Mr. Speaker, Sir, pursuant to Standing Order No. 45 (2) (b) I seek a Statement from the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Health on the declining state of health services in Nandi County. In the Statement, the Chairperson should:- 1. State whether the Government is aware that all public facilities in Nandi County have not been operational in the last three weeks. 2. State the Government’s policy on the requirements and process of promotion of health workers across the country. 3. Explain the Government’s policy on the absorption of the health workers previously working under the Economic Stimulus Programme in our counties. 4. Explain the role of the Ministry of Health in streamlining human resource development in the health sectors in our counties. 5. Explain what the Senate Health Committee can do to mediate between the county government of Nandi and the Union of Nurses to ensure immediate operationalisation and provision of health services in Nandi County.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I will need two weeks to answer.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I appreciate that a number of the issues that I am seeking in the Statement might require about two weeks as the chairperson has requested. However, there is one that is urgent. My last request is about my county. The people of my county have not received health services for the last three weeks. I am sure the Committee on Health can mediate between now and Tuesday next week. It is a matter of mediating between the Nandi County Government and the Union of Nurses. That might not require two weeks. 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 thank Sen. Sang for appreciating that his question was lengthy and needed some time. I appreciate that he is also limited to one issue that can be answered in one week’s time. I oblige.

By one week’s time, it will be Wednesday. Sen. Sang is asking for Tuesday.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, it will be done.

Order Sen. (Dr.) Machage. When will you answer?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, you have ordered that it is done on Tuesday. I will try.

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

What is it Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, after listening to the response and the manner in which the Chair is responding, he is giving us a timetable on how to respond to this Statement. Is he aware that health is a devolved function? It is strictly under the functions of this House. Therefore, it should take zero time if possible. In fact, the answer should be brought tomorrow.

Order Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo. You are completely misrepresenting this House. You are equating your Chair to the governor or the county executive committee (CEC) member of health. That is wrong.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, you have heard the response from the Acting Chairperson, who is also a medical doctor. He knows that all medical issues are urgent. He should, therefore, give us that response immediately because the mothers in Nandi County are at risk. Now that the rains have started we will have many cases of Malaria and Typhoid. Could the Acting Chair come back with the answer on Tuesday?

Order, Sen. Leshore. I thought you were in the House with me. The Acting Chair has already said that he will come with a response on that particular issue on Tuesday. Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo, I do not know how you expect the Chairperson to respond. Is it just a matter of saying: “Yes it is this period?” There is no content. What is it, Sen. Sang?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to thank you for the direction you have given. On several occasions, when a committee of this House is requested to avail a statement to this House within the shortest time possible, like in this case, it has been useful when the Chair gave directions that, that Committee is given the necessary facilitation and support. Would I be in order to request that you actually direct that the Committee is facilitated and given priority in terms of facilitation, to ensure that they are able to meet that deadline?

You are completely out of order. All Committees are facilitated adequately by the House to discharge their responsibility. It is for the Chair 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 pursuant to Standing Order No.45 (2) to seek a Statement from the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance, Commerce and Budget regarding county governments funds held in the closed Imperial, Dubai and Chase banks. In the statement the Chairperson should:- (a) State the amount of funds that the various county governments deposited in Imperial, Dubai and Chase banks, specifying the amount per county since the year 2013 to date. (b) Confirm whether in each case the necessary authorization to bank in the same banks was sought and granted. (c) Explain the purpose for which the said funds were budgeted and allocated by the county governments and why the funds were deposited, instead of being used to meet the envisaged expenditures. (d) State the amount of interest earned in each case and how it was used. (e) Explain the measures that the affected county governments are taking to recover the funds. (f) Explain the measures that have been taken by the respective county governments against the officers who occasioned any loss due to any acts of omission or commission in respect of the inaccessible funds.

Is the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson or any Member of that Committee here?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we will bring the answer in two weeks time.

Two weeks time; it is so ordered. What is it, Sen. Adan?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, could you allow me to request for a statement?

Are you doing it now?

Yes, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Proceed. FREQUENT POWER OUTAGES AND SURGES IN KINNA SUB-COUNTY

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Pursuant to Standing Order No.45 (2) (b) I wish to seek a Statement from the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Energy regarding the surge of electricity and destruction of personal property in Kinna Sub-County, Isiolo County. 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, could you allow me to give an addendum? Four weeks ago we had a power surge in the whole of Migori County and a lot of property was destroyed. There is also frequent power shortage in Migori. Could I request that Migori County is also included in the answer that the Chair will give on Isiolo?

Is the Chairperson of the Committee on Energy not here? I thought I saw the Senate Deputy Majority Leader. Any Member of the Rules and Business Committee (RBC)? Prof. Lonyangapuo!

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I seek two weeks to deliver the message to the Chair.

It is so ordered. Sen. Madzayo. STATUS OF KENYA CASHEW NUTS LIMITED

Bw. Spika, kwa mujibu wa Kifungu 45 (2) (b) cha Kanuni za Seneti, naomba taarifa kutoka kwa Mwenyekiti wa Kamati ya Kudumu ya Kilimo kuhusu mtambo wa korosho wa Shirika la Kenya Cashew Nuts Limited. Katika taarifa hiyo ningependa Mwenyekiti wa Kamati kueleza:- (1) Je, ni kwanini mtambo wa shirika la Kenya Cashew Nuts Limited uliokuwa kwa mikono ya vyama vya ushirika wa ukulima wa zao la korosho katika Kaunti ya Kilifi ulipewa kampuni ya Millennium Management Limited? (2) Je, ni nani aliyechukuaa asilimia 35 ya hisa walizokuwa nazo wakulima wa korosho wa Kaunti ya Kilifi kwenye shirika la Kenya Cashew Nuts Limited? (3) Je, hisa hizo ambazo ni asilimia 35 ziko wapi na zitarejeshwa lini kwa wale wakulima wa Kilifi? (4) Je, uhamishaji wa hizo hisa za ununuzi wa Shirika la Kenya Cashew Nuts Company Limited ulifanywa kulingana na sheria za Kenya na kama ni hivyo, ni nani aliyeidhinisha kuuzwa au kuhamishwa kwa hisa hizo asilimia 65 zilizomilikiwa na Serikali kwenye Shirika la Kenya Cashew Nuts Limited hadi kwa kampuni ya Kenya Assets Management Limited? (5) Je, Serikali itaweza kurejesha hekari 350 za shamba iliyojengewa lile Shirika la Kenya Cashew Nuts Limited kwa sababu inaonekana wazi kwamba kampuni ya 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

Je, Mwenyekiti wa Kamati yuko? Sen. Ndiema.

Bw. Spika, nakusudia kwamba tutajibu baada ya wiki mbili.

Jibu lipatikane baada ya wiki mbili. We will now move to Statements to be issued. Is the Statement by the Chairperson of the Committee on Finance, Commerce and Budget ready? Is the Statement by the Chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries ready? Sen. Ndiema. AGRO-PROCESSING INDUSTRIES IN ASALS

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we are still working on the Statement. I request for one more week.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. You ruled that the Statement be given today after they pleaded for two weeks. The time has come and the Vice-Chair is now asking for a week. Is the Vice-Chairperson in order to request for more time when he knew that he was supposed to give the Statement today?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, it has happened many times that while we intend to perform within a period of two weeks, circumstances sometimes are such that we do not get the responses in good time. There is a tradition in this House and we are requesting for---. This is not the first time for a request for extension to be given. Therefore, I request the Senator for West Pokot to agree with the extension of one more week.

Order, Mr. Vice Chairman. That is exactly what the Member is contesting. You had anticipated an extension of time and you are now justifying that it is normal to ask for an extension. The issue is; what circumstances warrant the extension of time?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we have not received the response from the relevant Ministry.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is like the Chairman was sitting pretty in his office waiting for the answers. I expected him to go and look for answers rather than wait for them to be delivered. I do not know the mode of delivery. Up to when shall they wait? I thought they should have gone for the answers. They should give us a definite date in the course of next week when they will give the answers.

Vice Chair.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we have called upon the Ministry to respond. With due respect, we have always promptly responded to any questions that come before the Committee. I think this is a special case and, therefore, I seek indulgence. There must be some reason for that. Maybe they were at some other place but this is an exceptional case. 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! You should give the response in the next one week or even earlier. The Member is also suggesting that you should also appear like you are doing something rather than “sitting pretty”, to use his words. Let us move to Statement (c) CONSTRUCTION OF A CEMENT PLANT IN WEST POKOT

All statements today seem to have been requested by Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo. Is the Chairperson or any Member of the Committee on Land and Natural Resources around? Members, statements (a) and (c) should appear on the Order Paper tomorrow. It is not acceptable that the Chair, Vice Chair or any other Member does not even have the basic courtesy of coming to the House and letting us know what is happening. Failure to deliver them tomorrow will also lead to further sanctions.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Now that you are contemplating the possibilities of sanctions tomorrow, could you also reserve commendation and recognition for the performance by Sen. Ndiema and Sen. Obure from the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) side who have saved the day?

Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, I wish I could grant your wishes but they lack merit completely. Sen. Ndiema only asked for more time. I only saw Sen. Obure standing and he has not uttered a single word.

More importantly, you do not anticipate sanctions. Wait for that day. Even if the sanctions were to be given, it is not a must that there must be a simultaneous and opposite reward to others.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, to avoid any ambiguity regarding the question by Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo, was he concerned with the construction of a cement company? I would like him to clarify so that we are clear about what the question is. He should tell us whether he meant construction of a factory or a company because we could---

Order, Sen. (Prof.) Lesan, that is not our business. I am sure there are only two seats between the two of you. That is not the proverbial one of Abraham and the angels. Sen. Kagwe. 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 your guidance on a matter that has become troubling as far as the Senate procedures are concerned. The committees of this House have virtually ground to a stop specifically because we are being told that there is no money for operations. Further, even our staff - I do not about other Senators - have been struggling to get paid as well. When we started discussing matters of operations in the Liaison Committee, we were asked to go and discuss with the National Assembly on a formula popularly known as per capita operations in the committees. We were advised that the people who can help us in this matter are not actually the Liaison Committee as such but Members of the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) from this House. In addition, I am told that the National Assembly has the money. To add insult to injury, I am informed that the money that was supposed to be for the Senate was actually used by the National Assembly on the understanding that it would be reinstated by the Treasury. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the committees have problems travelling overseas. For example, the committee of which I am a Member has not made any single trip overseas. We were happy and quite prepared to travel and oversight county governments but we cannot even do that. We are told that we cannot even go to Machakos County because there is no money. To add insult to injury, we were even told that the Senate Magazine that we have been producing over time cannot be produced for whatever reason yet it was one of the vehicles and avenues that we were using to inform the public about what the Senate is doing. This is a matter that lies in the hands of the Liaison Committee, to some extent, but largely, to the PSC. We have got representatives from this House in that Commission. One of them is present. Time has come to ask ourselves some very serious questions. Sen. Murungi had mentioned this once. Are we able to get our money? Are the current representatives of PSC from this House able to negotiate on such a matter moving forward? Is the PSC representative team from this House able to renegotiate with the National Assembly so that we remove the per capita allocation in the committees? Is the PSC able to reinstate our Magazine so that we can inform the public about what we are doing?

What is it, Sen. Orengo?

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. While I totally agree with what my brother, the Senator from Nyeri County is saying, I am wondering whether the forum is correct. We know what is going on around this matter. They are a bit complicated and it is even more complicated because we have commissioners in this Senate in that Commission. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of that Commission comes from the Senate. This whining should stop for a little while until we examine this matter internally, before being seen to be weak-kneed and whining. I do not think it will help us. 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, the furthest thing on my mind is whining. That is why I am demanding action. I am not a whiner. There is a big difference between whining and making a statement.

Order, Sen. Kagwe! Let us hear from Sen. Murkomen.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Whereas this is a very serious and important issue, am I in order to follow in the footsteps of my mentor and senior counsel, Sen. Orengo? This is in the sense that we have distinguished ourselves as a House in terms of matters related to welfare or where there are issues dealing with a situation where we have an issue with officers or Members of the “Lower House”. As a House, we have generally handled this issue in a more mature manner. You are the one who has led us through the normal kamukunjis and negotiations. A lot has been happening behind the scenes. I totally share in the frustrations of Sen. Kagwe. I feel it. Would it not be in order if I request that we have, in our usual way, addressed this issue in national interest?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, there reaches a point where caution ends and cowardice begins. I was to propose that you, in your capacity as our head, kindly calls us for a kamukunji to discuss this matter. A story is told of a Mzungu who came with six cups and every time a cup broke, the servant said sorry until all the cups broke. Six cups later, with all the sorries in the world, the Mzungu did not have any cup to drink from. Mr. Speaker, Sir, let us by all means have this kamukunji that is being proposed. However, let us do so appreciating and knowing that we have negotiated from a position of weakness for too long. It is time to negotiate from a position of strength.

Order, Sen. Kagwe!

Nimemaliza. Asante sana.

Hon. Members, I think I have advised severally that the issue is not weakness but the appropriate forum. This is because you need to get the pine of every Member of the House so that we agree that that is the correct position. From there, we will know what to do. I propose that this kind of matter should not be coming to the Plenary. We will organise a kamukunji as we have always done on various matters. I do not remember the last time we organised one for such. That was a long time ago when we were just starting. So, it means that the fact that we have not revisited that matter in a long while, can only demonstrate that something good has been happening. Now that you have raised it, we will organise one.

Hon. Members, before we proceed, I would like to acknowledge the presence in the Speaker’s Gallery this afternoon, of visitingMembers 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, thank you for welcoming these two delegations from Vihiga and Siaya counties. I need not say more because once the Speaker has given a word of welcome, that is on behalf of the entire Senate. The two delegations came as guests of the Implementation Committee of the Senate. These are the implementation committees from Vihiga and Siaya counties. Let me confirm to the Senate that in terms of performance, these two committees have been rated No.1 and 2 nationally. 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, allow me to join you in welcoming members from the Vihiga County Assembly, a county that I am proud to represent in this august House. Once again, I want to hail the County Assembly of Vihiga for fully embracing the Speaker’s programme of capacity-building our county assemblies to ensure that they play their role of oversight in a better way. Mr. Speaker, Sir, when a team is coming from various county assemblies, the Senator from the area is notified. This time round, I was not notified and I did not know that my Members were here until I just bumped into them this afternoon before this Session. I want to encourage that good practice of notifying Members and a courtesy call be arranged like it has always been done. May be for my case, I think I have received so many Members until the Clerk takes it for granted because this is like the ninth team I am receiving. After this team, all the 39 elected and nominated Members of County Assembly of Vihiga would have been to the Senate. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I was not planning to say anything but I realized that I had not put off my intervention button. Just like the rest of the Senators, I welcome the two committees and wish them a fruitful stay. Most importantly is that, the first point of oversight remains our county assemblies. If this Senate is not going to empower our Members in the county assembly, the governors will continue running amok. Therefore, I hope that when somebody asks me a question on one legacy that this Senate must leave, it is the shock absorbers on devolution. One of the shock absorbers is the county assemblies. Mr. Speaker, Sir, if there is going to be another devolution conference, that conference must be done by the Senators of this Republic in conjunction with the county assemblies.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would like to join my colleagues in welcoming the delegations from Siaya and Vihiga counties. As you are aware, Siaya is one county that has produced the Vice President of this nation, the Prime Minister of this nation, the President of the United States of America (USA) and the future President of Kenya. Vihiga County is not left behind because they have produced a Vice President of Kenya whose tenure was the shortest.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, on matters devolution, I want to encourage the Members of the County Assembly to guard devolution jealously. We tend to say that if things are rotten at the national Government, we cannot afford the same state of affairs in the counties. They are our savior who will ensure that women see the benefits for which they pay taxes. I also want to encourage the MCAs because, sometimes when we talk of violence in elections, we think that violence will only come in the presidential elections. I have observed the heated campaigns for the positions of MCAs all over the country. I want to tell the MCAs and the waheshimiwas who are here that they should also guard against perpetuating violence in their respective areas. When it comes to issues of violence, I hope that the two county assemblies also join this Senate in declaring that we should work towards a situation where there is no more violence in this country on account of elections. 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, allow me to join the Senators of the great counties of Siaya and Vihiga in welcoming the MCAs from the two great counties. As I have said before, your office is doing a great job by providing the framework within which we can exchange ideas with county governments and they can come here for bench-marking. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I was with you today when the Ministry of Devolution and Planning was launching the framework for public participation and civic education. I agree with your comments that the best way to ensure that devolution moves forward is to ensure that all actors are involved through participation. There is no better institution to do that than county assemblies. They are the owners of budgeting and allocation of resources at the local level. Allow me to remind our colleagues from the county assembly here, that phenomenon that we see in counties where county government funded projects have a billboard or a tag of an individual must come to an end. That is not what devolution was all about. Devolution was about various actors playing a role that leads to the success of our people, but you find that the whole work done by the county assembly in budgeting for projects in the county and ensuring that resources are allocated is reduced to one individual in the person of a governor, putting a billboard and a tag everywhere. This behavior must change because it is replicated by our colleagues in the lower House where projects funded by Constituency Development Fund (CDF) are tagged and attributed to an individual Member of the National Assembly. That kind of behavior must come to an end. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the resources we budget for and send to the counties; there is a role that is played by the taxpayer who gave that money, a role played by the Senator dealing with matters of Division of Revenue and Allocation of Resources, a role played by the county assembly and a role played by the county executive. We cannot reduce that to be a one man show. It must be that we have a collective responsibility as leaders to ensure that with humility, we serve our people. Lastly, is to remind our colleagues in the county assembly, as Sen. M. Kajwang said that we are going to elections. You have said and I agree with you that we must hold the country together and use our institutions of governance to serve the people. We must ensure that those institutions grow. We do not want anyone stifling the county assemblies, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), the Judiciary, the County Executive or the Senate. All these institutions must be allowed to grow and do their job. When they pass through Kisumu as they go to Siaya, they tell Kisumu leaders that when we talk about reforming IEBC, it has nothing to do with IEBC staff in Kisumu. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I also join you and my colleagues in welcoming the two committees from the two counties. Sen. Orengo has confirmed that the two committees are rated highly. As we congratulate them, we also need to remind them that there are interesting scenarios in their counties and Kenya at large. Recently, funds were submitted to the Council of Governors (CoGs) from the counties. Vihiga County, which is a small county and we know how much it gets, was among the counties that submitted a lot of money for free, to be wasted on mandazi here in Nairobi in a building owned by foreigners. We want the Members of the County Assemblies (MCAs) to be more thorough than they are today, because they are key pillars of devolution on the ground. As Members of the County Public Accounts and Investment Committee (CPAIC) of the Senate, we wonder whether the chair of a similar committee in your county assembly sees what we are seeing. There should be concerted efforts from the Senate and the county assemblies to make sure that things move right. I want to encourage them to work hard. I know that the challenges are immense, but together, we can move forward.

Conclude, Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo.

I know that Sen. M. Kajwang encouraged you, but I hope you will not buy a firimbi the way some of us did. That is not a good practice to pick.

Order, Members. Because of interest, I will limit your submissions to a maximum of two minutes. Sen. Wako.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, thank you for giving me this opportunity. I also wish to add my voice to those of other Senators in congratulating the implementation committees of the county assemblies of Vihiga and Siaya for being number one and number two in the county assemblies. I was born and raised in Vihiga County and so, I know it well. Siaya County is my neighbouring county. The implementation committees of the county assemblies are here to make sure that the various resolutions, petitions and subsidiary legislations passed are implemented. I congratulate you for being number one and two. I encourage other implementation committees of other counties to visit you and see what you are doing. I will be encouraging the implementation committee of the County of Busia to visit the neighbouring county of Siaya to see how you are doing it. From there, they will go to Vihiga County to see how they are doing it. We should encourage, where possible, benchmarking between counties, because various counties are good at doing certain things. They do not have to go to Israel to benchmark on agriculture; they need to go to Uasin Gishu and Trans Nzoia counties to see how agriculture is undertaken. I find that The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to join you and my colleagues in congratulating the committees from the two county assemblies that are visiting the Senate, particularly, Vihiga County which neighbours my county. I want to congratulate them for being the first and the second in terms of the various county assemblies committees. I want to encourage Sen. Orengo and his team that they need to spend more time with the ones who are at the tail-end than with the ones which are first and the second. I think that Nos.47, 46 and 45 need more help more than this team. I want to encourage the MCAs that devolution will succeed in this country because of county assemblies. It perturbs some of us to see county assemblies approving a budget in this financial year--- We know that the budgets of counties are programme- based. This means that in every budget you can tell exactly what is it that those resources are supposed to do. In the next financial year the same county assemblies approve another budget before the projects that were budgeted for in the previous budget are undertaken. If we must succeed under devolution, we must ensure that every coin from

is spent on the projects that have been identified. Before we move into the next financial year, we should carry out oversight and ensure that every single coin in the previous financial year has been spent. I want to encourage the MCAs to carry out their responsibility. The Senate is here to support them as they do so.

Your time is up, Senator.

Asante Bw. Spika. Nawapongeza wenzetu kutoka mashinani kwa kufika hapa. Naamini kwamba watajifunza mengi, kama vile sera za Seneti hii. Ningependa kusisitiza maneno ambayo yamesemwa na wenzangu kuhusu sera za watu kuandamana na kupiga firimbi. Mbiu ya mgambo ikilia kuna jambo. Ukifika kwa kichaka na usikie ndege wengi wakipiga kelele labda kuna nyoka. Ningependa kuwaambia wenzangu walioko upande wa Serikali kwamba mimi nastahili kuitwa mzee kwa sababu ya umri wangu. Kwa hivyo, wanafaa kusikia wosia wangu.

Una miaka mingapi?

Hizo ni details .

Bw. Spika, wanafaa kutafuta nafasi ili waongee na viongozi wa Upinzani ili wasiingize nchi kwa matatizo kwa sababu ya jambo ndogo kama lile la maafisa wa Tume ya kusimamia uchaguzi. Jambo hilo ni ndogo sana. Wanafaa kutafuta nafasi ya kuwasikiliza viongozi wa Upinzani. Viongozi wa Tume inayosimamia uchaguzi pia wanafaa kuwa na muda wa kuwasikiza. Wasiwe wakitenga tarehe ya kukutana nao kisha wanatoroka. Wanafaa kuwasikiza hata kama hawakubaliani nayo ili kuwe na uwiano na amani nchini. Asante. 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

Next Order!

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. In respect of the First Reading of the County Allocation of Revenue Bill, as you are aware, according to Articles 217 and 218 of the Constitution, we met the provisions of Article 217(1) when a few weeks ago we passed the second generation formula. I am concerned that the Bill that we are reading now is not factoring in the second generation formula. It is based on the first generation formula. This being the case, I would like to clarify that in view of the provisions of Article 218(1), which gives a timeline that we should be done with it by 30th April. That means that we only have tomorrow. Given that the second generation formula has not received the concurrence of the National Assembly and provided that the same Article 217(3) allows a timeline of 60 days for the National Assembly to make that decision, are we, therefore, saying that as the originating House, we are reading this Bill based on the first generation formula because we have no faith in ourselves and we fear that there would be no concurrence from the National Assembly. Mr. Speaker, Sir, you need to guide me because my take would be that when this formula was adopted here, it was not in vain. As the originating House, my take is that we proceed with the new Bill based on the second generation formula in the good hope that there would be concurrence from the National Assembly. Why do you want to give the impression that our resolution is only conditional to approval by the National Assembly?Are we therefore not saying that the National Assembly is superior and we are kneeling for them to allow us to come back subsequently? I have tried to prosecute and I would be happy---

Order! You are trying to prosecute but you are pursuing a very dangerous path. It would be safer to ask what you need to ask and not by starting to imagine and draw your own conclusions.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, because of the freedom of thought that is enjoyed in this House and also as provided for in the Constitution, I should exhaust what I am saying for the reason that the country which is now following my discussion might not be on the same page like most Members 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

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale has raised an important issue, but for the public that is watching, it is important that we be clear about what comes first so that we do not confuse the chicken and the egg and not end with any. According to Article 224, the county governments shall prepare their annual budgets and appropriations in accordance with the Division of Revenue Act. The Division of Revenue Bill under Article 224 is defined in Article 218(1). That Bill shall be introduced in Parliament two months before the end of the financial year. The County Allocation of Revenue Bill, similarly, shall be introduced in Parliament for dividing of revenue amongst counties in accordance with the basis determined under Article 217. The elephant in the room is that according to this timelines and this Constitution, which formula is applicable for purposes of introducing this Bill like we have today? That is what we need to resolve. To address the dilemma of Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, we need to know whether the resolution passed here last week was taken to the National Assembly and whether, using your good offices and diplomacy, whether the 60 days provided in this Constitution for the resolution by the National Assembly either to approve, reject or amend the Division of Revenue Bill, can be expedited. Whilst Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale raises an important point, timelines do not stop. Fortunately, the Bill has been introduced. Do we have an opportunity to ensure that our colleagues in the National Assembly pass a resolution before the expiry of 60 days immediately so that the country can benefit from the work that Senators did, in terms of negotiating with the Commission for Revenue Allocation (CRA) and all other stakeholders? Otherwise, all the work and negotiations, including the work done by Senators on this formula, will go to waste. What is worrying me is that a colleague in this Senate has challenged that Bill. We are pleading with you because this is the only House that can make that determination. We should forestall a crisis that might be precipitated by the court process started by Sen. Wamatangi and any other processes that might be there so that what we have done here, does not go to waste. I am happy to say that from the reading of the Constitution, there is nothing wrong with the introduction of the Bill in so far as the law is concerned.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale has ably read to us Article 217 and 218 and Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. has added Article 224. They, therefore, know the modalities of handling finance in Parliament. Is he in order, therefore, to cast an aspersion to this Senate to be inferior to the other House when he knows that it can be introduced as an amendment so that we have the new formula in the House? In any case, if we do it later, we will delay the budgeting process of the county assemblies and we will have been seen to fail in our duties in this House.

Hon. Senators, it is perfectly in order for Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale to seek clarification if, for one reason or the other, he appears to be confused in this rear occasion. It is a legitimate expectation on the part of Sen. (Dr.) Machage, being fellow professions, not to imagine that it is possible. The good thing about democracy 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 see wisdom in the direction of your thoughts and the points raised by my colleagues. We must also be very cautious about this process. We have a new formula and this House has approved it. The formula has moved to the next Chamber but experience has been that we might say we have latitude of 60 days and the formula might get to the next Chamber and go into the cooler like the other 23 Bills. The caution I wanted to put on the Table is to encourage you personally to reach out to your brother who has constantly had a dim view of our House. He should encourage the leadership of that House to give priority to the formula. Five years are gone and the Constitution obligates us to pass a new formula that will be the basis of the division. As you say, if they decide to do nothing or do little about it, then we are disenfranchising counties because as protectors and defenders of counties and their governments, we have dutifully passed a new formula brought here by the CRA. That formula must then shift gear from the last five years to the next five years. I, therefore, urge you to speak to your brother. Put all your communication skills that we know to persuade, cajole and intimidate them, if you can, so that we get this through. That is the caution I wanted to pass. Mr. Speaker, Sir, now that I am on my feet, kindly allow me to welcome the delegation from Vihiga County. I was not here earlier, but I heard Sen. Orengo eloquently welcoming them. It is a delegation that I cherish to see in the Gallery. I The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate

Next time, I will look for rhinos.

Hon. Senators, we will skip Order No.10 due to lack of the requisite numbers to vote. Let us move on to Order No.12 immediately which will be followed by Order Nos. 11 and 13, respectively.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, thank you for acknowledging me as Sen. Sitwila Amos Wako and former Attorney-General, in that order. Thank you for giving me an opportunity as the Chairperson of the Mediation Committee to move this Motion. The Political Parties (Amendment) Bill, 2014 was drafted by Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, passed by the Senate and sent to the National Assembly where there was no debate on it. It was not rejected on the basis of its substance which was well considered, but because the National Assembly had its own Bill on the same subject matter on threshold to be met by political parties if they are to have access to the funding. This House appointed four of us to be Members of the Mediation team---

What is it, Sen. Obure?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, my point of order is that the Senator for Busia County, Senior Counsel and former Attorney General of the Republic of Kenya has started debating this Motion without, first, moving it. 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. Wako, it is not enough to force us to acknowledge all your attributes and then proceed to fail on basics.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the minor things can only be raised by people with minor minds. I stand corrected and beg to move that the Senate adopts the Report---

Order, Sen. Wako! Now that you are at it, please, do it properly.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the following Motion:- THAT, the Senate adopts the Report of the Mediation Committee on the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill (Senate Bill No.3 of 2014) laid on the Table of the House on Tuesday, 26th April, 2016.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the Mediation Committee arose out of a Bill that originated from this House. This Bill was drafted by none other than Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale. The Bill tried to lower threshold that must be met by the political parties to have access to the funding. This Bill by Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale was passed in the Senate. In accordance to the relevant provisions of the Constitution, it was then transmitted to the National Assembly. When it went to the National Assembly, it was moved by the Chairperson of the Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs, but there was nobody to second it. Consequently, the Bill lapsed on that technical ground. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the Bill never received proper consideration in the National Assembly. It was thrown out on technical ground and did not go through the whole process in the National Assembly. Therefore, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Constitution, a Mediation Committee was appointed. It consisted of four Senators and four Members of the National Assembly. Amongst the Members appointed by the Speaker of the Senate was, none other than, the originator of that Bill, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale. I was elected as the Chairperson of the Mediation Committee and Hon. Chepkonga was elected as the Vice Chairperson. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, as the report indicates, we had a total of five meetings. I am glad to report to this House that we unanimously arrived at the recommendations of the Committee. This underlines the fact that if we do less grandstanding, political rallies, confrontational politics outside Parliament, we are very reasonable. We are prepared to put the national interest first before our personal interests or that of our political parties. This is one more instance where this has happened. The mediated version of the Bill which I am recommending to you was unanimously arrived at. Even the originator, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale agreed and signed the minutes to this understanding. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Are you declaring that you will defect from ODM to another political party that you will form?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I almost considered it during Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale’s proposal. However, I noticed that I am new in politics. I am now realizing that if you are called a party leader, you carry some weight. For example, in political gatherings and everywhere else, political leaders are accorded that title. I also want to be called a party leader in view of my seniority. Therefore, what better thing than to form a political party and ensure I am elected. If I visit Nandi County and there are many speakers, for example, MPs and other leaders, while being addressed they will say, “now let us go to the party leaders.” Therefore, I will also stand up and speak as a party leader. If I could be tempted to do that, how many more in the country would be tempted to form political parties? Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I think that would be the end of our multiparty system. One can set the threshold low or very high. The current regulations have set it too high to the extent that only the top three political parties can access funding. Therefore, we want to strike the balance, not too low and not too high; just enough to create a multiparty democratic State. According to the mediated version, it had been provided for that if a political party gets 5 per cent of the votes cast in the preceding elections, it will get through. According to the current Constitution, the only political parties that got more than 5 per cent were:- (1) The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). (2) The National Alliance (TNA). (3) The United Republican Party (URP). They are the only ones which qualified. All the rest did not qualify because of that 5 per cent requirement. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Order, Senator! Who is seconding?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, Boni Khalwale.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Order! Kindly refer to him as Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I was to say Sen. (Dr.) Boni Khalwale, but you cut me short.

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

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

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, is the Senator for Busia County, the Chairman of the Mediation Committee and the Mover of this Motion - at his age - in order to be mischievous when he had finished the statement by referring to Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale as “Khalwale” and to me as “Sang”?

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Order, Sen. Wako! Do not extend your mischief by taking the microphone before the Chair allows. You were out of order. However, in view of your age and seniority, I do not think an apology is necessary. However, he has noted the mistake. Education is a continuous process even at his age.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I agree with your ruling, but may I say that the young people speak fast. We, the old Members, have long gaps in between. So, when we are at those long gaps, the young Members should not think we have finished.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Order! There is nowhere you have to agree or disagree with the ruling of the Chair. You have to accept because that is the law of the House. There is no provision for agreeing.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Order, Sen. Wako! You have a seat.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the Motion as moved by the Sen. Wako. It looks like there is an attempt to address me properly. For record purposes, may I make it clear that my name is Sen. (Dr.) Boni Khalwale, MP, CHG, MBS, Senator for Kakamega County.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, with the permission of the national party leader of the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy in Kenya (FORD), I am also the de facto deputy party leader.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): No such position is legitimate in the Political Parties Act. However, it is good to dream. 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 Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale in order to aspire for the position of the deputy majority leader when I know the Senate Minority Leader is a serious presidential contender and we would want to have a party that has a regional balance? I am sure he is considering me as the deputy majority leader and not Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Indeed, aspirations and dreams are acceptable in politics. No wonder Martin Luther King Jnr., had a dream and it happened. So, kindly dream!

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I compliment you for being poetic. I did not know that a doctor can have such talents. Congratulations.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Order! I thought you are one. Do you doubt your talent?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the need for this kind of a Bill occurred to me after the frustration I got in UDF. I thought we needed to call to order the behaviour of small and big parties so that they operate within the law. This backed the thought that led to the need for this amendment. I owe it to this House that approved it. Secondly, I also thank the Member of Parliament for Kiminini, Hon. (Dr.) Chris Wamalwa of FORD-Kenya for having the same thinking in the National Assembly. I also thank Sen. Wako for ably leading the mediation together with Hon. Chepkonga. Within record time, we had the mediated version. The import is that, we not only want to encourage as many political parties as possible to come up, but to also make sure that the desire to partake of the political funding kitty is not the reason that will drive people into forming political parties. Therefore, it provoked me to agree with our standard which included that we reduce the amount of money that will be spend on administration of political parties from 5 per cent to 3 per cent. Importantly, it was to ensure that the parties that will attract funding will be those with at least 20 elected Members of the National Assembly, three elected Members of Senate, three elected members who are governors and at least 40 members of the county assemblies. I have no problem with this. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I support. As I end this, I saw a lot of excitement on the face of Sen. Sang, my neighbour and Senator of Nandi County. The excitement almost looked sheepish. He is trying to defend small parties. May I tell him that it is difficult and expensive to run a political party. Having run FORD-Kenya for five years---

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, did you hear the Senator for Kakamega alluding to some form of excitement bordering on being sheepish and making the reference to me. Is he in order?

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Have you ever heard of satirical expressions?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I have, but the word “sheepish” is abusive to say the least. I have no problem with his analysis of my excitement, but to indicate that I am sheepish is insulting. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): The Member may have understood you wrongly. Since I know that, that was not your intention, it is good to be sorry.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I quickly withdraw because little did I imagine that, that is what I was going to do. In my understanding of the English language - which I have a command of - I saw no offence in that remark, but the hon. Senator does not have to understand it the way I thought he should. If he has understood it negatively, I withdraw and apologise. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I just want to encourage my younger brother that running a political party is a very difficult thing. If you asked any of the political party leaders such as Sen. Wetangula, the Deputy President, hon. Ruto, President Uhuru Kenyatta, the former Vice President, hon. Kalonzo Musyoka and hon. Raila, the kind of pressure and demands they get, you will not believe it. It is unbelievable to the extent that if we could have a public fund from which political party leadership can enjoy from the taxpayers so as to strengthen democracy, that would give upcoming politicians like Cheruiyot an avenue to think of forming a party.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Order! You should refer to him as Sen. Cheruiyot.

In fact, let me pronounce it properly. Sen. Cheruiyot. It will give upcoming politicians like Sen. Cheruiyot an opportunity to think of converting their political cloud into a political party because we will not always agree with leaders of political parties. Because I am sharing an experience, let me tell him that I am happy that next year I will be running on FORD-Kenya, a party that taught me politics and a party that resonates with the spirits of the kind of people who admire my politics. It was very painful because of poor leadership at the top. I was forced to form another political party just to send that person a message that what he can do, I can do better. We do not want to go that route, but strengthen political parties. I hope that sometime in future, a Member of Parliament, be it a Senator or a Member of the National Assembly, will come up with an amendment to kill coalitions. If the intention of raising the threshold is to make sure that we have only a few political parties, then we should also kill coalitions because small parties will sometimes hide in coalitions so as to continue perpetuating themselves. It will, therefore, be necessary to amend that in future, so that we completely remove the clause that allows for coalitions to ensure that a party grows as a party. The beauty of this is that because Kenyans have stupidly ethicized our political parties, the highest that a tribal party can expect to go is the national quarter of its population where it has got dominance. That means that no political party in this country will ever go over 20 per cent. The beauty with it is that when people go to elections, for us to kill this ethnic thinking in voting, then all the political parties will be nowhere near 50 per cent plus 1. They will get less than 20 per cent so that the party that was number one with 17 per cent--- Let us assume that it will be The National Alliance (TNA) because I hope it has the biggest bloc. It could be followed by FORD-Kenya because it has the second biggest bloc although many know that it is the biggest bloc and number one in view of certain nocturnal gymnastics from the men and women of that community. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Order! Nocturnal gymnastics is very wide. Could you say what you mean?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, Sen. Elachi was looking at me in a manner likely to suggest that I used unparliamentary language. That notwithstanding, it will go a long way to help, so that when the number one party with less than 20 per cent wants to build up enough support in the second round to attain 50 per cent plus 1, we will look for serious partners at the right time. That is neither here nor there. We can test it on another son of this country who sooner or later might actualise the futuristic thinking that I have in mind. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I thank you and the National Assembly for having concurred with our thinking in this Senate. I second.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Very well. I will propose the question.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, first, I would like to thank the mediation team. I also thank Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale. I am one of those who benefited from the small parties. I am still the Secretary General of our party. I want to thank Kenyans because we got 51 MCAs across the country. We also have three Senators and one governor elected on our party ticket. That aside, I also got 1.1 million votes.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Which party is this?

The Alliance Party of Kenya (APK) popularly known as “The Mbasi.” Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I also agree with the sentiments---

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Did you hear Sen. Elachi mislead the country that she got 1.1 million votes when the APK did not have a presidential candidate? Is she riding on the votes of the TNA?

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Order, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale! Just because that party did not have a presidential candidate does not mean that there were no voters who voted for the party. They had votes. No wonder they have three MPs, 51 MCAs and a governor. These people were elected unless you want to mean a presidential candidate’s votes.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, you have captured it correctly. I thought she meant she got 1.1 million national votes. If she meant the aggregate of votes that she got, then even my former United Democratic Forum (UDF) Party did far much better than them.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Sen. Elachi, continue.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, he can even check that on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) website and he will see how many votes every party garnered. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, having said that, you will also remember that we had a challenge of not getting the 5 per cent and the funding for the parties. The reasons were 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 support the Motion. I also join those who have spoken before me in lauding our representatives in the Mediation Committee for a job well done; Sen. Wako, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, Sen. Sang and Sen. Murkomen, especially when they were mediating with an unreasonable person called hon. Samuel Chepkonga.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Order! Sen. Wetangula, you are a seasoned politician. I need not remind you of Standing Orders No.90. Please, desist from doing that. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I withdraw, but my interactions with him always appear to be far from reasonable. However, I will avoid that. A hyena told a stone: “Hata usiponijibu, umenisikia.” This report on this Bill is very important for two or three reasons. One is that it brings to the fore the important point that every vote counts. As it is today, we have created monoliths, so to speak, in accessing national revenue that goes to parties. A party that cannot get the threshold set out here has no business laying any claim to state resources. Parties must strive to grow, be national and where they do not meet the threshold, be obligated to join coalitions that give a national character that also gives the threshold. We have so many parties in this country. At the last count, I think they were about 65. We thought that with the new Constitution and the creation of the requirement that no party shall be sectarian or regional, it appears to me that the law is not strictly followed. We know parties that are based in one county and yet they are registered and they are operating. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, before I come to the actual provisions of the Act, in future, it will be good to empower the Registrar of Political Parties to automatically deregister parties that do not win any seat at the elections. Parties should not be tools of trade as we see some of the owners of those parties doing. At elections time, they become very busy. In fact, some of them normally shift operations from unknown offices to the gates of Parliament to offer tickets to Members who may be having difficulties in the parties that they have served on. It is prudent that the law be re-tooled, so to speak, to bring to the country a situation where at the end of an election, for example, a party that fields candidates everywhere in an election and does not win any seat, has no business remaining in the books of the Registrar of Political Parties. They should automatically come to sunset. There is a group called Political Parties Liaison Committee. The noisiest, most arrogant and irritating parties are those that do not even have representation anywhere. You remember there was a fist fight in Mombasa County at a Political Liaisons Committee meeting. The fist fight was caused by parties that do not even have representation in county assemblies. Their representatives were asserting themselves by saying:- “I am the president of my party. I am the party leader of my party, and so on”. We need those thresholds to clean up the mess and bring sanity in the body politic of the country. Equally important is that parties that cannot win a seat even across the county where they are based also have serious questions as to the constitutionality because the Constitution is very clear on this. The threshold of reducing from 5 to 3 per cent is reasonable. This should attract more support for more parties. When public resources are available, it is also important to spread them. Some parties fail to perform because they do not have resources. So, if a party has struggled on its own and met the basic minimum like the three per cent of the national vote, then they should get funding. Equally important is the tabulation in Clause 2(b) that a party must have at least 20 elected Members of the National Assembly and three elected Members of the Senate, The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for giving me this chance to make my contributions. I support the Bill. I do so, for the following three reasons. One of the tenets of any thriving democracy is good political parties that are founded on ideals and not individuals. One of the biggest challenges that we are facing right now as a country is that people do not take positions out of certain thinking, but from the positions of individuals and personalities. What we have today in the name of political parties, with all sincerity and honesty and due respect to any party leader in the House, are almost similar to cult-following of individuals and not anything that is an ideal or certain thinking espoused by a certain group of people over a certain period of time. That can only be said to be so if after 10, 15 or 20 years you can be given the history of a political party and be told that leadership in the same political party has transitioned and moved---

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Is the Senator for Kericho in order, while referring to his own party, to think that what obtains in his party is true in Ford-Kenya? Could he confine himself to his own party? What he is describing is nowhere near what is in Ford-Kenya, Wiper and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) parties.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Order! I may not gag a Member from expressing his own opinion. It is your duty to listen and discard what you think is not worth listening to. Please, continue.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, thank you for protecting me from the bullfighter, the Senator for Kakamega. What he is expressing continues to confirm my line of thought and train of argument; that many of our political parties are not espousing any particular ideal. That leadership has passed from a certain individual and that people follow a particular party because they believe in particular ideals. This Bill---

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Once again, the Senator for Kericho has confirmed that his party does not espouse any agenda or ideal. Is he in order to generalize, when we know that the only parties that do not espouse any ideal or agenda whatsoever, local or national, are limited to the parties in Jubilee? Could he stick to his own party and withdraw any reference to the CORD affiliated parties?

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): I would like to caution you, Sen. Cheruiyot that you are no longer giving a maiden speech.

You will be in a quagmire if you are called upon to substantiate what you are saying; the Standing Orders will hit you so hard. Whereas I do not want to gag you in expressing your opinion, you do it in such a way that it does not scratch the ego of other Members 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

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, thank you for protecting me. I was addressing clear instances and issues, where certain Members had the privilege of being elected to this House on a number of political parties, because of a certain belief that they found to cut across the different political parties. However, that was not the crux of my argument. Allow me to continue with my train of thought. I want to address the provisions that have been put in this Bill. For the first time, there is a clear attempt to try and move us, as a nation, from having political parties that have got a following only in certain corners of this country. Some political parties, by hook or crook, are able to get an elected MCA or Senator from a certain corner of a country. My longing and desire is to walk in the Registrar of Political Parties office 15, 20 or 30 years down the line and be shown the gracious men and women that have had the chance to lead the political parties. Political parties should have great history, traditions and structures that go over and beyond an individual. For example, they should have a body that disciplines errant Members when they do not do certain things that pertain to being a Member of a certain political party. It is for this reason that I support the aspect of funding. One of the aspects that have been used to determine leadership in political parties is the monetary contributions. Monetary contributions by individual Members to certain political parties have been used to gauge the loyalty of certain individuals. That is the only yardstick that determines who becomes a party leader, organizing secretary or the secretary general. The fact that they will be drawing money from the Exchequer disassociates political parties from individuals. That is the crux of my argument. After a certain period of time, after a party has received good funding and its able to establish structures, we begin to have good ideological argument and realise that, for sure, we have a political party that stands for certain values. These are things that are developed over time. They do not develop overnight. In my earlier remarks I said that I do not want to make light of any of the efforts that have been made by previous or present political party leaders in the country. I understand the environment they work under and appreciate the fact that funding of our political parties is a step in the right direction. It will solve one of the struggles that we have had in this country for a long time. During my Maiden speech, I alluded to the fact much as we are in agreement on many issues, the political realities of the day may not allow my colleagues, especially those of my generation - Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. and Sen. M. Kajwang – to drink and espouse from the same political party. It is my dream that over time we will uphold the values that we hold dear as young leaders who have a dream of a better tomorrow. We will take over the battle from where the Senator for Kakamega will have left. We can overcome the challenges over time. It will not be unrealistic to find that, for example, Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. is my party leader and I am his deputy and we are running for the Presidency. We will be bound together by certain ideals and not because he comes from a particular region. That was my point. With those remarks, I beg to support. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I stand to support this Bill. From the outset, I want to say that I was privileged to sit in the Mediation Committee. It is interesting to note that on several occasions, Members of this House have developed Bills which we discuss. In the process of discussing them, Members of the other House have had the tendency to pick and develop the same ideas and purport to develop their own new Bills. This is one such incident where a Bill was developed by a Member of this House, we discussed and passed it and was forwarded to the National Assembly. They sat on it. A few days later, we heard that another Bill had been developed by a Member of the National Assembly, which exactly mirrors the same Bill that we have here. This is bad practice in terms of legislative processes and an abuse of the process of generating Bills in a bicameral House. I hope that Members of the National Assembly will appreciate that since we already have a bicameral Parliament, if there are certain things that they do not agree in a Bill that has originated from the Senate, they have the opportunity to amend the same Bill. We do not want to have situations that are embarrassing, like having two Bills with exactly the same content; one Bill originating from the Senate and the other from the National Assembly. You will remember that we also had another Bill proposed by Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale which also appeared to have been plagiarized by a Member of the National Assembly. He presented it and it was discussed by the National Assembly---

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): There are many Bills that have been plagiarized, including one that was introduced by Sen. Sijeny, the Reproductive Health Care Bill (Senate Bill No.17 of 2014).

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, you are right. Somebody plagiarized the Reproductive Health Care Bill (Senate Bill No.17 of 2014) by Sen. Sijeny and introduced it on the Floor of the National Assembly. The bad manners in the way we relate as the two Houses must come to an end. I, therefore, laud the Member of the Mediation Committee and this House that we proceed on with this Bill even though it was mishandled in the National Assembly. It is a pity that the Chairperson of the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee moved the Bill, but out of 349 Members in the National Assembly, there was no one to second it. That was just a way of killing the Bill. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we need to be honest and leaders of integrity. If we disagree, let us do so, on matters of principles. We must have respect for procedures and processes. If they want to disagree with the Senate, they should do it in a respectable manner and a way that is provided for by the law. However, I thank the Members of the Mediation Committee, especially from the National Assembly. When we sat down to look at the Bill, most of them were shocked that the Bill in the National Assembly that came later after Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale’s Bill had been introduced in the Senate was “a copy and paste” of the same Bill. I thank them because we ended up agreeing on a number of issues. We all agree that Kenya is a multiparty State. However, we need to develop a culture of strengthening political parties. It does not help this country to have over 50 political parties whose ideology we cannot identify; neither can we see the difference between them. It does not help this country to have regional or ethnic political parties. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Order, Sen. Sang! I would like to draw your attention to Standing Orders No.90(5). It says:- “It shall be out of order for a Senator to criticize or call to question, the proceedings in the National Assembly, a County Assembly or the Speaker’s Ruling in 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, I was just urging them, but not criticizing. I stand guided. I praise the Members of the National Assembly and I urge them to pull up their socks and be objective in the kind of engagements they make in the House. I hope that we can get to a situation where Members of both Houses respect each other so that we can ensure the integrity of the legislative process in this county. When a Bill appears on the Floor of this House, Members of the National Assembly will start preparing the amendments. When a Bill is introduced in the National Assembly, those of us who have views and positions with regard to it, can also start to prepare ourselves with amendments so that we synergize the mandate of the two Houses and ensure that we support instead of appearing to be competing. We exercise a lot of negative energy that should have been directed towards ensuring that these two chambers of Parliament work together. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I thank and congratulate Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale once again and ask this House to continue doing its job of passing legislations despite any attempt by any other authority to undermine that mandate. With those remarks, I beg to support.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the mediated version of the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill (Senate Bill No.3 of 2014). As a way of general remarks, the general misbehavior of political parties in Kenya is because none of us, the political players, have taken note that the Registrar of Political Parties is still in an acting position so many months after the elections and so few months before the next general elections. As a result, political parties have not complied with the law; their members have continued to violate the Political Parties Act. We have members of political parties who have started movements within political parties. I am aware of a movement called Maendeleo Chap Chap Movement. Nobody can discipline them. The Political Parties Disputes Tribunal has been unable to discipline members who violate the Political Parties Act and their constitutions. Therefore, when we say that the distribution of the Fund has not been complied with---

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr., I am curious with that remark. Is there any timeline in the constitution on when the Registrar of Political Parties should be appointed? Is there any guidance on that?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, in fact, the position is that there should not be an acting Registrar of Political Parties. That is a misnomer. So, we are entertaining a violation as political parties and, therefore, sometimes when we complain about the way our members are behaving or political parties are not getting their funds under section 25, I wonder whether we are speaking from both sides of the mouth.

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Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I support the Motion that the Senate adopts the Report of the Mediation Committee on Political Parties. What brought about this mediation is a worrying trend that is happening between the two Houses. When 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

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

Sen. M. Kajwang, what is your point of order?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I wanted to raise this point of order when the Senator was still on the Floor. I wanted to bring to his attention that The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, may I bring to the attention of Sen. M. Kajwang that the pastoralists community covers more than 75 per cent of this country. It starts from Tanzania border stretching to the Ethiopian border, Uganda border and Somalia border. We have a national outlook.

Sen. M. Kajwang, you may be surprised that you are a pastoralist.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, thank you for giving me the opportunity to comment on the Motion and to support the Report of the Mediation Committee on the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill. Before I get to the details of this particular Motion and the Report of the Mediation Committee, allow me to pass my condolences to the family, friends and the nation on the sad demise of Mama Lucy Kibaki who was the third First Lady of this country. Nowadays, there are some characters who operate from the belly of the State House bearing titles like Presidential Communication Unit but what they basically do is to spew propaganda and hate speech against political opponents. If Mama Lucy was still alive, I am very sure that she would not have allowed such characters to operate from the State House and desecrate the sanctity of the State House. We, therefore, miss her and may her soul rest in peace. For the sake of the good she did, I urge all the political combatants in this nation to unite and make sure she gets a befitting send-off. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, a previous speaker on the Floor raised a question about the constitutionality of having an acting Registrar of Political Parties. Section 34 of the Political Parties Act is very clear on this matter. It says very clearly that; “The President shall, within a period of not later than 110 days prior to the first general elections under the Constitution---” The Act is extremely clear and provides the number of days within which the President is expected to set up a selection committee that will give this nation a substantive Registrar of Political Parties. For us to operate with an acting Registrar of Political Parties so many years down the line, the blame and the failure lies squarely in the hands of the President who is the Head of State. There cannot be pussyfooting about this. The President takes the blame for the fact that we have an acting Registrar of Political Parties because the law is extremely clear and provides him with the number of days within which he was expected to do that. Going further to the substance of the amendment that was proposed and further mediated upon by the two Houses, if you look at the current Political Parties Act, it sets aside 0.3 per cent of the national revenue to go into the Political Parties Fund. The Act is quite clear and it says not less than 0.3 per cent. So, our expectation is that when the Registrar of Political Parties or the Treasury computes amounts to be paid into this Fund, they should show some magnanimity and make sure that the allocation goes beyond the 0.3 per cent. Just a few days back, we were looking at the Division of Revenue Bill and we accepted to use a benchmark of Kshs935 billion as Audited National Revenue for 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 Sen. M. Kajwang' in order to refer to parties as jokers because they do not meet the threshold?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, there are those that will not meet the threshold but they are very serious. However, there are also a few that will not meet the threshold and we could call them jokers. I can give you an example. Article 91 of the Constitution is about basic requirements for political parties. They are listed from (a) to (h) and that is about eight distinct requirements. If you apply that benchmark to political parties in this country, you might find some that do not live up to the expectations of the Constitution. So, those that do not qualify are not entirely jokers but there could be one or two of the 60 political parties that are set up with a commercial inclination and not with the intention to deepen the democratic space in this country. How I wish one of the thresholds for funding of political parties would be elections. Article 91(1)(b) of the Constitution says that every political party shall have a democratically elected governing body. How many political parties undertake a democratic process to elect their governing bodies? If my memory serves me right, it is only the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) which is a movement that takes care of the poor and the weak in this country that has attempted to conduct grassroots elections. When you look at parties like TNA---

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Is the Senator in order to suggest that it is only the ODM Party that has conducted elections yet the Wiper Party has officials who were elected through a very democratic process? The fact that they did not turn violent does not mean that they were not democratic.

Sen. M. Kajwang', you are very well aware of the provisions of the Standing Orders on the accuracy of the information you 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 Sen. Hassan in order to mislead the House and imply that the Wiper Party held peaceful elections when we very well know that they were not grassroots elections and that he became the Secretary-General of the Wiper Party through a boardroom appointment?

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I was elected like my able deputy, Sen. Sijeny, and the rest of us through a national delegates’ conference. The conference brought together all the Wiper Democratic Party delegates from across the country, constituting in excess of 3,500 of them at the Bomas of Kenya. Therefore, I think this is a serious omission. As I said, the fact that there are no altercations in others does not make those elections less democratic.

Sen. Wako, elections are not just limited to grassroots and you cannot equate it to grassroots. There are elections across the board.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I agree that elections are not necessarily limited to the grassroots. The fact of the matter is, under our Constitution, sovereignty lies in the people. Therefore, if persons have been delegated and delegated to call themselves a delegate’s conference and elect, that is not an election as far as I am concerned, particularly, I have seen officials of the party. It should have begun from the grassroots where they are elected until they come to the election of the national officials.

Sen. Wako, you know that elections are not elections just because the Senator for Busia County, as far as he is concerned, says so. It is what the law says. It is not so much about what Sen. Wako thinks; it is what the law says. They call themselves the national delegates conference. They are called so by the constitution of those parties.

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. The fact that other people will, for instance, feel that they do not want to compete for a seat against Sen. Hassan and, therefore, you go for an election at a national delegates conference with a sole candidate is, in common logic, in itself, an election. It just simply means that nobody had the audacity to take you on. We want this recorded in the HANSARD. Let me tell you, those elections that my brother, Sen. Kajwang, is talking about were botched. They had to have a boardroom discussion on how to merge the two pieces. That is why it is a litany of officials and second and third deputies just to accommodate anybody who vied. So, everybody who vied for those elections, whichever camp you were on, you became a beneficiary in the national executive committee.

Sen. Kajwang, respond to a number of those points of order.

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Sen. Hassan who is my senior in many ways comes from Mombasa where they are very articulate in Swahili. He would be familiar with the Swahili proverb which, if I translate, says, good things sell themselves and bad things explain themselves. So, when you give a very The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate

Order, Sen. Hassan. Sen. Kajwang, you know you are responding to a point of order from Sen. Hassan who is the Secretary General of Wiper Democratic Party. Therefore, if you are making references to bringing relatives --- Are you suggesting that Sen. Hassan’s party brought relatives to Nairobi to elect him as a delegate?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, not at all. For the record, I admire the democratic process within the Wiper Democratic Party. I will give you examples of parties which I should be proven wrong. There are parties in this country that get money out of this fund. However, when you look back, even those relatives of ours who are members of those parties will not tell you when they were ever called for elections. The point is, if we are providing some threshold for eligibility to the Political Parties Fund, part of it should be that these parties must be able to carry our proper elections, so that you have structures that you know represent the aspirations and the will of the people.

Sen. Kajwang, are you done?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, if you give me a few minutes, I will appreciate.

You can have two more minutes.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. If you look at the objectives of the fund, part of it is to promote representation of minorities. Today, we know that there is a debate on how we will promote the representation of women. We must ask ourselves how much parties have used these funds to promote the representation of the minorities like women, youth and persons with disability. Another point is that parties can use these funds to conduct campaigns and party nominations. However, remember the role of regulating and conducting party nominations lies with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). That is a mandate given to it by the Constitution. When it comes to issues of campaign 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 my good friend, the Senator for Homa Bay County, in order to talk about the funding, knowing very well that even Parliament itself has not passed the Bill for financing political parties? Therefore, it would be very difficult for IEBC to even try and monitor how we are using the funds. Is he also in order to say that we had Cabinet Secretaries (CSs) campaigning in Kericho County, while we know both sides of the Malindi and Kericho counties had malpractices in their by-elections? If IEBC wants to deal with the issue, it has to d so in a holistic manner. Is he in order to just point out Kericho County, forgetting that Malindi was even worse with violence reported there?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I am perfectly in order because Cabinet Secretaries (CSs) were involved in campaigns. The IEBC itself named a particular Cabinet Secretary (CS) who was involved in campaigns, contrary to the electoral code of conduct. The point is; the activity and health of political parties is not just tied to the Registrar of Political Parties but to IEBC as well. That is why we are calling for disbandment of the IEBC. As per the Constitution, it has failed to promote most of the objectives.

Order! Your time is up. There are no other requests to contribute on this Motion. It is now time for the Mover to reply.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply. I have personally been impressed by the debate generated by this Meditation Committee report on the Political Parties Bill. All the Senators who spoke on this supported the Mediation Bill and understood why we made those recommendations. I am impressed that the debate has gone beyond the narrow confines of the Mediated Bill and has gone on to talk on the Political Parties, their role, how they should be regulated, what is missing and so on. 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

Very well, I so direct that the putting of the question is deferred to tomorrow. In the next Order, the Speaker had communicated earlier that we skip order No. 11 and therefore, I direct that we go back to it.

Division will be at the end.

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Division will be at the end

Division will be at the end. Considering that there are no sufficient numbers to carry out the Division, I now call upon the Mover to report progress.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to report that the Committee of the Whole has considered the Division of Revenue Bill (National Assembly Bill No.4 of 2016) and seeks leave to sit again tomorrow.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Committee on the said Report.

seconded.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to move:- THAT, the Persons with Disabilities (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 43 of 2013 be now read a Second Time. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, this is a Bill that brings in a critical component within the services that we give to Kenyans. Under the Constitution of Kenya 2010, persons with disabilities are entitled to reasonable access to all places, public transport and information. Hence, the Government has the responsibility to make telecommunications and mass media available to persons with disabilities for their rehabilitation, self-development and self reliance. This Bill is sponsored by hon. Wanjiku Muhia, Woman Representative for Nyandarua Constituency. After we passed the new Constitution, it is the responsibility of not just the Government, but also the private sector to enable persons with disabilities to access any of their institutions. In some buildings, it is difficult for persons with disabilities to access or move around. We have had challenges even at the airports. A few years ago, we had a commotion at the airport when one senior person was mistreated by one of the airlines. We had to have a series of petitions and I appreciate to see Sen. Omondi seated here because she is the wearer of the shoe. She will tell you the challenges that they face not just in schools but also in hospitals. Some hospitals with staircases do not have ramps. Sometimes the roads that they have reserved for these people are so narrow. It is the responsibility of their handlers; parents or relatives, to help them. One of the amendments to this Bill is very clear that an institution or a body offering services to the citizens shall enable persons with disabilities to enjoy the services available within the institution or body. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we need to get aid devices for the deaf and blind. We should also hire qualified interpreters for the deaf and blind. This morning, we launched civic education documents. Sen. Wako and I attended that function. However, when I read through those documents, I did not see any that will help the blind and deaf to participate in this process. Therefore, by amending this Bill, we will ensure public participation as stipulated in the Constitution. We would also like to see our brothers and sisters with special needs participating in this process. We do not have to take it for granted, but we have to put ourselves in their shoes to understand the suffering they undergo. There are those who can afford to take care of themselves while there are others who cannot. It is the obligation of institutions, like schools, to ensure persons living with disabilities are taken care of. The Members of the National Assembly who manage the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) should embrace these amendments so that they hire qualified interpreters for schools. They should also train teachers on Braille so that they can help blind students in their The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I take this opportunity to second this important Bill which concerns my area of representation. I speak from experience because as the saying goes, “the wearer of the shoe, knows where it pinches most.” 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

Thank you very much, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for permitting me to talk on this very important Bill. The issue of persons with disabilities has engaged me since I was the Attorney General. I remember driving along Ngong Road and contemplating what my legacy would be. I decided to have four task forces to deal with all laws relating to; women, children, workers and persons with disabilities. On the task force on persons with disabilities, I decided to appoint persons with disabilities, and came very close to seeing the challenges that face persons with disabilities. Although we had budgeted for the task force in the ordinary way, it became very clear when they first came; first, that we should double the amount to the task force because each person with disability had to have an aid. Secondly, we discovered that my building at the State Law Office was not friendly to persons with disabilities. That is why we constructed a ramp. This issue of persons with disabilities having access to buildings had been dealt with by a task force appointed by former President Daniel Toroitch Arap Moi. It was headed by an architect called Mr. Mutiso.

Which Mr. Mutiso? We have many architects called Mr. Mutiso.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, at that time, he was the Chairman of the Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK). I cannot quite remember his first name. I think it was Daniel or somebody. He came up with recommendations which were The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate

Hon. Senators, it is now 6.30 p.m. It is time for interruption of business of the Senate. The Senate therefore, stands adjourned until tomorrow, Thursday, 28th April, 2016 at 2.30 p.m. The Senate rose at 6.30 p.m. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate