Minority Whip, Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr., you can present the Papers.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. It is my pleasure to hold brief for the Senate Majority Leader. On his behalf, I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table of the Senate today, 4th November, 2021-

Next Order. What is your point of order, Senator?

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. I can see the House does not have a quorum. I do not know if we can proceed with the business of this House. We are so few. That is my concern.

May I ask the clerks-at-the-Table to confirm whether we are properly constituted or not.

What of online? Can we have the Bell rang for five minutes, please?

Hon. Senators, we are properly constituted. We shall continue with the business of the House. On the Statements, Sen. Kwamboka has two Statements. She is not present. The Statements are deferred.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I request for some time to check on my Statement.

Can we hear from Sen. Olekina.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. I rise to make a Statement that is personal and timely because it affects the welfare of 900 Kenyans. I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.48(1) to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on Labour and Social Welfare regarding the impending mass sacking of employees at the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (KEMSA). In the Statement, the Committee should- (1) State why the Government wants to sack over 900 staff of the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (KEMSA) in the pretext of restructuring. (2) Explain the legal basis of the impending mass sackings at the troubled organization. (3) Inform the Senate of the criteria used to identify officers who are to be laid off in the restructuring process. (4) Apprise the Senate of the compensation to be awarded to staff for termination of their employment, listing the compensation package per cadre of employees. (5) State the progress made by KEMSA in implementation of resolutions of Parliament following the probe conducted on the agency by the Senate and the National Assembly last year which extended to this year. (6) Explain whether the State Corporations Advisory Committee (SCAC) made any recommendations to the President in regards to the re-organization, removal or transfer of officers and staff of KEMSA, and if the Board acted on its advice as required by the State Corporations Act Section 27. Kindly allow me to add to the issues: This morning the new board of KEMSA sent all employees of KEMSA for a one month off. During this one month, they are supposed to be working from home. Two weeks ago, the President lifted the curfew in the country. The Judiciary directed all judges to resume work from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. Why would the new board now send the staff to go and work from home? The plan by this board is that after the 30-day period is over, all the 900 staff of KEMSA will be fired. They will be asked to re-apply afresh and they will be vetted.

I think now you are over---

Madam Temporary Speaker, that is why I was requesting if I could add more information on this.

Just add information, but do not go into the details.

Madam Temporary Speaker, let me add some more information. This just happened this morning when the new board, led by the board chairperson Ms. Mwadime, who used to work for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) issued that directive. What bothers me, and I would like the Committee to look into this, is that in her Press statement, although she knew very well that it was going to affect the psychology of all these employees, she said that within the next 30 days the organization will offer psychological support to all the staff. Finally, why would the National Youth Service (NYS) be used to go and work there when the other staff are being sent to go and work from home because of COVID- 19 or is it because they want to carry out investigations? Why not use the same people? Madam Temporary Speaker, I would request that the Committee on Labour and Social Welfare expedites this. Just like you had directed that the issue of the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) be dealt with immediately, I would request that you give the same directive on this matter. This is a matter that affects families; not only the 900 staff, but also the extended family members who depend on those people who work for KEMSA. I beseech you to do that. I thank you.

Thank you, Senator. I will now allow a few comments on this and the first opportunity is to Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr.

Madam Temporary Speaker, thank you for the opportunity. This is so unfortunate. Let me be very frank. The 900 officers at KEMSA did not procure the Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs). The 900 officers did not cause the scandal that we are aware of. This is a cover-up of very powerful individuals and their families from being investigated for the fraud in KEMSA. It is a cover-up and we must call it what it is. Ordinary Kenyans are being jailed left, right and center for stealing, but when it comes to powerful people you send people packing and you bring in the NYS. It is time we call it the way it is, theft cover-up. Sen. Kembi Gitura who used to sit here was given another job instead of answering questions. It is a cover-up of people who speak the same language and are connected to certain people. It is unfortunate. If NYS officers can be moved from their job where they are supposed to dig trenches and clean our towns to now procuring drugs, it is unfortunate because this will affect our counties. This is the only source of procurement of drugs. It is a monopoly. There is no difference between KEMSA and Kenya Power. In fact, if counties could procure drugs directly, I would not even bother, but I know this is going to affect our counties. What is more important? One Senator here - I will not name - wanted to raise a concern about the harassment of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). That Statement was not raised. There is this idea of making sure that you cripple institutions to protect corruption. I have

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker for this opportunity. I want to support this Statement. It looks like the problems that KEMSA is facing are serious and endemic with time. It is unfortunate that as we talk as a country, KEMSA - because of reactionary measures that they are putting in place and because they want to protect powerful cartels within the sector especially in the Ministry of Health and also the procurement of drugs - they have decided to go for the „small fish‟. In the beginning of the year, I remember the the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), the DPP and Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) were saying that they want to fry the „big fish‟ and not the „small fish‟. However, in this instance, it is very unfortunate that 900 ordinary junior employees within KEMSA are being sacrificed at the altar of protection of powerful individuals within Government and the KEMSA fraternity. You have heard my brother mention that the former chairperson and the board were implicated. The former chairperson who is Sen. Kembi- Gitura and the board were implicated on corruption allegations that were in KEMSA. What did the Government or the President do? They decided to transfer him to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK). How do you transfer corruption from KEMSA to CAK? Now CAK will also face corruption issues. You are not ready to fire the board that was implicated, but you are instead transferring the chairperson and rewarding him. It looks like corruption nowadays is a rewarding competition. The more corrupt you are the more rewards you will be given. The more honest you are, protecting your job and following rules and regulations that have been provided by the labor laws, then you are punished by the Government. It is very unfortunate that as we talk today, the same board that was implicated is sacrificing the junior 900 employees that depend largely on this hard-earned salary of even Kshs50,000 or Kshs100,000, but the high and mighty--- You remember when the issue of KEMSA came up senior employees were sent home on implications. Late last year after the COVID-19 millionaires heist came out, the President ordered DCI, DPP, EACC to do an investigation in 21 days. Many days and months have passed, but that report is yet to be seen and no one is yet to be prosecuted. The only thing we are seeing are these junior 900 staff who do not have a voice. The only voice they have is us the Senate. Therefore, we want to challenge the President that you told the country that the KEMSA report would be ready within 21 days and that people would be prosecuted. What is happening? Who are these people who are so powerful that they cannot be

Sen. Farhiya Ali, what is your point of intervention?

Madam Temporary Speaker, I want to inform our distinguished Senator for Nandi County that KMC is doing much better under the military than it was doing when it was under private hands. Thank you.

Sen. (Dr.) Musuruve.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for giving me this chance to comment on this statement. It is unthinkable for an entire institution to just be brought to an end. When you decide to sack 900 workers, that is an entire institution! There must be something really that is warranting sacking of all these members of staff and workers. I condemn the act of sacking 900 workers. Sacking 900 workers means that you are affecting 900 families. Every worker probably has a wife and children who all depend on him or her as the bread earner in the family. You can imagine all these families being

Sen. (Dr.) Langat.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I congratulate Sen. Olekina for bringing to this House this very important Statement. I do not know what is happening with our country because yesterday when I was watching television, I saw the Government evacuating people; I think it was in Mukuru Kwa Njenga, in a very inhuman way. Children were left outside because some houses were being pushed down while people were cooking. I realized that we are living in a time that our leaders are so inhuman or so distant from the feelings of the people. This is another case that raises concern, sacking 900 people without minding exactly what repercussion will take place thereafter. Could it be that the services of these particular people are no longer needed, but there are significant people behind this particular 900 people? There are very innocent children who are in school, who need food and very many other basic needs, bearing in our minds that most of these people working in KEMSA are living in rental houses.

Asante Bi Spika wa Muda kwa kunipa fursa hii kuchangia taarifa iliyoletwa na Senata wa Narok, Sen. Olekina. Ni wazi kuwa Serikali ya Kenya haina hamu ama haina nderemo ya kupambana na ufisadi. Kwa sababu kutoka Rais alipotoa maagizo kwamba uchunguzi ufanywe kuhusiana na sakata ya Kenya Medical supplies Authority (KEMSA) mpaka sasa hatujaona ripoti yoyote. Tuliambiwa faili ilipelekwa kwa Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) na ikaregeshwa kufanywa marekebisho na mpaka sasa hakuna yeyote ambaye amepelekwa mahakamani kuhusiana na kashifa hii. Bi Spika wa Muda, wafanyaji kazi wadogo sasa wako hatarini ya kupoteza kazi yao kwa makosa ambayo sio yao. Makosa haya yamefanywa na watu wengine ambao ni wakubwa katika shirika hilo na ambao kwa sasa wametolewa kwenye KEMSA, wakapelekwa sehemu zingine na wanaendelea kazi zao na maisha yao kama kawaida.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. I wish to support this Statement. It is really unfortunate that KEMSA is laying off 900 members of staff although we really do not know the facts behind it. Looking at the situation with the

Will you accept information from Sen. Olekina?

Yes. Let him inform me please.

Madam Temporary Speaker, let me thank the Senate Deputy Majority Leader for raising that concern because this is a concern that I have also had as a Member. The Report on KEMSA was tabled in this House on 30th March, 2021. It has been on the Order Paper from Tuesday, 11th May, 2021, Tuesday, 18th May, 2021, Tuesday, 25th May, 2021, Wednesday, 2nd June 2021, all the way until 15th July, 2021. We have failed as a Senate because we have not gone ahead and debated that Report and adopted those resolutions of the Committee. It is upon us now to be able to deal with it because it has been there. The secretariat have been putting it on the Order Paper, but I am surprised that even now, we are prioritizing county government COVID-19 expenditures and leaving this issue of KEMSA which we spent a lot of taxpayers money investigating. I want to inform the Senate Deputy Majority Leader that it is a responsibility that we must take and I take that full responsibility as a Member of the Health Committee, but we have a chairperson. Thank you.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I want to thank Sen. Olekina for that. It is true what I have raised. I wish to also blame the chairperson of the committee. We have two Members from the Health Committee that sit in the Senate Business Committee (SBC). Normally, in as much as the committee report is sent to the secretariat to be presented before the SBC, it is the responsibility of the chairperson to make sure that the report has been pushed until it is tabled in the House, debated and actually adopted.

Through this, we should have the Health Committee of this House table the Report of KEMSA findings as quickly as possible. It can also help inform us why these 900 members of staff are being laid off. I know the National Assembly also did investigations on the same. It looks like the report is also not in the public domain. We want to know what are the reasons behind it. Various institutions have investigated this matter, but those reports have all been shelved. I think there is something happening somewhere. My main concern here is this: Could we have a Committee of the Whole, where the Minister can come and tell us what is really happening to the 900 members of staff so that we save them? You cannot lay off people just like that. You have to give reasons why you laid off those members of staff. The Government should get into the bottom of all these issues affecting KEMSA and bring to book those who were involved.

Finally, let us listen to Sen. Kavindu Muthama.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for this opportunity to join my fellow Senators in congratulating Sen. Olekina for this Statement. Even before I came to this House, there were issues about KEMSA. I heard the issues being debated in this House while I was outside there. I concur with my fellow Senators that the Committee on Health must table a report to the House and the CS should be asked to come and tell us why all this is happening, but no action has been taken. It is wrong and unfair for workers to be sacked at this time and especially 900 of them. I mean, were they all involved in the KEMSA issues of corruption? If the workers were involved, where are their bosses, because a worker will never do anything without the instructions of their boss? If they are to be questioned or sacked, the first people to call must be their bosses. Again, it should not be at this time when there is trouble because of COVID-19. Madam Temporary Speaker, yesterday in this House we debated about the workers in Dubai and Arabic countries. They are going there because they are not comfortable at home. For instance, for those who have been sacked, tell me the reason they have to remain in Kenya? Some of them opt to go out there to look for greener pastures, but they end up suffering. We must stand firm and defend these workers so that they can have their jobs and feel that they are at home in Kenya. We must sympathize with our children who are going out there. Some of them, especially those who work as domestic servants are mistreated, but they can do nothing about it. I support this Statement. The Senate must stand firm and defend its own. Very soon I will bring a Motion about the people of Machakos County who were sacked by Mutua. Some 240 of them were laid off for political reasons. If you follow up, you will find that it is because of politics. Politics should not divide people and make our citizens suffer.

Sen. Cherargei, do you have an intervention? Sorry I saw it late, but you can go ahead.

Madam Temporary Speaker, for purposes of the HANSARD, I think Sen. Kavindu Muthama should be specific because we have so many Mutuas. She said that Mutua fired over 200 employees, but I think she should be specific. Which Mutua?

I said Machakos County where we have only one Mutua who is the governor.

Let us now listen to Sen. Sakaja.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I join my colleagues in expressing dismay and shock at this news. It is not normal for a radical action like that to be taken in the public service. We have seen such actions of redundancies being taken in the private sector many times. I have dealt with a number of them in my committee because these are labour issues. If what is alleged is true, that 900 staff in the public sector were sent home, it points to something bigger and shows that something is going on. I have seen the prayer by the Senator that this be brought to the Committee on Labour and Social Welfare because it is a labour issue. We have labour relations laws in this country. We have proper laws on labour issues on employment and we should look at it within the aspects of the laws in terms of what is being followed, what is happening and the intention. In fact, I would have loved it to be dealt jointly with the Committee on Health that has a report on the same institution. Madam Temporary Speaker, if it is sent to our committee, as usual, we will expedite and deal with it properly and conclusively within the shortest time possible. If you even strengthen it by your direction as to whether it is to the Committee of the Whole, because these people are being sent tomorrow, the worst thing is uncertainty. Even if you are given a month, but you do not know where your next salary or meal will come from, you do not know whether you will pay fees for your children and you are not sure whether you are in trouble or have caused anything--- When somebody gives a certain announcement and pre-empts by saying we are sending them on leave, but we are also giving them counselling, it is like calling someone and telling them that I need to meet you, but please come with your lawyer. It means there is something that I want to do. I think that is not the best way to handle public servants. Public servants must not live in fear. Public servants should not go about their work without the assurance and security of what we call permanent and pensionable or even the terms of their contract. I do not think it is right. Without saying much, because I have not seen the content because we like dealing with facts, the content of the actual action being taken--- I have heard what Members have said. We shall look into all that if it is brought to my committee. I thank you.

Let us listen to Sen. (Rev.) Waqo.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for allowing me to add my voice to this very important Statement. I also congratulate Sen. Olekina for coming up with this relevant and timely Statement. I join hon. Senators, because it is matter of concern to each one of us. Sacking 900 members of staff at this particular time when Kenyans are facing a lot of difficulties and challenges is not good. We all know very well that our economy has not been doing well and many people are really struggling because of the impact of COVID-19, which is still with us. I have interacted with many Kenyans who are struggling to pay school fees for their children and medical expenses. Many people are struggling even to feed their families because of the challenges the country is going through.

Hon. Senators, I think we have had a lot of deliberations on this matter and we can see the gravity of the Statement. I am glad that the Chairperson of the Committee on Labour and Social Welfare is also around. I would like to leave it to the discretion of the Chairperson to see the best way to move forward; whether you want to bring another committee on board or invite as many people as you can, but please give it serious attention because it is a serious matter. I refer the Statement to the Committee on Labour and Social Welfare.

Let us move on to the next Statement.

Madam Temporary Speaker, of course, on that one, definitely we shall follow a procedure to call the CS at the soonest availability. Additionally, since I know it takes a while for letters to be processed, I will also make a phone call to the CS to find out what is going on and invite him, because sometimes we invite them seven days prior, but they get the letter on the sixth day and have an excuse. Today, we were having a very important inquiry on football and the CS admittedly, you know it was very short notice, requested to come back on Thursday. I will update the House because the Speaker directed that we do it in two days. We had a good part of the inquiry today with the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) on the issue of the audit. Next week, the CS together with other stakeholders will come. I know that many Members are interested in that and I wanted to give that update.

Madam Temporary Speaker, since we are on Statements, there is something that is happening. I sought an urgent Statement from the Committee on Lands, Environment and Natural Resources about demolitions and evictions in Nairobi.

What is your point of intervention Sen. Olekina?

Madam Temporary Speaker, I am glad that Sen. Sakaja has brought up that issue. Today, I am going to be completely unorthodox because of what is happening in this House. It is very disturbing and I would rather just put it out there. Apart from the Deputy Senate Majority Leader, the Senate Majority Leader, the Senate Minority Leader and the Speaker are away. All of them plus the Clerk are away attending a conference. I mean, they have the powers to alter the Calendar. This is the problem. Do they have the moral authority to---

Sen. Olekina, are you not seeing the Speaker in the Chair?

I am seeing the Temporary Speaker and I have a lot of respect for her. The problem that I have is this: what moral authority would the Senate Majority Leader, the Senate Minority Leader and the Whips have to reign in the Chairpersons of Committees when they are not here? Sen. Sakaja is raising a very important issue because we have Statements, which have been pending for a very long time. We are about to go on a long recess. Do you want to tell me that those people who soon will be homeless will wait for the leadership to see the importance of that being in this House? It is time we remembered that we will be judged harshly by history because the leadership or the Senate Business Committee (SBC) has the power to alter the Calendar of the Senate. It is actually something that is disturbing. The only way we can address the issue raised by Sen. Sakaja and the issues that we have is, at least, the Chairpersons of committees should be here to deal with this issue expeditiously. I know that everybody is going for campaigns to be elected, but we are still getting salaries from the public and the campaigns are not on. Therefore, it is a concern. Unless we deal with it honestly, we will not resolve that problem.

Your point is made.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I think the KEMSA issue is very urgent, and I hope the Committee on Labour and Social Welfare will handle it as quickly as possible before major action is taken against those 900 members of staff. Secondly, I have two Statements that are pending before this House. One is on Ewaso-Nyiro that has been pending for over one-and-a-half years, where some members of staff were laid off, and up to now, they are just languishing in poverty in Isiolo. I hope that the Committee on Labour and Social Welfare will deal with that as well. Thirdly, I sought a Statement on Identification Cards (IDs and Members of the House raised a lot of concern on the urgency of issuing IDs because registration of voters is ongoing. Up to now, the Committee on National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations, where I sit, has not even taken any action. I think this matter is very urgent. Madam Temporary Speaker, kindly, give a ruling on the issue of pending Statements.

I can see an intervention by Sen. Faki.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I also want to join my colleagues, Sen. Sakaja, Sen. Olekina and Sen. Dullo, to emphasize the fact that when we request for Statements in this House, they are supposed to be acted upon so that we report back to our constituents on what has happened on those Statements. It is not proper for a Statement to be read in this House and then a committee kills it. A petition was brought here by residents of Buxton Estate sometime early this year, but up to now, there is no report. We just have a ping-pong game. They said that they will summon the governor, but when he came to Nairobi, they asked him to go and meet those people. However, up to now, they have not been met and the construction is going on. The Chairperson of the Committee ordered at the site that there should be no construction, but construction is going on and people have given up. People are wondering whether this Senate is a forum for gumzo mtaani . If nothing is happening, what can we do to our people? Do we continue bringing Statements here? I raised a Statement here on the issue of forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. A report was tabled here about three weeks ago, but since then, that Motion has never appeared on the Order Paper. We do not know what is happening. Many people are being abducted by the state organs and disappearing. I remember last week, there was a professor who is an advocate, who was abducted when he was following up an issue concerning his client, who had been released from prison after serving a 10-year sentence on terrorism charges. In Mombasa, there was a young boy of 22 years who was abducted early last month, but up to now, he has not been found. If we are going to work in this Senate and address issues that our people are facing, we need to see reports coming from the chairpersons of committees. Last year, I brought a Statement here on the shooting down of an aircraft in Somalia. Up to now, that Statement has not been acted upon. Are we coming here just to talk and go or there is some action that is supposed to be taken, so that our people know that we are working as the Senate?

Sen. Sakaja, do you have something else to add?

Madam Temporary Speaker, Sen. Dullo has just asked about something before my Committee. As I have said, we try hard to be diligent. There was a report on Ewaso-Nyiro that was brought to the House. In discussing that report, reservations were raised by Members and the Speaker asked us to take them into consideration. The Committee met again and we wrote to Sen. Dullo on 4th August, 2021 asking her to refer to the report that we had laid on the Table because we cannot “unlay” a report. We were supposed to do an addendum to review it. The Committee, at its 46th Sitting held on 4th August, 2021 deliberated on the issue and the Senate proceedings of 29th July, 2021 and resolved to request her to formally submit her reservations on the tabled report in writing, so that the committee may follow up and conclude on the issue. We still have not received a letter. How is it that our Committee has not acted on that, yet the Senator herself has refused to write to us? We asked for her reservations on the issue. Additionally, we wrote to the Ministry again---

Just let him finish, then I will give you the Floor.

We wrote to the Ministry again on the same issue and they submitted to us a response. That response was shared with the Senator. To date, we have still not received her response. Madam Temporary Speaker, kindly guide on how else we should move on this issue because we are ready; just waiting for her response. We have reviewed the issue, spoken again to the institution, wrote to the Ministry and the Senator on 4th August, 2021. She is now making the Committee look like it is not working. Is it right? Just guide us on what you want us to do additionally. We have bent backwards on this matter and we want to conclude.

Sen. Dullo, kindly proceed.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I wrote to the Committee. If you want, I will table the response to the letter written to me by the Committee on Labour and Social Welfare next Tuesday. Therefore, I do not understand when the Chairperson says that I have not responded, unless there is a miscommunication. I have sent the letter through your clerk. I will table it on Tuesday next week.

Let us put that matter to rest. She will produce it.

Temporary Speaker, there is no need to go round in circles. My secretariat will tell me if she has not yet received it. If she has a letter, she can give it to me, I am right next to her. She can give me the letter, then I conclude on this matter. There is no need to wait for Tuesday because we are talking about people. They are out there with issues.

Sen. Dullo, make the letter available to Sen. Sakaja for him to respond by Tuesday?

I will, Madam Temporary Speaker.

Okay. Thank you, Senator. Sen. Sakaja, how long do you need on this Statement on Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA)? Is it two weeks or less? I can see you need to bring other people on board.

Madam Temporary Speaker, we do not want to give the Cabinet Secretary (CS) excuses. Our procedure is seven days. We will, therefore, cause a letter to go out possibly by tomorrow, then invite the CS for Thursday. I have committed to talk to the CS as well even as the letter is on the conveyer belt because of our procedures. Maybe, we should also change our Standing Orders to allow for electronic communication. This is because Parliament and the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government are near each other, but it takes a week for the letter to reach and be received. We should get and send letters on WhatsApp or on e-mail, so that we can do these things faster. We do not want those people to stay in anguish for much longer. I will go out of my way to do it properly. I am sure my secretariat always follows proceedings, and so, they are hearing me. I have given instructions for them to write immediately to the CS and KEMSA on that matter.

Thank you, Senator. The clerks will have to fast-track all the other concerns that have been made by other Members concerning different Statements or inquiries. I would like to leave it to the Clerk to work on that. Let us move to the next Statement. Sen. (Dr.) Langat, are you ready?

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.48 (1), to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on Labour and Social Welfare regarding delayed staff salaries and other unfair labour practices by the Bomet Water and Sanitation Company Limited (BOMWASCO). In the Statement, the Committee should (1)State why salaries of workers of the BOMWASCO have not been paid for several months. (2)Inform the Senate the reasons for termination of contracts of some staff of the water company and whether due process was followed in terminating contracts of the affected staff.

Our time is almost up and we still have other Statements. Proceed, Sen. Cherargei.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. I thank Sen. (Dr.) Langat for bringing this Statement on the plight of Bomet Water and Sanitation Company staff. Counties are facing many problems. It is good that we have the Chairperson of the Committee on Labour and Social Welfare, Sen. Sakaja, in the House. It is a problem that many county staff are facing at the moment.

I do not know whether our county governments are cursed. This is because every county government we talk about is either firing or suspending. If they are not suspending, they are denying to pay statutory deductions, which is an offence. I saw in the news that the Deputy Governor of Nairobi City County is being hunted down by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA). It is a serious illegality that the county government must be put to task. The Sen. Sakaja led committee must rise up to the occasion as they usually do and call out the County Government of Bomet and the Governor to order by ensuring that they pay.

Finally, it is painful because these employees need rent, transport, clothes and school fees. These are people who live from hand to mouth. They depend on the salary to survive because of Kenya‟s hard economic times. Therefore, you can imagine their frustrations when they walk to a hospital and are told that their NHIF card is rejected because the County Government of Bomet has not paid the statutory reductions.

We have also been hired by the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC). Imagine when you walk to a hospital to use your medical card and you are told that your employer has not remitted the necessary statutory reductions. Therefore, I call upon Sen. Sakaja‟s Committee to work hard on this. I know that Sen. Sakaja is aiming for higher things in this City. We hope that this thing shall be addressed once and for all.

In conclusion, they should give us a policy or legislative intervention that we need to put in place to protect our workers within the workforce of county governments.

Finally, Sen. Olekina, proceed.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. I rise to support this Statement by Sen. (Dr.) Langat. I sit in the Committee on Health. On this issue of statutory deductions, I remember when the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) came to our Committee when we had summoned the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). They indicated that they had given county governments a grace period of three months to submit the statutory deductions.

It worries me that even after those three months, people are not paid their salaries and their statutory deductions are not submitted. I am concerned. This is something that beats logic. In most cases, we are here enjoying good services. Our statutory deductions are submitted and remitted on time. However, the salaries of our own staff delay. Even until today, our own staff have not been paid their salaries.

Sen. Sakaja, that is another Statement that will come to your desk. What do you have to say about that?

Madam Temporary Speaker, we will deal with that by correspondence. We will write to Bomet County. I apologize to the Senator of Bomet. He knows why I am saying that. We were there the other day. Madam Temporary Speaker, I know that their governor is out of the country; he is in Greece. However, we will do the correspondence because it is the water service company and many other counties that have not been remitting. In fact, for us, on top of that specific one, we will write to the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) and these other statutory bodies. We have done that to Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), NHIF and the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) for them to tell us which counties have not been remitting and to what extent and the amount. We shall table that report here, so that every Senator knows the status of their county with respect to statutory remittances and then the Senate can pronounce itself. I am glad we have Members of the Committee on Finance and Budget and the Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations are here. Madam Temporary Speaker, in many respects, the Senate can make a decision. Out of the allocation that goes to the counties, we can decide to remove that amount from the counties and pay NHIF, NSSF, KRA directly out of the backlog. It is the same way counties have been paying for medical equipment directly. We can actually pay directly and make sure that money is paid. The Senate can make that resolution.

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

What is your point of order, Sen. Olekina?

Madam Temporary Speaker, I fully support Sen. Sakaja. However, there is an issue that he has raised, which cannot happen.

Sen. Sakaja, let us not make it an argument. Some of these things can be---

Madam Temporary Speaker, there is no need to debate this. I understand public finance better. Article 219 says that each county must be assured of its allocation without any reduction. That is true. What the Senate can do is to specify and ring-fence; that this certain amount from the county‟s allocation must be used for this purpose. We can bring a Motion to debate that. I know what I am talking about. It has been done before by this House in the last Senate and it can be done. If out of Kisumu County‟s money, there is Kshs5 billion and they have not been paying, the Senate can pass a resolution that out of the Kshs5 billion that was given to the County of Kisumu, this amount of money must be used for this purpose. That is the work of the Senate.

So, we conclude that matter. Hon. Senators, I refer the Statement to the Committee of Labour and Social Welfare. Any clarification on that is subject to the relevant Committees.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker for giving me this opportunity. I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.48 (1) to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee of Tourism and Trade and Industrialization, on the liquidation of Drumvale Cooperative Society Limited. In the Statement, the Committee should- (1) Appraise the Senate on the facts that led to the decision to place Drumvale Cooperative Society Limited under liquidation stating whether the members of the cooperative society were involved though public participation and provide evidence of the same. (2) State the reasons for delay of finalizing the liquidation process since 28th August, 2009, disclosing the full costs of the process to date. (3) Shed light on claims of mismanagement and irregular disposal of member‟s assets by the liquidator.

Are you adding information or you are debating your Statement?

I am not debating.

Do not debate. Just add more information.

Let me just add information. This Statement should be treated as urgent, so that these people can get their justice and the process comes to an end.

I do not see the Chairperson of the Committee on Tourism, Trade and Industrialisation Committee. Is the Chairperson or the Deputy in the House? I refer the Statement to the Chairperson of the Committee of Tourism, Trade and Industrialization. However, I do not see the Chairperson or the Deputy for the Committee of Tourism, Trade and Industrialization. So, it will be referred to them. We hope to get response on that Statement soon. Sen. Kavindu Muthama, what do you want to say?

Madam Temporary Speaker, this Statement is urgent. These people are really suffering. I take your guidance and hope that it will be acted upon soon.

Yes, that is what I was doing. It is only that I do not see the Chairperson or the Deputy. However, it will be forwarded to them and we will need a response from them as soon as possible. Two weeks should be enough time.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. I do not know if any of the Members wants to add anything to it.

They have not shown that interest. I would have given them the opportunity to add.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. Pursuant to Standing Order No.52(1), I hereby present the business of the Senate for the week commencing Tuesday, 9th November, 2021. Before I proceed with the Statement, allow me to take this opportunity to welcome the hon. Senators back from the short recess between 22nd October and 1st November, 2021. I trust that they are well and had an opportunity to interact with their constituents, family and friends. On Tuesday, 9th November, 2021, the Senate Business Committee (SBC) will meet to consider and approve the business for the week. Subject to approval by the Committee, the Senate will consider Bills at the Second Reading stage, Bills at the Committee of the Whole stage and Motions on reports filed by Select Committees. On Wednesday, 10th November, 2021 and Thursday, 11th November, 2021, the Senate will consider business that will not be concluded on Tuesday 9th and Wednesday, 10th November, 2021, respectively, and any other business scheduled by the SBC, including Petitions and Statements. There are 12 Bills due for the Committee of the Whole stage and 23 Bills due for Second Reading, while there are nine Motions pending debate and conclusion, some of which have been outstanding since February this year despite them being scheduled almost on a daily basis. These Bills have been allocated slots in the Weekly Programme of Senate business that is circulated every Friday. In this regard, I urge respective Movers to be available in the Senate whenever their Bills are scheduled in the Order Paper. Standing committees are encouraged to hasten consideration of Bills referred to them and table reports thereon, while committee chairpersons and individual Senators proposing amendments are urged to be available in the Chamber to move the same at the Committee of the Whole stage. Allow me at this juncture to point out that as indicated at Orders No.9 and 10 in the Order Paper for today, there are Divisions on Bills at the Second Reading stage. I urge all Senators to avail themselves for the division for smooth transition to the next stage. Hon. Senators, the following is an outlook of Business to be expected for next week – (1) Committee of the Whole on the following Bills – (a) The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood) Bill (Senate Bills No.7 of 2021). (b) The Kenyan Sign Language Bill (Senate Bills No.5 of 2021) by Sen. (Dr) Getrude Musuruve and Sen. (Prof) Margaret Kamar. (c) The Law of Succession (Amendment) Bill (Senate Bills No.15 of 2021) by Sen. Abshiro Halake.

Thank you. Next Order.

Sen. Faki and you had a balance of 15 minutes.

Asante Bwana Spika wa Muda kwa kunipa fursa hii kuchangia Ripoti ya Kamati ya Ajira na Huduma za Jamii. Jana nilikatizwa nilipokuwa natoa sababu za kutokuwa na ufahamu baina ya waajiri na wale wafanyi kazi ambao wanatoka hapa Kenya kuenda kufanya kazi kule Saudi Arabia na kwengineko. Lugha ni jambo ambalo linaleta shida baina ya wafanyikazi na waajiriwa wao. Waajiri wengi wanatumia lugha ya Kiarabu na Wakenya wengi wanatumia Kiingereza, Kiswahili na lugha zao za mama. Kwa hivyo, mawasiliano baina ya muajiri na mfanyajikazi wake inakua ni shida. Kitu kingine ni kwamba hakuna mafunzo wanayopewa wale ambao wanasafiri kuenda sehemu zile kabla ya kuenda kuanza kazi. Ni muhimu wapate mafunzo ili wajue matarajio ya muajiri wao na matarajio yao katika hiyo kazi. Hiyo imeleta shida. Watu wengi wanaenda hizo sehemu na hiyo imechangia kuongezeka kwa malalamiko. Jambo ambalo ningependa kusema ni kuwa wale ambao wanapata matatizo ni wachache kuliko wale ambao wanafanya kazi bila matatizo yoyote. Ni muhimu hiyo ijulikane ili isije ikaonekana ya kwamba watu wote wanao kwenda kufanya kazi sehemu zile wanateswa, wana nyimwa mishahara, wanazuiliwa kupata uhuru wa kuenda kutembelea jamaa zao na kadhalika. Ni wazi kwamba wengi wanaofanya kazi kule wanafurahia kazi zao na ndio maana kila mwezi ama kila mara wanatuma fedha kwa jamii zao. Mwezi uliopita; Mwezi wa tisa, nilikabidhiwa matatizo ya mmoja kati ya wafanyikazi ambao wako kule Saudi Arabia anayeitwa Karen. Familia yake mjini Mombasa ilinijulisha kwamba Karen yuko Saudi Arabia na anafanya kazi kule lakini anateswa. Yeye pia alinitumia text kupitia kwa Whatsapp akanieleza masaibu yake. Alinipa namba ya ajenti wake anayejulikana kama Issa ambaye yuko hapa Nairobi. Nilitumia Issa ujumbe na ningependa kunukuu vile ambavyo tuliwasiliana naye. Nilimtumia ujumbe nikamwambia, „huu ujumbe unatoka kwa bibi mmoja anayeitwa Karen na nimetumiwa na jamaa zake.‟ Aliniuliza, „shida yake ni nini?‟ Nilimwambia shida ni kwamba anasema anateswa na anafanywa kama mtumwa kule anakofanya kazi. Majibu yake yalikua ifuatavyo. „ What is she subjected to? Amefungwa na chains?’ Nilimwambia „la, hajafungwa na nyororo lakini mimi kama Seneta wa Kaunti ya Mombasa ningependa kujua matatizo ni nini ili tuweze kumsaidia.‟ Majibu yake yalikua kama ifuatavyo, ‘if you are indeed a Senator, why can you

Nilimjibu nikamwambia, ‘you are the one who was paid to take her there so, why

Aliniambia, ‘she complained she was sick and was taken to a public hospital. She

hivyo tu. Did we send herfor honeymoon? Of all the girls we have sent, it is only her who is complaining. We dideverything within our capabilities.”

Ni Hoja gani ulio nayo, Sen. Sakaja?

Ningependa aniache nimalize kwa sababu akinipa Taarifa---

Unataka akuarifu au la?

Singependa aniarifu kwa sababu inahitilafiana na mwongozo wangu ambao nimeuweka kuweza kuchangia swala hili. Naipongeza Kamati hii kwa kuja na mapendekezo haya. Wengi wa wale amabo wanapata shida sio kwamba hawawezi kufanya kazi, bali kwa sababu mazingira ya kazi sio mazuri kama walivyokuwa wametarajia. Ni bora kwamba kuwe na njia ambayo ikiwa mtu ameshindwa kufanya kazi, kama ni kurejeshe nauli ya ndege, aruhusiwe kurejesha nauli ya ndege na apewe tiketi yake ya ndege kurudi Kenya. Akifika Kenya familia ama wale wahusika warejeshe pesa ya watu ya ndege. Si kwamba mtu aendelee kuzuiliwa, katika sehemu za Ughaibuni bila ya kuwa na nafasi ya kuonana na Wakenya. Tunajua kuwa katika sehemu za kule, sheria yao ni tofauti na sisi. Kule ukipelekwa kama umefanya ajali barabarani, wewe ndio mwenye makosa isipokuwa wewe mwenyewe uweze kuonyesha kwamba hujakuwa na makosa. Njia yao ya sheria ni tofauti na yetu. Hapa nchini unaweza kupelekwa mahakamani ukasema hukufanya, ukapewa bondi ukarudi kufanya kesi yako ukiwa nje. Kwa wale ambao wako katika sehemu kama zile, ni vigumu kuweza kupata nafasi ya kuajiri wakili au kupewa bondi ili utoke huko ukafanye kesi yako ukiwa nje. Hasa ukiwa mgeni bila ya mwenyeji kukusimamia, inakuwa ni vigumu.

Asante Sen. Faki. Pengine tu ningetaka kumuuliza Mwenyekiti, kwa sababu yeye ndiye alikuwa amelivalia njuga swala hili. Je, hawa mawakala, ulipata fursa yoyote kuuliza maswali ili waweze kukueleza zaidi jambo linalo tendendeka? Nilivyomsikiliza Sen. Faki akisema, ikiwa atajibiwa namna ile ni kama anakejeliwa, itakuwaje kwa wale ambao wanasafiri? Pengine Mwenyekiti utueleze kwa muda mchache sana.

Asante sana Bw. Spika wa Muda. Ndiyo maana nilikuwa ninataka kumwarifu Seneta wa Mombasa. Tulikutana na hao mawakala ambao wako katika vikundi viwili, ambapo wamejisajili pamoja, kama association . Tuliwasikiliza na pia wale wafanyikazi ambao wako kule. Ndiyo maana tumependekeza katika ripoti hii ya kwamba hao mawakala wote wapigwe msasa, ili kudhibitisha ya kwamba wanafanya kazi yao kupitia sheria iliyopo, katika NationalEmployment Authority Act na huo msasa ukipigwa, waweze kusajiliwa upya na serikali. Kuna wengi kama yule ambaye amemtaja, ambao kukitokea shida anarusha mikono juu. Hataki kuwajibika wala kumsaidia yule msichana. Hayo ni licha ya kuwa wamepewa pesa, hata zile za kuweka bima na kuhakikisha kwamba yule msichana ambaye ameenda kufanya kazi kule nje ako na tiketi au nauli ya kurudi akipata shida kule Uarabuni.

Asante. Jambo nzuri hilo. Sen. Cherargei.

Thank you Temporary Speaker Sir, for giving me this opportunity. I support the Report by Sen. Johnson Arthur Sakaja, for his leadership, and the Committee. The Committee has been industrious and committed on many labour issues. When I was seconding an amendment introducing issues of the diaspora, I indicated that for the last two financial years, Kenyans from abroad have remitted more than Kshs780billion. It is the best foreign exchange earner in this Republic. It has gone beyond tea and any other foreign exchange earners that we get as a country. If this country was concerned about the diaspora community, we would even have a special directorate of diaspora issues, such as those Kenyans in the Middle East. In Nandi County, we have borne the brunt. I have attended several occasions where we have had to fundraise and bring Kenyans who have died in unexplained and unknown circumstances. The other day I was in a part of Emgwen Constituency called Kapkangani where they had lost their daughter working in the Arab Emirates. We must agree on how we can handle this. When you go to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport

Sen. Cherargei, be consistent. If you are speaking in English, speak in English. If it is Kiswahili, speak in Kiswahili. However, if you wanted to say fake contracts, you say gushi.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I wanted to say fake contracts. I am not as eloquent in Kiswahili as you, but I was looking for the word fake contracts or even compromised contracts.

I think these agencies must work in collaboration. That is why a diaspora directorate is important so that we can have a legal department before these young men take air tickets. I am told they get $1,500 to take one person to those areas. Before they sign the contracts, we should scrutinize if it is a standard contract. Since that contract can

Thank you, Sen. Cherargei. Sen. Omogeni.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for giving me an opportunity to contribute to this report. Every time I stand to read a piece of work done by the Senator of Nairobi City County, I cannot hide the brilliance in the work that he does. We must acknowledge that among the Senators in this House, one that is hardworking, brilliant and puts belief and conviction in the work he does, is Sen. Sakaja. When you read the report that he has presented before this House, it is not disappointing. I must thank him and Members of his Committee for the effort they have put in trying to look at the problems and the misery that is facing these vulnerable groups of Kenyans in our midst. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it is shocking that this country does not care about the welfare of over 80,000 Kenyans working in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. These are young Kenyans who have been forced to go to Saudi Arabia, Qatar or the United Arab

What is it, Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, is the Senior Counsel, Sen. Omogeni, in order to use the term he has just used? Is it a parliamentary term; the „bull word‟.

Professor, you should assume that you did not hear what I said.

That is not a parliamentary term and you have to withdraw.

I did not use the word he is alleging. I think he was not attentive. Next time be attentive and listen to my contribution. He is my good friend.

Sen. Omogeni, did you use that term?

No, I did not. I think Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki was not attentive. Next time, I urge him to be more attentive even if he had a five-course lunch. I would like to continue.

What is it, Sen. M. Kajwang‟?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, did you hear Sen. Omogeni refer to a professor of law as not being attentive? I know for you to become a professor, then a Senator for two terms, lead this House and be the Deputy Speaker of this House, your level of attention can never be doubted. Is it in order for the Senator of Nyamira to imply that my good friend, Professor, is not attentive now and has never been attentive? How then did he get his Doctor of Philosophy (PHD) and professorship? I know that he did not go to school with Hon. Sudi, but with Sen. Sakaja and I. Could the Senator of Nyamira withdraw that assertion that the good professor is not attentive?

What is it, Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I will stick to the straight and narrow. Sen. Omogeni is a respected member of the Bar. He is a Senior Counsel. He used the „bull word‟ and I asked whether it is in order to use such a word, not just in respect of my senior, but for posterity, the „bull word,‟ which I do not want to repeat, parliamentary? If Senior Counsel insists that he did not use the word, let the HANSARD bear us out. Is he in order?

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

What is your point of order?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I do not know which dictionary we will be looking at to define whether a term is parliamentary or not. If I heard clearly what the good professor of law is asking, it is whether my good friend, Sen. Omogeni, is in order to use a term, which can be defined as „untrue talk‟ by the English Oxford dictionary. The term „nonsense‟ or „bullshit‟ are terminologies, which can be defined as „untrue talk‟ – things that have got no substance.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I do not think that we should restrict parliamentary language to become so conservative such that we let people go in and malign other people with untrue talk. Perhaps the good professor of law can take us into another trajectory of defining terminologies in English. If we have a parliamentary dictionary, please share with me because I have not seen one.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir.

There are two statements that I am supposed to make a determination on. One, he said that the professor was not attentive and second is the word that he used.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, can I make it easier for you? I withdraw the part where I said that my good friend is not attentive, because he is my

Senator, those terms are being used here. The issue is for me to determine whether that is parliamentary or not. I will proceed to make a ruling on that, but because you have apologized for what you said about the Senator, please, proceed.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the other point I want to emphasize on the report that have been brought before us by this Committee is the requirement that all local agencies that recruit and send our Kenyans out there should be registered. I do not know what mechanism we can find under the Ministry of Labour so that we can hold them liable. How do you recruit a Kenyan in Nairobi and send them to Saudi Arabia, but bear no responsibility when these Kenyans are mistreated and die in the hands of foreigners? Some time back we used to find hundreds of Kenyans around Agip House seeking employment from these agencies. Six months down the line, they close shop and disappear. Like the case I gave you for Nyamira, when the relatives of that girl wanted to trace the agency that recruited that poor girl, they had closed shop. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I agree with the recommendation by Sen. Sakaja that we should have a clear mechanism where these agencies have registered offices and contact persons. Even when they fold up, there should be a clause tying them to be responsible to have contacts where they can be reached for a period of a certain number of years. Another thing that I agree with is that our labour officers in Kenya--- This is basically an employment issue. We are allowing more than 80 Kenyans to work in Saudi Arabia, just like our nurses are going to London. I read in the papers and have not seen the comprehensive report. I read in the papers that the Ministry has negotiated that these nurses will be given money equivalent to I think 7,000 Pounds as a settlement package in the United Kingdom (UK). They have been negotiated for return tickets, they have been allowed to relocate with their families. They have been given an option to become citizens in the UK. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, this means that in the case of domestic workers, they are left on their own. Those poor Kenyans are left on their own, but when it comes to the specialized cadre like nurses, the Government has taken a keen interest. The Principal Secretary (PS) for Health flew all the way to London to negotiate terms for the 20,000 Kenyans who are going to work in the UK. I have never heard that the PS for Labour made a trip to the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E), Saudi Arabia or Qatar to negotiate terms for these poor Kenyans. We need to see some interest from the Ministry of Labour. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I can see that my time is up. I thank Sen. Sakaja for this very good report. I hope that this is not going to gather dust in the shelves. I really hope that we will ensure that the recommendations we have made are taken out by the Government and that action will be taken so that we can give a smile to these Kenyans who are out there trying to eke a living for their families that have been left behind. They

Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I thank you for giving me an opportunity to add my voice in support of this important report. I will be very brief. First of all, the challenge of Kenyan nationals working in foreign countries is a big challenge affecting our country. Secondly, our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Kenyan missions abroad have done not so good a job. This is because part of their core mandate in the places where they have embassies, high commissions and permanent representative missions is to ensure that they have a database of all Kenyans who live there, where they live and what they do, including the everyday experiences that may be of concern to us, as a country. That is why we spend a lot of money to keep and maintain embassies and high commissions in over 50 capitals of the world. Some of them are multilateral stations. Therefore, I am afraid that our Ministry of Foreign Affairs may not have done a very good job in that respect. I agree with Senior Counsel, Sen. Omogeni, that our Cabinet Secretaries (CSs) and PSs should travel abroad and negotiate and look at the conditions that our fellow countrymen and women are going through abroad. However, I do not see any sense wasting money in that kind of an effort when we have permanent missions and embassies abroad. Thirdly, it is my view that the Ministry of Labour, especially the National Employment Authority (NEA) and other agencies of Government that are responsible for labour matters have also done a very good job. This country requires a complete database of all persons who are involved in recruitment and exportation of labour abroad. I say so because this database is not only important for our country in terms of tracking where our people are abroad, but it also helps us in conjunction with other countries of the world to minimize and mitigate the consequences of illegal migration and trafficking of persons. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I am afraid that some of our countrymen and women maybe have been caught in the intricate and lucrative business of trafficking persons abroad. I also call upon our country to develop meaningful and close collaborative arrangements with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which has a very good database of people and movements, including movement for purposes of labour and migration in many parts of the world. Some of the information that our Ministry of Labour and agencies that this House wants to have could be provided by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) which has one of the biggest regional office here in Nairobi that serves quite a number of countries.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, having said that, I commend the Committee led by Sen. Sakaja for taking up this matter. This is because there is a big concern and outcry from our people who have gone through harassment, mistreatments and illegal labour practices abroad. However, it is important to note that it is not all Kenyans working

Thank you, Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki. There being no other request, I call upon the Mover to reply.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I am grateful for the Senators who have contributed to the debate on this report. I affirm that the reason why we chose to make it a report that needs a resolution is because of these serious recommendations that the Senate needs to pass. I am grateful to Sen. Kihika who was part of the delegation that did this tour. I am also grateful to Sen. Murkomen who, in as much as had a different view initially, finally saw the light in terms of the temporary suspension of migration of domestic workers. I am grateful to Sen. Cheruiyot, who spoke after him and laid it bear as to why we need to suspend labour migration of domestic workers until those specific conditions are meant. We are not asking for a blanket suspension. We understand that it is an economic frontier. Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki has put it well. That is an area through which our country is gaining. However, until we can assure Kenyans of their safety and wellbeing, no amount of dollars in remittances is worth the life of one Kenyan.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I had certain reservations and I just wanted to get some clarity from Sen. Sakaja because we are just about to vote for this. My concern was suspension of labour migration to foreign countries. Does that extend to individuals, who on their own volition, go to Dubai to look for jobs? I think it is important to clarify that, so that when we vote, we know. I will not feel comfortable voting for something that will bar individuals from travelling on their own.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, in as much as you have used your discretion because I have replied, I must give that clarification. This does not touch on individuals who go to places like Dubai. Sen. Olekina, I saw the video you posted of three lovely Kenyan ladies from Nyeri who you found on the streets of Dubai. I am sure they are the ones who identified you because your hair and height stands out. They said they went there to look for greener pastures on their own.

This is specific to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia because there is a protocol. Even in their own country, you will come in as an individual looking for job unless you come in through the Musaned system which I have exhaustively explained. Once this is done, it is only applying to that one specific jurisdiction because that is where we are getting these cases of deaths and they have that system. However, a Kenyan who is going to look for a job in Qatar or Dubai can do so. They are many in those countries. In fact, I was chatting with one of them called Desmond who is my good friend. When you go to Dubai you meet them. They love taking photos with us and we keep in touch. That does not apply to them.

Secondly, it does not apply to those who are there already who wish to continue with their employment. However, we have said that anyone who is in distress and is stuck there must be brought back. We want database and an accountability on all of them.

That is the proposal. I thank you.

Thank you, Sen. Sakaja. As is provided by our Constitution in Article 123 and our Standing Order No.79, I have determined that this matter does not affect counties.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that the House now considers the Intergovernmental Relations (Amendment) Bill, (Senate Bills No.37 of 2021).

I thank the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations who sat in that Committee before I did because that is when the thinking around this amendment Bill started.

This House in February, 2020 was notified in the media that the Nairobi City County Government had signed--

Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations, approach the Table.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to Move that The Intergovernmental Relations (Amendment) Bill, (Senate Bills No. 37 of 2021) be now Read a second time. Please allow me to proceed.

Please, proceed.

Article 187 of the Constitution provides guidelines on how functions that have been assigned to county governments can be transferred to the national Government. It also provides guidelines on how functions assigned to the national Government can be---

Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations, it would have been kind of you to mention the former Committee Chairman who had this thinking for purposes of record.

The thinking behind this amendment Bill was conceived when the Senator of Laikipia was Chairperson of the Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations.

It was the good Senator for Laikipia who did all the necessary conception and the Senator of Homa Bay did all the necessary action for delivery. It is a fairly straightforward matter. I am glad that the Senator for Nairobi City County and future Governor is here because some of the issues that prompted this amendment originated from Nairobi City County. The Intergovernmental Relations Act gives further effect to Article 187 of the Constitution and provides some procedures for transfer of functions. However, the Act says that the county assembly and Parliament shall be notified of a decision to transfer. In the matter of Nairobi City County going by the current Act, the Nairobi County Assembly was notified of the transfer after the deed of transfer had been executed. Was the law broken? Probably not. Perhaps it was bent, but not broken. All that was required was notification of the County Assembly. It is interesting that even though the deed of transfer was signed on 25th February, 2020, public participation on the matter was undertaken on 4th of March, 2020. This was several days after the deed of transfer had been executed and the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) established. The case of Nairobi City County was Executive-driven. There was a belated involvement of the County Assembly, absolutely not involvement of the Senate or Parliament and public participation was done to tick boxes rather than to provide ingredients into the deed of transfer. What was transferred from the Nairobi City County Government to NMS was the functions of health, transport, public works and utilities, planning and development had been assigned close to Kshs16 billion in the budget of the county for Financial Year 2019/2020. This was an extremely significance transfer of duties, responsibilities from one level of government to the other.

Thank you Sen. M. Kajwang. Sen. Olekina.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I rise to second this very important Bill. Before I proceed, I want to recognize your effort and creativity in ensuring that the relationship between the national Government and county governments stays intact and sober. I also thank the current Chairperson of the Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations, Sen. M. Kajwang for having taken up the matter from where you left and has tried to demystify this issue of Article 187.

What is happening in Nairobi City County today is an illegality because there is no clear legislative process on how transfer of functions should be managed or how the reporting mechanism should be outlined. When you read Article 187(2)(b), it is quite clear on who has got the constitutional responsibility of a transferred function. I have always been on record saying that NMS is an illegal entity and those who are busy carrying out this illegality will end up paying if and when we have a Government that respects the rule of law. Article 226(5) of the Constitution is clear on the responsibility of the mismanagement of funds. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, because of lack of this amendment to the Intergovernmental Relations (Amendment) Bill or Act, today NMS is behaving as if they are, indeed, the county government. If you touch NMS, you are touching very powerful people in this country. I have just heard from the Chairperson that the National Treasury is now sending money directly to NMS instead of the county government as per the law. This is shocking. When you read the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act and the Constitution in Article 219, it is clear on where the funds should be sent. They should be sent directly to the county government. The county government having transferred these functions and having budgeted for all those functions, transfers the budgeted amount to NMS. However, that is not what is happening. Tomorrow another illegality will still come up. Tomorrow NMS will be launching what they are calling the Nairobi Revenue Services assisted by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA). Nairobi City County Government should be spearheading this process. The importance of this legislation - I hope Sen. M. Kajwang will be able to add or expound into the amendments - is that once it is in place, it will be very clear even in the Senate and an oversight body like the National Assembly on who to summon to be accountable.

Sen. Olekina, you mentioned the Committee is summoning NMS. In Article 125, it is within their mandate to summon any institution for purposes of evidence

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it has been a tradition of this House that we summon the Cabinet Secretary and not the Permanent Secretary. We summon the person who has got the constitutional responsibility. There is no problem with a committee summoning the NMS Director, but he should accompany the governor because the constitutional responsibility remains with the transferring entity.

This amendment to the Intergovernmental Relations (Amendment) Act is timely. I would like to see a situation whereby this amendment defines clearly how this process should be carried out. It should define the scope and set out the deliverables as well as the reporting mechanism for the milestones.

In other developed nations, when functions are transferred from one entity to another, a project charter is developed which defines the scope, so that the entity now being given the authority to carry out functions know what their scope is. Today, as I stated earlier, NMS and KRA are setting up the Nairobi Revenue Services system whereby they want to collect all the revenue. They are the ones setting it up.

In my view, even though the service has been transferred to them, the County Executive ought to be able to take it to the Assembly for approval. Once it is approved, come in and have a meeting with them. It should not be the other way round. It should not be the Director-General inviting the governor to go in and participate in an exercise of activation to let Kenyans know that NMS and the KRA have set up this system. That system should not belong to NMS nor to the KRA. It should belong to the County government of Nairobi City so that tomorrow when „Governor‟ Sakaja takes over, he does not have to go to NMS to be given the system to handle. That is the loophole for corruption which we have been talking about. When I was with Sen. M. Kajwang in the CPAIC, one of the challenges we had was trying to find out how the money from the JamboPay was being accounted for. The gentlemen who came in presented a live stream of how the income was coming in. The

Thank you, Sen. Olekina. I will propose the question first.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it is always a joy listening to Sen. M. Kajwang‟. He is one of those who I have a hard time in concealing education. It just comes out. He has done a brilliant job espousing the true nature of devolution and the tenets of our Constitution. This is timely. At a time when we are grappling with a practical example of transfer of functions, I am grateful to the Committee. Sen. Olekina has been passionate about this issue. During our oversight meetings with NMS and Nairobi City County Government many times he has insisted that they cannot show up on their own, but come with the bearer of the constitutional responsibility. In this particular case, the Nairobi County Government. This is a necessary piece of legislation at this time. I will outline why I say that as I find a copy of the Bill. The drafters of Article 187 of the Constitution had a good reason to provide for transfer of functions between county governments and national Government. The drafters of our Constitution, including the task force on devolution never imagined that all functions would immediately be devolved. There was supposed to be a phased-out devolution of the functions in the Fourth Schedule. However, due to outcry, and I remember that time we had a strong Council of Governors (CoG) led by Governor Isaac Ruto. They insisted that everything must be devolved and we all plunged into devolution at a go. However, it was supposed to be phased out. Nonetheless, here we are. The most beautiful gift this Constitution holds is devolution. That is why when we were discussing Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report and the draft that proposed

Thank you, Sen. Sakaja. Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki, proceed.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I thank you for giving me this opportunity. I also thank you for according to Sen. M. Kajwang‟ conceiving the contents of this Bill. I thank Sen. M. Kajwang for not only moving this Bill, but also delivering it. He also claimed credit for delivery. Allow me to highlight two biases that I have and hope will not influence my remarks. The first is that the Deputy Governor of Nairobi City County who is the acting governor and a beneficiary of the transfer of power and the politics around, is a citizen of Tharaka Nithi County. Therefore, I am a proud Senator of a county which has produced two current governors, one is a full governor and the other one is an acting governor. That is a bias I must announce. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the second one is that this issue we are discussing today in this Motion is an issue which my views are in the public domain. In fact, it cost me a position in this House on 20th May, 2020 when the Mover of the Motion in the lack of confidence with the Deputy Speaker said that one of the reasons he brought that Motion was because I had certain views about Nairobi City County Government and the transfer of powers. I said I must announce that bias so that it removes any shadow of doubt that whatever I am saying here is influenced by the 20th May last year or any other thing or the fact that the acting governor is from my county.

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

What is it, Sen. Sakaja? Do you want to be informed by Sen. Sakaja?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, certainly.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I do not know how Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki will take this information that that date might be poetic. This is because the 20th May the day he was ejected was exactly eight years after he participated in the launch of The National Alliance (TNA) on the 20th May, 2012. How he takes that information is up to him.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, that information coincides in the tragedy and mixed feelings we all have about our party, TNA which we founded with Sen. Sakaja. We worked very hard for it until the party got into headwinds and I do not think it will survive the crush. Article 186 of the Constitution---

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

What is it, Sen. M. Kajwang‟?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, Sen. Sakaja has brought a very interesting dimension. Will I be in order to then say that 20th May, 2020 also marked the death of the party that they had formed someday back on 20th of May? I think when the good professor left that Chair, then the rain started beating the Jubilee Party.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the party is alive, but in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). We wish it well, but I have already said from where I stand, I think it is over. Article 186 (1) of the Constitution provides that the functions that are provided for in Schedule Four Parts I and II respectively, shall be exercised exclusively by the national Government and county government, respectively. The lawyers call that exclusive jurisdiction clause. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, Article 186 (2) provides what in law is known as concurrence jurisdiction. It says that a function may be performed concurrently by the national and county governments. Then Paragraph 3 talks about residue jurisdiction which is that any function which is not assigned in Schedule Four either Parts I or II is a function of the national Government. I want to start from that point and say that, indeed, the Constitution is extremely generous to the national Government. It not only assigns them much of the functions that really move the hardware of the state craft. The functional hardware is in the national Government, but also the left overs such that residue jurisdiction of whatever remains also are ascribed or appertained to the national Government. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, nevertheless, despite this generosity from the Constitution, we have witnessed a huge appetite by the national Government to encroach on the little functions that are left to county governments. If you look at Schedule Four, the functions of county governments are very soft on agriculture, county health services, county transport, and so forth and so on. Even where functions are devolved, all policy functions in all sectors across the board are retained by the national Government. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it reminds me of the story in the Bible of the man who had 100 sheep. One day, he got a visitor and could not countenance slaughtering a single sheep from his herd of 100, but instead went and robbed his poor neighbour who had only one sheep. He robbed that poor man of his one sheep and slaughtered it for the visitor. That is what the national Government is doing to devolution. I am afraid another decade of such direct attack on devolution will kill the cherished crowned jewel of our Constitution, which is devolution.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, Article 187 provides that the reason for transfer is effectiveness. It is not for fun. It has to be manifested even in the transfer deed that the reason the transfer is being effected is to make the delivery of that service effective. Even in that case, the resources are supposed to follow the organ or level of government implementing the function. However, the constitutional responsibility remains with the original owner of the function. The same provisions of Articles 186 and 127 have been amplified in Sections 25 and 26 of the Intergovernmental Relations Act of 2012. Therefore, this Bill helps to

Thank you. The Mover will reply when the Bill next appears on the Order Paper.

Hon. Senators, it is now 6.30 p.m., time to interrupt the business of the House. The Senate, therefore, stands adjourned until Tuesday 9th November, 2021, at 2.30 p.m.

The Senate rose at 6.30 p.m.