the district? (b) When will the power be restored? (c) Given that the two generator sets are inadequate to supply power to the town, to state what long-term measures they will take to address the inadequate electricity supply. (d) Confirm that two years after the due completion date, the contractor of the power station is yet to hand over that power station to the Rural Electrification Authority (REA) and what measures the Government is taking to ensure that is done and by what date.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Chairperson, can you respond to that?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I will respond by Thursday this week.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, that is in order. I can wait until Thursday because this is an urgent matter.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Sen. Mwakulegwa, did you say Thursday this week or next week?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, Thursday this week, please, because it is an emergency situation, the hospitals are all closed and there is a crisis.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, if it is not Thursday next week, can I do it on Tuesday next week?

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Very well. Sen. Billow, is that okay?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, in the meantime can the Chairperson consult the Ministry to take whatever action is necessary so that we do not wait? But he can bring the answer on Tuesday. In the meantime, I urge him to take some action.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, as usual, I will do the necessary and provide the answer by Tuesday next week.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): It is so ordered. Next Statement! 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. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I seek a further statement from the Chairperson of the Committee on Education. I do not know if the Chairperson of this Committee has been elected or not, but I am aware the committee is in place. So, I need your guidance on this.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Whether there is a Chairperson or not, there is the Senate Majority Leader who should be able to reply to that. Take note that he is present.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I seek a very comprehensive statement from the Chairperson of the Committee on Education regarding the dismal performance of students in national examinations in Mandera County in the past decade. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, in the statement, the Chairperson should state:- (a) The relative performance of the county in KCPE and KCSE in the past ten years. (b) The Student enrollment, the number of schools, the number of teachers and other relevant statistics. (c) State the key factors responsible for the dismal performance of students in national examinations. (d) State what specific radical measures the Ministry of Education and the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) are taking to reverse the trend and give hope to the children of Mandera County.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the Committee is yet to elect the Chairperson, but work must continue. I am one of the Members of the Committee. We undertake to give a reply to that question if we are given three weeks. It is comprehensive; we need to do some research.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): That is quite in order because an order was made for the committees to elect their chairs within two weeks. So, three weeks is quite in order. Let us move on. STATUS OF THE KINDARUMA-GARISSA KV LINE

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I was to give a statement, a clarification which was sought last week on the issue of the Kindaruma-Garissa KV line. My response is as follows:- The financier of the Kindaruma-Mwingi-Garissa 132 KV line, the works of construction of 250 kilometres circuit line establishing two lines at Mwingi and Garissa and extension to the existing Kindaruma Station is the World Bank and the Government of Kenya. The contractor is Tata Project Limited of India. The transmission line will cost Kshs1.2 billion. The completion date is October, 2014. Thank you, Mr. 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.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I want to thank the “Minister” for that answer. I was holding brief for my colleague, the Senator for Garissa. He has asked me to continue because he had not got the brief from me.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Sen. Billow, maybe, we should learn to use the right titles. We do not have Ministers, we have Cabinet Secretaries.

My apologies, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Thank you very much, Chairperson of the Committee on Energy for that answer. I would appreciate if he could clarify one issue. I know he said in October this year the project will be completed. Do we then understand that this project has already commenced? If it has, how far has it gone? Has it reached Mwingi or is it yet to begin? That clarification is important.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I had said it would be completed by December, 2014. But the contract completion date is October, 2014. As we speak, it has reached at Mwingi.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary, Speaker, Sir, I appreciate.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Sen. (Dr.) Zani, you may proceed.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I stand to give notice of a Motion of Adjournment of the Senate to discuss a matter of national importance under Standing Order No.33(1). This is the matter of the public universities where staff are now on strike. Many students are not able to access their academic institutions. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the following Senators who are upstanding support this adjournment.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Very well. I have received this message and I can see you have the requisite numbers. In my own observation, the matter is urgent and, indeed, of national importance. I allocate time from 5.00 p.m. for debate of this matter. Next Order!

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. Temporary Speaker, Sir. There is a statement that has been long overdue. I requested this statement last month with regard to the status of IDPs in Nyandarua County. A promise to deliver this statement has been given week after week. The last promise was that this statement would be given today by the Chairperson of the Committee on National Security and Foreign Relations. I can see the substantive chairperson is in the House.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Sen. Haji, what do you have to say about this?

Mr. Temporary, Speaker, Sir, first, I want to congratulate you for becoming our temporary speaker. Secondly, I want to sincerely apologise that up to this moment, I have not been able to fulfill the promise of giving my old friend, Sen. (Eng.) Karue, the statement. I have even gone to get this statement and I did not receive a convincing explanation. But I want to assure the House that I will still follow up this matter. Last week, I was away with the President in Addis Ababa. That is why my brother, Sen. Billow, stood in for me. So, I beg that we be given up to Thursday so that we can know why we are not receiving this statement.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Actually, I thought you were privy to this information. Your statement was initially directed to the Committee on National Security and Foreign Affairs but it was found to be an issue of the Sessional Committee on Devolved Government and henceforth was moved to that committee. But that is a Sessional Committee and it is not yet well organised. The chairperson has not been elected. But maybe in three weeks time also, he should be because we have two weeks to elect the chairpersons of the various committees.

Mr. Temporary, Speaker, Sir, maybe because of the procedures in the House, but when this matter came up, it was quite urgent and it remains so. The residents of Nyandarua County are still eagerly waiting for that statement. A meeting of leaders of this county is coming up and yet there is no answer. Whereas waiting for this committee to be constituted is in order, I seek your direction on which way to go so that these kinds of answers which are required urgently--- some way is found so that we can get an answer whether the committee or the chairperson is in place. As you had ruled earlier, we have the Senate Majority Leader. Maybe he can take it up so that we get the statement delivered. This will bring down the anxiety in the county.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Senate Majority Leader, are you ready to take the duty of delivering the statement sought by Sen. (Eng.) Muriuki?

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, if the relevant committee has no problem with that, I am happy to perform that role. Is it about the IDPs?

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Correct.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Is a week adequate because I have to now do the work from ground zero? 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. (Dr.) Machage): The rules of the House give you the mandate to answer when the committee is not ready. So, it is not a matter of begging for permission from that committee whose elections are yet to be done. So, you have said you are bringing the statement in seven days.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): That is in order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Is that okay, Sen. (Eng.) Muriuki?

I think that is okay, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I would only, through the Chair, urge the Senate Majority Leader to expedite the delivery of that statement. Assuming the previous committee had---

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Order, Sen. (Eng) Muriuki. We have heard your prayer. It will be done.

Let me speak one word, if you may allow.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Proceed.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the word is, the previous committee must have engaged---

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Those are already ten words.

Okay, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Seven days are okay.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Next Order.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the following procedural Motion:- THAT, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order No.125, the Senate resolves that the publication period of the following Bills be reduced from fourteen days to eleven days:- (i) The County Industrial Bill, 2014; (ii) The Alcoholic Drinks Control (Amendment) Bill, 2014; and (iii) The Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, 2014 Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the reason we are reducing the days is because we wish the Bills to be taken to the committees so that we can expedite them. We also wish to bring more Bills to the Senate, so that we start working on Bills instead of the continuity of Motions. That is why I ask my friend, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, to second the Motion.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, this being a procedural Motion, we, the opposition, would have no serious issues against it. Therefore, we want to support the Government side. 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. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I stand to support this Motion. In fact, I hope Sen. Elachi is listening to me. I had been nominated by the Senate Minority Leader and the Deputy Minority Leader to second this Motion. But Sen. Beatrice Elachi---

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Order, Sen. Wako. Avoid semantics.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, is this a conspiracy from Kakamega County? Sen. Elachi immediately went ahead and nominated Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale to second the Motion when the officials of the Opposition---

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Sen. Wako, do not be jealous! Support or oppose the Motion.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I wish Kakamega County had moved in favour of Busia County, but anyway, I support this Motion. For too long, we have been accused that we are not debating the real issues of a legislature, which is to enact legislation. So, the sooner we go into debating legislation in this House, the better. For that reason, I support.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, this is a procedural Motion, but a very important one. We have been waiting for Bill No.3. We had tasked the committee chaired by the distinguished Senator for Busia County to bring a comprehensive raft of amendments to various statutes that touch on devolution, to bring them to speed with the current dispensation. I hope the Bill contains all this. It is time that we moved away from engaging in debating Motions full time and address matters of legislation that will help not only enhance and strengthen devolution, but which will change the lives of Kenyans. I see we have an Alcoholic Drinks Control (Amendment) Bill, 2014. I hope it is not influenced by Mututho. But let it come, we will be able to debate it. I urge that we support this. The committees to which the Bills will be committed after First Reading today should also move expeditiously and report back to the House in the shortest time possible, so that we are able to do our work of legislation. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to support.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I stand to support this procedural Motion. This is a very good and encouraging move, that we reduce the number of days for publication of the Bills from 14 to 11. This will give us a chance to go into debating Bills directly. This will be good for the development of the counties and also to encourage that more Bills come up to this House for further discussion. 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. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I also want to join those who are congratulating you on sitting in that chair because we know you are able. As my colleagues have said, this is a procedural Motion which does not require much debate. However, I would like to take this opportunity to urge that the House strengthens its capability of drafting Bills. This is because there are several Bills that are sitting out there from the committees waiting for drafting; and they have been there for a while. Even as we critisise ourselves for not brining Bills to this House, one of the reasons why that is not happening is because our capability in the drafting area leaves a lot to be desired. So, it is good for me to take this opportunity to urge that the office of the Clerk is strengthened to be able to effectively bring our Bills to the Floor of this House.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Order, Sen. Khaniri! I am on my feet!

Now I am not on my feet! Sen. Khaniri, you may proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I can see you are enjoying the powers of the Chair. This is a procedural Motion, but I just want to be on record to have supported this Motion. I wish to remind my colleagues that at the end of the term of this Senate, which is the first Senate under the new dispensation, we will be judged by the number of Bills that we will have passed in this House and not Motions. Therefore, I want to reiterate what Sen. Kagwe has said, that we must increase our capacity to process Bills in this House. We must go further and insist that Bills that are coming from the Government that touch on counties, that are supposed to be debated here, we must push for our right and ensure that the Bills come here and not what has been happening, whereby the Government has been pushing all the Bills to the National Assembly. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we support the fast tracking of Bills. We look forward to debating particularly Bill No.3, the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, 2014. 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. (Dr.) Machage): Very well. This is not a Motion affecting counties. Every Senator is entitled to a vote; the elected and nominated Senators. I, therefore, wish to put the question.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Next Order.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Next Order.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, you were on the Floor when debate on this Motion was interrupted. You have 12 minutes to conclude your debate. Proceed. 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. Temporary Speaker, Sir, when we adjourned I had just said that I was paying my compliments to our former able colleague, hon. Danson Mungatana, for having been appointed as the Chairperson of the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA). I had pointed out that one hopes that hon. Mungatana will not walk the same old unhelpful route that was walked by his predecessors who thought that as soon as you are taken to that port, it was an opportunity for you to give jobs to your friends, relatives and people from your community. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I look forward to a situation whereby we are going to remember hon. Mungatana for having spearheaded the modernization of Mombasa Port. When I speak of modernization of this very important national resource, quickly in mind comes the issue of the quality of business that we are able to roll out at Mombasa Port. We have for all these years relied on the natural suitability of the Port of Mombasa in terms of receiving vessels. It is important that the new leadership at the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) goes out of its way to ensure that funding is secured so that dredging can be done to attract bigger vessels and therefore bigger business for the Port of Mombasa. I hope and look forward, during the tenure of hon. Mungatana, to have a KPA which is efficient. The amount of inefficiency in this port is the reason why countries like Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda are starting to have second thoughts about using our port. I have in mind the issue of clearance. Clearance at the KPA takes unnecessarily long. After that when they go to Malaba border, again crossing to Uganda is another headache. I know the Chair comes from the western side of the country and he has been to Malaba. You will see trucks lined up for a distance of 13 or 15 kilometres long, and they take days and weeks to be cleared. The modern way of controlling that kind of port like the one we have in Mombasa is to do what we call “one-stop border post”: When the businessman arrives at the Port of Mombasa, he gets all the services that he is going to get on the Kenyan side and the Ugandan side from only one office. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, in the tenure of hon. Mungatana, - and you will forgive me for repeating his name because this was a distinguished parliamentarian for the ten years that I worked with him. He fought corruption and I am hoping that the corruption that currently exists at the Port of Mombasa should be something of the past. I am making this statement on a day when His Excellency the President has just been launching the strategic plan of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC). I am so disappointed that the security of the president locked me out of that office because I had just come from another meeting here and when I reached there, the President had just entered and they locked me out. How can a Senator be a threat to the security of the Head of State when he is launching the EACC strategic plan? Some of us have fought corruption in this country; look at the stories of Kimunya, stories of Prof. Ndung’u and so on. Now events coming in the later day are vindicating us. Therefore, I felt very hurt that the security of the President locked me out of this very important meeting. I am not a security threat to the President or any other member of the Executive. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I therefore want to join the President in his effort---

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Is the Senator in order to allege that he is not a security risk? If you are late for a meeting and the meeting 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. Temporary Speaker, Sir, because Sen. Haji is very happy I forgot his nine year old granddaughter is my real hero. She loves me and I love her and I would just want to tell her that the grandfather looks very smart.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Order! Can you continue?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the small girl was waiting for me to say that the grandfather looks very smart today unlike the other time when he was wearing strange things but that is---

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Order! There was a ruling in this House by the Speaker that Sen. Haji was well dressed. So, that should not be brought up again. So, he deserves an apology.

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

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): What is it, Sen. Wetangula?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, one can be very well dressed in strange things.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Order, Sen. Wetangula! Sen. Haji was well-dressed, period; and normally, in normal things.

Indeed, I agree with you that he was very well-dressed. What I did not know---

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. You made a ruling that he should apologize. This matter should not be trivialized. If the Speaker has ruled, you apologize.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Sir. For the sake of his granddaughter, I apologize profusely. Regarding the issue of corruption, it is good that the President has decided to start it today during the launch of the strategic plan. It is so important that we all, as a nation, agree that our problem is not the wage bill. Our problem is the inability to provide leadership in making sure that we seal the loopholes of corruption where we lose over Kshs300 billion every financial year. I am hoping that under the leadership of hon. Mungatana, he will take the trouble to go to Panama. In Panama, they only have one thing; a canal, but they have maximized it up to and including the actual business activity and tourism. One of the biggest tourist attractions of Panama is the Panama Canal. In fact, we can duplicate what happens in Panama at Mombasa. Who does not know the rich history of the Port of Mombasa? We could do this and our country will make a lot of money. For those who are familiar with the KPA, and I happen to have been a doctor in charge of treating patients at KPA for six years, you will realize that huge and important as that port is, it has got only one jetty at Kipevu. How can it take 50 years when we have expanded business into the East African Community for the leadership of this country to realize that there is need for us to increase the number 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. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I also rise to support the adoption of this Motion. First of all, I want to thank the Committee for a very commendable report that they have tabled in the House. I only wish to address two issues regarding this report. The first one is to do with the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC). I wish to point out that the commodity which this company deals with is a very inflammable product. It is a highly inflammable product. Therefore, it is very important that when reports of this nature are made; although it was made specifically for Mombasa, the pipelines that belong to this company traverse most of the country. 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. Temporary Speaker, Sir, let me begin by commending the Committee for this Report and for having chosen to go to the Port of Mombasa as their first responsibility to this House. As previous speakers have said, the Port of Mombasa is key to the economy, not only to this nation but to the region. Historically, this has been the port of entry to the East African Community (EAC) and beyond. The port is an extremely useful facility as, indeed, Sen. Boni Khalwale has said. I want to go further than that and say that since this is a Committee on Energy, Roads and Transportation, Mombasa, as a city cannot function if transportation in the city itself is problematic. I hope that when the Committee went to Mombasa, they flew into Moi International Airport and went by road to Mombasa which is a herculean task. Although the City of Mombasa, during the Coalition Government, tried to clear the road from the airport to the city, that clearance of kiosks and other things just improved it marginally. There is still a very big problem. Going to Mombasa via Moi International Airport, with all the tourists coming in, having heard all the glorious things about Mombasa, they find it a nightmare to get to the City. Most tourists who come here get shocked at how difficult it is to wade your way through the island before you go to the tourist hotels. The Government, at this point in time, with all the plans of the past – I have been in two administrations and I know that there have been plans to decongest Mombasa. They should use the Dongo Kundu Road which has been there for many years. Now, I understand that it is being constructed so that the south coast can be opened up and the economies in the south coast and Kwale can be enhanced. While doing that, the current congestion in Mombasa is a nightmare with all the matatus, tuk tuks and boda bodas that have invaded our cities. Unless we do something about infrastructure in the city, particularly the inner city, then it will not function. The port may as well improve as Sen. Khalwale has said but getting out of that port to upcountry continues to be a nightmare. This will continue to be a nightmare if nothing is done. The second thing I want to say about Mombasa is that, given the fact that this is our show case city owing to the fact that it is a port of entry, we cannot just ride on the glory of tourists hotels. That is well and good. However, as a Kenyan city with historical significance, the renewal of Mombasa is very important. I get ashamed when I go to Mombasa and I see it being run down. The buildings are old and have not been painted. The infrastructure has been broken down and this is a task that cannot be left to the County of Mombasa. Mombasa is a national asset and requires massive investment, some kind of a marshal plan to bring it to the modern time and for it to be a showcase for our country. Having said that, I would like to point out that the other responsibility of this committee is to take care of roads. Roads are very much connected to energy. One of the things that should be done is to take off the roads all the tankers that bring petroleum from Mombasa up to the upcountry and traverse our nation into Uganda, Rwanda 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.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, allow me to begin from where the good old professor left; the standard gauge railway. I have said this in many fora and I want to say it on the Floor of this House that nobody in his right frame of mind in this country can oppose the construction of a standard gauge railway. We needed it 30 years ago and we need it even more today. I want to advise President Uhuru for free that when a project of this magnitude is mired in such ugly controversy, Kenyans have waited for 30 years for a rail line that is standard gauge, modern and in fact, electric. All he needs to do is swallow the pride of his Government, order a proper open tender with public participation and get a good contractor to give us a standard gauge rail line. If it is a Chinese company we want, what the Chinese do is that they give you money and limit you that all the competitors in this will be Chinese. If it 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.

On a point of information, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. When we used to have the Railways and Harbours and we split it into two the Port of Kisumu remained under the ownership of the Railways. Somehow because the railways has not had the resources and the capacity to maintain that port, the port actually died. So, in order to get the resources and the expertise to maintain the inland port, we are suggesting that the Kenya Ports Authority now gets the Kisumu Port as their property and develop it so that it can be used.

That makes sense, although the port already has authority under the law to open and maintain dry ports like the ICD at Embakasi. They have acquired 100 acres of land in Malaba and they are supposed to put up another dry port and so on. The Port of Mombasa alone, if efficiently run, and if you flushed out the corruption cartels there, can generate our current GDP in one year. It can turn around the economy of this country. We once visited a port in Belgium called Antwerp which has an annual turnover of twice our GDP. Mombasa is in a very unique position; it serves Kenya, Uganda, northern Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, eastern Congo, Southern Sudan and Ethiopia. It has a very rich catchment. I even noticed that goods destined for Zambia come from Mombasa by road up to Bujumbura and then it is put on steamers down Lake Tanganyika to Zambia. The port has enormous potential but what have we done? Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the successive governments in this country have only looked at the Port of Mombasa as a cash cow for individuals. There is a lot of corruption. The port does not expand or modernize. The congestion that Members have been talking about is all there to the extent that if you do a proper evaluation of the Port of Mombasa, it does not function and operate at more than 30 per cent of its potential and capacity. If we want the port to operate, many ideas have been put forward. You do not need rocket science to know how a port operates. The managers of the Port of Mombasa have been around the world for the last 20 years. They visit Singapore to see how 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.

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Is the Senate Minority Leader in order to say that the Jubilee Government is boring Kenyans, yet he has been in the same system? Is he in order to say that the Jubilee Government is boring, yet we have said that it is a discussion? Let Kenyans discuss and see whether, indeed, we need to deal with the wage bill.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Sen. Wetangula, are you in the Jubilee system?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I believe that the distinguished Nominated Senator has landed from outerspace, because I have never been in the Jubilee system and wish not to be at anytime. The Nominated Senator must please her nominators that she is here to do something.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Order, Sen. Wetangula. Please, avoid those semantics.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the pipeline, again, is a very important asset. I honestly would want to encourage the Committee – because they said that the purpose of their visit is to inform policy and legislation – to bring legislation here to get rid of tankers from the roads. We have a pipeline and can put in more money to have return cargo for the oil fields of Uganda, for example. The pipeline can be extended up to Kampala, Rwanda, Burundi and Eastern Congo, and get these monsters off our roads. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, again, I feel sometimes constrained to use much stronger language, but the Jubilee Government, in its total misguided approach to issues, instead of getting tankers off the road, they are saying that buses cannot travel at night. You fail to get logic---

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. While we appreciate the Senate Minority Leader’s sentiments, since night travel by buses was stopped, we have not seen any accident. But very soon we shall---

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): What is not in order? 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.

Is he in order to say that we banned buses from travelling at night and have not gotten rid of tankers on the roads, yet he knows very well that we did so to try to save lives? I think that this is done in the whole of East Africa.

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Is Sen. Beatrice in order to mislead the country? The vision of the Jubilee Government, in your manifesto, was that you wanted to turn our economy into a 24-hour economy. How the hell are you going to turn it into a 24-hour economy when you have now imposed a ban on night travel by buses?

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): That is not a point of order. What is not in order?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, what is not in order, with all due respect to the hon. Senator, is that she is misleading us. Those are her thoughts. Those are the mandarins that control State House that have made it impossible for the President to---

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Order, Sen. Khalwale!

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I think that we need to look at the interest of this country. I think it will be wrong to say that we are misleading the country when, indeed, we are trying to deal with issues. There was no ban.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Remember that you are on a point of order.

Is the hon. Senator in order to say that I am misleading the House by saying that there was no ban? All we decided is that if you follow the regulations, you will be able to travel at night.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): That is a point of argument. Continue, Sen. Wetangula!

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I want to invite the distinguished Nominated Senator to read a small book by Chinua Achebe called “The Trouble with Nigeria.” Chinua Achebe says that President Shehu Shagari had pronounced himself that corruption in Nigeria has not yet reached dangerous proportions. Chinua Achebe says that anybody who makes a statement like that is either a crook, a fool or does not live in Nigeria. Then he says: “I know that President Shagari is not a crook or fool. I can only conclude that he does not live in Nigeria.” I know that the distinguished Senator is not a crook or fool, but she definitely does not live in Kenya. This is because since they banned buses from travelling at night, we have had so many deaths at Salgaa. I am sure that you have seen this in the newspapers and everywhere. The other day, in Emuhaya, we buried a family of eight and another one of 18 in Nandi. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I am encouraging the Gideon Moi Committee, which has very distinguished Members, including Dan Mwazo, Otieno Kajwang and others, to bring legislation to extend and expand the pipeline and get tankers off our roads. It will be more efficient and we will make more money. We will also save money that we spend on reconstructing roads. In this country, we build a road and there is no maintenance. After five years, you have to reconstruct it, yet if you go to Israel, the superhighway that Jesus was moving on, when Saul was struck by lightning, to Damascus is still there. How many years back are those? Here, a road erroneously 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, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir.

I do not want information. I need no information, I know what I am saying.

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

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Yes, point of order.

Is the distinguished Senator for Bungoma in order to state that it is not in order for the refinery to be in Isiolo when, in fact, the crude oil this time is not coming through the sea? What he fails to understand---

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): What is not in order?

Is he in order to demean the centrally located Isiolo? If you check the most central point in Kenya, it is Isiolo. You can even confirm. Is he in order to impute that---

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Can you execute your point or order properly; otherwise, I will stop you?

Is he in order to mislead the House that Isiolo should not have a refinery?

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): That is enough. Do not spoil it again. To my own knowledge, I do not think I heard Sen. Wetangula deny Isiolo from having a refinery. 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. Temporary Speaker, Sir, when I was making my very informative and intelligent point, the distinguished Senator for Isiolo was engaged in an animated discussion with the distinguished Senator for Meru.

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Is the honourable Minority Leader in order to mislead this House that he is making intelligent contribution regarding this matter of the refinery when he seems to know nothing about it?

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Are the two Senator in order to force the location of the refinery at Isiolo when no residents of Turkana and the rest of their sympathizers across the Republic have been involved in deciding that it should not be in Turkana? Are they in order?

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Order! They only disputed the intelligence of information that Sen. Wetangula was giving to the House. So, can you prove that it was an intelligent point?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the world over, refineries are always constructed at sea ports or ports of discharge. Even for Kenya, we have oil in Turkana, it will go to the refinery in Isiolo but on a day or month when for some strange reason, the oil wells break down or there is no oil being extracted, it is much more sensible and cheaper economics to have a refinery in Lamu, Kilifi or Mombasa where when you cannot pull in your own inland crude oil, you can bring in crude oil and refine it. This is common knowledge world over. You have travelled and seen all refineries in the world are in sea ports.

On a point of information, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Do you want to be informed?

The reason why it is more prudent and intelligent to put a refinery at the port is this; you are not building a refinery just for Kenya. You are building a refinery for people in India, South Africa and so on who will come with large vessels, refine their products and sell it elsewhere. So, Isiolo is not suitable for that kind of thing whether it is the centre of Kenya or not.

In fact, I will tell the distinguished Senator for Isiolo for free that there is a small Island called Curacao Island. Curacao is a Dutch Municipality next to Venezuela. Curacao is part of what used to be called the Guyanas. In Curacao, they have some of the largest refineries of crude oil in the world. They do not produce any oil. What happens is what the distinguished Senator for Homa Bay has told you. You bring a shipload of a million barrels of crude, refine it on commercial terms and sell it. If the refinery is in Isiolo, how will a tanker of a million barrels come there to refine oil and sell to the rest of the world? I have nothing against Isiolo. In fact, I love Isiolo very much.

On a point of information, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Do you need to be informed?

I decline to be informed.

I want to ask if I can give information. 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. (Dr.) Machage): Order!

Let me get the information from the distinguished Senator from West Pokot who is happily married to a lady from my county.

That last point, I do not know how valid his assertion is.

But you are happily married?

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Order!

Who told you anybody speaking the same language as you must come from Bungoma?

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Is that the information you want to put across? If that is the end of it, then sit down. Can you prosecute your information?

I want to inform the distinguished Senator and Senators present here today that the exchanges we are hearing about the location of refinery in Isiolo was actually approved by the Cabinet during the tenure of these gentlemen who are exchanging their ideas here. You should have spoken that time and reiterated that it is not supposed to be in Isiolo. The two of you and Sen. (Dr.) Kuti were sitting in that Cabinet.

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Is the distinguished Senator in order? The reason why Isiolo was chosen is the fact that crude oil from Juba or Turkana will converge at Isiolo then be diverted to Nakuru, Nairobi, Addis Ababa and Lamu. It is not just about the issue of the port but the supply to the general region. The centrality of Isiolo is based on the fact that when it is refined in Isiolo, then it will go to Abbis Ababa, Uganda, Kisumu, Nairobi and Lamu. That is the basis on which that centrality was picked on. It is not about being near the port. What about Uganda where there is no sea port?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, are you satisfied that that was a point of order? Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I want to conclude so that my colleagues can also contribute. It is not that we are against a place or against somebody. I can very well be selfish and say that the refinery must be in Bungoma. We can very well say that the refinery must be in Kisumu which has an inland port. We are still saying that is bad economy because it has to be at the sea. I would invite the distinguished Senator for Isiolo County to do a little more reading about international business and how the oil and gas industry is done. If you look at the eastern coast of Africa, you will see that there was a refinery in Mogadishu before the war; there is a refinery in Mombasa, there is a refinery in Dar-es Salaam, there is a refinery in Lorenzo Marks which is now called Maputo, there is a refinery in Durban, there is a refinery in Cape Town, there is no refinery in Johannesburg, the largest commercial centre in Africa and it is for a good reason. Let me end by thanking the Committee for doing a good job but more importantly for encouraging that in the legislation that we are proposing, you also loosen the grip of Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) on the running of harbours. We want diversification. Your 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. Temporary Speaker, Sir. The point of order I am rising on is not for or against what Sen. Wetangula has said. I am just requesting the Chair that very important points have been canvassed on the issue of the location of the refinery. Maybe using Standing Order No.1, could the Chair consider that the Government be forced to seek leave of the Senate and with the concurrence of the National Assembly on where it is going to site the refinery because the old corrupt Cabinet that made that decision seems to have come to a conclusion that is not seeming to be conclusive and acceptable to all Kenyans as we are represented in this House?

I believe the Chair of the Committee has been taking notes and from the many contributions, I believe the Government will take action.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I want to state that I support this report. I want to look at this report today as a Kenyan. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, in support of this report, as a Kenyan, I am very disturbed. We used to do all this work with the former Ministers. Once the report came to the Floor of the House, they would contradict themselves. I will now move on to the issue of the railway line.

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Is the distinguished Senator in order to allege that Ministers of yesterday came here and contradicted themselves? Only fools do not change their minds. Life is dynamic and a good idea will always give way to a better idea. We also know that a better idea will always give way to the best idea. Is she in order?

I believe, Sen. Elachi you are not in order because those Ministers were serving different Governments with their own manifestos. 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. Temporary Speaker, Sir, on the issue of the railway, first, it was given to an individual. We want to sensitise our people on the importance of a reliable railway transport and move on. However, our focus has been taken away by the amount of money and corruption involved in this project. Corruption is not only on the Jubilee side, but it is across the political divide. It is all over. The Senate must fight it, once and for all. We should not use the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC), the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and the railway to earn money in a manner that is not acceptable. Right now, Committees are sitting at the National Assembly. I will not be surprised to learn that money has already exchanged hands. It is a pity with these allegations, tenders are cancelled and we end up starting the tendering process afresh. Sometimes projects are abandoned. We need to pursue these projects to the end if we, as a nation, want to achieve our vision. The recommendations that the Committee has suggested are very good. If we implement them, then we will not be talking about money exchanging hands. The KPA will be moving in the right direction. The report does not tell us whether there is a line five of the railway that will be coming from Mombasa to Nairobi. How much will it cost? This might cost a lot of billions of shillings. Here we are told there is one rail line which will cost Kshs6 billion. I have keenly looked at the reports by the National Assembly, but there is no mention of Kshs6 billion. I have seen a total of Kshs327 billion that will do the whole railway. I get confused very much. I am wondering whether the documents which have been tabled in public are correct or not. Are there others which are not in the public domain? We have every right to access public reports.

On a point of information, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I do not want to be informed.

I wish the Committee would take a step further. I have seen a few tenders being advertised in the newspapers. These are very huge tenders. We would like to see this process of tendering being done above board so that we do not end up in a murky situation. We do not want to end up in a murky process that was carried out during the Tenth Parliament by the said former Ministers. The murky processes we are fighting were done eight years ago if you are to go by this report. One then wonders why nobody among them was bold enough to say: “I will bite the bullet and say the truth.” There are institutions that are very critical in this country. One of them is the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum. We want to see things done in a transparent manner. We appreciate that the report brings out the issue of transport. When we are advertising tenders, we need to agree with those who are doing the project what the tender entails. The other day, I was reading that we are supposed to be giving a billion for the maintenance of Thika Road. I wondered what the agreement is between the companies that are doing the roads and the Government. They must maintain the roads for two years at least before they hand over. 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, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. The Senator is perfectly right when she says that the real problem is corruption. For her knowledge, I think she would be happy to note that the ones who were involved in the Japan Embassy scandal are before court and none of them is the former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Moses Wetangula.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, he was in charge of that Ministry. Let us be very honest to one another.

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Is the distinguished Senator in order to pursue a misguided argument on the Floor of the House when it is on record that I and nobody else opted out of office to give way for investigations? They were carried out, concluded and His Excellency, Mwai Kibaki, my President then, called me back to office on finding that I was blameless. I took political responsibility and walked out of office. Is she in order to engage in a trivial attempt to besmirch me ostensibly purporting to answer issues that I raised on the Floor in a rather clumsy manner?

Sen. Wetangula, I did not hear the distinguished Senator mentioning you. I think she only said that corruption started with the Japan Embassy without mentioning names. Maybe the question should have been; when and how?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, let me move on. The Senator for Kakamega is the one who confirmed that. That is how the conversation began. As I finalise, I would like to say two things. There is a worrying issue in Mombasa which the Committee should look at. Since we do not want to hear these things as rumours, it would be important for them to investigate whether the railway station is still working or whether soon; it will become a car bazaar. With regard to the issue of marine services, we need to ask ourselves whether we have invested enough and whether we need to start collecting more revenue within the services. We have the ferries, but we have not asked ourselves how efficiently we have used our waters in terms of transport. For example, if you wanted to cross from the Tamarind to the other side of the sea today, you would do it using the small boats. Today, 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. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Let me start by reminding ourselves of a very good debate those days in Parliament before all of us came there, of the late Martin Shikuku and the rest of the Members in Parliament at that time when they were proposing to build the pipeline. I think we had that argument in high 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. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I join my colleagues who have spoken before me in thanking the Committee on Energy, Roads and Transportation for the good work that they have done. They have visited some of the key areas that touch on their mandate and of concern to the lives of many Kenyans. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, there are some Committees that need to emulate this Committee. The key Committees must be very active and move around the country, for example, the Committee on Agriculture, Land and Natural Resources. This is because today agriculture contributes substantially to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It, therefore, calls upon us to visit and bring the ideas to this House, so that we can discuss and find a way forward. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we have talked about the Port of Mombasa as highlighted in the report. The Committee visited the Kenya Ports Authority, the Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited and the Kenya Pipeline Company Limited. Everybody has agreed that most of the goods that come into Kenya, which we do not produce in our land, come through the Port of Mombasa. That is why we have key strategic agencies stationed at the Port of Mombasa, to ascertain the quality of the goods that keep coming into this country. But I think that the Committee should find ways of improving the way this port is run, now that we have the Senate. This Committee should be able to stand firm and ask that the port, which is the only source of life into Kenya through the Indian Ocean, must be more efficient. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, some colleagues indicated that when you land at the Moi International Airport in Mombasa you will suffer for you to reach town; that it is difficult for the tourists to go to the tourist destinations, because of the very narrow roads. You will meet very huge lorries trying to navigate their way to the nearest parking lot. We have been watching this game for a long time. Governments have come and gone without doing any significant improvement. I do not know whether anything will change now that we have the Mombasa County Government. It is us, as Kenyans, who can choose how to improve this port. Some of the people who have been benefiting from the port, like the huge transporters, think that they will lose their businesses and lorries if we bring order in the port operations. I do not think that they will lose at all. We want to encourage the transporters who have been causing confusion at the port that they may even get better jobs as a result of improving the port. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, many visitors are frustrated at the port, just like there is also frustration at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). When you land at the airport, you will find it difficult to access the City of Nairobi. Sometimes it is faster to travel from Kisumu or Eldoret, like I did in the morning, to Nairobi by road. Mombasa Road is narrow, yet it is the road that is supposed to quickly take visitors to their destination of choice. We have a lot of traffic congestion and jam on the road from JKIA to the Central Business District. Nobody has come up with a way of easing this congestion. We only seal potholes. The more we improve and expand the road, the more 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! We had a Senator who had requested to move a Motion of Adjournment and the Chair had allowed. So, I ask Sen. (Dr.) Zani to move the Motion. Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo, you have three minutes left. I believe that tomorrow when the debate resumes, you will continue.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that this House now adjourn to discuss a matter of national importance and this is the issue of the stalemate that has led to the strike. Right now, all members of staff of public universities are on strike. Students have been left in a situation where they cannot attend to their lectures and are in hardship. The strike has actually entered its sixth day today morning. That means a lot is being lost in terms of resources, both financial and human. It has thrown the public universities into confusion. This is an issue that needs to be addressed and I think it is important for us to discuss it. The whole dispute started with a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between 2010 and 2013 that was actually gotten into by all public universities and the Government. At that time, about Kshs7.8 billion was allocated to public universities. This was going to be distributed into two tranches or two bunches, each of equal amounts of about Kshs3.9 billion. That was agreed in 2012. That money was meant to be given as salary increment at a rate of about 14.4 per cent in house allowance and 33 per cent as salary increment. When the money came, it was meant to be disbursed because an agreement had already been made. The first payment of Kshs3.9 billion was distributed, but there was a dispute even about that distribution which I will go into later on. The first payment was effective December, 2012 and it was paid to the university staff. The second phase is the one that has been problematic. If the money was paid to the universities - and there is a dispute whether it was paid to the universities or not - it should have been distributed then to the various universities as salary increments and allowances. That is what the CBA stipulated. That was the expectation from the teaching and non-teaching staff. According to the Secretary General of the University Academic Staff Union (UASU), that is, Muga K’Olale, the money, if it was paid to the universities, was not used to pay for the specified allowances. Instead, it was used to pay casual labourers, hire more staff; in certain cases, it was used for expansion of various projects that the universities have been engaging in. At other times, it was used to hire extra hostel 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. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I stand to second this Motion of adjournment. This is because for the last six or so days, students in the public universities, have not been attending classes. It appears that there is not much being done either by the Government or the university administration to sort out the matter. This Motion has come at the right time. We, as a Senate, must express our concern not because this is a devolved function, but since it involves students across the country, it is of national interest. We should discuss the matter with the aim of finding a way out. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, students are in their youth stage. Some of them have just joined universities having been home for almost one or more years. They have been idle. This is the time when they have to orient themselves and go on with their studies. Unfortunately, no sooner had they started than they are left hanging. The impact of this on the young generation cannot be over-estimated. We are trying to build a nation of people with a sense of responsibility. We are trying to bring up these young people to be responsible citizens who will one day come to offer leadership and grow this economy. When they receive signals like this, it looks like we have failed in many ways. As we have heard, funds were allocated for the purpose of meeting the commitments which the university, the Government and the lecturers had entered into. It would appear that somewhere along the line, due to non-transparency or accountability, some funds may have been misappropriated rather than being used for the right purpose. The funds may have been used in the wrong direction yet all these are public institutions. If you read the Acts that establish them, they are answerable and should be audited from time to time to see whether they are operating under the stipulated financial regulations. If they do not, then action should be taken. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, you may recall that this problem was sounded way back. It is not something that has just happened. The lecturers started complaining earlier, but it seems everybody buried their heads in the sand waiting for them to go on strike. If this matter is not addressed urgently, then I do not know the seriousness with which we are treating the issue of education, especially university education. For many years we have had the problem of students finishing form four and remaining at home for quite long. It is just recently that the Government undertook to do a double intake to cure the problem. It looks like if we are not careful, we are going back again to the same problem that we are trying to avoid because the double intake is not curing the problem. I think the relevant Committee will have to look at it in depth so that we can know what the problem is. This Senate should find a way of breaking the deadlock. As it 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. Temporary Speaker, Sir, first, I want to thank the Chair for using its discretion to allow the distinguished nominated Senator, Sen. (Dr.) Zani, to move this Motion of Adjournment. A country that gets mired and bedeviled with industrial actions all the time courts instability. This is not the first time university dons have downed their tools. It has happened before. Every time it happens like all other industrial actions, it has serious collateral damage to others. Parents start worrying about their children, students cannot have classes, students cannot stay in their hostels and many things emerge. The professors and dons are not asking for something extraordinary. There were Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) that had been reached. I am happy that in this Senate, we have several ex-dons who understand and appreciate the paltry salaries that university professors, lecturers and researchers earn. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, as people start talking about the public debate on salaries, we, as a nation, need to candidly face the challenges that we have. Many lecturers earn very little money. This has always caused many of them to start moonlighting to make ends meet. You will find a professor teaching at the University of Nairobi in the morning. At mid day, he runs to a private university somewhere. Later on, he has to run to another one. In the process, lack of personalized attention, concentration on how to give skills to students becomes wanting. This is because they are inadequately paid. The strike by the university dons is a serious test to the Jubilee Government. When there is clamour of reducing salaries, you can see that the KNUT has already signaled that they want more money. The dons are asking for more money. The doctors are asking for more money. Nurses are asking for more money. Everybody is asking for more money. All these requests for more money can be addressed holistically. As we have said, it is not impossible or irrational to sit down with dons to discuss and to give them a sensible offer. They very well know that they may not get what they want. They very well know they may not get what they are looking for. However, there must be benchmarks for negotiations. Look around and see how much dons in comparable jurisdictions are paid and give them something to take home. At one time, during the populace days in this country, university lecturers were offered duty free car facilities. Again, that was summarily and without explanation withdrawn. The first lecturers during our days at the university used to be housed by the universities. There is nothing as important as housing to anybody who earns a salary or wages. Today, the lecturers are not housed. The few who are housed are negligible. The salary that an average lecturer earns forces them to stay as far as Ongata Rongai, Kitengela and Kayole and yet he has to be in class.

Your time is up! 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. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I took my time because I knew that the Senate Majority and Minority Leaders have different timings. Could I be guided?

Order, hon. Senator! According to the provision of Standing Order No.33(4), you do not have more minutes than other Senators. It says: “No Senator speaking on a matter under this Standing Order shall speak for more than five minutes without the leave of the Senate, except that the Mover may speak for ten minutes.” This is as per the Motion moved by Dr. Zani. However, simply because you are the Senate Minority Leader and you are the only Leader in the House; I will give you two more minutes.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, as I laud Sen. (Dr.) Zani and those who will speak about this, we, as a Senate, are a House of majority and reason. We do not want to engage in activism. We want to urge the Government to sit down with the dons, listen to them and address their issues. A nation that does not pay attention to the intellectual development of its youth is headed for doom. Every time there is an interruption, it affects the economy of this country.

Hon. Senator, I thought Sen. (Dr.) Zani said that the Government has already approved the funds. This has nothing to do with the Government. This is about the management of the university versus the lecturers.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, public universities are part of Government institutions. They are 100 per cent Government owned. If the Government releases money to the University of Nairobi and Prof. Magoha does not pay, get rid of him and get somebody who will be responsive to the wishes of the dons. I fully support the process so that dons can be assisted to get their money and to go to work.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir for allowing me to speak on this very important Motion. I appreciate Sen. (Dr.) Zani for coming up with the Motion in the Senate. We talk about strikes when we have a case to push through with the Government. However, according to the whole scenario, this is instigated by the Vice Chancellors themselves. The money was approved by the Government. There were negotiations earlier by the Government for the money to be paid to the lecturers. Sometimes decisions can go haywire. Instead of the money going to salaries, it was used to do other things. This is a detriment. I was going to summon the Vice Chancellors here to tell us what is going on. This is an embarrassment to the Government. The Government has given out billions of shillings to be paid for a very good cause. It was meant for the lecturers who are teaching our children. The Vice Chancellors have connived to change the use of that money to something else. I am told that it is only Nairobi University which is operating. The rest have closed and we need to know why. If it is found out that the problem lies with the Vice Chancellors, then, they should be surcharged. They should also be surcharged for the time that the students have wasted 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.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, if the Government needed any reminder that whatever is going on is very dangerous, and then they should remember the Presidential Debate in the United States of America (USA). One of the questions that are posed to the presidential candidates is; what is his policy or stand on matters of science, teaching, research and technology? If you do not get it right, Americans start fearing that you may not move the frontier of development of the USA. It is, therefore, important, for the Government to know that this is a national catastrophe and that all our universities are closed. My dear colleagues, if you need a reminder that university education has become a major player in the Kenyan economy ask those of us who come from Kakamega County. In Kakamega, just because of the arrival of Masinde Murilo University, this has completely changed the economic profile of our town. Kakamega is now developing very rapidly like a university city. Those of you who may not have come to the west, Kakamega is growing faster than Nakuru, purely because of the university. I want to use this opportunity to condemn the Vice Chancellors and the Deputy Vice Chancellors in charge of handling finance in all public universities. I was expecting that the Government, by now, would have arrested those two people in the public universities so that they record statements and tell us what happened to the Kshs3.9 billion that was disbursed for purposes of paying salaries and allowances to our lecturers. 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. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I want to add my voice to this Motion which is very important. I think what has happened is that when in August last year the university lecturers called off the strike for their allowances under the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), they were very patriotic. They called the strike off because they were promised that the money was going to be paid. We were told that the money was part of the Kshs7.8 billion that was paid. My arguments are very simple. If the money has been paid, the reason we have two Houses of Parliament is that when money is voted for a specific purpose in Government, that money must be utilized for that particular purpose and no other purpose. That is the basis of having Parliament appropriate money to Ministries and so forth. Therefore, it is going to be interesting and I want to call upon, in particular, the National Assembly that deals with the budget of the Ministries to get the relevant committees to investigate how the money that is meant for allowances and by negotiated CBA for lecturers can be diverted? Secondly, truth be told; this country is collapsing under corruption. It is collapsing! You open the newspapers any day and you get shocked. 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.

Shame!

You can say that the Government is fighting it, but as far as we are concerned, it is the number of corruption cases being reported. I want to appeal to every Member of Parliament and every Senator that when we speak here, we pretend to be speaking for the people of Kenya with regard to corruption, but when we go out there to our “manyattas”, we start defending our people. We all saw what the Administrative Review Board came up with regarding the procurement of lap tops. It is very clear in their report that in addition to what those guys quoted, an additional so much billion was added on top. There is one principle that Kenyans must not miss and we raised this issue with regard to the impeachment of Governor Wambora. When President Nixon was being impeached, the question was: When does a leader take responsibility for the actions of his servants or his employees? As long as you know that your employee is doing that work, you take responsibility for his actions. If the Minister knows that this money was fleeced for payment of that allowance to the university lecturers and the money was diverted and he did not take action on any of those university administrators, he takes responsibility. He takes responsibility in the same way he failed to guide the issue of the laptop tender. So, when we go to the “ manyattas” we should not defend people like that. I do not blame the Senators and the Members of Parliament, but the leadership of the country. We cannot keep on saying at every function that we have a zero tolerance to corruption when this Cabinet Secretary after the other one is being associated with corruption in the newspapers. How many Cabinet Secretaries have been reported to the President in the last one year? They are not less than three or five that people wrote about and nothing happened. Even stepping aside, for Heaven’s sake, to pave way for investigations, that will send a message and it will benefit the President and strengthen his commitment to fighting corruption. We must fight for this culture that whoever is given a responsibility in Government, really must admit that the buck stops with him, so that a Minister takes credit when something is going right. Like the other day when he was releasing the examination results, the Minister took credit for everything that goes right, but when something goes wrong, it is not him. That cannot work and yet this is what is happening in every Ministry. In those Ministries where the report has been made to the President, it will really help. We wanted a Government for change, for Heaven’s sake in this Jubilee Government. We did not want the status quo . It should not be business as usual. The President should ask people to step aside in order to avoid this crisis we are in. Why should our students be on the streets because some people have messed around with the management of the universities? How many people can run those universities who are without jobs? I think it is a question of being committed to fighting for our rights. I support the Motion.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I rise to support this Motion, first, because being a university don and having been at the University of Nairobi and being there now, I think the plight of our colleagues must be properly addressed. I salute the Senate for bringing this Motion. I agree with Sen. Billow that the root of all these problems is the issue of corruption. Were we to start discussing 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. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the Motion by my colleague with regard to the unfortunate strike that has affected the universities. This strike by university lecturers is very unfortunate. I was in the university and I participated in one strike by professors. That time it was a strike against the Government. This time, this is a strike by professors against the other professors who are running the institution. I think this is very unfortunate. It is an indication of the rot that is there in terms of remuneration and salaries of the most brilliant people in the country. I think this particular case has a zero option; the university management must pay the money that they were given. They do not have another option. If there is any other option here, then it is not being told to us. It is a hidden agenda and it must be shown. In this case, the Government gave the universities the amount of money that was negotiated for and the university management is intelligent enough to understand what was contained in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Misappropriating the funds that were in that CBA, as stipulated in the Public Finance Management Act, is an offence. In this case, apparently this is a dilemma for the Cabinet Secretary for Education because he was in this management that caused this misapplication. Although he is my friend, I will not forgive him in this situation here, because this is a very clear misjudgment which is causing us headache. It is causing our students to be idle. I cannot forgive him on this because this is a---

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Sen. (Prof.) Lesan has said something very important; that the current Cabinet Secretary was part of the team that made the mess. Could he, under the rules of procedure, substantiate so that we conclude the case of this Professor, who seems to have been the cause of the problem? The rules require that he substantiates.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I am sure that everybody here is aware that in the last few years, the Deputy Vice Chancellor in the University of Nairobi was none other than my colleague, Prof. Kaimenyi. This is when this issue was raised. In fact, this is when this issue was applied. So, I am sure, like all the other Vice Chancellors, he was responsible for these decisions which have caused the universities to go into strike. I am glad that the University of Narok – Mara University – took its own decisions. In fact, this should have been the case because all universities are established 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. Spika wa Muda. Nasimama kuunga mkono Hoja hii. Ningependa kuwashangaza kwamba jana nilifuata kwa karibu sana mambo ya ndege iliyopotea katika nchi ya Malaysia. Kilichonishutua si kupotea kwa hiyo ndege, bali ni kuona habari kwa mtandao iliyotiliwa mkazo kwamba Kenya kupitia watumishi wake wa juu Serikalini imepoteza kiasi cha Kshs4 billioni. Hiyo ndio ilikuwa sifa ya taifa hii. Wakati wale wanalilia ndege, inasemekana kwamba sisi hapa kwetu tunaendelea kupanua wizi kwa njia isiyoaminika. Ilinibidi nijiulize kama kweli tuna taifa ambalo tunaweza kujivunia au tunakaa kwa kuvumilia. Uamuzi wangu ni kwamba tunaishi kwa kuvumilia. Bw. Spika wa Muda, kama taarifa ulimwenguni inasema kwamba tumepoteza Kshs4 bilioni ilhali tuna matatizo ya walimu wakiwemo wale wa vyuo vikuu. Wacha tuseme ukweli. Ni vigumu sana kuwaandama wezi wanaoiba pesa za Serikali katika taifa hili. Hii ni kwa sababu wamebadilisha wizi katika taifa letu. Mhe. Boni Khalwale alikuwa Mwenyekiti wa Kamati ya Public Accounts Committee (PAC). Vile vile Sen. (Prof.) Anyang’-Nyong’o alikuwa katika Kamati ya Public Investments Committee (PIC). Mimi katika Bunge la Kumi nikiwa Kiranja wa Serikali, nilishangaa kwamba tulikuwa tunachunguza vitabu vya matumizi ya pesa za Serikali vya miaka saba iliyopita. Baadhi ya wale waliohusika na wizi hata walikuwa wamekufa au hawapatikani. Bw. Spika wa Muda, ili tuende mbele, kama Rais anapenda nchi hii na kuhurumia masikini, anafaa kuwaandama wale wanaoiba pesa za Serikali hivi sasa na wala si kesho. Tunafaa kuanza na Magavana wanaoiba pesa hivi sasa. Tunakaa na kusema kuwa tutachukua hatua. Je, baada ya miaka kumi tutasaidia vipi? Mambo ni yale yale kwa Mawaziri. Mambo ya reli na laptops yako vivyo hivyo. Wengine wetu wanajifanya kuwa wanatetea Serikali lakini kesho tutakuja papa hapa kusema mambo ya Serikali tuliotetea. Ukweli ni kwamba ni watoto wa masikini wanaoumia. Watoto wa wale wanaoiba pesa hizo wanasomea ulaya. Watoto wanaosomea hapa nchini na kupata matatizo ni wale wa masikini. Tunarudia maneno aliyosema J.M. Kariuki kwamba hii ni nchi ya billionaires kumi na masikini 40 millioni. Bw. Spika wa Muda, wakati ni sasa na wala si kesho. Bw. Matemu alichaguliwa katika kitengo cha kuandama wezi juzi. Kama hataki kuwashika wanaoshiriki ufisadi, anafaa kuondoka ili tuchague mtu mwingine anayeweza kuwashika watu. Hatuwezi 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. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I would like also to say something about this Motion. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, this Motion is straightforward. It has necessitated a lot of heated debate when it is just supposed to be a straightforward Motion. The biggest question that we need to ask ourselves is why the Kshs3.9 billion was not paid to the appropriate authorities or people who were supposed to be paid. That is the cause of the strike. The strike is number two, because if you refuse to pay me, what do you expect me to do? I will fight it out. Now, the boys are fighting it out and us, being their representatives, we have to say something about it. But the main issue is whether it is true or just normal political debate that the money was given and diverted. Mr. Temporary Speaker, we are talking about it with a lot of confidence. But I hate talking about something unless I am so sure about it. In fact, for me to stand here and condemn the Vice Chancellor or his deputy without having correct information, I would also appear to the public as if I do not know what I am talking about. I think that, that is what this House needs to be careful about. All of us are known to be good debaters and can speak from morning to evening. But the question is: Are we speaking the truth or the right thing? Just securing an opportunity to attack the entire system because of two or three people at the university or in the Government, who may be committing this outrageous crime, I think is most unfair. I get very concerned when I sit here and listen to people criticizing and speaking just for the sake of it. Let us try to shift from that kind of life.

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. You heard the hon. Member literary rubbishing the contribution that these hon. Members have been making. We are not simply criticizing the Government for the sake of criticizing. Is he in order to really belittle the contribution that these hon. Members are making with regards to the performance of the Ministry?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I think that I have all the right to be here and say what I think without infringing other hon. Members’ freedom.

Order, Senator! With all your right, please, you should not also belittle the House. I think that, that is the point of order.

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Is it in order for Sen. G.G, whom we respect a lot because of his age and experience, to assert that all of us who have spoken before him, have not based our contributions on facts and are merely criticizing? We are informed debaters. Is he in order to cast aspersions against us? If he is not casting aspersions, could he withdraw and apologize?

Sen. G.G., I think that you should either substantiate or withdraw.

What should I withdraw?

When you belittle the House--- 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. Temporary Speaker, Sir, if that is how it was understood, it was not my intention. I would like to withdraw. However, my intention was to go beyond the normal debate. I think that we need to go beyond what we keep on talking about here. We should not fear to be told that we are not saying the right thing or belittling the House. We are here to make sure that this House remains above board and that is why it is the Senate. Let us be ladies and gentlemen of high quality. We should really try as much as possible to be driven by facts.

Your time is up!

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, can you not add me one minute, because they have taken my time?

Do you support?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, how would I support the Motion when you have not given me the time? Give me one minute to support.

I will give you one minute.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I would like to thank those who are concerned with what I am saying, because it is important and has gone into their ears and brain.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to support.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, first of all, I want to start by thanking Sen. (Dr.) Zani for bringing this Motion to this House at this very appropriate time. I support the Motion. Kenyans are concerned about what is happening in our universities and other institutions of learning. Smooth running and order appears to have given way to chaos, confusion, protests, strikes and confrontation of all kinds. In these institutions, learning has been disrupted, research work has also stalled and nothing is moving. We cannot afford this waste. We cannot afford the number of man-hours being lost. The students are getting frustrated because they are idle. Some of them are even contemplating dropping out of those institutions to go and pursue other careers. Therefore, we are demanding to know what happened to the payment of Kshs3.9 billion that was given out. It is the responsibility of the Cabinet Secretary to explain to the nation what happened. If, indeed, it was misappropriated by individuals and diverted to other causes, we want to know what action is being taken. It is important because this is the only way we can restore order and dignity to our institutions of higher learning. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, industrial strife is far too common in this nation. We have strikes and protests. It is my view that in order to minimize the negative impact of industrial strife for the sake of growing our economy, we need to engage in constructive negotiations which are conducted on the basis of faith, honesty and good intentions. This is the only way we can reduce mistrust because at the moment even when these negotiations have been conducted people still believe that whatever has been agreed upon may not be implemented. Therefore, we need to be serious when engaging in these negotiations. 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. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Sen. (Dr.) Zani for bringing this Motion of adjournment. It is very sad that we are in this House, but students in public universities are not learning. The question here is why and who is to blame. It has been said clearly here that it is the vice chancellors who are to blame. Why are they subjecting our students to this kind of frustrations? There is no way the lecturers can continue teaching if there is no pay. We know very well that the economy requires finance. The vehicles that are used are supposed to run on fuel so if they do not have money, then they cannot teach. It is time that the clout that the vice chancellors have is rechecked. If they can divert funds that are meant for payment of lecturers then it means that their clout is just too much. Money that is supposed to pay salaries is supposed to do that work. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, when we talk about prudent financial management dynamics, we are supposed to be learning this from them. They are supposed to be showing the whole country how to run institutions without strikes and things like that. So, it is a big shame to them; the kind of style that they are showing the country is a very bad style. This cannot be termed as anything else other than sabotaging university education in this country. They should not do it because they have nothing to benefit them. Right now, our leaders are having headaches because of what is happening on the streets. The students are just wandering and walking about aimlessly and yet they are supposed to be studying in their lecture halls. The major question is: If they have misappropriated these funds, what next? I believe that the best thing is for them to be given an ultimatum so that they can reallocate the amount of money that they had allocated to other areas. This money is supposed to be used to pay lecturers now and not tomorrow. If they do not do so, I think the most honourable thing would be for them to either quit so that people who are more competent to run the universities are hired. I do not think there is any other alternative. Tomorrow, the lecturers are supposed to be paid. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, regarding the laptops it is good that I mention one or two things; it is important that when tendering is done, it is done as one unit. What I believe is that we have issues touching on a particular tender then another one. This is bringing a lot of confusion and making speculators think that whatever figures being 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! Your time is up!

With those few remarks, I beg to support.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir for giving me this opportunity. Mine is also to come here and to support this Motion by Sen. (Dr.) Zani which is extremely timely. The Motion comes at a time when the Senate must address itself to the holistic approach to adult education; universities being just one of the many components of education. That is not in doubt. Our universities have been commercialized such that the quality and standards have been compromised. Therefore, as we move forward to discuss this issue that faces us, substantively, the Committee is responsible and some Senators who can take leadership in this area like Prof. Lonyangapuo, Prof. Lesan and the rest of you who have been involved in this should know that it is time that we rewrote the whole philosophy of education in this country. That said and done, Sen. Muthama picked a point that I have argued passionately about in various fora. If you will notice, in this country, the only institutions that go on strike are public institutions. This is the public healthcare and public education. What Sen. Muthama has said is that the elite of this country hardly step in these institutions unless we are doing some politics. At what point, does the Cabinet Secretary for Health visit hospitals? This will happen only if he wants to take an opportunity. I do not ever believe that there would be a solution to the problems in this country until and unless, we, in leadership, lead by example. In due course, we, as the Senate, must formulate rules as much as we know that there is freedom of choices and movement. We should make it mandatory, for Cabinet Secretary for Health and his family to visit public hospitals and get healthcare. It is only after feeling the pinch that the President, the Deputy President and all other Members who are charged with the responsibility around these hospitals will be obligated and mandated to visit these hospitals as the hospital of choice even when they and their families fall ill. It must be compulsory for us to take our children to public schools and universities. This is the only way that we can avert strikes. The university lecturers’ strike, as Sen. Muthama said, is happening when some of our children are safe and sound. They are in the United States, the United Kingdom and they have benefited from scholarships that they, probably, took by virtue of the offices that they hold. Therefore, unless and until we instill a sense of discipline and sacrifice, how can you be a Cabinet Secretary of a university that you do not have the confidence to take your children to? How can you be a Cabinet Secretary of a hospital that you cannot go to in order to receive treatment? Unless we evaluate how we move forward in this country, these issues will not be resolved. The children who are at home are those of poor people. I was out of the university severally because of strikes. I remember students who were in the university with me just because their fathers were Ministers and Permanent Secretaries. They did not even see me and they would not even know what I was doing in class. I only heard that they had moved to go and do their pupilage, way before I completed university because they benefited from a scholarship to Australia, United 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. Temporary Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. I join my colleagues in supporting this Adjournment Motion. The issue at hand is very critical to the people of Kenya because the top echelons of our academia are not on duty for almost one week primarily because of a negotiated CBA that was signed. We know the impact and repercussions that have come as a result of the strike. Very many students have not sat their examinations. Some of them are living in private hostels and will spend more money in paying for their stay, should they resume later on. Although the strike has come, university personnel should have sat down to discuss this. We have key agencies that sit in the universities. We have the university council that has eminent people that sit in it. We have the university management, the university leaders and the leadership at the Ministry of Education. Nobody seems to be giving us the correct position with regard to this dispute. We are hearing that the Kshs329 million has already been paid. The balance of Kshs3.9 million has not been paid. I was a university manager for five years; a principal. Some of my colleagues who are running the universities are saying that Kshs1.8 billion has not been disbursed by the Government. No wonder the Cabinet Secretary and the Treasury people are quiet. Nobody is speaking. We should stand firm and say that we should not allow any mess in the calendar of the university. We should demand the relevant people to sort out their problems. We do not want to hear about it. In some quotas, they are saying that the Narok University has paid. However, they have not remitted anything as a result of the same. They have not paid university staff pension and there is a game that we do not know about. Let them finish their own arithmetic. We, as the Senate, demand, that they sort out this. The union and other lecturers are saying that they want 33.1 per cent increment of their basic salary. The management on one hand is saying that they can sustain 22 per cent of the same. We want them to solve their problem. We are giving them the shortest time possible. One day is sufficient. These are people who are learned. This raises many questions. We have professors earning almost Kshs100,000 while a Member of a County Assembly (MCA) is now getting almost Kshs200,000. What does that mean? With regard to devolution, we have County Executive Committee Members (CECs) who are earning Kshs300,000. These are people who have never 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. Temporary Speaker, Sir, ---

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Looking at the time, it is 6.25 p.m., and if we must conclude this you must give some guidance on the timing.

Sen. Omondi, you have two minutes.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for allowing me to contribute to this Adjournment Motion moved by my friend, Sen. (Dr.) Zani. For sure, this is just a confirmation on how corruption is gaining more roots in this country. It shows that even Free Primary Education (FPE) is being mishandled because the beneficiaries are young Kenyans who cannot speak for themselves, or else they would have raised the issue. The management of the FPE is questionable. If you went to some other parts of this country you would wonder at the state of schools where FPE is being conducted. I condemn what is happening right now because the parents and the poor Kenyans who have invested in their children are losing a lot because time is now being wasted. I support the Motion.

Hon. Senators, it is now time for the interruption of business. The Senate, therefore, stands adjourned until tomorrow Wednesday 19th, March, 2014, 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.