Hon. Senators, Article 93 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 establishes a bicameral Parliament comprising of the National Assembly and the Senate. Both Houses of Parliament have distinct and inter-related mandates that are set out in Articles 95 and 96 of the Constitution. The effectiveness of the Senate is dependent on the capabilities of Senators to discharge their functions. In light of this, it is crucial that incoming Senators are provided with the requisite information, training and skills necessary to execute their constitutional mandates. Further, it is important to take stock of the reasons learnt in the first Senate and the Constitution of Kenya, 2010; the gains that were made by the Senate as an institution and Senators individually, and the challenges faced. Hon. Senators, in this regard, the Senate has planned an induction retreat for all Senators to familiarize them with their constitutional mandate, structure and processes of the Senate; rules of practice and procedure and other administrative processes that will be critical in the execution of their mandate. The induction will inter alia: (1)Provide an opportunity to acquaint the legislators with intricacies of their multi-facetted role. (2) Assist Senators in their important responsibilities as public leaders, representatives of the people and in their role of building consensus. (3) Facilitate capacity building and skills transfer, enabling greater engagement of Senators in parliamentary procedure and public policy discussions. (4) Afford an opportunity to look at how Senators can ensure that citizens are aware of the role they play and how the Senate as an institution can reach out to the people.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, can you rule Sen. George Khaniri out of order? He is not on the Floor; he has not been given an opportunity and yet he wants to interrupt what I am doing. Take judicial notice of the fact that they had said they would not participate.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to lay the following Paper on the Table of the Senate, today, Thursday 14th September, 2017:- The County Governments’ Cash Disbursement Schedule for the Fiscal Year 2017/2018.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to give notice of the following Motion:- THAT, pursuant to Standing Order No. 178 and 183(3), the Senate approves the following Senators to be Members of the Senate Business Committee (SBC). 1. Sen. Kenneth Lusaka - Speaker of the Senate - Chairperson. 2. Sen. Kipchumba Murkomen - Senate Majority Leader. 3. Sen. Susan Kihika - Senate Majority Whip 4. Sen. Futuma Dullo 5. Sen. (Eng.) Mahamud Maalim Mohamed 6. Sen. Sakaja Johnson Arthur

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to give notice of the following Motion:- THAT, the Senate approves the County Government Cash Disbursement Schedule for fiscal year 2017/2018 laid on the Table of the House on Thursday, 14th September, 2017. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order No. 46 (2) (C), I present the Business of the Senate for the coming week. First, allow me to take this opportunity to congratulate all of you for being elected as Senators to the 12th Parliament. Hon. Senators, as you are aware, our core constitutional mandate under Article 96 of the Constitution of Kenya is to represent the counties and protect the interest of the counties and their governments. The great work ahead of us can only be undertaken through focus, determination and patriotism, which I am sure we are all committed to. Hon. Senators, Parliament is properly constituted. As you notice in the Order Paper, we shall shortly approve the appointment of Members to the important SBC. As we go for the campaigns in preparation for the repeat presidential elections on 17th October, 2017, I request all Senators on both sides of the divide to preach peace. Kenya will remain after the elections; let us all remain responsible leaders. Hon. Senators, as indicated in the Supplementary Order Paper, and as the Speaker has communicated, we shall be adjourning this evening until 26th September, 2017 to facilitate the induction of Senators in order to empower you to effectively undertake your constitutional mandate. I appeal to you to create time to actively participate in the induction workshop, in order to be empowered to execute your role as a legislator. Let me also take this chance to wish you every success in your work as Senators. I thank you and hereby lay the Statement on the Table of the Senate.

Hon. Senators, you will recall my communication to you on 31st August, 2017, in which I informed you that the election of the Deputy Speaker of the Senate would not be undertaken on that day because it was not practicable to proceed with the election. You will also recall that I deferred the exercise to a future time when it would be practicable. Hon. Senators

Order Senators! I know that some Senators were out when the names were being called out. Therefore, I will allow a rerun through the names so that anyone who has not voted gets a chance to do so.

Hon Senators, Standing Order No. 6(6) provides that:- “When it appears to the Clerk that all Senators who are present and who wish to vote have placed their ballot papers in the ballot box, the Clerk shall unlock the box, examine the ballot papers and, having rejected those ballot papers that are unmarked or spoilt, report the result of the ballot; and no Senator who has not already recorded his or her vote shall be entitled to do so after the Clerk has unlocked the ballot box”. Pursuant to this Standing Order, it therefore appears to me that the Senators who are present and wish to vote have placed their papers in the ballot box. I now direct that the box be unlocked and each ballot paper examined. Let me invite an agent for each candidate; Sen. Kang’ata and Sen. Nyamunga.

Hon. Senators, we are now through with the counting and tallying exercise. Pursuant to Standing Orders No. 6(6) I now proceed to announce the results of the ballot as follows:

Order Members. I now direct that we start the counting. In the meantime, let us have the agents of the two candidates.

Hon. Senators, Standing Order No.10 requires that:- “Immediately the results are declared, all the ballot papers used in the election of a Speaker shall be packed and sealed in the presence of the Senate and kept in the custody of the Clerk for a period of six months and shall thereafter be destroyed.” This provision also applies to the election of the Deputy Speaker.

I now wish to invite the Deputy Speaker-elect to come and take the oath.

Next Order!

Mr. Speaker, Sir, before I move this Motion, allow me to remind my colleagues from this side of the House that after this business, which I will request that we make brief, we will have important business under Order No.10. It actually concerns our counties and requires 24 counties to pass. The most important business of today has already been done, which is the election of Deputy Speaker, and the next one is the Motion which relates to money going to our counties. That is the reason we are here. It is unfortunate and regrettable that the other side of the House evacuated themselves from the House at a very critical moment. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the following Motion:- THAT, pursuant to Standing Orders 178 and 183 (3), the Senate approves the following Senators to be Members of the Senate Business Committee:- 1. Sen. Kenneth M. Lusaka -Speaker of the Senate - Chairperson 2. Sen. Onesmus Kipchumba Murkomen - Senate Majority Leader 3. Sen. Susan Kihika -Senate Majority Whip 4. Sen. Fatuma Dullo -Member 5. Sen. Mohamud Maalim Mohamed -Member 6. Sen. Sakaja Johnson Arthur -Member 7. Sen. Poghisio Samwel Losuron - Member The Senate Business Committee (SBC) is a very important committee in terms of conducting the business of this House. Even as we prepare to establish the other committees for purpose of transacting business in the Senate, the SBC plays an integral role as provided for in Standing Orders 178 and 183. The composition from the majority side of the membership of this Committee was arrived at after very thorough consultations. Considering the fact that the Majority Leader, the Majority Whip and the Speaker of the House are already provided for as members in the Standing Orders, we only had the responsibility to nominate four people to serve in this Committee. In the nomination of those four people, we made strong considerations of gender, regional and ethnic balance and political party members who are part and parcel of Jubilee Party.

Thank you Mr. Speaker, Sir. I stand to second the Motion. I believe that the composition of the Committee has been thought through. I also believe that it is an extremely important Committee in making sure that the business of the House gets going. Since we are here and ready to work, I call upon everybody to support the Motion so that we can proceed. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to second the Motion.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to move: THAT, the Senate approves the County Government Cash Disbursement Schedule for Fiscal Year 2017/2018 laid on the Table of the House on Thursday, 14th September, 2017. This Schedule is long overdue. The Senate in the 11th Parliament was supposed to have approved it. It happened that so many people were focused on elections at that time to the extent that we could not have even half of the Senators to come and approve this very important report. It is something that we need to deal with towards the next elections. For the benefit of the new Senators, we passed the Division of Revenue Bill and the County Allocation of Revenue Bill. There is nothing much that we can do to this Schedule because the two important legislations that deal with the resources going to the counties have already been passed. Our work is to make a clear indication that the money that was shared equitably is indicated in the Schedule itself. There are resources that were given to counties,

On a point of order Mr. Speaker, Sir.

What is your point of order, Sen. Sakaja?

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I hate to interrupt the Senate Majority Leader. The Motion that we are discussing is very important to this country, but I note that we have all been issued with a Cash Disbursement Schedule that is not clear. We have around 15 columns without headings; it just has numbers, unless I have received a wrong copy. Could you kindly direct that the Members receive a copy of the Schedule with appropriate headings for each of those columns? Could we also be given a copy of the report that was prepared by the previous Committee on Finance, Commerce and Budget on the same? That will help us have a debate that enriches the record of this House.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, can I be allowed to proceed as the Clerk works on how we can get the clearer copies? These are photocopying issues.

You may continue.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Sen. Sakaja has raised a very valid issue. I requested all the Senators to expeditiously pass this Motion and shorten the debate for us to have the requisite number of Senators to vote. However, the concern raised by the Senator is genuine because many people would like to follow the debate.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I beg to second this very important Motion, which is to approve the funds that are supposed to be disbursed to the county governments. It is time we approved the funds because I know very well that most of the counties are not running very well and the staff have not been paid for quite some time. Mr. Speaker, Sir, service delivery is very important. As the Senate Majority Leader has said, we are elected to make sure that the counties and devolution are up and running. It is unfortunate that my brothers and sisters on the opposition side have delegated their responsibility to somebody who is fighting a cause that might not even be realised. Let us wish them all the best. As the Jubilee side, we are ready to work. As it was said yesterday, there is no vacuum. We should pass this Schedule so that money is released to the counties. We must make sure they are running and services are delivered to our people. The responsibility of every elected Senator here is to oversight and ensure that these funds are properly utilized. I believe the Senators who were elected to this House are able to oversight this money. As Sen. Sakaja has observed, looking at this Schedule, these columns are not very clear. We need somebody to explain it to us. Mr. Speaker, Sir, finally, I wish to congratulate our Deputy Speaker, Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki, who was a mentor to all of us in Jubilee in the last Parliament. He was once my

, although he does not like it when I refer to him as so. He says that we are now colleagues. He was my supervisor. I believe he has mentored so many in this particular House. He is up to the task and we will support him. He will in turn guide us through this Senate. I Second the Motion.

(Hon. Lusaka)

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. It is the beginning of this new House and many Senators are very anxious to contribute to this Motion. I request that our contribution be restricted to three minutes, so that as many people as possible who wish to contribute can do so. If you are in agreement, I want to be the first to make a statement.

That is allowed because I am yet to get any request here. You are allowed, but restrict yourself to three minutes.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I congratulate the Senate Deputy Speaker, the Senate Majority Leader, the Chief Whip and their deputies. All these people are very able. They will be working with you and us and we look forward to discharge our responsibilities as hon. Senators. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to join the Senate Majority Leader by expressing my displeasure in the manner in which our colleagues in the opposition have behaved. We were all elected to represent the people. The Motion before us now will help the counties to discharge their responsibilities. Mr. Speaker, Sir, as I speak, many governors are handicapped because they cannot pay their staff. The national Government is operating because it has offices and resources. On the other hand, the counties do not raise revenues; they depend on what is given to them by the national Government. Therefore, it is unfortunate that our colleagues claim to represent the people who elected them, yet they have abdicated their responsibility because of somebody who, as you rightly said, does not have any mandate from Kenyans as a Member of Parliament or even as a President. When these Members go back to their counties this weekend, people should ask them what they went to do in Nairobi because they have not done their job. I will end so that many other Senators can get an opportunity to say something. Mr. Speaker, Sir, with those remarks, I beg to support.

Proceed, Sen. Linturi.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to support this Motion. Since Sen. Haji has proposed that we use as few as three minutes, I will be brief. I am happy to contribute to this Motion. My message to the new governors, and anybody else who has a responsibility to manage these funds is, first, to understand that this is one of the responsibilities of the Senators. I am particularly impressed that the county governments cannot get money without the approval of this Senate. This means that the Senate plays a critical role in ensuring that money is sent to the counties. I want everybody to listen because we have just come from an election. One of the main challenges that we got when we were out there campaigning is that some rogue governors created a narrative in the public domain that whenever Senators go to the counties they should be asked what they do. That story was particularly so alive in the minds of the people of Meru when we were campaigning.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kamar Margaret Jepkoech): Mr. Speaker, Sir, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to support this Motion. This being my Maiden speech, may I start by congratulating you for being elected the Speaker of this august House. May I also take this opportunity to congratulate the Deputy Speaker, Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki, and the leadership of the House. I am fortunate that Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki was a member of staff when I was in Moi University, while the Senate Majority Leader was my student. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I also congratulate my colleagues who won after a grueling campaign during the rainy season. I believe that with this opportunity we have been given to be Senators in the second Senate of this country, we will move this nation further. We have a team that will move mountains. I support this Motion to approve the county governments’ cash disbursement Schedule for one reason. During our campaigns we promised our counties that we would serve as per Article 96 of the Constitution that gives the Senate the mandate to represent counties and serve to protect their interests. Our presence in this House is a clear manifestation of the fact that we must protect the interests of our counties. This disbursement is already late because of the changes in the program of the nation, particularly the elections. It is very important that we disburse this money as soon as possible. As we were campaigning, I came across buildings that were incomplete, for instance, polytechnics. Citizens are demanding to have them completed. Polytechnics have been outlined and given an allocation. It is, therefore, important that we release the money to the counties as fast as possible. In addition, we came across other pending agenda owing to delay in disbursement of the money. I, therefore, strongly support this Motion. I hope that the money will reach the counties as fast as possible. Mr. Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to support.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I ---

Hold on Senator, there is a point of information.

On a point of information, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Allow me to inform the hon. Senator and other Senators on how this Schedule is denoted. Members have been complaining while I was distributing this document. They do not know how this schedule appears with regard to the headlines for each column. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the first column vertically is the total amount disbursed. For instance, if you look at Baringo County, the first figure appearing in the first column vertically is the total. The second column is money disbursed to respective counties in

Thank you very much for the information. Proceed, Sen. Mwaura.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I thank you. If it may please you, that information was meant for the whole House. Therefore, those minutes may not be counted as mine. First, I wish to congratulate the newly elected Deputy Speaker, Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki, whom I knew while I was still working out there on issues of human rights. I believe that he will be of good support to the cause that I happen to represent and through which we engaged at that time; issues of people with disabilities. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we are fortunate to be here approving the disbursement of funds to various counties. We can all attest to the fact that devolution, if well executed, can do wonders to our people at the grassroots level. Our colleagues from this side have absented themselves from participating in this discourse. That is why I am seated here just to fill this gap. We know very well that their political leadership has been benefiting unduly from monies that are supposed to go to Wanjiku in the grassroots. When they fail to come to this House to approve the cash disbursement, they are actually telling us that they do not care about the wananchi. For them, what is important is raising monies through Mpesa pay bill for their syndicate, which happens to be this election. These are saboteurs of development in this great country. There are many people who are suffering because they have not received salaries. Many families are dependent on these funds. There are many children who may be sick and their parents are unable to support them. There are also many services that are not reaching Kenyans. Therefore, it is important that we have a predictable schedule. I believe that with this Schedule, we will have a situation where the greatest problem of cash flow management that we have been having between the national and the county governments will be predictable. I take this opportunity also to implore upon the governors that have been duly elected - we thank God that majority of them are from Jubilee - and the county assemblies that they should exercise prudence in the management of these funds.

Sen. Cheruiyot Aaron Kipkirui.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me this chance. I rise to support the Motion, but before I do so, let me join my colleagues in congratulating the Deputy Speaker, Sen. (Prof.) Kithure Kindiki, on his election. Let me now move to my contribution. First, I note that this is an extremely important Motion. One of my colleagues, when contributing, pointed to the very important nature of the business that we are transacting this afternoon. Without the Senate passing this Schedule, many of the counties will grind to a halt. I am reliably informed that during one of the meetings last week at the Council of Governors offices in Delta Corner, many of the governors were implored upon to speak to their Senators to come to this House and pass this Schedule. I hope that with the same

I invite the Deputy Speaker to make his Maiden speech and also make a contribution. I will give him six minutes to do so.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki Kithure): Mr. Speaker, Sir, I thank you. From the outset, I take this opportunity to thank my colleagues in this House for the privilege they have given me this afternoon to serve as the Deputy Speaker of this House. I want to single out Sen. (Eng.) Ephraim Maina of Nyeri County who made an extraordinary sacrifice. The President of our country is visiting his county, but he decided to skip that visit so as to be here for this important exercise. I know that every other Senator who is seated here this afternoon has made some sacrifice to be here. I thank all of you colleagues.

Secondly, I want to say that I will serve with dedication, humility and make sure that what we do here brings dignity and honour to the Senate and our beloved country. For the avoidance of doubt, I know our colleagues from the opposition are not here. I want to say this to all of us and the people of Kenya; that for me, today, I count it as a great honor. In fact, I consider the responsibility I have been given today the greatest honour yet in my political life.

I categorically say that today is a great milestone in my political life and for that reason, I remain indebted to the Senators and my party, the Jubilee Party, for giving me this privilege that I will always remember. Again, with a lot of respect and humility, I am a disappointed Kenyan after what happened this afternoon. Our colleagues from the National Super Alliance (NASA) came

Thank you very much, Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki, for that eloquent presentation and generous contribution to my person. May I now call upon Sen. Haji Farhiya Ali.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. This being my maiden speech, I wish to congratulate you for such an emphatic win to be the Speaker of this honourable House. I also wish to congratulate Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki for being elected as your deputy. Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki was my sister’s professor and so, I also know him because of that. This is a very important process because just like everybody else has said, we have an important role in this country to ensure that counties deliver and are also accountable to their people. I support this Motion but I also have a small request. Since some of us are new in the Senate, could somebody take us through the schedule so that we own this process when passing this Motion? However, I appreciate that it is important for us to expedite this process so that people in the counties can get services. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I am will not congratulate Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki now; I will do that during the Motion for Adjournment because I want to say many good things about him. Today we are here to pass the cash disbursement schedule for the county governments in order that they can operationalize their monthly transfers from the Consolidated Fund into their respective county accounts. Because of the limitations of time, I would like to urge my colleagues to note that although the monies which are being disbursed or indicated here sound big to those who are new here, we all know that - you more than anybody here - the monies which we are sending to the counties are not enough. I hope that when we will be debating the next financial allocation to the counties, we will be all alive to the needs of our people in the counties, including health services, roads, education et cetera. The revenues that are collected in the counties are not enough for them to carry out their duties. They count on us to disburse the funds to them. I am, therefore, looking forward to a robust debate at that particular time. I beg to support.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Due to the limitation of time, I will just go straight to the point. I have had a chance to mention to you some of the concerns I have pursuant to some of the Standing Orders, but I appreciate the urgency with which we need to dispense with this matter. I join Sen. Moi to remind the Senators that even as we move along, I know this disbursement schedule is for the entire financial year. However, there are certain issues that we would need to revisit when it comes to disbursement of money to counties. In the previous four or so years of devolution, everybody including governors, Senators, Members of the National Assembly have all been about how to share the cake, but we

Thank you, Sen. Sakaja.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this Motion. I will have another opportunity to congratulate you and the Deputy Speaker. However, I stand to support this particular Motion on County Government Cash Disbursement Schedule. This is a very important Motion. After the County Revenue Allocation Bill was approved as mentioned by the Majority Leader, it should have been disbursed in the last Senate but because of the elections, it was not done. We are in September, three months after the financial year and counties are starving. Therefore, it is important that these monies actually go to the counties. I am surprised that our colleagues from the other side are not here to take part in this important event. I pity them. I hope that they will come to their senses and as we go ahead, they will be taking part in the deliberations of the House so that they can represent their people effectively. This Bill is important and the counties should realise that the requirement for this House to pass the disbursement is an indication that the Senators are cognizant of how counties are being managed. We hope that these funds will be put to proper use.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. May I join my colleagues in congratulating both you and your deputy today, although I can do that at another moment. Part of the reason why we changed the Constitution or some of us fought hard to change the Constitution of this Republic was to achieve devolution. Those of us who will remember when we were at Bomas of Kenya changing the Constitution, the chief interest was devolution. Those of us who were in the National Assembly before will remember that our biggest problem was getting money to the grassroots to Wanjiku . Today, I am saddened by the fact that some of my colleagues who were with me in the streets to fight for the change of the Constitution are today missing in this House when we are passing a very important Motion to send money down to Wanjiku . Since I do not want to repeat what has been said by my colleagues, may I remind the House that I was with most of the gentlemen across there. Sen. Mwaura and others joined us later when we were fighting for change of the Constitution and when we were in the opposition. The thinking of fellows in opposition who sit across there is that they want to come to this side. However, I am saddened by the fact that the leadership of the National Super Alliance (NASA) today has chosen to take this country in circles and playing useless juvenile shenanigans out there instead of coming to the House and pass important pieces of legislation like this Motion. I have seen the light is on, may I support.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I wish to join the other Senators in congratulating you and Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki for your election. Mine will be brief. I want to support the Motion in view of the fact that in most of the counties, especially the northern counties, there is a lot of drought and a lot of problems like lack of water and animals dying. Therefore, it is important that we pass this Motion so that at least the governors in those said counties can handle the emergency issues which are developing, especially in Wajir County where I represent. I urge the Governor to try and do the best he can which I hope he is already doing right now, but without funds nothing is possible. The other issue is that it is unfortunate, as everybody else has mentioned, our colleagues from the other side have decided to abscond from participating in the business of this House. If I had the authority, possibly, I would have decided that no money goes to their counties so that their people from those counties can rise up in arms and chase them away or recall them even if the time is not yet up. It is unfortunate that they have decided to do these things at the early stages of the convening of this House. Mr. Speaker, Sir, another issue of concern is about the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) which has been having a lot of problems. As a former Governor, I am sure you would know about it. I urge the Government and our

Thank you, Mr. Speaker Sir. This being my maiden speech, I want to thank God and the people of Bomet County for electing me. Also, I want to take this chance to congratulate you. Your election as the Speaker of this great House will enable us grow to great heights as Senators because you understand the ground having been a governor. I want also to congratulate Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki for having been elected as the Deputy Speaker of this House. I know he understands a lot. With his experience, he will move this great House to greater heights. I am wondering why my former student who is seated close to me has not appreciated me and yet I taught him in first year at the University of Moi.

Our presence here in this great House shows our concern to the counties that we represent. At the moment, our counties are running short of finances to the extent that suppliers are no longer supplying critical things like stationery and other items. Therefore, our support to this Motion on the County Government Cash Disbursement Schedule for Fiscal Year 2017/18 is great.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I want to also take this opportunity to congratulate the newly elected Deputy Speaker of the Senate, Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki. If you may recall, I am one of those who wanted to contest for the office of the Senate Deputy Speaker. However, I withdrew my candidature with others. However, I want to assure Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki that he has my full support as the elected Deputy Speaker. Being an African elder, he knows that if you go to a mzee’s house and get his girl and marry her, then you have to go back to the mzee with a goat. The gate is still open for the Professor to bring the goat.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, in supporting this Motion, my curiosity is drawn to two items. First, it is with regard to this letter that is forwarded to us. The letter is authored by the Permanent Secretary (PS), National Treasury. Last time, the Auditor-General reported that more than Kshs240 billion of all monies disbursed to counties was misused, unaccounted for or virtually lost. This House for more than four years, persistently kept on insisting to the National Treasury, especially to the PS that when a governor has gone rogue and they have not accounted for monies disbursed to them, this House should have a say in whether you should continue to disburse money to such a county without accountability. There is an interesting line on this letter by the PS. It says: “Approval by the Senate in order to operationalise monthly transfer of funds to the consolidated fund of counties.” So, the question is whether it is necessary for the Senate to give that authority, why is it not necessary in due course for Treasury to refer to this House to ensure that, that is what continues to happen? Lastly, because of the enormity of the amounts involved here, it is noteworthy that all these billions go to the counties. Let it be on record that every Senator seated here who is expected to play his role as per Article 96 of the Constitution of oversight over these funds has got any facilitation or capacity to do so---

Thank you, Sen. Kimani Wamatangi. Sen. Mwangi Paul Githiomi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Allow me to congratulate you for having been elected Speaker of the Senate. Let me also congratulate Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki for having been elected the Deputy Speaker of this House. I want to congratulate the Membership of this House for having fought very hard to be elected to this Senate. I support this Motion because counties cannot work without funds. While I support this Motion, I come from a county in central Kenya that has been marginalised for a long time. Whenever we apportion funds to counties, it is my request that we apportion a little more funds to Nyandarua County so that the county can develop to the level of other counties. I am surprised that we are debating this Motion without the members of the minority side. I challenge them not to come to this House for the next two weeks, so that they can lose their seats as Members of Parliament. Their refusal to come to this House today or making technical appearances does not solve any problem. We need to take this country seriously. We went for an election, it was done and Uhuru Kenyatta was elected by a majority vote of over 1.4 million. The election was later nullified. Such actions can bring war to this country. We do not want to go to war in this country. We have children that would like to enjoy peace in this country. There are many people who can be presidents of this country. We do not have to stick to one who says that: “I must be the president.” One who wants to be President by force. He should be told that whenever there is an election, the winner takes it all in this country. Trying to get nusu mkate is not going to help this country. When he got nusumkate ---

Thank you, Sen. Paul. Sen. Lelegwe Steve.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. This being my maiden speech, I take this opportunity to thank the people of Samburu County for electing me to represent them in the Kenyan Senate. I pledge to exercise the faith they have in me to represent them and the people of Kenya with utmost faith and in conformity with the oath I took as their Senator and a Member of this hon. House. M ay I also take this time to congratulate you, Mr. Speaker, Sir for being elected to serve as the second Speaker of the Senate under the 2010 Constitution. I know it is a challenging job, but we will support you as Members of this House. I have been privileged to have served as Speaker of a county assembly, I know you will need support from Members of this House. I also take this time to congratulate the Deputy Speaker, Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki, for being elected, my colleague Members of the Senate and specially my former colleague whom we served as speakers of county assemblies, Sen. Kihika. I congratulate all of you. I am also privileged to discuss this Motion about disbursement of cash to county governments for 2017/2018 Financial Year. I take this time to thank Members who served in the previous Senate and worked hard to increase the allocations to the county

Hon. Senators, I now call upon the Mover to reply.

Thank you Mr. Speaker, Sir. I would like to thank Members for their contributions.

Order please. The Senate Majority Leader!

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would like Sen. (Eng.) Hargura to have three minutes to reply on my behalf.

Okay, proceed.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I thank the Senate Majority Leader for giving me this opportunity. I would like to thank fellow Senators for their useful contribution because of the importance of this particular Motion. I would also like to highlight a few issues having had the benefit of being in the previous Senate. The funding allocated to counties is not enough and we have to start fighting for it in the Division of Revenue Bill. We have to agree with the National Assembly that more funds be allocated to the county. Other than that, I would like governors to know that this is only funding from the national Government and we know that all of them raise their own revenues. We also expect them to account for the revenues which they generate to their county assemblies. The experience has been that because of the allocation from the national Government, governors have not been keen to generate their own revenues and account for them. So, we expect them to account to their county assemblies and improve the generation of revenue so that we have more funds to be used in provision of services to our people at the county level. We also need to work on Bills concerning roads which have not been enacted so that we get more funds from the Road Maintenance Levy Fund for the counties because we have not yet agreed on the percentages. These were just based on some proportions according to the functions which have been devolved but we need to have very clear percentages from fuel levy funds. With that, counties will receive their funds. As it has been said, we have water problems in drought-stricken areas and every time we report to the Executive, we are told that there are no funds. From now onwards, that excuse of not having funds will not be there. Thank you.

Hon. Senators, the Motion in question affects counties. Therefore, voting shall be by delegations. I, therefore, order that the Division Bell be rung for five minutes.

Order Hon. Members. I now order that the doors be closed and the Bar drawn. Voting starts now. You may now log in appropriately using your cards. You have one minute.

Order, hon. Members! There seems to be confusion and, therefore, pursuant to Standing Order No.79 I order for manual voting.

Hon. Senators, the results of the Division are as follows:

On a point of order Mr. Speaker, Sir. I am not very conversant with the Standing Orders, but I want to seek a clarification as to why some Members of this august House voted while others did not. I think that we are here on an equal capacity.

Just a minute; let me raise the point of order. This is what you call entrenched discrimination. I noted with concern that even in the list of Members nominated to the Senate Business Committee there is not a single representative of the special interest groups, otherwise popularly known as ‘nominated.’ Much as they may be entrenched in the Standing Orders, when we come to this House, we legislate as a House. In my opinion, I do not think that we legislate as counties, because we are accountable as a House. I will be seeking further clarification and if it is, indeed, found that it is a form of discrimination, then it is upon this House to determine that we must not perpetuate such discrimination. Part of the reason the special seats are provided for in the Constitution is because of the systemic discrimination within the society. Most of the nominated Members who are here vied for positions in the elections. It is because of the systemic discrimination that they found it difficult to be elected. We need to be progressive. Our Constitution so demands that each and every individual has an equal right. Those are some of the issues that we may seek to relook in the Second Senate under this Constitution. I feel disappointed that I have not exercised my right to vote just because I do not represent a particular county, yet the Constitution so envisages that I represent persons with disabilities from across the country. If you look at the privileges, and this is what we will talk about, you find that there is systemic discrimination. It is about time that we call this out and ask that we be treated equally.

On a point of order Mr. Speaker, Sir. I understand the frustrations of my friend, Sen. Mwaura, having come from the ‘Lower’ House. We take matters of persons with disability very seriously in this House. This House is not a House of majoritarianism; this House is about equality of counties. We passed the Constitution knowing that we have 47 equal counties. Kiambu County cannot have undue advantage by virtue of Sen. Wamatangi and Sen. Mwaura having an extra vote. It must be treated equally with Lamu County which does not have a nominated Senator. That is the philosophy of devolution. That issue has nothing to do with persons with disabilities or gender. It has something to do with counties being equal. If Nairobi County, for example, was allowed to have extra votes, it would have almost ten votes from both sides of the political divide. That would be gross discrimination across the country. Mr. Speaker, Sir, for the benefit of my friend, Sen. Mwaura, I propose that we defer this subject to the induction. Once the induction is done, everybody will be at home. Those of us who have come here for the second term know that we had the same

Thank you Leader of Majority. You have explained it very well. Sen. Mwaura this is a constitutional matter, you will have an opportunity if you want, you may initiate changes in the Constitution and you will have that opportunity. But like what the Senate Majority Leader has said we will have an opportunity during induction to go through all these things that may not be clear at this point in time. We also wish to bring to the attention of the Senate that we have a supplementary Order which will be seeking for an adjournment. I call upon the Leader of Majority to move the Motion.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to move: THAT, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 28 on theCalendar of the Assembly (Regular Sessions), as read together withStanding Order 30(3) (c) on Hours of meeting, this House adjournsUntil Tuesday, September 26, 2017 at 2.30 p.m

Majority Leader, approach the Chair for some consultations.

Thank you Mr. Speaker, Sir, I thought I had heard Order No.12. I did not know that it was Order No.11. Since it is Order No.11, I will wait for your directions until we reach Order No.12.

Thank you. We will defer Order No.11 to another date. EXPOSITION OF PUBLIC POLICY THAT, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order No.24(6), the Thanks of the Senate be recorded for the exposition of public policy contained in the Address of the President during the Opening of the Twelfth Parliament delivered on Tuesday, 12th September, 2017.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for your wisdom to defer Order No.11 so that hon. Senators who are here have ample time when we come back to continue with the debate on the Presidential Address and perhaps enjoy more time and latitude to put the notes on the Presidential Address on record. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to move: THAT, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 28 on the Calendar of the Assembly (Regular Sessions), as read together with Standing Order 30(3) (c) on Hours of meeting, this House adjourns until Tuesday, 26th September, 2017 at 2.30 p.m. The reason for the adjournment is now well known to the Senators you having given directions on an induction workshop that will take place next week. There is no need for over-emphasizing the need for induction. Mr. Speaker you know very well most of us here are new, more than two thirds of the Senate is composed of people who have come for the first time to this House. There are so many things that we have to learn; the mandate of the Senate, what we can do and not do here. Most of us are for the first time coming to Parliament and it would be necessary that each one of us is taken through the Standing Orders and the procedures that guide debate in this House.

Thank you very much, Senate Majority Leader. Since, I have not had a chance to congratulate my party, KANU, for nominating me, I would also like to thank my party chairman and Sen. Poghisio for being re-elected which in turn earned me the Senate seat. Congratulations are in order to Sen. Prof Kindiki, the House Speaker and all the women and other Senators. With those few remarks, I beg to second the Motion.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, I think the new Senators will also have to learn the tricks of speaking quickly in this Parliament as being part of it. I give my support for the Adjournment Motion. I support this Adjournment Motion. We seek to adjourn so that we can familiarize ourselves with the Standing Orders and how the Senate conducts its affairs. I believe that it would be an insightful moment. I also believe that we will bond because we are just getting to know each other. The spirit or what is called esprit de corps of this

What is your point of order, Sen. Cheruiyot?

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I am sorry to interrupt my good friend, Sen. Mwaura.

Order, Senator. Take your seat.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, in respect of time, I humbly request that each Senator be restricted to speak for two minutes so that we are within time. There is quite some interest from my colleagues. It is now six minutes past six O’clock. We have 24 minutes. Maybe you could allocate three minutes.

Each Senator has three minutes. Proceed, Sen. Mwaura.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, it will be very good so that we can have an opportunity to reflect. Also during that meeting many Senators will also have an opportunity to define the various tools that we can use to present issues on the Floor of the House; how to expedite and execute the mandate that they have been given to represent people and their counties in terms of Bills, Motions, Statements and Petitions that would benefit Kenyans. On a light note, we have had conversations outside this august House. Deliberations have been made around the venue of this induction. We have made pleas to the honorable office of the Speaker but I am also cognizant of the fact that these are very peculiar times politically. Of course, we would want to ensure that this Senate is also regarded as patriotic and considerate of views of Kenyans. Mr. Speaker, Sir, as I conclude, as a matter of opinion, when those of us who were nominated must not be seen or construed to represent counties. Yes, there is your county of nomination but you represent interests across, and so to be seen in that same light is a misdiagnosis because then you will be treated as you represent one county which is not the case. Some of those issues will come up. I do not think there are constitutional issues. They are issues to do with statutes and Standing Orders. Of course, they will form part and parcel of our deliberations in Naivasha, hopefully. Mr. Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to support.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, first, I take this opportunity to congratulate the great Senator for Tharaka-Nithi County, Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki Kithure on his election. I first met him in a dusty town called Kathwana when he sought the ticket of the party that I chaired then to vie as the Senator for Tharaka-Nithi County. Since then, I have come to know him as a man of great intellect, impeccable character and unquestionable integrity. He will serve this House diligently. Secondly, I also told him that I hope this is not the last time I am voting for him. That is a prophetic word that you must receive. Your political career is on its way up. I hope I will get another chance to vote for you without you having to register in Nairobi. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the induction will be a time for us to reflect on the place of this Senate in our governance structure. We know what the last four years have been. A lot of precedence has been set by the second Senate of this country. It is time for us to think deeply without any emotion on how we make sure this Senate plays an increasingly central role in devolution and representation of counties. Of course, you must discuss the legal philosophy of representation. Mheshimiwa Isaac Mwaura has started on that note.

Senator, your time is up. Thank you very much Sen. Sakaja. Proceed, Sen. Kamar.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I thank you for giving me an opportunity to support this Motion of Adjournment. Before I make my remarks, I thank the people of Uasin Gishu County for giving me the opportunity to be their second Senator. I also thank the two counties that gave us two women Senators; Nakuru and Isiolo counties. This is history in the making. We appreciate. It then means that we do not only have nominated women in this House but we have elected women as well who will vote on their own rights. I support this Motion of Adjournment because of the importance of capacity building. I have been humbled as a professor over time that you do not know until you are taught. I appeal to our colleagues on the other side whom we are told that they are watching us on television that they should come for this capacity building. It is very important that we move together as a House. If we do not get capacity building at the same time, we will still have people dragging behind. We heard a lot of stories out there before we came to this Senate, that this is a House of elders where there are no rules. That should be a thing of the past. We believe that those of our colleagues who have come back should be leading the rest. We are ready to follow. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we should all speak from the same page. Let us all understand the role of Senators and the relationship between Senators and county assemblies. I have been doing capacity building in the last four years. I believe that it is only capacity building that will build relationships between Senators and governors and a working relationship between Senators and MCAs. As the President said the other day, this

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we are told to be good neighbours. I see my neighbour from a neighbouring county, Sen. Omogeni. I do not know if he would mind if I donate a minute of my three minutes so that he does not fall into trouble with baba. He can still speak.

I do not know if he is willing. He is my good neighbour from Nyamira County. Anyway, there is no indication that he wants to speak. He is observing baba’s censure in the House. The induction seminar that we are supposed to attend is important. I urge my colleagues to attend so that we can jell the experience of the Members that have been there, new ones and people who have unique specific experience that will be beneficial to us, for instance, Sen. (Prof.) Kamar who has consulted for county assemblies. It will be good to know her views about the Senate before coming to this House and now as a Senator. We would also like to hear your views, Mr. Speaker, Sir, since you previously served as a governor. I look forward to this. Finally, I agree with Sen. Mwaura in one regard that this House is a product of a democratic process. I wish to put the House leadership, most certainly the leadership of the side that I speak from, to be a bit democratic when deciding on venues for seminars. As Members, we were not consulted. It will be good if they take into consideration our views and concerns when deciding where to take us for seminars. Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Thank you, Sen. Cheruiyot. Sen. Kibiru Charles

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity. I was beginning to get worried. The people of Kirinyaga County elected me as an independent candidate to represent them in this House. I was given two mandates; first, I was told that I must support the Government, which I will do. Secondly, they also told me that I must start talking in this Senate and contribute to their welfare. I was getting intimidated because the last time I was in such a House probably was when I visited as a student in primary school. Mr. Speaker, Sir, you will excuse me because the way I have seen Members talking here, I was wondering whether one day I will stand and talk. However, it is good that we are going for this induction. Probably by the time I come back, I will be able to air my views and represent the people of Kirinyaga County. As I conclude, coming from the business world, I would like to ask the political leadership to stop economic suicide. The more we argue and talk, the more we are disturbing the economic factors. It is high time we sat down, sobered up and used politics, as it should be, as a factor of production. I support the Motion that we adjourn and go for induction.

Thank you, Sen. Kibiru.

(Sen. (Dr.) Milgo Alice Chepkorir): Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Since this is my maiden speech, I take this opportunity to congratulate you and your deputy together with all the elected leaders in this House for the great jobs that you have been given. I have faith that with your leadership and guidance, this House will move to greater heights of prosperity. I stand to support this Motion especially being a new Member in this House. I am even worried that most of the senior leaders in the opposition are absent. They should be here to share their experiences with us so that together we move on as a unit. My colleague, Sen. Mwaura was worried as a nominated Senator that he did not take part in the elections. However, I congratulate all the nominated leaders. Without them, I am sure Sen. Mwaura would not be here. I support the Motion of Adjournment because I have been wondering how we can fit in the various areas. I have been moving around and asking myself how I can fit into the various areas. I am sure at the end of that induction, I will come back a very well- trained Senator. Thank you.

Thank you Sen. (Dr.) Milgo. Sen. Poghisio Samuel.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for this opportunity. I support the Motion of Adjournment. My name is Samuel Poghisio and I represent the people of the great county of West Pokot in this Senate. First, since this is my maiden speech, I would like to use this opportunity to congratulate you, the Speaker, for your election and also congratulate your Deputy for his election today. Further, I congratulate all my colleagues who were elected and nominated to this House. This is a place for us to understand and work to know the entire country. Much as I represent the people of West Pokot County, the induction will help me to bond with my colleagues and I will begin to understand the country. Let me also say that the idea of asking our colleagues across the aisle to come for the induction is so that we can bond. It does not matter what ideas you have or what your philosophy is, when it comes to bonding and induction, there should be no differences among us; we should be one. The country requires peace and economic stability. It also requires that we keep things cool, so that we do not have interruptions in our day to day lives. Therefore, I request my colleagues who will be available to attend this induction. The purpose of being representatives at the county level and especially now that we have approved the cash disbursement schedule is so that we can understand how we play our oversight role and also for shepherding our various counties into success and prosperity. I look forward to the induction because we want to make this second Senate very vibrant so that it claims its rightful place. Going out there we will be able to arrange, understand and learn so that when we come back in our vibrancy we can move the Senate a step higher. I support.

I thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to the Motion of Adjournment. From the outset, I support the Motion. I urge my colleagues to reach out in this period of adjournment to all stakeholders and Kenyans and impress on them the importance of peace and stability at this juncture of our history. All is not lost. However, as one of my colleagues said, if the country continues operating this way, we are faced with economic suicide. Some economic pundits have estimated that since the Supreme Court Ruling, as a country, we have lost Kshs21 billion through lack of foreign and local investments because of a wait and see attitude from investors. There has been a fall in exports, low money circulation and low purchasing power. We can now imagine what will happen should this prolong. One of my pleas is that each one of us takes this opportunity to reflect in this time of adjournment, reach out to all and sundry and make sure that we all know that we should put our country first before self. Secondly, Mr.Speaker, Sir, I thank the people and the new leadership of Baringo, Samburu, Laikipia, Isiolo and West Pokot counties who came to Laikipia for the peace meeting. We have all decided that we will chart a new path of bringing peace to our people in the respective counties. I believe that all of us here take this opportunity to offer our condolences to the Governor Nderitu of Laikipia County who, during the course of the peace meeting, lost his mother. We all say pole to him. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would like to congratulate Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki. I said earlier that I would wait until this particular moment to tell him: Pongezi, ameteremka kutoka Majority Leader mpaka Deputy Speaker---

Hon. Senators, looking at the time it is very limited. I now want to call upon the Mover to reply.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I wish to reply. I wish to thank Members for their contribution, realizing the importance of capacity building. It will enable us to work effectively as elected leaders in this House and ensure that devolution works. I thank you.

Hon. Senators, it is now time to adjourn the House. The Senate, therefore, stands adjourned until Tuesday 26th September, 2017, at 2.30 p.m. The Senate rose at 6.30 p.m.