Hon. Senators, we have a number of Petitions. I was just wondering whether we should deal with all of them or not. I will propose that I read them out and you can contribute to all of them collectively. I think that will be the best approach. ALLEGED BREACH OF THE CONSTITUTION AND OTHER LAWS BY THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE AND COUNTY ASSEMBLY OF MACHAKOS Hon. Senators, one of them is a petition to the Senate by residents of Machakos County concerning alleged breach of the Constitution and other laws by the County Executive and County Assembly of Machakos. Hon. Senators, pursuant to Standing Orders No.220(1)(a) and 225(b), I hereby report to the Senate that the petition has been submitted, through the Clerk, by 24 residents of Machakos County concerning alleged breach of the Constitution and other laws by the County Executive and the County Assembly of Machakos. As you are aware, under Article 119(1) of the Constitution, every person has a right to petition Parliament to consider any matter within its authority, including enacting, amending or repealing any legislation. In the petition, the petitioners state that there have been numerous breaches of the law in the operations of the Machakos County Executive and the Machakos County Assembly, a situation which has led to misappropriation and misapplication of public funds by the said entities. Hon. Senators, among the grievances raised by the petitioners are the following.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, Petitions are very important, therefore, it requires that we deliberate on them as quickly as possible. Would it hurt if we could deal with these two, then the others are committed next week?

It would not hurt, but they have been outstanding. They have also been submitted to the relevant Standing Committee. You will only be making preliminary comments. If you are really interested, you follow them at the committee level. STATE OF THE NATIONAL ECONOMY OF KENYA

Hon. Senators, pursuant to Standing Order No.220(1) and Standing Order No.225(b), I hereby report to the Senate that a petition has been submitted through the Clerk by one Maj. (Rtd) Joel Kiprono Rop, a citizen of Kenya and resident of Bomet County concerning the state of the national economy of Kenya. As you are aware, under Article 119 of the Constitution, every person has a right to petition Parliament to consider any matter within its authority in enacting, amending or repealing any legislation. Hon. Senators, I have reviewed the petition and wish to highlight the salient issues raised in the said petition. These are follows:- (1) The national economy is in a perilous state and cannot drive any sustainable development in the country. This is blamed on:- (a) The consistent exports since Independence of raw materials and semi- processed foods from the country to developed countries where the same is processed and sold back in the country at very high prices. (b) The export of natural resources such as minerals and wood products to other countries at throw away prices. (c) Large-scale importation of goods and services into the county, including from developed countries, which use our country as a dumping ground under the guise of trade. (d) The setting up in the country of foreign owned industries and enterprises which take advantage of the cheap locally available materials and labour to produce goods before exporting the same to foreign markets at very high prices and repatriating profits back to their home countries; (e) The securing by foreign companies of large tenders for supply of goods and services locally wherefore they tap into the cheap labour and materials available locally before repatriating the huge profits back to their home countries. That this sad state of affairs has led to the country incurring perennial huge trade deficits, in relation to our trading partners and to an exponentially growing public debt. The petitioner, therefore, requests the Senate to initiate steps to remedy this situation, including undertaking legislative measures that will, among other things:- (a) Substantially close the local market to all imported non-essential goods and services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. It is difficult to focus on five Petitions at once. However, I thought that that Petition No.4 should have been referred to the Joint Committee of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights and the Committee on Finance, Commerce and Budget. This is because there were very serious financial issues raised therein, so that they can work together and bring a report.

Order, Senators! You will appreciate that the entire Order on Petitions is not given more than 30 minutes, including when I was reading them and your interventions. We still have other business on the Order Paper. I will only give one minute per person. Just speak, but life is about priorities. Pick the one that you think you really want to comment on. As I said, I have identified the committees that will be dealing with the matter. On the issue raised by the Senate Minority Leader on which committee will deal with the fourth petition, if you look at it, most of them actually go to the Committee on Finance, Commerce and Budget. Given their workload and the issues raised on this other petition; unlawful and procedural appointment of the County Secretary, impropriety of the CEC member for Lands, Physical Planning and Housing in handling land matters in the absence of a County Land Management Board (CLMB), unprocedural conduct of members at the assembly, contravention of public procurement, public finance and other laws, I decided that it is proper that we give them to the Committee on Legal and Human Rights because that is the bulk of the issues. However, they are at liberty to borrow from the Committee on Finance, Commerce and Budget and any other committee of the House or whatever other expertise that is required. I do not think it is rocket science. Even if it were, rocket scientists are available.

Bw. Spika, wahenga husema: “Mbiu ya mgambo ikilia, kuna jambo. Ndege wengi wakilia, mtafute nyoka.” Leo tunapata watu wa makundi matano tofauti wakipendekeza vilio vyao kwa Bunge hili. Ni mwanzo mzuri ingawa wengine walishafanya hivyo hapo awali lakini tunaona kwamba wananchi wanaanza kutambua umuhimu wa Bunge hili la Seneti. Pia wanatambua kazi yetu. Ibainike, ijulikane na itambulike Kenya nzima, kwamba Bunge hili lina jukumu kuu la kuangalia hasa utu wa Mkenya pamoja na kustawisha na kuangaza mawazo ya usawa. Pia itambulike kwamba hata mahakama imetambua jambo hilo jana, ingawa kidogo ilitunyang’anya nguvu za kuadhibu.

Muda wako umepita.

Bw. Spika, ninashukuru lakini nilikuwa na mengi.

Utapeleka hayo mengi mbele ya kamati.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, having listened to the Petitions, allow me to add my voice and commend Kenyans who now know their responsibility. It seems quite a number of them now know what the Senate can offer. We are receiving quite a number of them even from MCAs. The Senate should really take its role responsibly, execute and answer Kenyans favourably. We need also to encourage the entire citizenship to read and understand the Constitution. It is theirs and it will only serve them in a better way if the Senate will execute its mandate properly.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I congratulate Mr. Cheruiyot from Bomet for his suggestion that some of the functions of the Ministry of Health should be taken back to the national Government. I support him and let me point out to the county that devolution is facing challenges in the department of health, not because of devolution, but because of mismanagement of human resources. It is important that we quickly create the Medical Health Workers Commission (MHWA) just like the Teachers’ Service Commission (TSC) and we shall have responded. I also support the petition from Machakos County. The purchase of motor vehicles, allowances and foreign travels by MCAs cuts across many counties. I hope that the Committee will come up with a comprehensive answer. Finally, the act of the Governor creating a confidential account where he expends money in a confidential manner is actually impunity and criminality. I support the Machakos petition.

You have done well, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale. You took one and a half minutes. I was willing to allow you two because of your other issues.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I thank the petitioners for having faith in the Senate. My request is that we expeditiously finalise with these Petitions within the given time. That way, we will also settle the disputes that they have within those counties. I would also like to request the Senate to talk to Ms. Serem. Members were either elected through a party list or the suffrage system. However, when we arrive in this House, all Members are equal and no one should feel less important. It is unfortunate that in county assemblies, you will find all the Chairs are men because these other ones were nominated. This is something that we now need to stop. I hope the recommendations that will come out of the petition will work on that. I thank the court for its ruling that governors must appear before Senate to account for public funds. I believe the Senator for Kakamega will be above board as he deals with governors.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I thank you for the opportunity. I came in a bit late and only listened to the last two Petitions. I want to thank the nine patriotic Kenyans from Nakuru for bringing this to our attention. What impresses me about this petition is the fact that Kenyans are now so enlightened about their rights. In fact, they have now become the biggest protectors of devolution which they hold so dearly. We, as a Senate, have partners in Kenyans who are helping us to ensure that devolution actually works. They do not want people to play around with the monies that we send to the counties. I am glad that they are very vigilant. The allegations that have been made about Nakuru County Assembly are very grave. I am glad that pursuant to the relevant Standing Order you have referred the matter to the relevant Standing Committee. These matters must be investigated thoroughly so that we get to know the truth. If there are people who will be found liable for committing these offences, stern action must be taken. We support the whole idea of Kenyans being enlightened and bringing their issues to their representatives in the Senate.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I came in late and I found you reading the last two Petitions which in my view are very detailed. I want to thank the nine MCAs from Nakuru County Assembly and also Mr. Cheruiyot from Bomet County. This is because they really gave detailed information concerning the Petitions that they have forwarded to us. I would like to urge Senators, especially the relevant committees to speed up these investigations so that within the shortest time possible, we, as a House, can make a resolution. The issues raised do not only concern Nakuru County, but cut across most of our counties. This is important for the maintenance of dignity in our county assemblies. If we do not act right now, it will spread to other counties since there is a lot of animosity on the ground. This must be dealt with accordingly. Despite the court rulings, the executive of Nakuru County has never acted. It is upon the Senate to act on this matter. The healthcare situation in the country is really worrying. Most of the health facilities in all the counties are wanting. Even the basic pain killers are not there. You will even find people going to private hospitals to be treated. Thank you.

Hon. Senators, by 3.30 p.m., I will stop the interventions. I will just go by the list as prompted and I will robustly enforce the one minute limit.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. The number of Petitions being brought to the Senate does, indeed, demonstrate that the public has a lot of confidence in the Senate. I would request that the committees concerned do thorough investigations and come up with recommendations that will settle the matters. All the issues raised here are important. The fact that the MCAs are beginning to come to us, perhaps, is a pointer that there is something wrong with the oversight role of the MCAs in the counties. On the issue of the petition on health, indeed, health services area suffering. As you will recall, I brought a Motion to this House which this House approved, that the issue of personnel management in our health institutions, including counties, should have a national management outlook. We need to manage personnel issues in the health sector, particularly doctors at the national level.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, allow me to comment on the last petition that talks about the state of healthcare in Kenya. There have been calls to take back healthcare management to the national Government. However, I am glad that the petitioners are very clear in their mind that they are not calling for a centralization of healthcare which is already devolved. They are only calling for the centralization of human resource management. We have abused our doctors and yet, they are some of the sharpest and brightest people we have in our society. If you look at the high entry requirements that have been put in place for those who join medical schools---. Unfortunately, we have now left them at the mercy of village based recruitment cartels.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the petition by Nakuru County on the municipal courts is very curious. The Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee will handle this issue decisively, but it has far-reaching implications. Nairobi County has three City Courts. The same applies to Mombasa and many others. Therefore, we will get into a crisis. At the same time, since the repeal of that Cap.265, we have passed the law on protecting counties on matters that came before the Local Governments Act. We do not know where the Bill we passed here disappeared to. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we also plead with you, that as we are trying to protect those courts from what is happening in Nakuru, we would like to see the law that we passed here being implemented. Right now, it is still gathering dust somewhere.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, during the short two weeks’ recess, we visited a number of counties. The last county we visited was Nakuru County. Though we were going for a different mission with regard to ICT, a number of issues came up. It is in order for the committee to make sure that some of these issues are addressed. One is on the role of the county assembly in vetting. There were a number of issues raised by the MCAs that an individual was proposed by the Governor, the name was forwarded for vetting by the county assembly. However, at the end of the day, when the county assembly rejected that person, the same person was appointed a chief officer. These issues are grave. I believe the relevant committees of the Senate will do a good job to ensure these issues are sorted out.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I wish to commend Kenyans who have petitioned the Senate. This shows that they are aware of their rights. It also shows that as much as they know what is required of them, awareness creation or dissemination of the Public Procurement Act and other relevant laws needs to be conducted. There needs to be a deeper understanding of the Constitution which, probably, is why they are petitioning because someone somewhere is not doing what is right. What I like about these Petitions is the fact that they are resorting to legal and peaceful means of resolving disputes instead of the ugly scenes we saw in Makueni County and other places. I believe and pray that they will be resolved. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, as my colleagues have noted, these Petitions are raising pertinent issues that have come up as a result of devolution. It is time that we critically looked at them. Nearly every county is affected, particularly in the health sector. It looks like diseases are aware that the function was devolved and thus the rise in the number of problems in the counties than before. It is good we model it along the teacher management model so that it is easier to address those problems and find out how we can manage them.

Next Order!

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to lay the following Paper on the Table of the Senate today, Thursday, 25th June, 2015: The National Government Budget Implementation Review Report; Third Quarter Financial Year 2014/2015.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to lay the following Paper on the Table of the Senate today, Thursday, 25th June, 2015; A Report on the Inter- Governmental Relations Amendment Bill, 2014.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to lay the following two papers on the Table of the Senate today, Thursday, 25th June, 2015: THE REPORT OF THE AUDITOR-GENERAL ON THE FINANCIAL OPERATIONS OF ISIOLO COUNTY The first one is the Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Operations of Isiolo County Assembly for the period from 1st July, 2013 to 30th June, 2014. THE COUNTY GOVERNMENTS BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION REVIEW REPORT The second one is the County Governments Budget Implementation Review Report; Third Quarter by the Controller of Budget.

Next Order!

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have a Statement to give in response to what was requested by Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. Before I do so, I want to say that at the Plenary of the Senate held on 21st May, 2015, the Senate adopted the Motion filed by Sen. Adan requiring the joint Standing Committees of the Senate, the Committee on Land and Natural Resources and the Committee on National Security and Foreign Relations to conduct comprehensive investigations into the matter of human wildlife conflict affecting people of Kinna Community in Isiolo County and present its report within 30 days. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the 30 days have since lapsed. That was on 21st June, 2015. The Joint Committee seeks the indulgence of this honourable House and the leave of the Chair for an extension of 45 more days so that it tables a comprehensive report on the matter. I am glad to report to the House that the Joint Committee has made a lot of progress. The Committee traveled to Isiolo and had two meeting sessions in Isiolo. We managed to have a session with the Governor of Isiolo County.

Order, Senator! What are you asking of the House?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we are requesting for an extension. At the same time, I am briefing the House on the progress report on the matter. That is why I am giving the justification why we need the extension.

You should have given the justification, but not a report. The most important thing was a request for an extension. It will be granted.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for allowing us 45 days.

You will have 45 days.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have three Statements to give as requested yesterday. However, I will start with the one about the Business of the Senate for next week.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I would like to remind the Senate Majority Leader that we tabled, in this House, an interim report by the County Public Accounts and Investments Committee. The tradition in Parliament has been that a Public Accounts Committee Report should be given the earliest opportunity to be debated on and adopted by the House. Therefore, we request that the Report be brought on the Order Paper at the earliest convenience.

Chief Whip.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, next week, in the RBC, we will ensure that the report appears on the Order Paper.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have two Statements to seek. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to seek a Statement from the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on National Security and Foreign Relations concerning insecurity along the Turkana and West Pokot County borders. In the Statement, the Chairperson should:- (1) State if he is aware that the leadership of the two counties entered into a mutual agreement that as a first step to end insecurity in the area, no construction or any other development should be undertaken by either side without the concurrence and full participation of the other. As a result of the agreement, there has been relative peace for the last two months. (2) Explain whether he is aware that the Turkana County Government is currently constructing a road from Kainuk in Turkana County to Sarmaj in West Pokot County thereby reneging on the agreement. (3) State if he is aware that as a result, tension is now building up between the two communities and; (4) Explain what the national Government is doing to forestall the rising tension and prevent a flare-up of violence.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, can I go to my second Statement or should we finish with this one first?

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): What is your wish? If you have not finished the first one, why should you go to the second one? I do not see your second request for a Statement in the Order Paper. Where is the Chairperson of the relevant Committee? When do you hope to give that Statement?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I would request Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo to give us about two weeks to respond. I wish to inform this House that I spoke to the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government this morning on the matter that affects boundaries, especially to address the concern that was raised yesterday in this House. Matters affecting Vihiga County were raised yesterday and also the one appearing on the Order Paper today about Isiolo and Meru counties. He informed me that he is putting up committees to look into the boundary issues that are affecting the counties. So, he will be able to respond to those matters next week, because he will be engaged in an international conference this week.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Are you comfortable with that?

No, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. As we wait for a detailed answer to be given in two weeks, could she undertake in this House to proceed to

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): It might not be the orthodox thing to do it your way. You need a comprehensive report that will include every prayer that you may wish. Two weeks is not too much, especially knowing the amount of work that, that committee has.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I do not know whether you followed what I was saying. For the first time in our lifetime there has been relative peace. Could this construction be stopped and then they can proceed with all the details?

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Hon. Senator, you say for the first time in your lifetime, there has been peace in the last two months in your area. Now, with the construction going on, why do you want to disturb the ground if it will lead to flare-up? Let the status quo be maintained as we seek for that Statement. Maybe interfering with the construction will ignite the fighting again.

You are right, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. The construction was initiated last night and it is bringing problems. Let the construction be stopped and the status quo be maintained.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I would request, Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo to bear with us, because I am sure, that stopping the construction might complicate issues. I believe that this is a contract that has already been entered into by the relevant counties.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I am very sorry that the Chairperson is not getting me right. There has been no problem for the last two months. We even signed a memorandum of keeping peace and stopping all construction in the presence of the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government. Suddenly, there is construction going on. I request that it be stopped to avoid flare-up. So, it is not a usual development. This is something that is strangely going to affect what we have worked for.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, since Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo insists on this matter, and I am not privy to the construction that is on the ground, I will share the same information with the Cabinet Secretary. If it is possible, we will deal with it immediately. If is not possible to do so, then I will request that the Statement be given in two weeks’ time.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Very well. It is so ordered. Sen. (Prof.) Lanyangapuo, proceed to the next Statement.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I rise pursuant to Standing Order 45(2)(b) to seek a Statement from the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Labour and Social Welfare on the status of the world famous East African Safari Rally. In the Statement, the Chairperson should:- (1) Explain the status of the world famous East African Safari Rally. (2) State and explain the reasons that led to the collapse of the world famous rally. (3) State what the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Arts is doing to restore the East African Safari Rally. Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Where is the Chairperson of the Committee on Labour and Social Welfare? Any Member of the Committee? Yes, Sen. Halima.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, on behalf of the Committee, I promise to get back to the Senator in two weeks’ time, if that is okay with him.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Very well. Are there any other requests?

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I rise to seek guidance from the Chair concerning the positions of the Governor and Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). I would like to draw your attention to the CBK Act, Section 13(1), which provides that there should be a Governor who shall be appointed by the President through a transparent and competitive process and with the approval of Parliament. Section 13(b)(1), provides that there shall be two Deputy Governors, who shall be appointed by the President through a transparent and competitive process and with the approval of Parliament. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, on 18th June, 2015, the National Assembly debated the report on the approval of nominees and passed it without amendments. The Senate was not involved in the vetting process and approval of the nominees, as required by the Act that I have just quoted. I would like to remind the House that in a similar provision of a statute, a precedent was set by this House and the National Assembly, where the Inspector General of Police was subjected to a Joint Vetting Committee of the two Houses.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Could you read the law to the House?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, at the beginning, I referred to Section 13(1) of the Central Bank of Kenya Act. It provides that there shall be a governor who shall be appointed by the President through a transparent and competitive process with the approval of Parliament. Section 13(b)(1) provides that there shall be two deputy governors who shall be appointed by the President through a transparent and competitive process and with the approval of Parliament. The functional word here is “Parliament”. The law does not speak to the National Assembly alone.

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

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I fortify that argument by drawing your attention to Article 231 of the Constitution which establishes the Central Bank of Kenya. Article 231(5) states: “An Act of Parliament shall provide for the composition, powers, functions and operations of the Central Bank of Kenya.” It is from this that the Central Bank of Kenya Act that Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale has referred to, comes into relevance. I also draw your attention to Article 93(1) of the Constitution which states: “There is established a Parliament of Kenya, which shall consist of the National Assembly and the Senate.” Unless, otherwise expressly provided, Parliament means the National Assembly and the Senate. Therefore, if an Act of Parliament provides for a process of vetting, validation or in whatever manner the exercise of authority to Parliament, it is means that it is concurrently exercised by both Houses. You remember that we had an altercation on the matter of the Inspector General of Police, when he was being vetted. The Speaker agreed that we were right, but he had already let the cat out of the bag. Joint vetting is not anticipated; the National Assembly should do their vetting and the Senate should do theirs of such nominees. The upshot is that the National Assembly having done what they did, the two nominees to the Central Bank of Kenya; the governor and the deputy must then be forwarded to the Senate for vetting. If approved, then they can be forwarded to the Head of State for appointment. If not, the consequences are known in law. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, as I end I want to tell you as the Chair of this august House, that jurisdiction is not a gift. It is conferred by the Constitution and the law. This House has no capacity or right to sign away the little jurisdiction that we have been given

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): You do not need to be a genius to understand the specifics of the law as quoted by Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale and Sen. Wetangula. Due to the weighty nature of the ruling that I may have decided to give now, I will postpone it. Further, it is because some aspects of the population and leadership need to be tutored carefully and slowly for them to understand the law.

I rule that we get a comprehensive statement from the Chair. Thereafter, a ruling will be made on Tuesday at 2.30 p.m.

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. The greatest fear of Kenyans is that if that ruling does not come quickly, the appointment will be made.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Order, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale! You are now stepping on the Chair. Have a seat and relax! You should not ever imagine what the Chair will rule on Tuesday; just wait.

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. As we wait for the ruling, it will be prudent for the Chair to send communication to the Executive that the status quo be maintained until direction is given. You may say that you will deliver the ruling on Tuesday and tomorrow morning, an irregularly appointed governor of the Central Bank of Kenya will be sworn in without any input from this House which has been given legal authority by the law to be part of the appointing process.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): I may not be able to do so. However, I will quote the Standing Orders of this House. Before I come up and assess the law as it is, I will be completely out of order to criticize whatever has happened in the “Lower House.” So, you wait for my ruling first. Look at Standing Order No.90(5).

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, yesterday, I was ordered by the Speaker to bring three Statements that were supposed to be answered by the Committee on Finance, Commerce and Budget. I have the Statements, but I request for your advice since all the Members who requested for them are not in the House.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): In the past, precedence has been set in the House, that when the questioner is not here, a Statement cannot be submitted to the House. So, we will wait. Until such a time as when the questioner has notoriously avoided appearing, then we can say that the Statement belongs to the House and then we listen to it. For now, that suffices.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I rise to give a Statement. At the sitting of the Senate held on Wednesday 4th March, 2015, Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr., the Senator for Makueni, requested for a Statement from the Chairperson of the Committee on Land and Natural Resources on Pollution of Athi River in Machakos and Makueni counties. In the Statement, the Senator sought information on the following: (a) Whether the Government is aware that there is disposal of effluent into Athi River in Machakos and Makueni counties. The Cabinet Secretary is aware that there is disposal of effluent into Athi River in Machakos and Makueni Counties. The Ministry is in the process of addressing the problem. Through the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and the Water Resource Management Authority (WARMA), the Ministry has developed a strategy to control pollution of Athi River. However, it is worth noting that the effluent in the river section that is in Makueni County, is as a result of disposal in the upstream. (b) Whether there is a current Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report on the river and if there is, we present the same. There is no EIA Report on the Athi River. Normally, environmental impact assessments are done on proposed projects that have potential adverse impact on the environment. In relation to rivers, lakes or wetlands, the following activities require environmental impact assessment. (1) Erection, construction or demolition of any structures or part of structures located in or under the river, lake or wetland; (2) Excavation, drilling, tunneling or disturbance of the river, Lakeland or the wetland; (3) Introduction of animals into a lake, river or wetland; (4) Introduction of plants or plant parts, dead or alive in any; (5) Disposing of substances in a lake, river or wetland that are likely to have adverse environmental effects on the water bodies. (6) Direct or block any river, lake or wetland from its natural and normal course; and, (7) Drain any lake, river or wetland. (c) The Senator wanted to know whether the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) has offices in Machakos and Makueni Counties. NEMA has an office at Wote in Makueni County with two technical officers while in Machakos, the authority has three technical officers. (d) The Senator wanted to know whether action has been taken on the officers from NEMA for dereliction of duty. The Ministry has not established any actions by the NEMA officers that would be considered as neglect of duty that may call for disciplinary action.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Anybody who wants to get a clarification?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, unfortunately the response given is grossly inadequate on the questions and queries on the persons who are polluting the water which covers 190 kilometres in Makueni alone. On the questions of the persons who are helping the community called WARMA; I have had meetings with these associations in Makueni and they do not have a coin to run an office. The Committee had given an undertaking to this House that they would conduct an inquiry that would solve most of the questions we are asking in this report. Would I be in order, instead of asking for more clarifications and waiting for another two or three weeks, to ask this Committee to conduct an inquiry into this very adverse action on one of the largest water bodies in the country so that we can have a comprehensive report that would include prosecution of persons who have gone ahead to pollute our fresh water resource, unabated, in Machakos and Makueni counties.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the first question is on the persons who are polluting the water. From the answer, the Cabinet Secretary through the Chairman says that the persons who are remitting effluence into Athi River are not in Makueni. This answer does not specify where they are, who they are, what action has been taken and so on.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, given the weighty issues that the distinguished Senator for Makueni County has raised, the Vice Chairperson of the Committee is most likely to tell us that he will seek further clarification. When this House was sitting in the garage at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), we passed a Motion sponsored by the distinguished Senator for Machakos, to inquire into and report on the continuing and unabated pollution of the Tana and Athi Rivers. Could I be in order to request the Chair to direct the Committee to carry out a comprehensive inquiry into this matter and bring a report that may be debated in this House and a resolution made. The report can be followed up for implementation.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): You just repeated what Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. asked. You are quite out of order. I want to listen to more interventions. I can Sen. Ndiema has an intervention and may be someone else may be having an intervention. This is cumulatively considered by the Chair who may be having all your answers right now. It is up to him to tell us that he does not have all those answers. May be the Committee has done everything you want. It is up to him to say that he is not able to answer. Please, do not cast aspersions at the Chair whom we know to be very effective.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the Report from the Chair of my Committee---

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Chair, please, listen because you have heard the interests of the Members.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, as I was saying

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Order! It is not for you to object. What is your question?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, my question is whether the institutions concerned have the capacity to safeguard our rivers from pollution?

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Which institutions do you have in mind?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I have in mind the authorities concerned with water, the National Lands Commission (NLC) and NEMA.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Very well.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the issue that the Senator for Makueni has raised with regards to his county and the response that my colleague, the Vice Chairman of the Committee on Lands and Natural Resources has given, gives us an opportunity to raise very fundamental issues on the environment. If you look at the Fourth Schedule, you will find that looking after the environment is a shared function between the national Government and the county governments, water is entirely in the hands of the county governments. I do not know how the environmental protection agency NEMA will function, given these constitutional provisions. Because of this lacuna, people are doing all kinds of crazy things with the environment. You wonder whether there is NEMA or not. If you travel on Kiambu Road just after passing the Runda Estate entrance, you will find a huge shopping mall being built on a riparian area, on top of a river and it covers a huge area. If you pass there, you wonder who the hell did the environmental impact assessment for that project. There is a disaster in Langata because some time ago, somebody built on a river. When it rains, it floods and people cannot reach Langata. I see it in many other cities. One of the reasons our roads are being flooded is because---

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): I am really withholding my comment on what you are saying. Be specific and ask a question.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, let me be specific because I can give many examples. My question is, could the Committee come out with a response to this House, which will address this issue comprehensively? I am quite sure that almost every county will come up with a similar concern as the Senator for Makueni. Since by Article 96, this House has a responsibility of protecting the interests of the counties and since environment and water are the responsibilities of the counties, could we ask the Committee to spread its net a little wider and come to this House with a response that can address this issue?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, as I listen to the answer, it sounded like a blame game. WARMA is blaming the Ministry and the Ministry is blaming WARMA. Everybody is saying that they should not have done this or that. My specific issue is on the Statement from the Ministry that monitors the disposal. What sort of monitoring do they do if the disposal is at that high level? If they were monitoring in the

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): What do you have to say, Mr. Chairman?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the questions that have been raised by Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. are now more specific than the question he raised when he requested for this Statement. The Senator tells me to give the names of the persons polluting, yet in the original Statement, he did not ask for the names, but wanted to know the measures that have been put into place to deal with the persons. He did not ask for the names of the persons polluting. I responded to the questions as they came. He did not ask exactly how much has been allocated. Those are very specific questions that he might put up. We will go to the Cabinet Secretary to get specific answers to the specific questions that he is raising at the moment. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I fully agree with Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. about the Committee making a visit to this place. I remember when he raised this matter; we had agreed that the Committee could make a visit to the river and witness this instead of receiving answers from the Cabinet Secretary and coming to read them here. I agree with the proposal made by the Senator and the Senate Minority Leader that the Committee can visit the place. If we are facilitated by the Office of the Clerk, we should visit the place and table a full report.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Indeed, questions 1, 2 and 5 by Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. were relevant. Questions 3 and 4 were completely different questions, on matters of budget and financing. However, the magnitude of the problem on Athi River contamination is an issue that has been of concern to this House for quite some time. This is not the first time this has been raised, I remember in the last session, the Committee on Health also had a similar question and they laid a Report on the Table of this House. This is my ruling; I have listened to the prayer of Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr., Sen. Wetangula and Sen. Ndiema. My ruling is that there is nothing that prevents you, Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr., from making such a request. I have also listened to the prayer of Sen. (Prof.) Anyang'- Nyong'o and Sen. (Dr.) Zani’s concern. There is nothing that prevents you, as a Member of this House, from requesting this House to commission an

Committee, specifically to look into the pollution of Athi River. It is so ordered. Please, proceed Sen. Halima.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I have two Statements to issue. One is additional information on the Garissa Teachers Training College and the

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): The guidance is that precedence has been set in this House that unless the questioner is around, the Statement cannot be read. So, we will wait. Sen. Orengo, do you have a point of order?

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I want to appreciate the Chair. Normally when people make prayers, it is very difficult to get them answered. However, before you, at least prayers are answered. I am very happy with that.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Thank you, Sen. Orengo. I am flattered. Please, proceed Sen. (Dr.) Zani.

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Would I be in order to say that it is also good, even if the Members are not in the House, that once the Statements are ready from the Committees, even as they say it, it is a way of reporting to the House that those Statements are ready and they cannot give them because the Members are not there? It is then recorded that the Committee has actually completed the investigations.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): If you have followed the proceedings of these House, in one of the rulings that I once made and which was negated a day after by my superiors, though I still think that it was the best, whenever a Statement is sought, it belongs to the House. That is what our Standing Orders say. The practice of waiting for the questioners to appear for that Statement to be read, to me, is disturbing. In any case, there are Members who are usually more interested, maybe more than the Member who requested for the Statement. In the last Parliament, what used to happen is that, if one does not appear for an answer of their Statement, it was dropped. We might have to rethink the same for the Senate, so that we discourage people who ask for Statements and never appear to get the answers. However, that will depend on what you will decide in a Kamukunji; as to whether you want it so or not. But for now, precedence has been set. I may not like it, but that is it. Next order!

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Sen. (Dr.) Zani, you have 35 minutes.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I continue to move the County Early Childhood Education Bill, (Senate Bill No.32 of 2014); that it be read a Second time. Yesterday, at the rise of the House, I was talking about the issue of the Teacher Service Commission (TSC) going to exercise the disciplinary and professional control over the teachers. This is very important. In the last few months, we have had very disturbing experiences in schools where teachers have abused children, especially the girl-child. We have also had cases that are going further lower into the educational system. You now find this kind of abuse taking place even at pre-primary institutions, to very young pupils. The fact that TSC is mandated in this Bill to ensure that they exercise disciplinary control over the teachers is very critical. Having said that, I also want to add that I think sometimes the TSC has not really been effective in this. This is because the cases regarding the indiscipline of teachers tend to be increasing rather than reducing over time. It may not be the fault of the TSC, but the sort of society that we tend to be producing over time, with different issues coming out more often like abuse and homicide, among family members. Remember that if we are thinking about a child who should be safe within a particular environment, then the teacher should be the first person whom the child should feel that is the person who will protects them. When the child is in turn abused by the teacher, then I think that we have a big problem. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the Bill wants to address such issues of discipline and ensure that it is taken into consideration and that teachers must exercise this sort of control. The actual employment of the teachers is going to be done at the level of the county in terms of payment. It is the county government that is going to be in charge of payment of the teacher, but the responsibility for the discipline of those specific teachers has actually been given to TSC. The Bill also targets and discusses the issue of free education. In Clause 40, every child is going to go to school free. No sort of fee is expected to be charged by the county and the board has made this very clear. The only sort of charges that are perceived that

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I rise to second this Bill as brought to this House by the Committee on Education. I would like to thank the Committee and the stakeholders who participated to address the issues to do with ECD and for the very first time isolate the law that will be dealing with ECD, especially after the enactment of the new Constitution as seen in the Fourth Schedule. This is where there is separation of the function of the national Government and the county governments.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for giving me a chance to contribute to this wonderful and very important Bill. First and foremost, the Constitution of Kenya, under the Bill of Rights, is very clear. Article 53 (1) (b) of the Constitution stipulates that every child has a right to free and compulsory basic education, amongst others. This is also intertwined with Section 4 of the Children’s Act which says that the best interests of the child shall always prevail. The Children’s Act also stipulates very clearly that every child has a right to education amongst others. I wish to commend the Committee which has brought this Bill. It shows that these are very responsible citizens who want this nation to be recognized. When you start supervising and ensuring that children from the age of three to six years get the strongest foundation in education, you are actually and truly showing that you are patriotic and want a very good and prosperous country. The children of this tender age must be guided accordingly, because knowledge is power. Given the way things have been, attaining this ECD education has been mission impossible and, in fact, a nightmare for most parents and even the elite or people who come from the privileged society. It is even more expensive than when you start from Standard One and above, for reasons which I do not understand. But with the passage of this Bill, there shall be established institutions where these children can go and get what is rightfully theirs, which is, education. This gives them a chance to learn according to the syllabus which, once the Bill is enacted and implemented, shall be uniform, age-appropriate and very useful for these children of a tender age.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I add my voice to this very important Bill that touches greatly on our young people, particularly those below the age of five. In fact, were it not for our current Constitution that was enacted in 2010, particularly the chapter on devolution that specifically assigns county governments the role of Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE), before that, things were completely different. ECDE was only an appendage of primary schools. There was no clear determination of the framework for governing them, teacher recruitment and the best way in which these young people could get education. I am particularly impressed by a number of areas that this particular Bill captures. I start by picking the first bit that relates to the management aspect, particularly obligating the county governments as a prime responsibility to ensure that they promote ECDE. As opposed to the national government that was mainly manned at the national level, but only with representation at the district level then, now, we feel that we will have people who will be doing work hands-on. They will establish these schools in collaboration with communities whether it is public or private. That gives people an opportunity, including parents, to look after their children very well. I am also impressed to look at the duties of parents explicitly put in the Bill. Many parents think that they have no responsibility with regard to looking after the welfare of their children. They want to send them to schools in the morning and probably, receive them in the evening as though these are dumping sites. Sometimes mothers and fathers feel that they have other things to engage in, and that, the teacher is the person responsible for their children. Spelling out this clearly in the Bill will help us to identify who is responsible for this and the other, so that it becomes a shared responsibility. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, identifying children with special needs early enough will forestall a problem that would be detected at later stages in life. Many a times, our schools do not have specific areas for children with special needs. Identifying them at the early childhood age would be crucial to determine whether these children will learn along with others or whether they will need to be categorized as children with special needs and we prepare them early enough. Other areas that this Bill touches on, which I felt would be very useful, are the mobile schools. My sister who comes from the lakeside city had picked the same thing. To a pastoralist like me, when I see a law about mobile schools at this early age, I get the feeling that this Bill caters for the needs of all Kenyans irrespective of the regions which they come from. It is something worth noting. Unfortunately, recently, the Ministry of Education has constituted a Nomadic Education Council, something similar to a department. We had asked for a commission at the beginning but the fact that this is factored in this Bill will help the nomadic population in this country to benefit greatly from the provisions of this Bill. In addition, another area which I felt was important is the ability of the boards to suspend centres that do not perform well. This gives an opportunity to the people at the lower level to either allow a centre to continue or disallow it for a genuine reason. It helps monitor much more efficiently.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, thank you for giving me an opportunity to contribute to this Bill, which I support. Sometimes, early childhood education can make a difference in the lives of young people. If you look at the children we are raising in Nairobi today, particularly we who seem to be much more privileged than other members of the society, we can afford to take them to the best schools where they learn some of the concepts that we only came across later on in life. By the time they graduate from the ECDE section, you find that these children are so much ahead. When you compare and contrast them with the children of the people who vote for us, the people we represent deep in the villages, they might not have the luxury to take their children to schools that offer Montessori curriculum and such other fancy foreign curriculum that put them ahead of the rest. Therefore, by devolving ECDE and coming up with this Bill, we will provide some basic advantage to the millions who voted

You are not alone, even the Chair did not go to pre-primary school.

If I look round, it seems that if this Bill was in force at that time, our parents would have been fined Kshs500,000, jailed for two years or done community work which would have meant even flogging in public. With a devolved system of governance, it now becomes much easier for us to see the priorities at the local level and use the county governments to come up with solutions to those local problems. For this Bill to be meaningful, we will need to conduct some civic education for parents. The fines here are quite punitive. I guess the intention of having heavy fines of Kshs500,000 or Kshs1 million is to encourage parents to take their children to school. At the age of three years, children are still seen as fairly young in the village and still walk around naked. If ECD is compulsory, then it needs to be free. We need to address the reasons why parents do not take their children to school. One of the reasons is that they do not have clothes that they can put on to go to school. At the age of three, you will find some children not proficient in toilet training. Our mothers, grandmothers and aunties in the village might not be able to afford the things we call diapers, pampers so that their children can go to school and still keep themselves clean and civil throughout the day. So, we need to address those issues. If it is going to be free, then we have to think about the issues of uniforms. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, regarding feeding, the Bill says that county governments may carry out feeding programmes. I hope that when it gets to the right time, we shall change the “may” to “shall”. You are not going to take children to school from different backgrounds and those from poor backgrounds will come without a snack and those from privileged backgrounds will come with some. We need to create some parity or level playing ground. I do not think it would be very expensive if the county governments fund the public ECD institutions to ensure that the feeding programme is mandatory. It should not be a “may” but a “shall”. The issue of corporal punishment has also been addressed in this Bill. At the age of three to six years in the olden days, we were still not immune to flogging particularly if you allowed the goats to stray into somebody’s compound. We are not in a different dispensation where some clever people have decided that those of us who were flogged while young tend to have violent and anti-social tendencies. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, from your demeanor, it appears you were also flogged when you were young but I have not seen your violent and anti-social side. Child psychologists tell us that children can be guided, corrected and shepherded in a different

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I stand to support this important Bill. I wish to thank the Committee for bringing a Bill on Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) and coming up with good proposals that are in the Bill. The Fourth Schedule to the Constitution has devolved ECDE to the counties. I believe that was very proper because previously, it appeared like there was nobody responsible for ECDE. There was no document or law that placed ECDE on any institution in the Government. What we have previously seen is a haphazard establishment of these centres with varied curriculum, no uniformity and no standardization. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, ECDE is very important because how you educate and handle a child at that formative stage is very important. It determines what that child becomes in future. This Bill comes at the right time when counties are establishing these centres. Apart from county governments, there are other institutions engaged in running these institutions, more particularly the church organizations. I would wish that even if more responsibilities are placed in the county governments, the role of churches should

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to support the County Early Childhood Educational Bill. Article 53 of the Constitution of Kenya clearly states that every child has a right to free and compulsory basic education. Since we are dealing with early childhood, the same Constitution, in Fourth Schedule, Part 2, Section 9, states that, that is the function of the county government. That is why it is stated as pre-primary education. We now know that county governments are trying to come up with the necessary enabling legislations. So, it would be better if the Senate could come up with one Bill which will be applicable across the counties, and that is why we need to move fast. I know that there are counties which are coming up with their own specific early childhood education Bills. The earlier we move to provide some framework, the better. This is because we know that the other levels of education; primary, secondary and higher levels are all run at the national level. They are all under uniform standards throughout the country.

Order, Sen. (Prof.) Anyang'- Nyong'o. The Chair has eyes and can see what you are doing.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I do not see why the pre-primary or ECDE should not also be standardized, thus the need for this kind of a Bill where we have to set out clearly the requirements, so that can then be adopted across the counties, maybe with some specific modifications depending on the prevailing conditions in those counties. This Bill is very elaborate; clearly setting out the objectives in terms of establishing comprehensive ECDE system, infrastructure and quality of education. In order to ensure that the compulsory part is attained, the infrastructure should be available in the first place. The Bill also specifically states who should do what, so that it does not become a task which is not defined and hanging in the air, with nobody to be held accountable. It is very clear that the county government has been given its responsibilities. It has provided the infrastructure necessary facilities and personnel or teaching staff. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, as it has been said before, the Bill also clearly sets out the requirements of an ECDE teacher, something that has been overlooked for a long time. Primary school leavers, secondary school leavers, dropouts and those who have not performed well will still end up as ECDE teachers. We realized that these children require somebody with more skills than just somebody who knows how to read and right. The Bill states very clearly that one has to be a diploma holder in ECDE and also a registered teacher by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), for the sake of standardization and ensuring that children throughout this country gain the basic minimum level of service in terms of education. It is stated very clearly that the curriculum has to be uniform in the sense that it has to be done by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) maybe with special inputs by the counties, taking into account their own specific conditions because situations are different within urban centers, rural set-ups and pastoralists’ communities. So, there are some county specific requirements in the curriculum which the County Executive Members (CECs) could chip in to make it county specific. However, having a curriculum developed by the KICD is the right way to go, so that we start with the same quality. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, in case of the parents, because education is compulsory, then they have to avail the children for education. But, as it has been said, I think that the facilities have to first be there. In most areas, for example, the sparsely populated arid and semi arid areas, the main inhibiting factor for the young children going to school is the distance to the available school. I know of areas where the available school is maybe 10 kilometers and we still expect a child of three years to access that facility. That is not practical and the reason those who end up going to school do so after they are able to walk the 10 kilometers. That is the reason they start from Class One.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I would like to thank the Committee for coming up with this good Bill. As we are aware, ECDE is a devolved function and this Bill arises as a result of the Committee visiting almost 30 counties. The recommendations that we passed in form of a Motion from the county visits that we had have enriched this Bill. We know ECDE is the foundation of education and in this Bill, various pillars have been outlined. The first pillar is equity and inclusion. In this case, all children, including those from poor and disadvantaged families are given the opportunity and those in emergency areas are also accorded a chance. Children with special needs are also considered as we are aware it has already outlined the various structures that will support this issue. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the aspect of quality has been outlined and that means empowering and capacity building of parents and additional facilities, since they are the key stakeholders in education. In this Bill, the qualifications of a teacher have been outlined. It has been clearly stated that an ECDE teacher should be a diploma holder, the age has been outlined and he or she must be registered with TSC which is mandated to recruit, promote and look into the welfare of teachers. The quality of infrastructure in the Bill has also been explained. As a Committee, we have been advocating for the best classroom model where it is self-contained with all the facilities like washrooms, running water, talking walls and sanitation. The partnership is indicating the balanced power relationship and one that will foster collaboration among different actors. The procedure and criteria of registration of ECDE centres is also

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I also rise to support this Bill. This Bill brings in the issue of equalization in the education sector that we have been talking about. We started free primary education but forgot the main foundation cognitive to the development of a young child which starts at ECDE. We hope that as we pass this Bill, we shall ensure that the curriculum that they are proposing will be inculcated across all the counties. I know that education is still a national Government function but this will ensure that parents take their children to school. We must start at ECDE. Today, because of the economic challenges that we face where both parents are going to work, young children are being taken to school at the age of two years. If give these children a better home where they can appreciate education at an early age, they will get used to school life and love being in school than the way the situation is today. I hope the country will support this initiative so that we can reach a level where our children can appreciate that education is the key to successful life. Thank you.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I find this a very important Bill to speak to even if it is for a minute or two because I think finally this Senate is starting to implement its obligations under the Bill of Rights. Kenya must move towards what at that time we called a human rights state. This Bill is actually in furtherance of Article 53 and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), to ensure that there is free and compulsory education for all the young people in the Republic. In fact, as I have said here before, the most important responsibility we have in life is to give education to our children. I think counties must be given a framework of obligations. If we do not enact this Bill, then we are going to have varying standards depending on the commitments each county will put into the ECDE centres. I think this Bill standardizes the system so that we can ensure that as the nation grows, we are able to have a standard level of development so that we do not have people from various counties being prepared in life more than others based on lack of investment in infrastructure.

There being no other request for contribution, I call upon the Mover to reply.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply but before that, I will start by thanking all Senators. I have captured various ideas. As a Committee, we will go back and work on them as amendments. They include; the idea of a standardised curriculum, coordination especially at various boards and directorates and the language of instruction, whether mother tongue, English or any other languages can be used and also making sure that there is no conflict in supervision; targeting, for example, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and a county. The idea of devolving structure is a general idea so that counties cover both primary and secondary education not at policy level – because that remains at national level –but at infrastructural level. The Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) also should be used for building toilets. We may not incorporate that into the Bill. Mobile schools for the pastoralist areas should be emphasized, and as the Senator who spoke last has said, our children should be given a guide in terms of morality. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, in summary, this Bill focuses on equality and inclusion, quality, capacity and partnerships. The Convention on the Rights of a Child, the UN Millennium Goals and Article 53 of the Constitution of Kenya advocate for quality education for young people in Kenya. This is what the Bill intents to do. With these remarks, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply. Under Standing Order No.54(3), I request that we defer putting of the question to a more appropriate time when we will have the numbers. Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir.

Thank you, Sen. (Dr.) Zani. You request is reasonable. Therefore, I rule that the question be deferred to such a time and day which will be determined by the Speaker in consultation with the Rules and Business Committee (RBC).

Next Order.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for allowing me to move this very important Motion that regards the crisis currently being experienced in the north eastern part of this country and, to some extent, northern Kenya in general.

After thanking the Speaker, you should move the Motion.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to move:- THAT, aware that the country in general and North Eastern region, in particular, currently faces an acute shortage of teachers; NOTING, that the problem in schools in North Eastern region counties has been exacerbated by the recent refusal by teachers to report to their duty stations in the region; CONCERNED, that the national Government has no plans to overturn the current freeze on regular recruitment of teachers; The Senate calls upon the national Government to immediately reintroduce the Untrained Teacher (UT) programme as well as in-service training for untrained teachers in the North Eastern region as a measure to bridge the shortage of teachers in the region. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, if you will allow me, I was saying that because of insecurity that has engulfed Kenya as a country and even globally, but in particular the north eastern region lately; in 2013/2014, many of us will recall tragic incidences that happened, for example, the West Gate attack. The worst which we experienced was at Garissa University College. A number of service sectors namely health and education were affected. Currently, the education sector faces a serious crisis. There has been a mass exodus of teachers from Wajir, Mandera and Garissa counties. While I honestly feel that there is some genuineness in the manner in which things have happened, I think that the bad mouth of a number of leaders, particularly from the teachers’ union led by Mr. Sossion, has exacerbated the situation. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I will shortly provide you a statistical data on the number of teachers, both local and non-local, currently stationed at counties where we come from. That is a demonstration of the fact that as much as things have been bad, the Government has made efforts. That would have helped the situation if only the teachers’ union leadership did not seriously blow things out of proportion. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, education is a right as enshrined in our Constitution. Article 43(1) of the Constitution says that every person has a right to education. Education is both a social and economic right. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, if you also look at Article 53(1)(b) on the Specific Application of Rights, it says:- “Every child has the right to free and compulsory basic education.” Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, our rights and the rights of children in the north eastern part of this country have been denied. We feel that unless a specific measure is taken through the Senate, such as this Motion, to compel the Government to help us recruit and train teachers, then, we are bound to have serious problems.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I stand to second this Motion and thank my brother, Sen. Abdirahman for standing in the gap at this time for the sake of Kenyans who have suffered. We all know, Garissa, Wajir and Mandera are three peculiar counties. Earlier, these counties had a shortage of almost 50 per cent of primary school teachers. Before terrorism attacks, they had problems. These counties have been hit hard by the attacks of terrorism. Some teachers died while others have not resumed duty. These three counties and by extension the neighbouring counties in the north have been hit hard. This Motion calls upon other Kenyans to stand with our brethren who have suffered. The Kenyan child is in those counties is not going to school because the mentor

Order, Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo! Why are you imputing improper motives on the Temporary Speaker? Am I wrong for being the Temporary Speaker?

No, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. When you are not sitting on that seat, you are my neighbouring Senator. Let us not focus on Mr. Sossion and others. We need the Government’s assistance to address this problem. As I mentioned last time, we have Kshs2 billion to employ 5,000 teachers. This is just a drop in the sea whereas Kshs37 billion is wasted in the “Lower House” in the name of Constituencies Development Fund (CDF). This money can be utilized to employ 92,500 teachers which is the national shortfall. We should do away with this fund which is being wasted by people pretending to be building classrooms and we employ more teachers to take care of our children. Without losing focus, I support this Motion. Moving forward, we need a law compelling the Ministry to go further and engage the untrained teachers. Every holiday, the untrained teachers can be trained on how to teach. They have the concept: Do not be surprised that Standard Eight graduates can be very good teachers of Standard One, Two and Three, if they are taught how to teach. Similarly this can be done to Form Four graduates. We have enough of them in Garissa, Wajir, Mandera, Kitui and all the others. This Motion has come at an appropriate time. We want to see it being implemented next week. I beg to second.

Order, Hon. Senators, the first contributor shall have his or her time when the Motion is listed next week. It is now 6.30 p.m.; it is time to adjourn the Senate. The Senate stands adjourned until Tuesday, 30th June, 2015 at 2.30 p.m.