Hon. Senators, I have a Petition made to the Senate by the Members of the Makueni County Assembly. The Petition is as follows:- We, the undersigned citizens of the Republic of Kenya, residents of Makueni County and Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) of Makueni draw the attention of the Senate to the following:- (1) THAT, there has been a continuous financial frustration of the Makueni County Assembly by the County Executive that have brought operational risks due to the insufficient and unpredictable flow of funds necessary to run the Assembly to perform its constitutional mandate. (2) THAT, the County Assembly is forced on numerous occasions to beg to the County Executive to submit its requisition for funds to the Controller of Budget as the Controller of Budget does not recognise direct requisition of funds from the County Assembly. This has greatly affected operational autonomy of the County Assembly. (3) THAT, on anticipating that the Appropriations Bill, 2014 would not be passed on time, that is by 30th June, 2014, the County Assembly passed the Vote on Account as required by Section 134 of the Public Finance Management Act, 2014. (4) THAT, the County Assembly received an Appropriations Bill, 2014 from the County Executive Committee Member for Finance on 25th July, 2014 and proceeded to pass it and submitted the same to the Governor for assent. (5) THAT, on 12th November, 2014, the Clerk of the Makueni County Assembly received a letter from the Executive Committee Member for Finance indicating that he had directed the Assembly’s Bank to freeze the Makueni County Assembly bank accounts. The grounds stated were that the Assembly had exceeded its budgetary The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to seek a Statement from the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance, Commerce and Budget regarding the invasion of elephants in Makueni County. In the Statement, the Chairperson should state the following:- (1) How many Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officers/rangers have been deployed in Makueni County? (2) How many KWS vehicles are available for patrol and response during emergencies of wildlife invasions? (3) The reasons there are no KWS offices anywhere along the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway for quick response to emergencies when under wild animal invasion. 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 the Chairperson of the Committee here?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, this is a very important Statement that the hon. Senator has requested. I seek your guidance because we are only here for next week. It is highly unlikely that within the next week, we will be able to get the answer. However, we will by Thursday try to see if we can get a response from the KWS and communicate to the House in the last day of the session.

Okay, let us have the Statement on Thursday, next week. Sen. Musila. INTENDED ALLOCATION OF LAND AT KANYANYOONI IN KITUI COUNTY

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I stand on a point of order. On 24th July, 2014, I requested for a Statement in connection with land in Kitui. This is 400 acres which was grabbed by the National Security Intelligence (NSI), a Government agency. You ordered the Committee on Lands and Natural Resources to look into the matter. In August, the Senate went on recess. However, on 2nd October, 2014, the Governor of Kitui County and myself appeared before the Committee to give evidence on that matter that we had complained about. So far, the Committee has not reported to this House on their findings. Last week on Tuesday, I raised the matter and two Members of the Committee, Sen. Khaniri and Sen. Obure, promised the Chair that this Thursday, that is today, they would bring a comprehensive report. I have been looking around, I do not see any of them nor do I see the Chairperson of the Committee. This is a serious matter. Our community land is being taken by a Government agency. We were asking for assurance that during the period that investigations were going on, our land would remain intact. However, we are seeing activities on the land, giving an impression that nothing is happening on the side of the Committee and that our land is likely to be taken while we sit here and wait. May I request that you prevail on this Committee to give us a report, possibly on Tuesday, so that we are able to know what is happening? This is a long time, from July till now waiting to get directions of the Committee.

Any Member of the Committee to respond to this?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am aware that this issue is pending. In fact, we stopped any further transactions on that land until we get the final answer. I promise that by Tuesday we should be able to give an answer. 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.

Let us have the answer on Tuesday, next week. Impress upon the Committee to see the sense of urgency the Member has just expressed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me this chance. I just want to inform Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. that elephants are a blessing. If he does not want those elephants in Makueni County, he should take them to Turkana where you have opened nine conservancies or bring them to my county where I have more than ten conservancies.

Order, Sen. Leshore! That Statement was not addressed to you. Secondly, you are also misrepresenting the issues being raised. I do not think the Senator for Makueni County for a moment said that the elephants are not wanted. He just wants the elephants to be managed. STATUS OF BADASA DAM IN MARSABIT COUNTY

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would like to request for a Statement from the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Land and Natural Resources concerning the incomplete Badasa Dam in Marsabit County which started in 2009. In the Statement, the Chairperson should address the following issues concerning the Badasa Dam:- (1) What is the implementation status of the project? (2) What was the contract sum of the project? How much has been paid to date? Whether there is any outstanding claim by the contractor and if so, how much? (3) What is the cost of the stalling of the project and when will it be completed?

Chairperson of the Committee?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we shall respond in two weeks.

Okay, we get the answer in two weeks’ time.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we only have one week to go. Two weeks will be during the recess.

There are many ways of responding. It is not the fault of the Committee that you brought the Statement one week to go. Two weeks is usually the standard period in which any matter can be interrogated. Just bear with us on that one.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have another request for a Statement.

Okay, you may proceed. STATUS OF THE LAKE TURKANA WIND POWER PROJECT

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I wish to seek a Statement from the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Energy concerning the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project which is in Marsabit County and has been publicized as the single largest clean energy project in Africa expected to generate 300 megawatts. In view of its magnitude and the 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 there Chairperson here? Any Member of the Committee present? Senate Majority, can you comment on the Statement on Lake Turkana Wind Power Project.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Mr. Speaker, Sir, unfortunately, I do not seem to be aware of that Statement. Maybe it was requested while I was not in.

It is a new one.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have not had the benefit of listening to the nature of the question, but given that we are here up to 4th December, 2014, I will make every endevour through the relevant Chairperson and facilitate an answer by Thursday, next week.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, next week is okay because I am just asking for existing documents, but not any other further information.

Senate Majority Leader, you may now issue your Statement. BUSINESS FOR THE WEEK COMMENCING TUESDAY, 2ND DECEMBER, 2014

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Mr. Speaker, Sir, I will be brief. I rise under Standing Order No.45 to issue a Statement on the business of the Senate for next week, the week commencing 2nd December, 2014. On Tuesday, as usual, we will have our Rules and Business Committee (RBC) at 12 noon. Subject to that meeting and its directions, the Senate will continue with the business that will not be exhausted in today’s Order Paper. On Wednesday, we will continue with business that will not be concluded on Tuesday and consider any other business that will be scheduled by the RBC. This includes the following Motions: Resumption of Debate on the Motion by Sen. Billow on Legislative and other Measures to Deal With Terrorism and Other Criminal Activities in the Country; Motion by the Chairperson of the Ad hoc Committee on Adoption of a Report on Legislation on

; Motion by the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries on the Status of Food Security in Baringo County; Motion by Sen. Daniel Karaba on Development of Policy Guidelines on Accreditation of Institutions of Higher Learning; Motion by Sen. Joy Gwendo on Construction of Wheelchair The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Order, Senators! I just want to reiterate what the Senate Majority Leader has said about participation next week. I cannot really over- emphasise what he has said. We have a lot of business which would be important to dispense with before you go on recess. Thank you. GOVERNMENT ACTION ON IMPENDING FOOD SHORTAGE IN THE NORTH RIFT

Mr. Speaker, Sir, two weeks ago I sought a Statement from the Chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, regarding the opening of the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) silos across the country. It is due today, but I have not seen it in the Order Paper. It was an urgent issue and we all agreed that it did not only affect my county, but the rest of the counties in the country.

Where is the Chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries or the Vice Chairperson? The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we are still waiting for the report from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries. This is really a matter of concern even to me. We have written severally to the Ministry and they have been promising a response. Unfortunately, to date, they have not responded and yet farmers continue to suffer because of lack of market for their maize. So, we will continue pursuing and we may even have to summon them.

Summoning should not just be an option at this rate. This is quite an important matter. You may actually wish to consider doing so next week so that we get an answer, at least, before we go on recess.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we shall comply. FLAWED KENYA DEFENCE FORCES RECRUITMENT IN NYANDARUA-WEST SUB-COUNTY

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I requested for a Statement to what was very urgent about two weeks back, regarding the fraud of Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) recruitment in Nyandarua-West Sub-County. I am still waiting for that answer.

Where is the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson or Member of the National Security and Foreign Relations Committee? Yes, Senate Majority Leader. This is on Sen. (Eng.) Muriuki’s Statement on the KDF recruitment on his County?

(Sen. (Prof) Kindiki): Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am sorry. I was consulting Sen. No.1. However, if it is a fresh Statement, I can still---

It is a follow-up.

(Sen. (Prof) Kindiki): The Chairperson of the Committee on National Security and Foreign Relations was here just now, but he has left. However, I can undertake to inform him today so that by Tuesday, he can respond to that question. I will inform him today.

Senate Majority Leader, there is even a more fundamental issue. When Sen. (Eng.) Muriuki requested for this Statement on Tuesday the other week, the Chairperson expressed concern that she was not getting support from the responsible officers. That is a more fundamental matter that you need to address. Maybe before you do so, Senate Majority Leader, I can see some interventions from Members. After that, you can respond comprehensively.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, much as the Senate Majority Leader will, perhaps, undertake to intervene where he can, nonetheless, would I be in order to suggest or request the Chair to order that this questions or requests for Statements which are pending appear in the Order Paper, so that the responsible Chairpersons of Committees are kept reminded that they are still pending?

It is

o ordered. All pending Statements should appear on the Order Paper.

(Sen. (Prof) Kindiki): Mr. Speaker, Sir, further to what I have said, let me also say that I will retrieve that question personally, talk to the Chairperson and between the Chairperson and myself, we will talk to the Chief of Kenya The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise on a point of order to find out about a Statement that I had sought from the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Education, Science and Technology. I was promised the answer on Tuesday, but I have been waiting. However, up to now, there is no answer.

You are waiting from who?

The Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Education.

Is Sen. Karaba here? Is there any Member of the Committee here? What is the status of that Statement?

They promised to bring the answer on Tuesday.

Which Tuesday?

Tuesday last week. I have been waiting every day.

Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr.; are you a Member of the Committee?

I am not, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

I saw you gesturing in a manner to suggest so.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we were trying to assist the House by looking for Members. We thought that Sen. Lesuuda is a Member, but we have corrected that impression.

Yes, the Senate Majority Leader.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): I will convey that to Sen. Karaba, the Chairperson for the Standing Committee on Education, Science. Sen. Kittony has made this request today and I want to request that we respond on Thursday, next week.

The Senate Majority Leader, this is a follow up. She had been promised the response on Tuesday, but today, is Thursday. You can take it to Tuesday, next week, because it is not a new one. For any outstanding Statement, the Clerks-at-the-Table are directed to make sure they all appear. Next Order.

Hon. Senators, we need sufficient voting numbers for that. So we will defer that Order and move on to the 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.

Before I call upon the Senate Majority Leader, Sen. Ndiema had a report to table.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to lay the following Paper on the Table:- Report on Fertilizer and Animal Foodstuffs (Amendment) Bill, 2013

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, No.2 of 2013 (National Assembly Bill No.33 of 2013 be read a Second Time. Mr. Speaker, Sir, this Miscellaneous Amendments Bill is quite short yet it makes amendments that are critical to devolution. As I move the Second Reading of this Bill, I hope that this will be a good opportunity for the hon. Senators to look at the issues that the proposed amendments raise with a view to adding value and bringing out some of the underlying implications on devolution. This is a Bill that has come to this House from the National Assembly in accordance with the Constitution. This Bill amends, in a minor way, about six Acts of Parliament. It amends the Land Adjudication Act, Cap.284 of the Laws of Kenya, the Urban Areas and Cities Act, 2011, the Transition to Devolved Government Act, 2012, the County Governments Act, 2012, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Authority Act, 2013, the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Act, 2013 and the Crops Act, 2013. Mr. Speaker, Sir, basically, this Bill is connected with those seven legislations which I have highlighted. With regard to the Land Adjudication Act, this Bill does three The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

What is it, Sen. Wako?

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I want to raise an issue where I would like the guidance of the Speaker on how we should proceed with this Bill. I do not want to blame anybody because I think there was confusion between the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments Bill) of the Senate and this Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill. This particular Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill No.2) (National Assembly Bill No.33 of 2013) has not been interrogated in the way it ought to be interrogated by the Senate. This Bill is good. I commend the National Assembly for referring this Bill to us. I can see that the systems are now working where they do recognise that this Bill touches mainly on the various Bills which touch on the county. That is a fact. Therefore, therefore, it was a Bill that should have more or less emanated from here, but I do not want to take that as an issue. The Bill is now before us. The question is how to proceed now because the fact of the matter is that when you read the Bill, it is necessary that the various Committees which touch on the various provisions of the Bill examine them very carefully. This is a very important Bill which is touching on the county. As a general comment, for example, when the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights considered some of the legislation that had been passed by the Tenth Parliament and which did not take into account the fact that some of the functions had been devolved, we carried out very few amendments just to make them compliant with the Constitution. However, it may be recalled by the House that when I was moving that Bill, I said that the various Committees should now examine these various Bills and come up with substantive amendments to those Bills. The Crops Act touches on issues which touch on county governments. We should not just consider these Bills which will be there and through mutatis mutandis principle, we wait until the county governments come up with their own Bills. In fact, I would be very hesitant to wait for the various county governments to come up with various Bills on all these things. If the national Government is giving the national policy which is now being legislated, and if that legislation is for the counties, then the input of the county governments should be in this particular Bill which will now inform the county assemblies when they are now doing their own enactments. For example, if you take the Kenya Livestock Act, they now constitute the institute, but they have not taken into account---

Order, Sen. Wako! I gave you a considerably longer time because of your status as the Attorney-General Emeritus . However, I am beginning to fear that you are misusing that privilege.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I know you as a man who knows these Acts backwards and forwards. But for the benefit of the Members, I was proceeding a bit so that they understand the context in which I am making it.

So, what is your point of order?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I wanted direction that maybe we should take a little bit more time on this Bill rather than hurrying it. Let it be submitted to the Committee on Agriculture to interrogate these amendments. It should also be referred The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Sen. Abdirahman, are you standing on a point of order?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I want to seek for some other direction.

(Sen. Murkomen); I will start with Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. and then come to you. I want to request Senators that since they are just seeking direction, they should just address themselves to that particular issue and also take the shortest time possible.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I will be brief. My Chairman is allowed some little more time. I also want to suggest that you give directions on this Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill No.2 (National Assembly Bill No.33 of 2013) because a close reading of the amendments, for example, to the County Governments Act, particularly what appears to be a new section 139 of the County Governments Act, I am not sure that we can do this before this particular amendment is taken to the Committee on Finance, Commerce and Budget to confirm whether this proposed amendment is in line with Article 209. In the proposed amendment to Section 54 of the County Governments Act, I am not certain whether we can do this without conducting either a public hearing to determine whether this forum is, in fact, in contradiction to the forum that we have set up under Section 91. The amendment is very fundamental yet it appears that the Committees responsible, particularly the Committee on Devolved Government have not been consulted. The amendment to Section 23 of the Transition to Devolved Governments Act, particularly Section 23 which purports to change the criteria for transfer of functions, this issue should be subjected to our Committee on devolved Government so that we can determine whether, in fact, there is any pending issue on transfer of functions after we have already passed a resolution in this House for the transfer of extra functions. Your directions on this would be very critical. It will be premature to debate this Bill at this point.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, listening to the comments from two of my colleagues, I think that this an opportunity for us, not necessarily at the Second 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, the Miscellaneous Amendment Bill is very important because it affects so many areas. In as much as it appears to be touching on small sections of the law to be amended, but they may have a lot of implications in as far as legislation in particular areas is concerned. I note that there are amendments relating to agriculture, livestock and so forth, but I am not aware that my Committee on Agriculture which is the relevant committee has had a chance to look at the necessary amendments. Would I be in order to suggest that these amendments first be stood in the relevant Committees for discussion and also allow public participation? The counties should be consulted so that they can also give their input.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, whereas the Attorney-General

has spoken well and they have genuine concerns about particular clauses in the Bill or the procedures involved, the fact is that the Bill is not right now before the House. First of all, the Constitution requires that a Bill from the other House comes to the Senate and goes through the normal stages as though it had originated from here and it should have passed through the relevant Committees before appearing on the Order Paper. As it is now, it has only been moved. I suggest that the Bill should be seconded and then the Chair can rule that before we proceed for debate it should be committed to the relevant Committees.

Hon. Senators, the issues which have been raised by all of you starting with Sen. Wako are very weighty. As the Chair and also a person acquainted with these issues, I have read through the two legislations. I am persuaded that some of the issues being discussed here are so weighty that it would not be fair if we do not have the benefit of the relevant Committees and public participation. For example, I have just seen that we are dealing with reduction of what an urban area, a city and a town is and that has profound implications on management by the counties. If you reduce the number of cities or create more than two cities in a county, it has operational costs under the Urban Areas and Cities Act. There are various issues in the Transition to Devolved Government Act and Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. has been very persuasive on whether you can amend an Act on an action that has already been completed because we are no longer transferring functions. We completed that responsibility. If you look at provisions of the County Government Act, the additional provision, it is directly substituting another section that was passed in this House which subsequently is being challenged in court. That is the section related to County Development Boards (CDBS). You will find that, that is important. However, I must say this very clearly, it must come to the notice of the House. That is where it comes backs to you the Chairman of Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee that this legislation, the First Reading was done on 6th August 2014. We have had about three months waiting for action from the Committee. It was the Legal Affairs 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, there is nothing. I just wanted to talk about Standing Order No.134. I wanted to draw this attention to the Chairperson of the Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee that the subject was submitted to the Committee for the last four months and he was not able to see it.

(Sen. Murkomen)

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I accept your ruling, it is a good ruling. As I said in the very beginning, the matter has had confusion somewhere along the line, between the two Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bills. That has caused confusion. I do not know to what extent. There was a ruling by ole Kaparo when he was the Speaker that one can only bring amendments during the Committee Stage and Third Reading which have been mentioned during the Second Reading. In other words, you cannot just come up with an amendment out of the blues during the Committee Stage when you have attended to issues in the Second Reading, so that other members can comment on it in the Second Reading. Complete the Second Reading, I agree that we go as far as we can, but I would urge that maybe we do not complete the Second Reading until the Committees have had a chance to look at it. In the light of that ruling, if you think that ruling by Speaker ole Kaparo binds you, but it was a reasonable ruling saying that you cannot bring an amendment into the Third Reading if you have not raised that matter during the debate on the Second Reading.

(Sen. Murkomen)

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for allowing me to second The Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Bill, (National Assembly Bill No. 33 of 2014) has put here this afternoon.

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

(Sen. Murkomen)

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we dare never doubt the ruling of the Speaker. My standing here is not to doubt what you have ruled, but to say that, whether we will be in order if we just agree to speak the way we have just ruled, knowing that we are not going to get the conclusion of the whole thing until it is taken back to the Committees. This matter, as you said, is very weighty. It involves so much. In fact, if it was my own decision, this matter needed to have been circulated to the county governments to understand and to know what we are trying to do. Otherwise, a part of them may think that they can go to court and do away with this Bill. I see no reason it should not be a shameful situation if we agree that this matter be suspended for a while. Even if we discuss it now, until January, February or March, we shall not have concluded this Bill. So, during that period, why not commit it to other relevant authorities? 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. Murkomen)

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I think we need to proceed. We, as a House, are already under the microscope with regard to the delays in some of the Bills that have been forwarded to us. With all due respect, if the committees did not take the trouble to look at this Bill for the three or four months, there is no certainty that, in fact, we will make amendments. But whatever it is we will make it in the Committee and during the Third Reading. So, I suggest that we proceed, because everything else really is not something that we should be raising now. We know where we came from and I think we need to proceed. Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir.

Hon. Senators, we need to proceed. The most important point that you have made is to say that we have delayed for four months, waiting for the contributions of the Committee. We cannot correct because the law says that it should be done within 30 days. We have to follow the law. We will proceed with the Second Reading. It will only make the Third Reading a little bit tedious, if amendments will be done. But we can accommodate that inconvenience at that point in time. Proceed, Deputy Minority Leader.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, my flow of thought has very much been interrupted by the numerous points of order, including my own. I was almost getting convinced that at one point we really need to accommodate views from other stakeholders. I joined in because I felt that we needed to create a law or somehow make amendments that will not affect or is in the public interest. However, we will proceed as you suggested. Probably, at a certain point in time, we will correct any anomalies that might have emerged along the way. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, as I said, I stand to support this Bill, as introduced. It touches heavily on the county governments or devolution in general. It is important that, as the very primary stakeholder – the Senate – we interrogate at every stage and see to it that whatever gaps that may have arisen in the existing Acts, can actually be accommodated in the ones that are introduced. Many times we said that we had not been consulted. It is an opportunity for us now, since the National Assembly is seeking our concurrence and being the “Upper House,” as the final authority to append our feelings on it. These amendments that are proposed are numerous. The first one is on the Land Adjudication Act, particularly of great interest to people from the Arid and Semi-Arid areas, what was commonly referred to as the trust land and now called “community land.” This is really something that empowers our people. We have seen huge tracts of land that have been taken by individuals and this has kept on giving us problems. This is an area of great interest which we really need to support. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the next one is the Urban Areas and Cities Act which empowers a county governor to confer the status of a special municipality to a headquarter of a county. In the past, the manner in which municipalities were actually given names by the local authorities was not very clear. I remember in one instance they 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 this Bill. The Bill as the Mover said amends several legislations as is expected of any statute law miscellaneous amendment. Regarding the Land Adjudication Act where the changes are to bring it in line with the Constitution, for example, changing things like trust land to community land which is the new terminology according to the Constitution, it is in order and I support it. On the second amendment relating to Urban Areas and Cities Act, I support these amendments which give the governor the mandate to confer status of municipality to county headquarters. All the county headquarters will enjoy a municipal or a city status so that they can have access to other levels of development. This is important because we need to have that level of uniformity so that some county headquarters are not left behind of their status. In that regard, the attempt being made in this Bill to reduce the population from what is in the existing Act, that is, the Urban and Cities Act is acceptable. I support it especially the issue of reducing the requirement from 500,000 people to 250,000 people and for urban areas from 250,000 people to 70,000 people. In the County Governments Act, we are also dealing with towns, urban areas and cities. There are different regulations relating to each of this category in terms of the way they are managed, the way revenue is collected, the way they raise their rates and so on. In this regard, I support the proposed reduction of the population. We have been told that big towns like Kisumu and Eldoret have not attained the status of a city. When you look at the operations of those towns, the requirements and the infrastructure, you will find that the Government, through the various Ministries like the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure and so many others, also provide various investments in some of these areas based on their status. Therefore, this will allow some of the county headquarters to have access to funding, especially through the Road Development Levy which is available to cities. Therefore, it is important we reduce the population threshold so that all the 47 county headquarters are at the same level. We should have a systematic way of grading our cities. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I also support the proposal under the same Act that the cities and urban areas continue to use the existing laws in terms of imposing the rates and charges until county governments introduce their own through finance bills. Regarding the County Governments Act, I do not know what is relevant in the amendment. For example, there is one that says that in the first election, the number of wards in a county should be reduced from 15 to 10. I do not know the significance of that because it says that the minimum number of wards in a county should be reduced from 15 to 10. I do not think that situation will apply again. There is one which I have heard the Senate Majority Leader raise that concerns the amendment on page five of the Bill relating to the County Governments Act, on the creation of a consultative forum. I agree with what the Senate Majority Leader said that this amendment of creating a consultative forum for the coordination of development activities is exactly the same thing that we did in the County Development Boards (CDBs). In the CDBs, there is also a consultative forum for the coordination of development. The wording is the same. What the National Assembly is trying to do, with 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 for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this Bill. I stand to support these amendments. However, there is one area that I still do not understand. This Bill states that the minimum number of wards we should have in every county should be between 10 and 15. I do not understand that. Is this something that was researched? I come from Nakuru County. We now have 54 wards, but the people there still feel that they need to have more wards. 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. I rise to give my contribution to this Bill. The Bill proposes to align some of the Acts particularly the Land Adjudication Act Cap 284 to the Constitution. That appears on pages one and two of the intended Bill. I want to speak to the amendments to in the proposed Transition to Devolved Governments Act, particularly Section 23. I reiterate my previous contribution that this Bill should have been subjected to the Committee on Devolved Government. The Committee on Devolved Government has presented a report to the Senate agreeing. The Senate has resolved to agree to the appeal filed by all counties in respect of the functions which have not been transferred. This is to the extent to which the Bill attempts to give extra criteria on the Transition Government to provide capacity and programme. This is inconsistent with our resolutions. Two, this is inconsistent with the Constitution. The Constitution is very clear. You transfer a function and the function is accompanied by resources. There is no other programme that is required. Who is supposed to supervise this programme that is proposed under the amendment to 2(5)(a) and who determines the capacity? The reports of the Controller of Budget, since the beginning of the new dispensation have stated that counties do not have the capacities to develop legislation and other things. The proposed amendments to 23(5), if implemented, will extend the mandate of the TA beyond the three years. Three, it will provide a programme that cannot be supervised. Four, we know this because the TA has been here several times. They have complained that they cannot function because they do not have funds. So, on what basis will we give them these functions because they have failed to perform the functions that they were given at the first instance as the Transitional Authority (TA) have failed to perform them? One of them is to ensure a smooth transition between the municipal and urban councils to the new governments. It is on record that the Transition Authority has not plugged the holes that were closed by the old municipal councils and urban councils. It is on record that counties are still operating some of the accounts that were being run by the old councils and yet this amendment seems to suggest that the Transition Authority should be given more functions in order to perform this function. I disagree entirely. In Section 5 (b), for the last three years, the Transition Authority has been unable to unbundle functions. Why then would we add Section 5 (b) in their functions to the 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, we are discussing a very important law. The way it has been brought into the House, knowing very well its importance to the counties, just like my colleagues have proposed, it should be subjected to the relevant committees. I know that time is not with us but I will still plead that it should be looked into. We should let Senators ventilate on it through the various committees. I can see a lot in this Bill about land and particularly the issue of community land. Section 61 Cap.284 on page 16 of the list of amendments, there is a proposal which reads:- “In respect of each adjudication section, the adjudication officer after consultation with the District Commissioner of the district within which the adjudication section lies, shall appoint not less than ten persons”. I happen to have come from an area which is quite rich in community land and we know the suffering our people went through without knowing that their land had been taken. Now, again with devolution, we are saying that it is the District Commissioner who is going to appoint the committee which is going to do the adjudication. With all due respect, I doubt whether that can really work even on the ground. That is just one of the anomalies that I have picked. The other one is what the previous speaker talked about – the Urban Areas and Cities Act. I have no problem with that. I feel that quite a number of areas are still marginalized even after the new Constitution was promulgated. We still have some authorities like Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA), which still favour areas with municipalities and cities. When they are given funds, they do not consider adjacent areas, like my county or even Makueni. Even Kitui which is quite far enjoys that status. That is one area in the Bill that is good. If it goes through, I believe that the governors, particularly mine, should really move with speed to make sure that Ongata Rongai, Kitengela and even Ngong become municipalities, so that we can benefit, in case KURA will still be there next year. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, there is a mix-up of agriculture, livestock and fisheries, and even forming of the authorities. We need to think of boards which will regulate and not really manage. That can only be done properly if we can subject the entire Bill to the relevant committees. The Committee on Lands and Mineral Resources requires to be given time. We also have the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock 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.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to make my contribution to this Bill, which I support subject to the views which I will express here. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I agree with those who raised earlier objections to the continuation of this debate on very important matters which we intend to amend. I also understand that this Bill has been in the Senate for a long time; from July until now. I would like to know whether before this Bill went through the National Assembly, they did public hearings on the amendments that were proposed. This is because we would have taken comfort in those public hearings. At least, we would have a record of what the views of the public on some of these proposed amendments were. Given that we do not have that information, I think that there is a very strong case; that the matters that are proposed to be amended in this Bill be subjected to public hearings as we proceed. This is because it will not be proper for some of these weighty amendments to be undertaken without consulting the public. I say this because even the Chair of the Transition Authority (TA) has already raised concern, that many Bills which have been passed by the National Assembly and even by the Senate have not gone through that process, which is against the Constitution. On the issue of land, this afternoon you heard me raise the issue of a trust land in Kitui called Kanyonyoni, where agencies of the Government have grabbed 400 acres contrary to the Constitution. This is because the management of trust lands which are now being converted into community lands lies on the country government and the National Land Commission. But in this case, some people just took the land, because it was a transition period; just before the new county governments took over. This is a subject of discussion in this House. I support the trust lands being made community land. This is because “trust land” was a term that was used to give land to be in trust for the public. But those who were given trust to look after that land did not think that this land belonged to the public or community. They just dished it away. Therefore, when it is community land – which means that it is owned by the people – one will think twice before playing around with it, without the consent of the community. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, on the Urban Areas and Cities Act, there is a proposal to reduce the number of inhabitants in a city from 500,000 to 250,000. I really do not understand this. Further, the number in municipalities has been reduced to 70,000. We are inviting chaos in the management of urban areas in this country. I recall sometime ago, there was a Minister for Local Government whom I would not like to mention, who used to go round dishing out municipalities all over without any formula. We ended up with mushrooming municipalities. Some did not even qualify and others did not even The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I stand to support the amendments except for a few areas that I will briefly touch on. On the issue of Urban Areas and Cities Act, I find the amendments here quite in order. The original Act made conditions so difficult that we ended up demoting urban centres which had certain status for long. An example is Kitale which has been a municipality as long as I can remember but it is now not a municipality. The law should also recognise the present status and not make things so difficult. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the amendment proposes that all county headquarters be considered for a certain status of municipality. I do agree with that because in classifying urban centres, we should plan ahead. We should not wait until population has grown with unplanned structures and then we say we want to convert them to municipalities. I think we should be forward looking provided there is land and adequate plans showing that the urban centre is aiming to be a municipality. There is nothing wrong in classifying it as a municipality. The issue of giving equal opportunities to all counties through making all the county headquarters municipalities is appropriate. Regarding the areas of the Transition Authority, I do not quite understand why this amendment is necessary when we know quite a substantial number of functions have been transferred and the few that are remaining should have been transferred by now. The only problem we have experienced in this area is resources being availed to county governments to undertake these functions. The Transition Authority has not done valuation of assets and has not unbundled the functions. So how can it, therefore, ask for more time to assess whether a function will be transferred or not? There seems to be mischief here where transfers of functions seem to be facing or projected to face some delay or an elaborate effort to delay transfer of functions. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, there is the issue of County Governments Act where a County Consultative Forum for the coordination of development is supposed to be formed. I believe the executive is already a forum to coordinate development within the executive in the county. You do not need to legislate that because the executive is already there and its work is to coordinate development. What is required in the Constitution is that there must be participation and all-inclusive involvement in planning. The public is also supposed to be included. The first people to be involved must, of course, be the representatives of the people beginning with the constitutional representative of a county in the name of a Senator and the representative of the people in the name of Members of the National Assembly and Members of the County Assemblies. As long as those are not involved in development activities at the county level, we cannot say that bringing professionals will make that forum complete. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we already have an Act of Parliament on County Development Board although it is facing challenges, I believe it can be amended to include co-opting members from professional organizations. Even here, it is not defined what professional organizations are. What prevents individuals from appointing their friends to development forums who may not really be professionals in the manner that is suitable? We need the relevant committee to look into this issue so that it is rejected outrightly and County Development Boards are put into place. 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. Onesmus Kipchumba Murkomen.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I know many people do not know I am called Onesmus. I have been listening to the contributions of the Members, having the benefit of sitting there. If you look at the contributions or the Bill itself, you will see that it looks like it was drafted in a hurry without any particular plan or an objective to achieve or correct it. This is because it is uncoordinated except for the agriculture one. The other legislations related to trust land, particularly, the ones on county government; the County Governments Act and the Urban Areas and Cities Act, you cannot really tell exactly what economic or political considerations were being achieved because they have been drafted in a very incoherent manner. I understand that in the Land Adjudication Act, we are trying to contextualise the fact that we needed to say county council, county government and so forth. However, you did not even need to amend that now. You could have cleaned it in that manner because the Constitution already says where “local authority” appears, it should be substituted by 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 Senator for Elgeyo-Marakwet in order to pretend that he does not know about affirmative action? If a county has no city, municipality or town, you have to choose one that appears like a town, call it a municipality, get the facilities there and it becomes the headquarters. Very soon this House should pass a law to make Ol Kalou a municipality and we move on. If we do not, then we will never have any.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, where is the point of order? He was either giving information or making a contribution and yet he will have his time. The point I was making is that acquisition of a city like Mombasa or Nairobi should be through a criteria provided in law.

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

Do you want that information?

Yes, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I wish to inform Sen. Murkomen, whom I respect as one of the drafters of the Constitution that there are cities in this world which started as small centres. When Nairobi became a city, it was not as big 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, whereas my neighbour has given me information, the information was erroneous and jumbled up. He has agreed that you grow from a village, shopping centre then it becomes a town in a municipality and then a city. Let us not define a centre in my village, for example, call Embobut a city so that out of a “feel good” desire, it becomes Embobut City. When you go there, you can count the number of shops. Let us have criteria which allow our counties to grow from one step to another to reach that level. There is what we call the city of the county and a municipality. The city of a county will remain the same even if there is one shopping centre. However, this one does not get the status of a municipality. This is a global issue. There is a Sister Cities Associations and Municipalities Association in the world. We must remain within the global definitions. When the Urban Areas and Cities Act was being drafted, that is what we had in mind. I want to add my contribution to what Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. ably talked about with regard to the Transition to Devolved Governments Act. If no one is desirous of reversing the process that Senators have already completed, there will be no function to be transferred. There is no transitional process of a function. The transition time is still going on. It will end next year but there is no function that someone will apply for so that we consider. That is why I am saying that whoever drafted this law was either ignorant, was in a hurry or was just doing it for the sake of it. In fact, if you want to talk about transfer of functions, that is under Article 187 of the Constitution. This is about functions being transferred to the other level of Government which is already provided for in the Intergovernmental Relations Act. The Transition to Devolved Governments Act is a timed Act. It has a time frame and certain minimum obligations for its existence. The reason why it has been implemented in a major way is because we have transferred the functions. What is remaining is the auditing of assets, liabilities and so forth. However, this does not involve provisions which are superfluous being inserted here. If you refer to the notes attached to these Bills, you will realize that there was a proposal at some point to delete the transition period from three years. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I know that it is within your powers to add me more time. If you could add me another five minutes I will appreciate. In this regard, we are talking about the transition period. Someone said that we should extend the transition period and the term of the Transition Authority. That is a serious issue. If anyone wanted to do that, then we would have a discussion. There is one problem in this country as we speak. The technical committee that should serve the summit is not in place. We do not know the reason why it is not in place. Our Committee has been inquiring why we have not received any reports from the Summit or from the Council of Governors. They have been having several meetings and they have not reported to this House. Be that as it may, we must not extend the term 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.

Your time is up! Sen. G.G. Kariuki.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I was here from the beginning when this Bill was being moved by the Senate Majority Leader. It created a lot of questions and points of order because of what it is. Since the Speaker had decided on the way forward, we all agreed. The Speaker should not be challenged for making that decision. However, we should look at this Bill clause by clause, because this is a Bill affecting county governments. It has a lot to do with county governments. Whatever we are proposing here ought to have come from the county governments so that we know and regulate according to the wishes of the locals, assuming that the local leadership would have introduced the Bill to the public for their comments because the issue of land, whether adjudication, is a very weighty matter. This is where you can find counties, national Government and also the Senate disagreeing because it is an issue of natural resources belonging to a particular county. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, sometimes we need to change our policy in terms of thinking that we can just forget where we come from and assume that we know better that other people. My feeling, as somebody who has been in politics for quite some time, is that we fail by not involving the public. Was there any problem for the Committee dealing with this matter to go round and ask or propose to the people what they are intending to do? The people would have talked to you. For example, if you want an urban council to have 250,000 people, they will agree or disagree with you. However, to assume that because we have the authority, we can just move on and do what we want is quite unfortunate. You now want to go back to introduce District Commissioners (DCs) in land adjudication. Is the history of those administrators dealing with the adjudication matters good? Some have history you would not even wish to be reminded about. This is where corruption started many years back; that if you have money, your land can be adjudicated and some parts of other people’s land would be taken away. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we cannot be here as witnesses of making law which we know will create more problems. I agree with Sen. Murkomen when he was asking whether this Bill was properly drafted. However, looking at it, it is said it went through the Office of the Attorney-General. However, I think we need to know that the Attorney- General’s office is a legal office. He is a Government legal advisor but not a Government political advisor. Therefore, we should not take it for granted that just because the Bill went through the Attorney-General’s office, it is an appropriate Bill which will solve our problems. These are things that we always need to be careful about. Although the terms changed from trust land to community land, the meaning is almost the same. It became trust land because the land was being trusted to the British to supervise and manage for the locals. Now, we can manage ourselves without necessarily looking for help from anybody from outside. 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, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this Bill. The Bill covers many Acts and that is why the views of the Members should have been sought in the relevant committees so that we can benefit from their deliberations on the same. All the same because the Chair has ruled that it will go to committees either way, I would like to give my contribution. The first one is with regard to the Trust Land Act. This Act has been used for a long time. The county councils have been using it and through it, communities have been losing their land. With the coming in of the Constitution of Kenya 2010, the trust land has been renamed community land. My expectation is that we have a completely different Act which gives a lot of authority or powers to the communities to manage their own land. That cannot be attained by changing the Trust Land Act to Community Act and, changing county council to county government because the Act is still the same. We have a county government which is more entrenched than the county councils. Therefore, we also need the communities to have more say in their land. In fact, it should be a situation whereby the communities will have titles to their land because they are the ones to make decisions on what should be set aside and what procedure should be used. They should be fully involved. There was no need of doing these cosmetic changes. We would rather, as the Senate, complete the process because we already have the Community Land Bill which has been tabled in the House. We would rather expedite that one than have these kind of cosmetic changes. For the Urban Areas and Cities Act which reduces the population, I do not get the rationale of reducing the population threshold so that we end up with more cities and municipalities. This is because if you look at what the Act is amending, in the case of cities from 500 to 250, that is just one requirement. There are many other requirements which have to be met. If you check Section 5(9) of the Act which is being amended, the population is just the first part but there are other requirements from part (a) up to (g) which that area has to meet before it can be called either a city or an urban area. It has to demonstrate the capacity to generate sufficient revenue. If you reduce the population 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 very much, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for this opportunity to make some preliminary observations, now that there is an opportunity for this Bill to go to the Committee and come back for the Third Reading, when I hope we will have a further opportunity to make comments. Some of the amendments being proposed through this Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendment) Bill are very fundamental. In my view, some of them require careful scrutiny. In fact, they also require thorough examination, not only at the level of the National Assembly and this Senate, but also by affected stakeholders and even the Kenyan public at large. Therefore, I feel that the public should be given an opportunity to interrogate some of the amendments, because they are very fundamental. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, while I agree that some of the proposed amendments are, in fact, overdue and very routine, I also feel that some are not. For example, we know that we no longer have county councils because they have been replaced following the repeal of Cap.265. However, I do not know why we are really in such a great hurry to consider this at this particular moment. For example, only a few days ago, The Community Land Bill went through First Reading in this House and was committed to the relevant Committee on Land and Natural Resources. That Committee of this 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.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for this opportunity to share some initial thoughts contextually, with respect to this Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendment) Bill. 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.

Since there are no more requests, I call upon the Mover to reply.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker Sir. I will not belabor too much because I have heard what Senators have said. That is the purpose of the Second Reading. It is to bring to fore the proposed legislation and allow ventilation. I share many of the sentiments that have been highlighted during the debate. We need to be careful and protect devolution. All of us in this House are in agreement that when it comes to devolution, we must ensure that more than any other institutions, that we are vigilant and make sure that our counties are nurtured. I only have one more remark and it connects to the contribution by my brother, Sen. Hassan, whom we agree with on many issues like the wonders of devolution, fantastic opportunities offered in our counties to grow areas which have been marginalized for a long time, including my own county Tharaka Nithi. Therefore, I am a champion of devolution because I know as the rest of Kenya is being transformed Tharaka-Nithi will be transformed through devolution. The only thing, I do not agree with Sen. Hassan, is that in everything he has to see national Government and some conspiracy theories about the national Government. I am saying this because I have just heard him say that when the Bill talks about capacity, it is trying to demean counties---

Order, Senator. There is an intervention by Sen. Hassan.

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki made it very clear that the purpose of Second Reading is to allow Senators to ventilate. Ventilation is a very broad term. My ventilation is also an opportunity for him to demystify some of those things. So is he in order to now skew my ventilation to mean it is an endemic issue by bringing in the national Government?

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I would not be very far from the truth to allege that Sen. Hassan will never finish a speech without attacking the Jubilee Government. That is okay because he is a Member of the minority. My problem is that he needs to read the Constitution and attack the Government having read it. I want to read for my brother Article 190 of the Constitution. This Article was not written by Jubilee but by Kenyans from all shades of the political divide. It says:- “Parliament shall enact legislation to ensure that county governments have adequate to enable them perform their functions.” It goes on to say:- “Parliament, by legislation, shall provide for the intervention by the national Government is a county is unable to perform its functions or does not operate---” The issue of capacity in counties was anticipated. It is not a demeaning ideology but an ideology to compel the country to believe in devolution and to mandatorily make sure that the national Government strengthens rather than stifles the devolved units. This 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.

As the Senate Majority Leader has requested, we will defer putting the Question because this is a Bill concerning counties.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to move:- That the Fertilizers and Animal Foodstuffs (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No.36 of 2013) be read a Second Time. I will be very brief. The purpose of this Bill is very simple, definite and direct and yet it addresses a very important issue relating to availability, production, distribution, access, and affordability of fertilizer. As hon. Senators know, fertilizer is an important farm input that has an overall effect on food production. Animal foodstuff on the other hand is critical to the livestock which is part of the agricultural sector as a whole. While fertilizers support the crop industry, livestock industry is mainly supported by the foodstuffs industry. This Bill establishes a Board; the Fertilizers Board, is the main thrust of this Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendment) Bill. This is what will advise the national Government and county governments on policies which are appropriate to make fertilizer affordable. This Board will, among other things, advise the Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries regarding agricultural policies because agricultural policy is a function of the national Government. This Board will collaborate with research institutions and universities to ensure there is research conducted on 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.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I stand to second this Bill.

Sen. Ndiema, I know we are short of time, but I will add you an extra five minutes.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, five minutes may not be sufficient.

You will continue next time!

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. As a Member of the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, and knowing that we have been grappling with issues concerning food security and the central role that fertiliser and animal foodstuffs play, this Bill could not have come at the right time. This is the right time especially now that our Constitution guarantees every Kenyan a right to quality food. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the fertiliser and animal foodstuffs industry has remained unregulated for a long time. The sector is faced with a lot of confusion and is unpredictable such that when the time comes for farmers to plant, often times fertiliser is not available and whenever fertiliser is delivered, there is no guidance as to what 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. I think the Senator is in the mood of continuing and since the Mover is in the House, let me just allow him to finish so that I can propose the question.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. We are anxiously waiting for this Bill to be passed so that this sector is regulated. Today, some of the animal feeds that you find in the market is substandard and yet it is sold very expensively. There has all along been need for regulating the manufacture of animal feeds and distribution so that the farmers get value for their money and so that food production is enhanced. This Bill seeks to create a Board that will be advising the Government on all matters relating to fertilizers and animal foodstuffs. There has not been a Board hitherto, because the Principal Secretary is the one holding that power. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, implementation has been wanting and that is why I support creation of the Board despite the fact that currently there is a move to reduce the number of boards in this sector. But because of the central role that fertilizer and animal foodstuffs play as input in the agricultural sector, this should be an exception. A Board to regulate this sector should be formed. I know that at the appropriate stage amendments will be brought to improve on the Bill and particularly on the functions of the Board because this Bill proposes that the Board becomes a regulator as well as a player in the industry. We should decide whether the Board will play the two roles or only be a regulator. The regulatory role is more wanting than the business part of it and that is why I feel that it should be emphasized. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the Act as it is now does not take cognizance of the changes that are there in the Constitution or the devolved functions because agriculture has now been devolved. It is necessary that such a Board, if formed, while it will be advising the national Government, it will also be facilitating the county governments to perform their function or mandate in the agricultural sector. This Bill also envisages promoting research on fertilizer to ensure quality and safety. Safety of agricultural inputs is very important especially in this era where consumers know their rights, want to ensure that what they consume is of a quality, that it is healthy or will not be harmful to their bodies and also that the products can be traced. This Board will ensure quality and safety of fertilizer and animal products. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it will also advice on issues of procurement and promote manufacturing. For a long time, we have been importing fertiliser yet we are a big consumer of fertiliser in this region. We have a market here and in the neighbouring region such that if we had a manufacturing plant, we would not lack a market, we would create employment for our people and also save on foreign exchange that we spend. Petroleum products are normally the key raw materials for manufacture of fertiliser. In view of what is happening in the mining sector, that we are also going to get The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Hon. Senators, I now wish to propose the Question so that when we adjourn, we will just come straight to the plenary. Senators, you have done very well. As you can see, we have surpassed our normal and usual time as per the Standing Orders.

Hon. Senators, it is now time to adjourn the Senate. The Senate stands adjourned until Tuesday, 2nd December, 2014 at 2.30 p.m. The Senate rose at 6.43 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.