June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

Monday, 15th June, 2015 Special Sitting

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

Who was on the Floor? Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. you have a balance of 11 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, before we broke for lunch, I was saying that I witnessed a very sad episode when the Senate Majority Leader was given a dress down by His Excellency the President regarding the reduction of the funds to these bodies. This begs the question whether or not, whilst the President was saying that the Members of Parliament are quarreling while people need services, he understood the concept that the capital allocation to the Judiciary is supposed to serve Kenyans; that the allocation to Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) is supposed to ensure that Kenyans receive financial prudence as per Article 227 of the Constitution.

I have counted as many as six to seven Articles of the Constitution that were violated by the act of reducing funds of these bodies. What we have is a very serious issue. This is where you have one arm of Government bullying other arms of Government by wrongfully exercising their legislative power and even worse, without giving the legislative organs of state or Government a fair hearing as to whether or not they need the money that has been reduced, for instance, in the case of the Judiciary.

The counties of Makueni, Machakos and Kitui are served by one High Court. The Judiciary had intended to have a court in Makueni and Machakos. This will not happen courtesy of the National Assembly. This case goes on and on in many other counties. When Jubilee came into power, one of the things they told us, I remember reading carefully, was that they intended to have 47 High Courts all over the Republic. How will that happen when the same Government is witnessing – the majority of whom are from that wing of Government – reducing the allocations given to this very important organ?

It is a contradiction to have passed the Fair Administrative Action Bill under Article 47 by concurrence of the Senate and National Assembly without amendments and, at the same time, reduce the money that is supposed to ensure that the Fair Administrative Action Bill is implemented. It is a contradiction to have a prayer breakfast of all Members of Parliament and after the prayers, Members of the National Assembly go behind our backs to do what is called “malice aforethought” against us.

The malice aforethought which in law we call actus reus was contemplated. You could see that this was something that they had planned. It was planned very well and it

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. The correct position, if I am not wrong, the minority opinion was that of Justice Njoki Ndung’u and not that of Justice Mutunga.

Order, Sen. Murkomen! You also need to get the correct citation. You should begin with; “is it in order---.”

Mr. Speaker, Sir, probably at this point this should be a point of information. I have seen my colleague nodding. I just wanted to inform him that it was hon. Justice Njoki Ndung’u who dissented in that opinion.

Order, Sen. Murkomen! Again, if this is a point of information, he must allow you.

He nodded.

Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr., did you allow him to inform you?

I want to agree that I do not know how I missed that. It was Justice Njoki Ndung’u who in her view thought that the Senate did not have a role. I think she was misdirected because probably she did not read the Constitution well. The fact is that---

Order, Senator! It is also fair, especially under the circumstances, to say that she gave that opinion as a minority opinion. She also said that she abides by the majority opinion. It is the majority opinion which was the opinion of the court.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the person I need to tell that is the Majority Leader of the National Assembly. He needs to know that the majority opinion is the one which carried the day even if he agreed with the minority opinion. In fact, she

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise to support this Motion. In support, there are two things that are in my mind. I will, therefore, keep my contribution very brief. My first one is that for a very long time, since we came to this House, we have managed to convince ourselves and the public that we are the House of reason. However, thousands of kilometres away from this country, in a war zone, I had reason to believe that beyond being the House of reason, we can borrow something from Poland. In Poland, the Senate is the House of reflection. So, in my mind, my contribution

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. If someone would come and read Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale speech or listen to it, will think that when he said “this is a House of shame” they will think it means the Senate. It is better he says “that is a House of shame”. Is it in order for him to say so?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I always give in to lawyers and I do not how many times I can remind them. We, as scientists, are not in the business of being good at the English language. Our business is to be good at equations that change lives. You are supposed to be good in English to give fun and flavor o life.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I meant the National Assembly. That is the House that has become the city of cutting deals. Therefore, it is so sad that far away as I was, I had the opportunity to tweet immediately when they threw out Dr. Monica Juma. Within five minutes of tweeting, I had already received 67 tweets. I had said that much as I was not dying for Juma to take the job, because Jubilee business does not concern me, unless it is hurting Kenyans, but since it hurts Kenyans all the time, their business concerns me all the time.

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

Order! You know your Standing Orders. You cannot combine languages.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. How can the Senator for Kakamega, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, reduce a whole Cabinet Secretary’s position in charge of water and irrigation to a clerical work? This is a serious Ministry with two Principal Secretaries. It has a good budget allocation. How can it be a secretarial job? The appointment was appreciated by members from the western region.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Is it in order for Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale---- When it comes to hon. Wamalwa, he becomes angry as if it is a personal issue. Is it political competition? Is it not also a contradiction that we have been saying that we are the sober House and every job that is given to us, we will do it with humility? We will do it because we believe in service. We should not call names those who are willing to take even a smaller job like that of a clerk; there will be no CDF without the concurrence of the Senate.

Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale: Mr. Speaker, Sir, once again, I apologise for my failure to use the right words. I limited myself to understanding Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry and so on. I was not too keen on English. This is why I fail you.

Let me move from there and go to another line as my Chairman is watching me. When we were negotiating hard in mediation, we were told in print that only Kshs12 billion had been set aside for national irrigation. In the Budget which the National Assembly passed, it has now been given Kshs13.5 billion. My question is: If money for health held at the top has gone up to Kshs59 billion, money for National Youth Service (NYS) has gone up from Kshs6.5 billion to Kshs25 billion and irrigation from Kshs12 to Kshs13.5 billion, is the document that the President appended his signature the same one that passed through this House and we debated it? Is it the same document that the Mediation Committee discussed? The answer is no.

Therefore, I want my good lawyer, Sen. Sang and my friend, the “Duke of Makueni”, Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr., to guide me that it is in keeping with the provisions of the law and, therefore, the Constitution that a document that has figures that were never discussed in this House or before the Mediation Committee has now been signed into law by the President. Has something not been breached? If so, do we not have room even just for purposes of making a statement to approach the courts and ask them to tell the President, “No”?

Finally, it looks like some people think that we are here as Senators because we are weak. We are not. If they think this is a House of weak politicians, let them approach the Senate. We will face them as Members of the National Assembly or governors. Let us see who will defeat me in Kakamega County.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise to support this Motion. Let me start form Chapter 6 of the Constitution which is very interesting because it actually lays out the conduct required of State officers, which includes MPs. Listen to what it says on leadership and integrity, specifically with regard to authority and power that is given to

Mr. Speaker, Sir, once again, I apologise for my failure to use the right words. I limited myself to understanding Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry and so on. I was not too keen on English. This is why I fail you. Let me move from there and go to another line as my Chairman is watching me. When we were negotiating hard in mediation, we were told in print that only Kshs12 billion had been set aside for national irrigation. In the Budget which the National Assembly passed, it has now been given Kshs13.5 billion. My question is: If money for health held at the top has gone up to Kshs59 billion, money for National Youth Service (NYS) has gone up from Kshs6.5 billion to Kshs25 billion and irrigation from Kshs12 to Kshs13.5 billion, is the document that the President appended his signature the same one that passed through this House and we debated it? Is it the same document that the Mediation Committee discussed? The answer is no. Therefore, I want my good lawyer, Sen. Sang and my friend, the “Duke of Makueni”, Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr., to guide me that it is in keeping with the provisions of the law and, therefore, the Constitution that a document that has figures that were never discussed in this House or before the Mediation Committee has now been signed into law by the President. Has something not been breached? If so, do we not have room even just for purposes of making a statement to approach the courts and ask them to tell the President, “No”? Finally, it looks like some people think that we are here as Senators because we are weak. We are not. If they think this is a House of weak politicians, let them approach the Senate. We will face them as Members of the National Assembly or governors. Let us see who will defeat me in Kakamega County.

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

Mr. Speaker, Sir, bicameralism has been adopted very successfully in various parts of the world in developing and developed countries. We have had an example from Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale of Poland. In the United States of America (USA) , there is a House of Representatives and a House of Commons. They have devised ways of working and they have worked very effectively. Even on budgeting matters, there is no situation where only one committee of either House works on the budget alone. They get together as a joint committee. Moving forward, that is one of the recommendations I would want to give. I know that a committee will be put into place. That is one of the options that we need to begin looking at. How do we ensure, moving

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I have been listening keenly to all Members of the Senate ventilating and you can see the frustrations from every Member. What we are witnessing here is representation of what all Kenyans are going through.

This morning, I witnessed something very interesting, my car broke down as I was coming to town and I took alternative means. As I was approaching town, there was one young man seated under a tree and he looked like somebody who is jobless. He was having on him a T-shirt written najivunia kuwa mkenya. I came to town and I bought whatever I wanted to ensure that my car was in order. When I was going back, he was still seated under that same tree but he was removing his T-shirt and I was quite shocked because I did not know what he was up to. He had a marker pen in his hand. So, I went back for my car and I passed through the same street. This time round the same man in about 45 minutes had replaced the word najivunia with navumilia kuwa Mkenya. I do not know where we are heading to.

I just want us to relook at the provisions of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the spirit of the Constitution from the first chapter to the last. The central theme when you read the Constitution is devolution, decentralization of power and oversight of institutions. In fact, the creation of the numerous commissions was to ensure that one Comission oversight another. Therefore, we avoid grand corruption.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the Senate is a victim of its own mandate, the creation of the Senate as the “Upper House” was informed by this school of thought; that we should create an Upper House called the Senate with express mandate to oversight both the national Government and the county governments. When we had those votes and allocations to facilitate that oversight function, it was not for the enjoyment of Senators. It was actually a very gross underfunding to the Senate but we accepted to take the Kshs1 billion to facilitate, if not for anything, to at least put in place some basic oversight process.

I want us to look at these institutions that have been targeted and ask ourselves who is putting in place a scheme of grand corruption in this country. How can we state that we are denying the Judiciary a whopping Kshs800 million? That is the same Judiciary that we expect to prosecute offenders and those who are plundering our public funds yet even the meager resources allocated to them were not enough and we are now withdrawing from them Kshs800 million and expect them to still prosecute the more than 600 cases that are pending.

Who is this trying to kill the Judiciary or to punish the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) ? Are they being punished for being strict and denying some institutions or individuals a lot of allocations? Who is this insisting that we should not now fund the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) ? This is a system that was well thought out and helps us to ensure that our own funds are well utilized. We now have a system without funding, in essence, we are creating loopholes for people who are used to plundering public funds to continue doing so because we cannot have a system without funding and that means we cannot operate.

Who is this who does not want the Senate to exercise its oversight functions when it is the same system that will ensure that all the allocations to county governments and other public institutions are well utilized? In my opinion, this is the biggest corruption

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. From the outset, I support this Motion that seeks to do something about the unconstitutional manner in which the National Assembly has handled the budgeting process.

I will start with the function of the Senate. I know that we are all aware of our mandate, but it is better to remind ourselves. The key function of the Senate is to represent counties. We exist to represent the counties. In my case, I represent a county

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Is the distinguished Senator for Bomet County in order to mention only the Governor for Bomet County when, in fact, he is not alone in the league? He is joined by the Governor of Kakamega County, Mr. Oparanya, the Governor for Nyamira, Mr. Nyagarama, the governor for Hehehe and the governor for Hehehe.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this Motion. We started this debate on a very divine note. I wish that the Mover of the Motion, Sen. Murkomen, was here because I would have referred him to the book of Daniel Chapter 4 where the story of Nebuchadnezzar is found. I wish and I hope that we will send a message to those who are in positions of power the kind of message that God sent to Nebuchadnezzar.

God reminded him that the position of influence, wealth and everything else that he had was of the Lord. Unfortunately, he never heeded to the dream that God sent him. For seven years, he was driven insane and fed on grass. That is the message I would have wished the Mover of this Motion to take to the people out there, some who do not realise that the positions they hold are a reward and a gift from God.

I also wish to congratulate those we sent to mediate on our behalf with the National Assembly. We provided three key persons and so did the National Assembly. We know from media reports that there was a stalemate. In fact, we would be in a bigger crisis than we are in today had both parties failed to cede ground. I would wish to congratulate the Member for Ruaraka who defied a hardline position which the Members of the National Assembly had been drilled into and received calls. It was short of intimidation that they were not supposed to cede any ground to the Senate. It is because of that patriotism that we have averted a national crisis.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the issue here is neither legal nor technical. I will leave the legal dissection to the legal experts because the Supreme Court has pronounced itself in an advisory manner. The Commission on the Implementation of the Constitution has also given its views. We could be entitled to our own opinions but no institution can be entitled to manufacture its own facts. So, we cannot continue having a legal discussion on this, yet important institutions have already pronounced themselves.

The issue here is political. I was in my home county for the past two weekends. Senators have been telling the people that our role is to get funds from Nairobi so that these funds can go to the grassroots to spur development. It is now becoming clear to the population that the Senate does not really have a role to play when it comes to the allocation of resources. When it comes to Division of Revenue, we have seen what we have been treated to by the National Assembly. When it comes to the disbursement of those funds among the 47 counties, this House was given a mechanical formula by the Commission or Revenue Allocation (CRA) and it is good that we rejected it until we got to a position where there was input from this House.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the Senate could lose its relevance. If we are not involved in the distribution of resources, I do not think anyone is going to take us seriously. We keep referring to ourselves as the “Upper House”, but I have looked at that Constitution and I have failed to find a single instance where this House is referred to as the Upper House. It probably is a matter that is in our heads and that is why I support the establishment of a select committee to look into ways of strengthening the role of the Senate.

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

Asante sana, Bw. Spika wa Muda, kwa kunipa nafasi ya kujiunga na wenzangu kuunga mkono Mjadala huu ambao uko mbele ya Seneti. Kwanza, Katiba ndiyo ilituleta –

mimi na dadangu Sen. Omondi – katika Bunge hili la Seneti. Itakumbukwa kwamba Katiba ilitumika wakati tulipokuwa tumesukumwa nje; wakati ilikuwa inachapishwa katika Kenya Gazette. Tulipoenda mahakamani kwa kutumia Katiba, tulifaidika kwa kuingia katika Bunge hili ili kujenga taifa na kuunda sheria pamoja na Maseneta wengine.

Bw. Spika wa Muda, lilikuwa jambo la kuhuzunisha kuona Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) , wakati huo, ikikiuka Katiba yetu ya Kenya na kuleta watu ambao hawakustahili kuwa katika Jumba hili. Ilichapisha majina yao katika the Kenya Gazette ili wawe miongoni mwa Wabunge wa Bunge hili. Kwa hivyo, ninaheshimu Katiba kwa sababu kama sio Katiba, ingekuwa vigumu sana mimi kuwahutubia kama Seneta anayewakilisha walemavu katika Seneti hii.

Bunge la Taifa limeanza kupuuza Katiba kulingana na vile Wakenya walivyotaka. Wakenya waliamua kwamba kuwe na Bunge mara mbili; moja iwe Bunge la Taifa na nyingine iwe Seneti. Walitaka Seneti iangalie na kuhakikisha kwamba pesa ambazo zinatengewa kaunti zinatumika vilivyo.

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

Senator, do you wish to be informed?

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

Thank you very much, Sen. Wetangula. That is what I had said earlier before you came. I had only cited that. I said that some of the Vote heads were

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

Thank you, Senator. I wish to inform you and the House that as they were doing that, they raised the budget of the National Youth Service (NYS) from Kshs5 billion to Kshs26 billion for undefined role and undefined projects.

Thank you very much, Sen. Wetangula. That is what I had said earlier before you came. I had only cited that. I said that some of the Vote heads were

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

Madam Temporary Speaker, thank you for the opportunity. First, I want to thank the Speaker of the House for allowing this Special Sitting to discuss this very important Motion relating to the budget process. I also want to thank the Mover, Sen. Murkomen, for effectively and eloquently moving the Motion and to my leader, Sen. Wetangula, for expounding on this Motion when he seconded it and laying the basis for informed debate.

The people of Kenya adopted the Constitution of Kenya 2010 overwhelmingly because we all wanted a break from the past constitutional order which placed too much power at the centre and which placed too much power in the hands of a few individuals and the small number of institutions. Therefore, Kenyans deliberately chose to share power by spreading it across many institutions and even distribute some of that power to the counties through the establishment of county governments. The new constitutional order created new institutions including independent constitution commissions to guarantee checks and balances in the management of public affairs. A bicameral Parliament was also created with the two Chambers, the National Assembly and the Senate, each being assigned clear and specific mandates with details on how these mandates will be discharged.

Despite the good intentions of the drafters of our Constitution and the clear provisions in our Constitution itself, there is no doubt in my mind that there are people in this country, some of them in strategic positions who have put schemes in place to undermine this Senate, render it ineffective and irrelevant and they believe that in so doing, they will scatter devolution and go back to centralizing decision making.

Madam Temporary Speaker, you will recall that through the initiative of Sen. Sang of Nandi County, both Houses of Parliament passed legislation to provide for the establishment of the County Development Boards to provide a forum in each county for consultation between the various elected leaders together with key players in matters relating to development activities within the counties. You are also aware that this law, although it was ultimately assented to, has actually not seen the light of day because some governors got together and decided to frustrate the implementation of this law.

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

Asante sana, Bi. Spika wa Muda, kwa kunipa nafasi ili nichangie Hoja hii. Kwanza, nawashukuru Wakenya kwa sababu mwaka wa 2010, waliweza kuzungumza na kuona kwamba kile kilichokuwa kinaturudisha nyuma ni Katiba tuliokuwa nayo wakati huo. Kwa sababu hiyo, tulipata Katiba mpya ambayo yapendeza na inampatia mwananchi wa Kenya nguvu. Namshukuru sana Spika na viongozi wetu wa Seneti kwa kuamua kwamba siku hii ya leo ni muhimu sana kwa Seneti kuzungumzia maneno muhimu.

Ningependa pia kushukuru Kamati ya Fedha, Biashara na Bajeti inayohusika na bajeti hapa Seneti kwa sababu ilikaa chini, ikapitia Bajeti iliyopendekezwa. Waliona kwamba kulikuwa na umuhimu wa kaunti kuongezewa pesa. Kwa sababu hiyo, nashukuru na kusema kwamba hata baada ya malumbano na Kamati hiyo kuleta hoja hiyo katika Bunge la Seneti na hata tukapata Kamati ya Uwiano ya kuafikiana juu ya kiasi cha pesa ambazo zingeenda kwa kaunti zetu.

Hata kama kila upande ulishikilia msimamo wake, wanakamati waliochaguliwa na Seneti walionyesha uzalendo kwani walielewa kilichowapeleka pale. Walikubaliana pesa hizo zipunguzwe hadi Kshs3 bilioni. Nawapongeza sana kwa hayo. Ninapongeza Mbunge aliyeweza kushikana na wawakilishi kutoka Seneti kwa kuona kwamba kulikuwa na Hoja.

Bi. Spika wa Muda, hata kama Bunge la Kitaifa lilipunguza pesa hizo kutoka kwa Bajeti ya kitaifa kwa zile pesa ambazo Seneti na korti ingefaa kutumia, ni wazi kwamba pesa ziliweza kuongezeka kwenda kwa kaunti. Hongera kwa Seneti kwa sababu pale mbeleni wale Wabunge wa kitaifa hawakutaka kaunti ziongezewe hata ndururu. Hata

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. From the outset, I would like to support this Motion. I also thank the leadership of the Senate for calling this Special Sitting and coming up with this particular Motion. We are going through very difficult times as a country where the public has agreed on the way forward.

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

Madam Temporary Speaker, I also want to take this opportunity to thank the leadership of the Senate led by the Senate Majority Leader and the Senate Minority Leader for giving us this chance to come together and chart the way forward of what happened the last few weeks as far as issues of Budget are concerned.

At the outset, I must say that from the time we started debating this Motion, we all appreciate that we now must be united as the Senate of this country. It is not about which party you come from; the matter before us calls for all Senators irrespective of the party they come from to come together, reason together and protect the institution of the Senate that was established to deal with issues of the counties.

Madam Temporary Speaker, two-and-a-half years down the line, this House has operated without any facilitation whatsoever. We have never had any budget allocation to make sure that we do our oversight job from one sub-county to the other. I want to tell the Members of the National Assembly who made a decision to deny the Senate Kshs1 billion that for those past two-and-a-half years, we were able to operate without asking for any favour. We even went to the extent of using our own resources to ensure that we are in charge and that we oversight allocations to different sectors in our counties.

Kenyans are watching this space because from the time we came to this House with very many challenges on our way, the Senate has stood the test of time. From the kind of decisions this House makes from time to time, it is very clear that this is a House of good standing and we need to appreciate that.

Madam Temporary Speaker, if you look at what happened during the vetting of Dr. Juma as the Secretary to the Cabinet, you will appreciate that in the future, we will need hon. Senators to approve Government officers. The Senate should handle issues of vetting because we believe that this is a sober House.

Madam Temporary Speaker, there is a difference between us and Members of the National Assembly as seen today by Kenyans. First, a Senator tries to push for as much resources as possible to counties in order for the counties to progress. However, Members of the National Assembly are doing the opposite. It has gone to an extent that even Members of County Assemblies (MCAs) – for counties that we visited as the Senate to find about challenges they have been facing in doing oversight – appreciate that they also have the same challenges as we do today.

Secondly, Madam Temporary Speaker, Members of the National Assembly should know very well that they are not charged with giving resources to different departments and sectors of the Government of this country. Their role is just to make the budget. A time has come whereby the National Assembly should take its time to agree and say, “Today, we will give this House this much and we shall give this institution this much.”

Madam Temporary Speaker, we appreciate the fact that we have a bicameral Parliament in this country; the Senate and the National Assembly. When the Constitution talks of Parliament, we tend to think of the National Assembly. That is why, today, we are operating in a platform completely out of what the Constitution requires of us because we believe we have a role as Senators. Any other time an issue comes to this House, Members of this House have debated it in a sober way and we made progress.

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

There being no further requests, I call upon the Mover to reply.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I am extremely impressed by the manner in which this House has, again, expressed itself in a very sober manner, but in the best interest of the country. While discussions were going on in this House, I have received so many SMSs and calls from people congratulating this House and saying that they did not know the depth of expertise and knowledge that is bestowed in this House.

Madam Temporary Speaker, listening to a lot of the contributions here, I have realized the weighty nature of this matter beyond what I initially thought even when I moved this Motion. It is simple; the facts speak for themselves. One of the most unique contributions I had heard was the question of the Budget Policy Statement (BPS) which was passed by this House. That BPS provided that there is need to strengthen oversight in the counties. It went ahead to say that the Senate needs to be given resources to strengthen matters of oversight. That BPS is now hollow because it is just a statement

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

On a point of order, Madam Temporary Speaker. Is the honourable Acting Senate Majority Leader right to say that because there was no mention of reforming the Constitution to enhance the position of the Senate and, therefore, logically that leads to a conspiracy between CORD and Jubilee to undermine the Senate, when he knows fully well that that Bill has been put in the public domain for people like him to comment and adjust with their input what is good for this nation?

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

Madam Temporary Speaker, indeed, the Senator for Kisumu has just confirmed that in the inception, thinking and formulation of CORD’s referendum question, there was nothing about the Senate. That is why I said that today is a defining moment, both for those who are on the CORD and Jubilee sides, to start---

On a point of order, Madam Temporary Speaker. Is it in order for Sen. Murkomen to purport that he is in a better position to allude whether or not to have the referendum question for the Okoa Kenya Bill, when it is still going to be revised after consultation with the various stakeholders?

Senator, I think you are making your contribution and referring to a document. Just elaborate on the point that you are trying to make.

Senator, you cannot make that kind of ambiguous statement.

Sen. Murkomen, actually I did not pay attention to that, but in case you attempted to refer to me as “Mr.,” please, correct that, as pointed out by Sen. Zani.

I have lost the point I was going to make. I was challenged to clarify your position, whether you are male or female because it is assumed that you are Madam Speaker. It has not been confirmed but it is assumed.

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

Hon. Senators, we have come to the end of today’s Sitting. The Senate, therefore, stands adjourned until tomorrow, Tuesday, 16th June, 2015, at 2.30 p.m.

The Senate rose at 6.30 p.m.

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

June, 15th, 2015 SENATE DEBATES

Hon. Senators, we have come to the end of today’s Sitting. The Senate, therefore, stands adjourned until tomorrow, Tuesday, 16th June, 2015, at 2.30 p.m.

The Senate rose at 6.30 p.m.