Tuesday, 17th September, 2024

Clerk, do we have quorum?

Serjeant-at-Arms, kindly ring the Quorum Bell for 10 minutes.

Order, hon. Senators. I am informed that we do have quorum now, kindly settle in.

Clerk, you may proceed to call the first Order.

I also hope the select Committees took the opportunity during this recess to consider and conclude on pending business.

In accordance with the Calendar of the Senate, Part IV would have seen the Senate transact business until 17th October, 2024, with a two-week break between 18th October, and 4th November, 2024.

However, during a meeting of the Senate Business Committee (SBC) held today, 17th September, 2024, the Committee deliberated on the modalities for varying the dates of the Senate Mashinani from the initial date in September to the month of October, 2024.

For this reason, it is necessary for the Senate Calendar for Part IV to be altered. In this regard, at the appropriate time, the Senate Majority Leader will move a Motion on the alteration of the Senate Calendar to alter the dates for the Senate Mashinani.

Hon. Senators, a major hallmark of Part III of the Senate Calendar was the passage of a resolution on the current state of the nation on 24th July, 2024.

Hon. Senators will recall that a Motion was introduced and moved in the Senate on the subject following countrywide protests by Gen Zs in June, 2024 due to their dissatisfaction with the policy direction that the country was taking.

In the resolution, the Senate recommended that various Government agencies and a number of select Committees of the Senate take action on critical issues affecting the country. The select Committees to which the recommendations were directed are, therefore, urged to report progress at an opportune time on the measures taken to actualise the recommendations in the resolution.

Hon. Senators, resumption of sittings in Part IV of the Senate Calendar finds the Senate with an already full agenda. In terms of legislative business, a total of 58 Bills are pending conclusion, 22 Motions are pending conclusion, 22 Petitions are due for reporting by respective Standing Committees, while 394 Statements are pending conclusion by Standing Committees.

In addition, questions have been scheduled in the Order Paper for Wednesday morning following the reconstitution of the Cabinet. I urge all Senators with scheduled Questions to prioritise Plenary sittings on Wednesday mornings to prosecute the business.

Additionally, I implore upon Standing Committees to expedite the consideration of business pending before them and table reports pursuant to the Standing Orders.

I also urge the Senate Majority Leader and the Senate Minority Leader to do all that is necessary within the Standing Orders, so that the business before the Senate is fast- tracked.

Hon. Senators, in conclusion, my office remains at your disposal to assist you in discharging your constitutional responsibilities. I will continue to support each Senator individually and in the Committees that you serve.

I wish you the very best for the remainder of this Session. Thank you. Take your seats, hon. Senators, I have some Messages to pass.

Pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order No. 41(1) and 144 of the National Assembly Standing Orders, I hereby convey the following Message from the National Assembly:

Whereas, the County Government's Additional Allocations Bill, Senate Bill No. 19 of 2024, was passed by the Senate on Tuesday, 11th June, 2024 and referred to the National Assembly for consideration pursuant to the provisions of Article 110(4) of the Constitution;

And whereas the National Assembly considered the said Bill and passed it with amendments on Wednesday, 14th August, 2024 in the form attached hereto.

Now, therefore, in accordance with the provisions of Article 112 of the Constitution and Standing Orders No. 41(1) and 144 of the National Assembly Standing Orders, I hereby refer the Bill to the Senate for consideration.

Hon. Senators, as you may recall, the schedule of amendments by the National Assembly to the said Bill was circulated to all Senators vide letter reference SEN/CORELNP/Message.2024(004), dated 22nd August 2024, pursuant to Standing Order 165(1).

In order to facilitate the Senate in its consideration of the National Assembly amendments, I directed the Standing Committee on Finance and Budget to consider the amendments and table its report with recommendation on whether the Senate should adopt the said amendments today, Tuesday, 17th September, 2024.

Hon. Senators, the Senate Business Committee (SBC) will at an appointed time schedule a Motion for the consideration of the amendments by the Senate. The House is guided accordingly.

I have a further Message.

19(B)(C) and the proposed New Schedule to the Bill, thereby committing it to Mediation Committee in accordance with the provisions of Article 112 (2)(B) of the Constitution.

Now, therefore, in accordance with the provisions of Article 112 of the Constitution and Standing Orders No.41(1) and 148(B) of the National Assembly Standing Orders, I hereby convey the said decision of the National Assembly to the Senate and seek the appointment of seven Senators to a Mediation Committee to consider the Bill in accordance with the provisions of Article 113 of the Constitution.

Hon. Senators, consequent to the said decision, the Speaker of the National Assembly appointed the following members of the National Assembly to the Mediation Committee to consider the contentious clauses in accordance with Article 113 of the Constitution.

Hon. Emmanuel Wangwe, CBS, MP Hon. Dr. John Mutunga, MP Hon. Justice Kemei, MP Hon. John Okwisia Makali, MP Hon. Nabii Nabwera Daraja, MP Hon. John Walter Owino, MP Hon. Peter Masara, MP Hon. Senators, pursuant to Article 113 of the Constitution and Standing Order No.166(2) of the Senate and in consultation with the Senate Majority Leader and the Senate Minority Leader, I appointed the following Senators to the Mediation Committee:

Sen. James Murango, MP. Sen. Richard Onyonka, EBS, MP Sen. David Wakoli Wafula, MP Sen. Catherine Mumma, MP. Sen. Samson Cherarkey, MP Sen. Agnes Kavindu Muthama, MP Sen. Esther Okenyuri, MP The names of the Senators who are communicated to the National Assembly via the letter reference N/LMP/MC.2024(07), dated 28th August, 2024.

Hon. Senators, the Mediation Committee will attempt to develop a version of the Bill that both Houses will pass and table its report in both Houses of Parliament. The House is so guided.

Thank you. Next Order.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table of the Senate today, Tuesday, 17th September,

Report of the Auditor-General on Financial Statements of Matiliku Sub-County Level 4 Hospital – County government of Makueni, for the year ended 30th June, 2023.

Report of the Auditor-General on Financial Statements of Makueni County Referral Level 5 Hospital – County government of Makueni, for the year ended 30th June, 2022.

Report of the Auditor-General on Financial Statements of Makueni County Referral Level 5 Hospital - County government of Makueni, for the year ended 30th June, 2023.

Report of the Auditor-General on Financial Statements of Kibwezi Sub-County Level 4 Hospital - County government of Makueni, for the year ended 30th June, 2022.

Report of the Auditor-General on Financial Statements of Kibwezi Sub-County Level 4 Hospital – County government of Makueni, for the year ended 30th June, 2023.

Report of the Auditor-General on Financial Statements of Kisau Sub-County Level 4 Hospital – County government of Makueni, for the year ended 30th June, 2023.

Report of the Auditor-General on Financial Statements of Kalawa Level 4 Hospital – County government of Makueni, for the year ended 30th June, 2023.

Report of the Auditor-General on Financial Statements of Ikanga Sub-County Hospital – County Government of Kitui, for the year ended 30th June, 2023.

Report of the Auditor-General on Financial Statements of Mutomo Level 4 Hospital – County government of Kitui, for the year ended 30th June, 2023.

Report of the Auditor-General on Financial Statements of Kauwi Sub-County Hospital – County government of Kitui, for the year ended 30th June, 2023.

Report of the Auditor-General on Financial Statements of Kyuso Level 4 Hospital – County government of Kitui, for the year ended 30th June, 2023.

Report of the Auditor-General on Financial Statements of Zombe Sub-County Level 4 Hospital – County government of Kitui, for the year ended 30th June, 2023.

Report of the Auditor-General on Financial Statements of Tseikuru Level 4 Hospital – County government of Kitui, for the year ended 30th June, 2023.

Report of the Auditor-General on Financial Statements of Nuu Level 4 Hospital - County government of Kitui, for the year ended 30th June, 2023.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to lay.

Proceed, Sen. Veronica.

Let me proceed to do it for her. I beg to lay the following Paper on the Table of the Senate: Report of the Parliamentary Delegation to the 2024 Joint United Nations – Inter- Parliamentary Union Parliamentary Hearing held at the United Nations headquarters in New York, United States of America from 8th to 9th February, 2024.

I beg to lay on behalf of Sen. Veronica Maina.

Next Order.

Mr. Speaker, I beg to give notice of the following Motion:

Aware that on the 11th July, 2024, pursuant to Article 126 (1) of the Constitution, the Senate resolved to hold its plenary and committee sittings in Busia County from the 23rd to 27th September, 2024; and, Acknowledging the recommendation of the Senate Business Committee to alter the dates of holding the sittings in Busia County and the need to put in place necessary measures for the successful sittings; Now, therefore, the Senate resolves to alter the dates for the Senate Mashinani in Busia County from 23rd to 27th September, 2024 to 28th October to 1st November, 2024. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have another Notice of Motion. Can I proceed?

You may proceed.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to give Notice of the following Motion, which is alteration of the Senate Calendar for Part Four of the Third Session-

THAT notwithstanding the resolutions of the Senate made on 15th February, 2024, which was approval of the Senate Calendar, and 19th August, 2024, on the alteration of the Senate Calendar, pursuant to Standing Order No.32 (4) , the Senate further resolves to alter its Calendar of regular sessions for the Third Session 2024, in respect of Part IV to continue with regular sittings until Thursday, 31st October, 2024---

Order, hon. Senators. Please, take your seats and let the Senate Majority Leader be heard in silence.

Then proceed for recess on 1st November, 2024, and resume regular sittings on Tuesday, 12th November, 2024.

I thank you.

There was a Notice of Motion to be given by Sen. Veronica Maina.

Senate Majority Leader, you may proceed to give it.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, on behalf of Sen. Veronica Maina, allow me to give this Notice of Motion on the Report of the Parliamentary Delegation to the 2024 Joint United Nations (UN) Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) , a parliamentary hearing held at the UN Headquarters in New York, United States of America (USA) , from 8th to 9th February, 2024.

I beg to give Notice of the following Motion- THAT the Senate notes the joint report of the parliamentary delegation to the 2024 Joint UN-IPU, a parliamentary hearing held at the UN Headquarters in New York, USA, from 8th to 9th February, 2024, laid on the Table of the Senate today, Tuesday, 17th September, 2024. I thank you.

Let us go to the next Order.

We will begin with Statements pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) , starting with Sen. (Prof.) Tom Ojienda.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on Finance and Budget regarding utilisation of cess levied on sugarcane by the county government of Kisumu, particularly in construction and rehabilitation.

Order, hon. Senators. You do not need to strain a professor. Just proceed. You are doing very well.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on Finance and Budget regarding utilisation of cess levied on sugarcane by the county government of Kisumu, particularly in the construction and rehabilitation of roads in the sugar belt zones in Kisumu County.

In the Statement, the Committee should-

Next is Sen. Chimera.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on Roads, Transportation and Housing regarding the proposed tolling policy on the Dongo Kundu Bypass Highway, which has raised significant public concern. The highway will link Mombasa Mainland West with Mombasa Mainland South without getting into Mombasa Island.

In the Statement, the Committee should-

You may proceed, Sen. Chimera.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on Labour and Social Welfare regarding the Talanta Hela Project and leadership dynamics within national sports organisations.

In the Statement, the Committee should-

Sen. Madzayo, the Senate Minority Leader, had a Statement pursuant to Standing Order No.52 (1) .

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have been deputized to make this Statement on behalf of the Senate Minority Leader, hon. Stewart Madzayo. This is a Statement on withdrawal of the security detail of hon. Justice Lawrence Mugambi.

I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.52 (1) to make a Statement on a matter of national and general topical concern, namely withdrawal of the security of hon. Justice Lawrence Mugambi, judge of the High Court of Kenya.

On 13th September, 2024, hon. Justice Lawrence Mugambi issued a ruling in contempt of court proceedings against Mr. Gilbert Masengeli, the acting Inspector General (IG) of Police, sentencing him to six months in prison.

This ruling has drawn a seemingly retaliatory action from the National Police Service (NPS) , which withdrew the judge’s security detail over the weekend. This action by the NPS is a violation of the rule of law and the principle of judicial independence enshrined in our Constitution. It is not only illegal but outrightly unconstitutional.

Article 160 of the Constitution of Kenya provides for the independence of the Judiciary and states that the Judiciary shall be subject only to the Constitution and the law and not controlled or directed by any person or authority.

The withdrawal of security for a sitting judge in response to his discharge of judicial duty is a direct contravention of this constitutional provision and must be condemned. Judicial officers must be at liberty to make decisions based on law, free from intimidation or coercion.

I strongly condemn the intimidation of hon. Justice Lawrence Mugambi. We must all take cognizance of the appeal processes provided in our laws for any party who feels dissatisfied with a court ruling, rather than resort to revenge missions against the Judiciary. Such actions not only seek to undermine the authority of the courts and administration of justice, but also suggest that judicial decisions can be influenced by external factors other than the law.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is imperative that we take note of these actions by the NPS and their potential impact on our judicial system. As a retired judge and Senate Minority Leader, I have also suffered the wrath of holding the Executive accountable that resulted in the withdrawal of my security detail. This unjust behaviour of the National Police Service (NPS) of withdrawing security detail without stated and justifiable reasons for the same must stop henceforth.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we must respect the principle of separation of powers and uphold the rule of law. The independence of the Judiciary is a fundamental tenet enshrined in our Constitution. It is essential for the protection of human rights, promotion of fairness and upholding of democratic values.

The Judiciary must be allowed to operate free from external pressures and interference, ensuring that every case is heard and adjudicated based solely on its merits.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we must safeguard judicial independence and ensure that the Judiciary can fulfil its role without compromise. Let us uphold the principles of justice, fairness, and the rule of law for the benefit of all Kenyans.

I thank you. Sen. Justice Retired Stuart Madzayo, EGH, MP, Senator for Kilifi County.

Proceed, Sen. Osotsi.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise Pursuant to Standing Order No.58 to make a personal statement regarding my nomination by the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Party to serve as the Deputy Party Leader.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I stand here with profound gratitude to our party Leader, Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga, and the entire ODM fraternity for placing their trust in me for this important role.

My nomination as the Deputy Party Leader is not only a personal honour, but also a reflection of the party's confidence in this Senate and the essential role we play in the governance of our nation.

Present and former ODM members.

Yes, present and former ODM members.

Order.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I encourage those who were not selected to unite with us in advancing and strengthening our party mission. Together, we continue to build on the legacy of ODM and lead the party to greater success for the betterment of our nation and the devolution process, which is dear to this House.

I thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I had prepared myself to make comments on Sen. Sifuna's matter, but unfortunately, from your ruling, then I am unable to proceed.

Then take your seat. Proceed, Sen. Cherarkey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I hope you will allow under Standing Order No.1 as I contribute. I wanted to say something about cess.

I have made a ruling.

Okay. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we have not seen cess money in Nandi, especially on the issue of sugar and tea. I thank Sen. (Prof.) Tom Ojienda for bringing that up and the Deputy Party Leader of ODM, who is my neighbour from Vihiga. We are working closely under the broad-based engagement to address the issue of cess.

the House. However, out of curiosity, ODM has never brought even one governor in the spirit of devolution, so that we can impeach or not.

I thank you.

Proceed, Sen. Sifuna.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, allow me to comment on the Statement that has been requested by Sen. Raphael Chimera, on this issue of tolling along the Dongo Kundu bypass. Indeed, we at the Senate Committee on Roads, Transportation and Housing, which is ably chaired by Sen. Thang’wa, have resolved to invite the Cabinet Secretary for Roads and Transport to give us the Government's position; the Kenya Kwanza Government's position, on tolling on roads.

Order, Senate Majority Leader. You are the Majority Leader for Kenya Kwanza.

Correct.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, thank you for that protection. We, as the Committee on Transport and Infrastructure, wanted to know what the Kenya Kwanza Government position is on road tolling. Since, we will wake up one day and we hear that here in Nairobi they are going to start tolling Thika Road, for instance, a road that was built using taxpayer’s money and Kenyans have been using these roads all this time.

You cannot just wake up one day and start tolling Thika Road or the Southern Bypass. We had proposed to summon the Ministry, so that they come and tell us what the policy position is. However, I was very happy reading in the newspapers this week that out of the public outcry, they have abandoned that path. That they would come up with a new tolling policy for the roads that have been constructed, especially the ones done recently, including the Dongo Kundu Bypass.

Mr. Chairman, Sir, we still continue to see the Kenya Kwanza Government insisting on rates that have been declared unconstitutional and un-leviable by the courts in the calculation of the prices of fuel, including this month. We want to know the policy.

The people of Dongo Kundu might not be as lucky as the people of Thika Road and the Southern Bypass because that is a fairly new road. If they start off by tolling it, maybe it would be different from the policy. That you allow people to use roads, and then out of the blue decide that you are going to toll those roads.

In the response, the Committee must insist that one of the problems we have is no clarity of Government policy. It is not fair for people to be ambushed every day by changes of policy. I wish the Chairperson of the Roads and Transportation Committee was here.

Even on the question of concessions to the airport, one of the problems is that this Government does not know how to communicate its policy.

We were here with you in November of last year when the then Cabinet Secretary, hon. Kipchumba Murkomen, told us that they were going to put out an international tender to invite expressions of interest to upgrade Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), only for us to be told months later that there is a different process that is going on under the Public Private Partneships (PPP) Act.

In fact, he had told us that the international tender would go out in January of this year. That confusion, lack of communication when policy changes and the lack of involvement of the public in policy decisions, is what is bringing this problem.

I hope that when the Committee deals with this issue, there can be some formal clarification of what the government policy is on tolling. We had abandoned tolling because we introduced Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF). That instead of charging tolls on the road, let us put it as part of a cost of fuel, and then use it to maintain our roads.

If there has been a policy shift, it is incumbent upon the Government to give information on the new policy. That they have abandoned RMLF and gone back to tolling, when it will begin and whether it is on all the roads of Kenya or certain roads.

However, for things to be happening like this, shrouded in secrecy and lack of clarity of policy, is what is bringing problems for the Kenya Kwanza Government. I can advise the Government from those of us who are outside, that communication is key. Clarity in policy is important if you are going to win the support of the people.

I thank you.

Sen. Orwoba, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise to add my voice on the Statement by Sen. Chimaera. Before that, I congratulate Sen. Osotsi on his new position as the Deputy Party Leader of Orange Democratic Party (ODM) . We are very happy to see you there. I am sure that my governor of Kisii County---

Sen. Orwoba, you are out of order.

Government, we are trying to develop our sports, but the institutions and organisations that are there are so rotten that we are unable to go to the grassroots and deliver.

As a member of the Standing Committee on Labour and Social Welfare, which this statement is being commited to, I encourage those interested to go find the county sports fund and find out the issues that we are trying to cure there. That is a good Bill.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I still want to congratulate Sen. Osotsi and the governor for Kisii County, who is also a Deputy Party Leader.

Thank you.

Sen. Orwoba, you cannot defy the ruling of the Chair. I am tempted to ask you to withdraw, but since it is the first day, you will remain in for the remainder of the afternoon.

Sen. Wafula, proceed. Is Sen. Wafula not in the Chamber? We now proceed to the next Order.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to react to two Statements. The first one is by Sen. (Prof.) Tom Odhiambo Ojienda, my good neighbour, on cess that is levied by county governments.

In the second Senate, immediately after the promulgation of the new Constitution and this House came into being, we put up a spirited fight to stop county governments from levying cess on farmers, particularly tea farmers. In the Budget and Finance Committee, we forced Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) to refund monies to the farmers through their county governments.

This is because we held the view that it is double taxation. We still hold the same view right now. The farmers of any crop, be it sugarcane, like what Sen. (Prof.) Tom Odiambo Ojienda is talking about or tea, cotton and coffee, pay their fair share of taxes.

Therefore, they deserve to receive as much service as anybody. However, given the financial difficulties and space that we are in as a country, we have come to accept that charging cess and levies perhaps may be a way to better strengthen and give advantage to our farmers with regards to various things like repair of roads in the fields and such like things.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am, however, disturbed because county governments do not help their cause. We might be here as Senate and are interested in pushing the cause of devolution, but given how county governments continue to treat the farmers---

I know of counties where farmers have been levied cess on transportation and other things, but two or three financial years down the line, that money is accumulated in the

accounts of county governments with no roads being done in the regions where they had collected that money. Therefore, unless counties are ready to provide and give good account of the monies that they collect from our farmers, I hold the view that as a House, we should not allow them to pursue that road.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, this is known in the public. I had an engagement last week with sugarcane farmers from my county. They know that the Sugar Bill, 2022 is now on the mediation stage. There is a debate between the Senate and the National Assembly.

Part of the amendments the National Assembly has rejected is a proposal by the Senate to have the road levies or part of the cess money that do roads in the sugarcane zones be done by county governments. The National Assembly holds the view that that money needs to go to Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA).

When I asked the farmers whom they prefer that we take this money to and asked them to instruct me as their representative so that as I go to speak out on their behalf; they were unequivocally clear that money should be given to the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA). If you give it to county governments, they will never see that money.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, unless counties become prudent in how they use these resources, it will be a long time before citizens trust them with levies as much as we are pushing for these resources to go to county governments. I, therefore, hold the view that Sen. Ojienda is right in his place.

I also hope the Committee on Budget and Finance can do justice to the people of this Republic by ensuring that they put in place mechanisms; a time period within which if a county charges cess to farmers, they will need to dispense with either providing services to wananchi or returning that money if they are unable to procure the services that are needed.

The last one is on the issue of cess or the road tolling that has been brought by Sen. Chimera. This matter is not as simple as Sen. Sifuna wants to put it.

Sen. Gloria, you are out of order. Standing Order No.117 – you cannot walk in between the Speaker and the Senator speaking. That is exactly what you have done.

Proceed and conclude, Senate Majority Leader.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I was saying that this issue of toll roads is not as simple as many of our colleagues want to put it. I represent the people of Kericho in this House and I know that the Government wants to build a toll road from Rironi here in Nairobi, all the way to Malaba.

The people I represent in this House continue to pay for the loans that were taken to build Thika Road, Dongo Kundu and many other roads that have been done elsewhere. Tell me, why in my rightful mind I need to stand to defend citizens of a part of a country where monies borrowed by the Republic of Kenya were used to do roads for them and they are driving on those roads free of charge, whilst my own citizens as they travel upcountry have to pay to use the so-called toll roads?

This conversation must be holistic. It is as simple as saying that do not toll this one or the other one. We have to classify the roads and the Ministry of Roads and Transportation must come before this House and set a limit within which the Government of Kenya, either by funds appropriated by Parliament or through loans have built roads in various parts of the country. If a certain threshold is reached on the amount of money spent on a road, we will need to agree---

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

What is your point of order, Sen. Sifuna?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, my point of order is that the Senate Majority Leader is misleading the House because it is not true to say that---

What is the Standing Order that is being contravened?

Standing Order No.105 on statement of facts.

Then state as much.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is not correct to say that the people represented by the Senate Majority Leader, the people of Kericho are the only ones paying for the roads or they do not use the roads that were built using our taxes. I can assure the Senate Majority Leader that even residents of Kericho get to benefit from the use of the Thika Super Highway and the Southern Bypass.

This is because, they do not just stay in the village as has been demonstrated by Sen. Cheruiyot himself. He is from Kericho but he does not drive on the roads in Kericho only when he is here. I have seen him in other parts of the country and we use the same roads. It is not proper for him to make that assertion that the people of Kericho are paying for roads they do not use because they use those roads.

Senate Majority Leader, kindly proceed to conclude your contribution.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, Sen. Sifuna is completely lost and he does not understand what I am trying to say.

The point is, there is a specific reason a road to a particular place, region or location is built because the people that head to that part of the country use it more than others. You cannot say that because I drive on Thika Road, once in five years when I am going to watch a football match at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani Stadium, then my people have used that road. It is not the same as the road from Total, Westlands here to Nakuru County as I drive home over the weekend.

The point I am trying to make and I hope that colleagues can be convinced is that the conversation on the tolling of our roads cannot be limited to particular roads that have been built over a period of time. It must be based on value. That is what the rest of the world does. If the Government spends money beyond a certain limit, then that road is tolled. It does not matter whether it is done now, yesterday or in 1963.

This is so that the principle of equity is observed. I thank you.

Sen. (Dr.) Boni.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise to comment on the Statement by Prof. Ojienda and agree with him on the issue of use and misuse of cess is a

matter of grave national importance. I would like to combine that with the clarification required by Sen. Chimera on the Dongo Kundu Road.

The Senate Majority Leader has been spot on; whereas emotions of defending devolution are forcing us to disagree with the National Assembly, that cess money should not go to KURA and instead it should come to counties, matters are not the same on the ground. People do not want that.

During the recess, I was on a road twice which is now impassable from Kambi ya Mwanza to Shivagala, Kambiri, Shiamberere, Ikolomani up to Rondo and Shinyalu. People were there with twigs, planting bananas on the road and saying that their Governor must go because he is not fixing that road. Why am I quoting it?

This is a road that traverses between Shinyalu and Malava, net producers of sugar. In those areas, we have West Kenya, Butali Sugar, which pay cess. If that is not enough, even Mumias Sugar, pays cess. The governor for the last two years has never spent a single cent on any road there to justify the money he collects as cess.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, before devolution, the defunct local authorities when cess used to be taken were fixing our roads. I am not in the habit of activism or picketing because I am a respected national leader and also because I do not believe that sufurias can be hats and caps. Therefore, when you see me join wananchi in activism by saying that governor so and so must go, it is because there is justification.

Even if there are no roads in Kilifi where you come from, Mr. Speaker, Sir, or there is a challenge of roads in Meru for example, you do not have the luxury of cess that we collect in Kakamega, Bungoma and Busia. I, therefore, put the governors of Busia, Kakamega, Bungoma, Kisumu, Homa Bay and Migori counties on notice because they are abusing cess. The primary intention of cess was to fix roads so that cane will not rot in farms. However, they do not do it.

I would like to congratulate the Controller of Budget (COB) and I urge Members to visit that website. She has exposed the shame that is our counties. She is telling us how our governors use the money we fight for here once it is in their custody.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, a county like Kakamega can spend a whooping Kshs418,640,000 million purely for purposes of flying around. They fly in and out of Dubai, Washington and everywhere at the cost of mwananchi.

When the same Kshs418 million is the same money, we are asking for it to be spent on compensating people in Muranda Ward who are supposed to be resettled so that we can construct the new airport. Instead of committing that money to that development expenditure, the Governor of Kakamega chooses to enjoy, as President Kibaki would say in this House, “Ku-enjoy”. That is how President Kibaki used to say it.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, this issue of how we spend our money must become the main debate here soon after we pass the Division of Revenue Bill. Right now, we are fighting hard, as a committee, to ensure that the Government does not effect the deduction from Kshs400.1 billion due to county governments to Kshs380 billion. Nonetheless, I ask myself, why are we struggling when the money will be misused?

I cannot stop without congratulating the Governor of Homa Bay, Hon. Gladys Wanga, and the governor of Nairobi, Hon. Johnson Sakaja, who have led in raising their

own source revenue. This is commendable, together with the 14 other governors who have led, including Professor Anyang’-Nyong'o.

He raised his own source revenue by 45.8 per cent. We want to congratulate this kind of governor. How, even as we congratulate governor Sakaja, again, we want to ask him if it is not enough for him to tell us how he collected Kshs12.9 billion. You should also tell us how you are using that money. If governor Sakaja was using those billions well, which are collected from us, the residents of Nairobi would not be seeing garbage and blocked sewers. You are on Mombasa Road and can see raw sewage moving around.

It is forcing the Cabinet Secretary in charge of the environment, hon. Aden Duale, to speak as if he wants to run the county government of Nairobi. Cleaning up River Nairobi should not be the work of the national Government. The devolved government of Nairobi is the most funded county in this country.

It is the one which controls the biggest economy among the 47 counties. It should be able to provide us with services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for this chance.

Sen. Orwoba, you continue being out of order. You know, under Standing Order No. 98, I want to believe you have a copy of the Senate Standing Orders. You can only rise on a point of order when another Senator contributes. No one is contributing, as you can see. So, whom do you want to call to order? Let us leave it there.

Next, Sen. Wamatinga.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I also rise to support the Statement by Sen. (Prof) Tom Ojienda. Indeed, we must hold the county governments into account for how they spend the revenue that has been raised.

I also want to take this opportunity to congratulate all the governors and county governments that made it possible to increase their own source revenue. It is, indeed, high time that we came up with innovative means and mechanisms for raising our own source revenue. I would also want to challenge ourselves as Senators to start defining the empowerment programmes undertaken by various county governments.

Mr. Speaker, sir, a lack of this definition has seen all manners of empowerment programmes being employed and leaves many questions about what should be an empowerment programme. I know that for devolution to work, people at mashinani must feel that money and services have been devolved. Most importantly, they want to see sustainable development that will change their lives.

That begs the question, if we fail to define two things, one, what is empowerment? Two, what is public participation? We have seen in various county governments, without wanting to name any, where public participation is held, a few members of the public come, and it is deemed to be public participation. They make a decision, which is contested in a court of law and thrown out.

Maybe it is high time we, as Senators came up with a formula for defining the spirit of public participation. What did our constitution intend to achieve by saying there must be public participation? We must look at the composition. Who must attend? Is it enough to have ten people participate in a public discussion where a decision ought to be made that will affect hundreds of thousands of people? If these 10 people come, what is the composition of these 10 people? We must look at that. We must borrow a leaf from the likes of Sen. (Prof) Tom Ojienda, who understands the spirit of the Constitution of this country

and the law. We must come up with a formula so that the counties that are not endowed with highly literate minds do not suffer at the hands of selfish governors who would go and spin the law so that they can force laws and judgments to be made by the public only for the public to realise later that they end up harming themselves---

Sen. Orwoba: On a point of information, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Sen. Wamatinga, do you wish to be informed?

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

In other words, you have denied. Proceed.

In other words, you have denied. Proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I know it is important to tap into my colleagues' resources and knowledge, but choosing when to tap into that knowledge is equally important. I will approach her after this.

If we want to see the advancement of devolution in our counties, it is important that we look at the things that our people complain about. When we had an impeachment debate in this House, the word empowerment fell several times. I heard from both sides that the people prosecuting their cases here try to say this is empowerment, and the other threshold does not meet empowerment.

As diverse as this country is, as diverse as our counties are, it would be good to come up with a threshold where we indicate whether giving a cup, a spoon, or a knife is empowerment. I have seen some counties do all manners of things in terms of empowerment. As Senators, I would want us to discuss how we can define the threshold to ensure that Kenyans are not taken for a ride.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I support the Statement.

Next Order.

(Order for First Reading read - Read the First Time and ordered to be referred to the relevant Senate Committee) Next Order.

Hon. Senators, the debate on this Motion had been concluded. I will now proceed to put the question, but before I do that, Clerk, do we have the requisite quorum?

Now, hon. Senators, voting shall be by voice. Therefore, I will proceed to put the question unless the Chairperson of that Committee has any other observations.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. We had debated on this. I just want to clarify that the issue with the Bill from the National Assembly on the amendment of the Equalization Fund is that they reduced Kshs10 billion. Hence, the Committee resolved to reject the amendments. I therefore urge my colleagues to reject the amendment.

That report was laid before the plenary. I think the Members are adequately informed on what to do.

They were asking me what the issue is. I thank you for allowing me to just put forth my voice and ask them and request them to vote “no”.

No, you cannot campaign, Madam Chairperson. I am afraid you may not be able to have that latitude. Now, Hon. Senators, I will proceed to put the question.

Next Order.

(Motion Deferred) Next Order.

Sen. Cherarkey, I can see your name on my dashboard, but your physical being was not felt. Also, you had already spoken to this Motion. From the record, you had already contributed to this Motion. So, there being no other Senator wishing to contribute, I will ask the Mover to reply.

Sen. Boni, if you are not in a position to reply, we can defer it so that you prepare yourself accordingly.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, before I had failed to draw your attention. Pursuant to Standing Order No. 66 (3) , I request that the putting of the question be deferred to another day.

I thank you.

Very well. It is so ordered.

Next Order.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, before I had failed to draw your attention. Pursuant to Standing Order No. 66 (3) , I request that the putting of the question be deferred to another day.

I thank you.

Very well. It is so ordered.

Next Order.

When the debate was interrupted on Thursday, 1st August, 2024, the Hon. Sen. Peris Tobiko was contributing and had a balance of three minutes. Hon. Senator, you may proceed to take your three minutes.

Mr. Speaker, sir, I think I was done. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, let me state that I rise to support this Bill that seeks to amend the land regime in this country. This is a very brief Bill. If you look at it, I can count only one material clause because it is Clause 3 that seeks to now provide for a regime of registration of land that is held by a public body or institution, being able to apply to the registrar for the registration of public land allocated by the Commission in the prescribed form.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, in Nairobi City County, and I am sure even across the country, we have had serious challenges with the registration of land that is owned by public entities and bodies. In fact, we had occasion one time to have a conversation with the governor of Nairobi City County before the Standing Committee of Roads and Transportation. When the question was put to him on whether the county government had titles for the old city council estates land which are earmarked for redevelopment, his answer at that particular moment in time was in the negative.

The challenges that we face, especially in Nairobi City County with public land, is that for as long as a piece of land remains untitled, it is susceptible and exposed to the land grabbers and other nefarious characters who want to take the land away from the public. In fact, the highest number of complaints reaching my office now are about land that has been grabbed. Just today, I have received at least two of those, and it is becoming too much.

I have heard even senior Government leaders complain that we must stem this spectre of land grabbing in any piece of land that has been set aside even in estates for public use. These days, you wake up to find a wall going up and hear that a private developer has taken it up to the extent that when the Cabinet Secretary for Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development appeared before this house, then Hon. Alice Wahome, told this House that somebody had grabbed the land on which Tom Mboya Social Hall was standing.

I am happy that at that particular moment in time, she had assured the people of Nairobi City County that we were going to recover the land upon which Tom Mboya Social Hall sits and make sure that it is never grabbed again. Unfortunately, the intervening events meant that there were changes in the Ministry, and we hope that going forward, the Government will ensure the sanctity of these pieces of land. I am happy this amendment will now require the registration of land that is set aside by persons or even land belonging to land-buying companies for a public purpose.

I remember, again, in last year’s’ session, the Cabinet Secretary for Education was before this House, and we confronted him with the spectre of Visa Oshwal Primary School. If you ask a regular Nairobian or anybody in Kenya, they will tell you it is a public primary school. However, it was being claimed by the Oshwal Community, which is a private entity.

Therefore, we want to make sure that the gap that was there in the registration of such pieces of land is closed so that we can have title deeds for all land that is allocated to public bodies or even land that is donated by individuals and land buying companies for purposes of a public use.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, this will see to it that these disputes that we have between private persons, private individuals, the so-called land grabbers and public bodies are solved. For

as long as there is a public body, such as county government or even a national Government institution does not have the title deed, this creates a leeway for people within the lands departments and other places to come up with forged documents. Then you hear that land that was set aside for a public purpose has been grabbed.

Therefore, without going into too much, this is an amendment that is timely. I believe that it is responding to a real problem and we need to move with haste to pass it. We are hoping that once titling is complete and all the public spaces have title deeds registered to the public bodies that own them, then, we can cut down on the number of cases that involve grabbing of public spaces in our counties.

I thank you.

as long as there is a public body, such as county government or even a national Government institution does not have the title deed, this creates a leeway for people within the lands departments and other places to come up with forged documents. Then you hear that land that was set aside for a public purpose has been grabbed.

Therefore, without going into too much, this is an amendment that is timely. I believe that it is responding to a real problem and we need to move with haste to pass it. We are hoping that once titling is complete and all the public spaces have title deeds registered to the public bodies that own them, then, we can cut down on the number of cases that involve grabbing of public spaces in our counties.

I thank you.

There being no other Senator wishing to contribute, I will call upon the Mover to reply.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to thank all the Senators who have taken time to contribute to the Land Amendment Bill (National Assembly Bills No.40 of 2022) .

It is quite a straightforward Bill that will secure the interests of our public institutions which have fallen prey to these land grabbers that are so vicious across the length and breadth of our Republic, but mostly targeting vulnerable public institutions for obvious reasons.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, public institutions are not necessarily owned by anybody, so to speak. Therefore, on many occasions, they fall victim to these dubious characters who go and change land records and alter boundaries.

Almost every public institution in this country, especially those that have big parcels of land, from technical training institutions, universities, and hospitals, have fallen prey at one time or another to these kinds of schemes.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, you do know for a fact that almost every university in this country is in court with one character or another, from the University of Nairobi, Jomo Kenyatta University of Technology (JKUAT) , Moi University, all these, especially the old universities that the previous governments had taken time to allocate sufficient land so that as the institutions grow, they can expand to become great institutions. Today, they are in court, with this or the other land grabber.

Therefore, that is the importance of this Bill; to ensure that these institutions have titles in their name, so that when anybody tries to play any monkey games, they can provide evidence that the land belongs to them.

I thank colleagues who have taken the time to speak to this. I hope we can conclude on this particular Bill, vote and pass it so that the President and the Ministry can go on to give these public institutions their title deeds in their name; so that nobody ever dreams of altering the ownership of land that is owned by them.

With those many remarks, I beg to reply.

Senate Majority Leader, are you making any requests for postponement of the putting of the Question, or do we proceed?

It is so ordered. Next Order.

It is so ordered. Next Order.

Now, on interruption of debate on 8th August 2024, Sen. M. Kajwang’ was on his feet and had a balance of five minutes. I do not see him here, neither do I see him on my dashboard. Any Senator wishing to contribute to this Bill? I will therefore call upon the Mover to reply.

There are many things that we have said, including yours truly, about the existence of CoGs. However, we have come of age and we appreciate the important role it plays in entrenching devolution in our country.

All the successes and challenges that devolution continues to face are better addressed with CoGs and Senate working in sync. Therefore, to pass this legislation and ensure that we anchor them in law, it will be a step in the right direction.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, with those many remarks, I beg to reply. I thank you. Mr. Speaker, Sir, pursuant to Standing Order No. 66(1), I wish to place a request before you that we defer the putting of the question until such a time that we will agree jointly, subject to the availability of delegations needed to vote.

I thank you.

There are many things that we have said, including yours truly, about the existence of CoGs. However, we have come of age and we appreciate the important role it plays in entrenching devolution in our country.

All the successes and challenges that devolution continues to face are better addressed with CoGs and Senate working in sync. Therefore, to pass this legislation and ensure that we anchor them in law, it will be a step in the right direction.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, with those many remarks, I beg to reply. I thank you. Mr. Speaker, Sir, pursuant to Standing Order No. 66(1), I wish to place a request before you that we defer the putting of the question until such a time that we will agree jointly, subject to the availability of delegations needed to vote.

I thank you.

It is so directed.

Let us go to the next Order.

Sen. Miraj Abdullahi Abdurrahman, proceed. That Order is deferred.

Bw. Speaker, I am not ready to move the Bill.

I thought Sen. Chute is in the House.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have just said that I am not ready.

You are not ready?

Yes.

Okay, we will defer that particular order. Let us go to the next Order.

point at which this inquiry was initiated, Kshs100 would get you only three units of electricity.

point at which this inquiry was initiated, Kshs100 would get you only three units of electricity.

never been met for some reason. KPLC will explain to the public why that is the case. They are never given that priority to be able to pass that benefit to Kenyans.

There is also a proposal to tie the hands of KPLC so that priority is given to those who generate electricity through renewable technology. This morning, the team from Tullow Kenya appeared before the Senate Committee of Energy to discuss the field development plan for the Lokichar Basin.

From the evidence given by the management of Tullow Oil Company (TOC), there is a recognition across the world that people are now moving away from fossil fuel energy and that we are struggling. The reason why the field development plan and the exploration in Lokichar Basin has delayed is that funding and credit for the development of oil fields have dried up because of the increasing awareness on the need to cut down on fossil fuels. Many people are now moving towards investment in green technology and green energy. So, they are struggling.

The management of Tullow themselves told us today the money has simply dried up. There are very few investors who are now willing to put money into oil exploration. In places such as the European Union (EU), there has been a moratorium that has been put that beyond 2030, vehicles that operate using diesel or oil-based fuel will be phased out. Therefore, there is a move towards greener sources of energy.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we want KPLC to give priority to entities that generate through renewable technology. We gave the example of Lake Turkana Wind Power, Kipeto Wind Power and solar generators. They should be given priority as opposed to those that generate using heavy fuel oil, which is very expensive. On the disclosures, the Committee noted that many of the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) that have---

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, can I get some--- As was noted by the Committee, many of the IPPs that hold PPAs as we speak today have not fully disclosed their ownership. It was a struggle for us, as the Energy Committee, to even know the beneficial owners of some of these companies.

There is a great suspicion amongst Members of the Committee and the larger public. Wherever there is secrecy to the ownership of a company, we will not be surprised to find that true owners are people here in the ministries and in Government. As a lawyer, you know that people hide behind shell companies, claiming that the company is operating out of India, for instance.

One of the recommendations we have made is that KPLC or whoever will be running our grid can only award a PPA to an entity that has fully disclosed its beneficial owners. It should be standard practice. If you have something to hide, we should not be doing business with you. You should be able to tell us outright who the owners of the company are.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, would you believe that as a committee, we were very shocked to find out that we do not know as a country how many of these PPA exist. Nobody tells us, even as Parliament. People are sitting on PPAs quietly as we pay for capacity charge on things that we are not even aware they exist or are generating from.

The Committee felt that it is important to have a register of all the PPAs that it has entered into. This must be published on its website and in the annual audit reports of the purchasing entity.

The register in that subsection is to be prepared within 90 days from the date of operation of this section and be open to inspection by members of the public in accordance with Section 5 of the Access to Information Act. Lastly, we have provided that the authority shall not approve an energy purchase agreement that fails to comply with all these provisions that we are introducing.

With those many remarks, I beg to move. I request

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I second.

With those many remarks, I beg to move. I request

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I second.

I will now invite Members to contribute to this Bill. On my dashboard, I have Sen. Gloria Magoma Orwoba.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, before I add my voice to this, it is very hot in the Chamber. I think you have seen Sen. Sifuna sweating. I do not know whether the Air Conditioner (AC) is working, yet we have been seeing a lot of renovations happening. Who approves money for renovations? They should ask us so that we tell them that we want ACs and other items. There are many funny things happening out here. We have a new red carpet, new lights and other items.

As a House that does oversight, it is imperative that we also learn to oversight ourselves. We need to know the budget that is being spent on funny things in this Building.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I am sure you sit on the Liaison Committee. We began the financial year with pending bills which none of our committee Chairpersons can address. We are sitting here sweating, yet they have replaced the red carpet which nobody asked for. Nobody asked for a new red carpet but they have replaced it.

We need to understand that oversight should begin in this House. We will appreciate if they put the AC on.

Serjeant-at-Arms, kindly put the

Of all the things that we did not need, one thing we needed was the AC.

Sen. Orwoba, your comments are noted. I expected you to appreciate the fact that there is a refurbished Chamber for you to utilise.

are, what they produce and where they supply. It is time we made sure that Kenyans understand what is happening.

In the proposed amendments, they are saying that a generating entity may enter into an energy purchase agreement to sell electrical energy to a licensed entity specified in the Third Schedule. What we are trying to address is that we should get value for our money. We should understand why there are numerous blackouts and hold people accountable.

First of all, I congratulate the Mover of this Bill because it is timely. This is the time we should make a very unpopular decision of kicking out cartels.

Many people do not understand what we do in the Senate. It is not just about Bills and oversight but also ensuring that we hold people accountable even at the grassroots.

When we bring Bills here, it is not that we like debating but because we want to address issues to do with lack of transparency in provision of Government services and in some procurements that we have, particularly with regard to IPPs. That is the reason I am supporting this Bill by Sen. Sifuna.

I hope we will have other engagements and robust discussions as a result of what we now call broad-based Government.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I support this Bill.

are, what they produce and where they supply. It is time we made sure that Kenyans understand what is happening.

In the proposed amendments, they are saying that a generating entity may enter into an energy purchase agreement to sell electrical energy to a licensed entity specified in the Third Schedule. What we are trying to address is that we should get value for our money. We should understand why there are numerous blackouts and hold people accountable.

First of all, I congratulate the Mover of this Bill because it is timely. This is the time we should make a very unpopular decision of kicking out cartels.

Many people do not understand what we do in the Senate. It is not just about Bills and oversight but also ensuring that we hold people accountable even at the grassroots.

When we bring Bills here, it is not that we like debating but because we want to address issues to do with lack of transparency in provision of Government services and in some procurements that we have, particularly with regard to IPPs. That is the reason I am supporting this Bill by Sen. Sifuna.

I hope we will have other engagements and robust discussions as a result of what we now call broad-based Government.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I support this Bill.

Thank you, Sen. Orwoba. Next is Sen. Osotsi.

As I said, the amendments are going to give us disclosure of ownership information. We should know who the owners of these entities are, how much they draw from the people of Kenya for their personal interests, and the cost at which they sell electricity to companies such as Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC (KenGen).

I think this Bill is timely. I encourage Members to support it particularly on the aspect of disclosure. Without disclosure, as it has been stated in the memorandum of the Bill, we are not sure what the money does. We do not know whether the money is used for money laundering, whether it is part of tax evasion schemes, or corruption. This will help us deal with all the social issues around non-disclosure of these agreements.

I do not know why it is so difficult for the Government to provide information on some of these issues.

We struggled with the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) and up to now, we do not have clear information on some of the contracts of SGR. We have also struggled with these Independent Power Producers (IPPs). Currently, the biggest debate in this country is about Adani matter, which I can see the Chairman of the Committee on Roads, Transportation and Housing is smiling. He has done a good job and he is also my Member of the County Public Investments and Special Funds Committee (CPIC) to try and deal with the problem.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it is high time that we demand that all such major agreements, particularly between the Government and private investors or individuals, must be disclosed to Parliament and processed in this House since they affect our people. We exist in this Parliament because we represent the people under Article 1 of the Constitution.

The other important issue I want to agree with the Mover of this Bill, is the matter of ensuring that these agreements are aligned or comply to the principles of public finance management under Article 201 of the Constitution on matters of openness, accountability, public participation and good governance in prudent and responsible management of public resources, on matters of sustainability, whether the agreement is sustainable or not.

We want a situation whereby such agreements, the value for money must be assessed. Therefore, the proposal to ensure that the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act is complied with is a laudable proposal in terms of ensuring, for example, public participation.

Public participation aligns to what I have said earlier, the involvement of Parliament in this process. The involvement of stakeholders in the energy sector in this process is very key. Consequently, I thank the Mover for also including that.

The other aspect is compliance with the best practices in procurement, particularly aligning this process to the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act (PPADA), that we already have. How do we identify these IPPs? Do we just wake up and say so-and-so will be an IPP and he becomes an IPP or there must be a competitive process?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, these are the same questions we were asking on the Airport deal also. Do you just wake up and say so-and-so, bring a proposal or you open the tender to competition, so that you have as many people bringing proposals on how they can manage some of these utilities? This is a very commendable amendment which I support.

The other very important requirement is that these companies or IPPs agreements are to be made public on their website and in their annual audit reports, so that Kenyans can look at them and make their concerns known, so that the value for money can be assessed and that Kenyans can now get a good deal from it.

We have to state very clearly that the energy purchase agreement is a rip-off. The people of this country have been ripped off for years. Some of the people who own these IPPs, we are told are either former Government officials or people who worked for these public utilities like Kenya Power and Lighting Corporation (KPLC) and Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen).

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, even as we discuss this Bill, we need also to find a way of how we can deal with those who have stolen from us through expensive Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).

As we support this Bill, we should also look for the thieves who have stolen from us for years. I call them the ‘thieves’ because this is stealing. They must be brought to book. We must know the faces behind the PPAs and they must account for all the money they have stolen from Kenyans through these satanic and expensive agreements which they have signed with the people of Kenya.

Additionally, the provisions to ensure that Section 5 of the Access to Information Act (ATI), is an important amendment. Access to information is a constitutional right in this country. However, this right has been curtailed in many of these public offices. This is a piece of information that should be easily available.

I was surprised that even the Committee had difficulties in accessing these contracts. It should not be a problem to access a contract between investors and the Kenyan public through some of these public utilities. These amendments will make it easy for the public to access some of this critical information and process it to ensure that it is aligned to the interests of the people, good practices and it has value for money.

These amendments will ensure that the long-standing problem of expensive PPAs between the Kenyan Government through its key utilities, energy utilities and the IPPs are handled. As I said, even as we pass this Bill, I encourage the Committee not to tire. They should continue investigating this matter, so that we get to know who are these dark forces behind the IPPs. Why is it impossible to bring to book these people? Are they living on this earth or are they living elsewhere?

If there are people who are living on this earth and in this country, why is it so difficult to get them? If you start calculating how much this country has lost through these IPPs, some of them were started during President Moi's time, to date. Many years back. You will probably find that this is the money we need to build another airport and we do not need to bring Adani here. We can get money from these criminals to build an airport and other utilities.

I commend Sen. Sifuna for this very important and bold amendment. I know the owners of IPPs will be out to fight these amendments, but I ask the Senate to stand firm.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, this House has in the recent days has been in the eyes of the people as a House that is serving Kenyans. Last week, what the Committee on Roads and Transportation did really gave Kenyans another fresh sense that we have an institution that is working for us. This is the second one and I encourage our committees to deal with

issues that are impactful to the people of Kenya, so that this Senate is seen to be working for the people of Kenya.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, if you allow me to digress a bit, one of the things we know is that we will have the Division of Revenue Act (DORA) coming back to us.

There is a recommendation that we should reduce shareable revenue from Kshs400 to Kshs380 billion. This is the day that the Senate needs to rise up and say no. We cannot to be told that every time we have a drop in the national revenue, it is devolution that suffers. We need to stand firm and protect our counties. Let us demonstrate that the Senate does not exist because of politics alone, but to support and protect our counties.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I support this Bill. I encourage other Members who will contribute to also support it so that we can unlock one of the major problems we have been having in the energy sector. That is expensive power purchase agreements, which lead to high cost of power. I thank you.

issues that are impactful to the people of Kenya, so that this Senate is seen to be working for the people of Kenya.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, if you allow me to digress a bit, one of the things we know is that we will have the Division of Revenue Act (DORA) coming back to us.

There is a recommendation that we should reduce shareable revenue from Kshs400 to Kshs380 billion. This is the day that the Senate needs to rise up and say no. We cannot to be told that every time we have a drop in the national revenue, it is devolution that suffers. We need to stand firm and protect our counties. Let us demonstrate that the Senate does not exist because of politics alone, but to support and protect our counties.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I support this Bill. I encourage other Members who will contribute to also support it so that we can unlock one of the major problems we have been having in the energy sector. That is expensive power purchase agreements, which lead to high cost of power. I thank you.

Thank you, Sen. Osotsi. Sen. Cherarkey, proceed.

That is what the former President initiated through the task force that was appointed to review power purchasing agreements and they submitted their report on 28th September,

That is what the former President initiated through the task force that was appointed to review power purchasing agreements and they submitted their report on 28th September,

Sen. Oketch Gicheru, proceed.

Sen. Oketch Gicheru, proceed.

of power and energy in our country. Specifically, transparency throughout the procurement process of power has been wanting.

This amendment seeks to address this core issue of transparency and accountability, not only in the governance structure, but also in the entire procurement process.

I come from Migori County where I was lucky to be born around Gogo Falls. Gogo Falls is one of those KenGen facilities that produces a lot of power. However, I can tell you that up to today, 95 per cent of my village mates where Gogo Power is based have no electricity in their homes.

If you go to the other stretch that is in Uriri and Nyatike constituencies, the penetration of power is less than 23 per cent. Yet Gogo Falls is found within the borders of these two amazing and very productive constituencies.

The pathetic nature of the lack of power consumption in my county spams to places like Kuria West and Kuria East. If you go to Masangora today, where people are very industrious and on the border of Kenya and Tanzania, tourism could be cultivated properly based on energy use and the entire security infrastructure of that county. Despite their industriousness, the amazing people of Kuria still wallow in the miasma of having less than 25 per cent of power penetration.

I can narrate that this goes all the way to places like Rongo sub-county and Awendo where you find that an amazing industry called Awendo-Soni, or the Southern Nyanza sugarcane industry. Yet the sugarcane growers and cutters in those areas still sometimes depend on using firewood to light their homes at night. The question here is not of capacity, but of governance and transparency that can ensure the abundance that we have in this commodity called electricity can percolate through every single home and all the industries we have.

So, what does Sen. Sifuna seek to do with this amazing Bill? I want to urge the entire House to support it. The first thing we find is that today, KP has signed over 45 power purchase agreements. Yet if you look through the internet and all government bodies, the information the public has regarding the details of those agreements is completely scanty. You cannot find them.

Why are these information pieces important to the public? They are important because you cannot have power purchase agreements without detailing the cost structure and the resulting power price, as they should be. This is at the core of what this Bill seeks to address.

When you allow the public to interact with the core structure in those agreements, then they can further interrogate and give input on what kind of prizes these contracts should result in the course of power in our country.

When these contracts and their details are hidden from the public, they lack something called cost competitiveness. We cannot have serious cost competitiveness in the entire power market in this country. Why? Every contract is individualized and hidden from the proper market value. Consequently, anybody can choose to make the cost of power the way they want. Therefore, this amendment is at the core of making sure that we are going to have a proper price reduction in the power sector.

Alongside the cost of power is an issue of power stability and quality within our borders. We have even seen it several times, including in Nairobi recently and across the

country. We hear from the social media that you will face power blackouts; it is announced by whichever body that will experience those blackouts.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, you do not have the power to control when you will get that power back or to control how you can get your alternatives. You do not have the power to control how this will affect the payment that you already made to the national power grid. To the extent that we can figure out the impact of this lack of transparency on power stability and power quality, this is the Bill that we need.

The Bill will guarantee us power stability. There is something close to my heart and I have seen it in this Bill; the lenses of the presentation by Sen. Sifuna. It will help us procure and also cure the issue of safeguarding our environment and our social priorities.

We, as a country, are priding ourselves that we are leading on clean energy, but interacting with that with our environmental and social safety. However, that cannot be guaranteed if we do not interrogate the procurement processes.

What do I mean by this? We have seen several times when KP looks at metering processes. Out of lack of transparency, you will find that the procurement officers will keenly and carefully choose to ignore the specifications that are required by the standard of law. In many cases, people end up bringing defective specifications, which are of low quality that cannot guarantee our people their safety.

In several places, you hear about KP not meeting its targets in neighbourhoods such as slum areas. The reason is that they are using defective metering systems that people can bypass, sometimes connect and then before we realise it, we see a lot of fire hazards in different places.

In Nairobi City County, we constantly see several fire hazards. If you were to go down and interrogate where those fire hazards are coming from, you would find that it is because of defective metering and specifications that have been put in several access points of electricity.

This is putting our people in hazardous environments and very serious social problems. The Toi Market where Sen. Sifuna comes from recently lost property worth billions. I think two days ago, there was also a serious fire in Mukuru kwa Njenga.

These places are facing fires and nobody ever explains the sources. Defective connections in our neighbourhood are occasioned by a serious lack of transparency in the specifications of meter systems and any other systems of connectivity that we need in our neighbourhood. One can cry over this country. Therefore, the entire process must be completely unlocked. This Bill enables the country to get to the bottom line of this problem.

Along with this is the structure of taxation that is given to IPPs. This one is a very serious part of transparency and governance. How does the national Government choose to tell us which part of the money they collect from KP and any other national grid providers comprises the taxation element and which one comprises the competitive revenue or competitive profit for these companies?

We have seen several times when KP complains saying they are overtaxed and, therefore, they want to increase tariffs to respond to that taxation. How is that taxation connected to the core structure of their power-purchasing agreements with other IPPs?

You cannot tell me that out of one Kenya Shilling, the Government chooses to arbitrarily take 57 cents as taxes from KP and KP must throw that taxation back to the

consumer and does not connect it to the cost of purchase or cost of production if we may use that language from the IPPs.

The only reason KP can use that impunity on Kenyans is if there is no proper transparency of the agreements that it has had with every single private developer and private producer who is adding to its national grid. That is the only explanation. That is also tied squarely to disclosing the number of loans that KP and all the national grid suppliers can argue in the pricing of electricity.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, KP will just tell you they took several loans here and there which helped X, Y and Z developments. They say they were developing utility at X cost, which is also not given proper detail, but just basic. Then before you realize, the cost keeps on skyrocketing.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, in conclusion, I laud and appreciate this Bill that Sen. Sifuna has brought to this House. I hope that the Senators will see how important it is for us to build a functional element of the law that can ensure that procurement processes of all power capacity are done through a very transparent process. That in the end will allow competitive market-based scientific production and consumption of power.

Additionally, this is the first Bill in my humble view that will ensure that there is always public notice and public engagement on the intention to sign contracts by IPPs. I am talking about the intention for power purchase agreements.

Without the public knowing about this intention that is how we end up in a situation where the public is being invited to a conversation around a deal that has been done.

In the case of Adani Energy Solutions Limited, the Cabinet Secretary for Energy has told us the capacity that it has on the power production and consumption in this country at the edge of Adani having been given the contract.

Why is the public being invited to even give its views, in the first place, if at the intentional moment, there was no deliberateness in terms of engaging the public?

This Bill will ensure that when there is an intention to sign any power purchase agreement or any power deal with any kind of institutions within or without Government in the corporate sector, then the public is notified of that intention. Therefore, the public can then go ahead and contribute before an action is taken to give the deal to any of those private developers.

Lastly, it is always important that when the public comes to engage in public participation, they have the proper details in terms of information that informs robust contribution in that process. This Bill gives the key and access to the public to have details of contracts so that when the public is engaging and making comments at any given period of intentionality; it is based on data, science, facts and figures on those power purchase agreements that are within their understanding---

consumer and does not connect it to the cost of purchase or cost of production if we may use that language from the IPPs.

The only reason KP can use that impunity on Kenyans is if there is no proper transparency of the agreements that it has had with every single private developer and private producer who is adding to its national grid. That is the only explanation. That is also tied squarely to disclosing the number of loans that KP and all the national grid suppliers can argue in the pricing of electricity.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, KP will just tell you they took several loans here and there which helped X, Y and Z developments. They say they were developing utility at X cost, which is also not given proper detail, but just basic. Then before you realize, the cost keeps on skyrocketing.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, in conclusion, I laud and appreciate this Bill that Sen. Sifuna has brought to this House. I hope that the Senators will see how important it is for us to build a functional element of the law that can ensure that procurement processes of all power capacity are done through a very transparent process. That in the end will allow competitive market-based scientific production and consumption of power.

Additionally, this is the first Bill in my humble view that will ensure that there is always public notice and public engagement on the intention to sign contracts by IPPs. I am talking about the intention for power purchase agreements.

Without the public knowing about this intention that is how we end up in a situation where the public is being invited to a conversation around a deal that has been done.

In the case of Adani Energy Solutions Limited, the Cabinet Secretary for Energy has told us the capacity that it has on the power production and consumption in this country at the edge of Adani having been given the contract.

Why is the public being invited to even give its views, in the first place, if at the intentional moment, there was no deliberateness in terms of engaging the public?

This Bill will ensure that when there is an intention to sign any power purchase agreement or any power deal with any kind of institutions within or without Government in the corporate sector, then the public is notified of that intention. Therefore, the public can then go ahead and contribute before an action is taken to give the deal to any of those private developers.

Lastly, it is always important that when the public comes to engage in public participation, they have the proper details in terms of information that informs robust contribution in that process. This Bill gives the key and access to the public to have details of contracts so that when the public is engaging and making comments at any given period of intentionality; it is based on data, science, facts and figures on those power purchase agreements that are within their understanding---

Thank you, Senator. Lastly, Sen. Thang’wa.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we use thermal energy in this country. Our major source of energy is thermal. This Bill is trying to bring about supporting renewable energy and technology. We are a country that recently passed a Climate Action Act because we want to be on the front line when it comes to matters of climate change. However, we can only achieve that by coming up with renewable energy like wind and solar.

I remember the first Presidential address at the National Assembly of the joint Houses of Parliament, the President said that he would allow societies or groups of people to generate power and sell it to the Government. I believe this amendment will assist in achieving exactly that. County governments can come up with power-generating activities so that they can also earn revenue. County governments like Nairobi City and Kiambu, which have a lot of garbage and waste, can use it to generate power and sell it to the national grid.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, whenever they use the power for their hospitals, car parks and schools, they can also be paying less than what they are paying today. The money that they get from there, can as well be used to construct roads and other entities. When Sen. Cherarkey was contributing, he challenged me to talk about it passionately and without fear. I want to tell him I am not easily coerced; I am uncompromisable. I am intrepid.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I might be small in stature, but I am intrepid at heart. I cannot back down. I come from an era where people are referring to problems and other people as snakes. Let us talk about black and white mambas. We should not even deal with the vipers, which are small snakes. Let us talk about cobras and black mambas. These are the issues that we are raising whenever we appear in our committees. For example, the issue of Adani is a king cobra issue that we need to deal with when it comes to PPPs and Privately Initiated Projects (PIPs).

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, this Amendment Bill is talking about public participation. I want to make it clear that there is a difference between public participation and stakeholders' consultation. Public means, you consult everyone; whether they are in that field, they use electricity or not and whether they are interested or not. They must have a say.

Public participation, as it is in the Constitution, talks about the people of Kenya must be informed, given details and listened to. As you know, whenever we have public participation, we ask for written memoranda and oral submissions. We must involve the public in decisions that affect their daily lives. It empowers Kenyans to have a say in how energy is procured and ensuring that their voices are heard.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the reason why we pay high electricity bills is because KP gets into contracts even when they do not need that power. Therefore, there must be a feasibility study before any contract is entered into to know whether we need that power or not. If we do so, we will be able to prevent the people of Kenya from paying high bills or having exaggerated power connection fees.

When you talk about transparency and accountability, we do not know the directors or names of these companies that generate power. Some people, even within the Government, hide behind these people so as to generate power and sell it to the Government. That is Government officials selling power to Government.

By making this information public, we will know who owns what and we will be able to watch them because we know them. If your name appears somewhere as the owner of this company and from the way you live, you do not appear as if you own something like that, we will know that you are a proxy to someone. So, I believe this Energy Amendment Bill brings about transparency and accountability.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, whenever you have this kind of engagement where the Government is contracting someone to provide energy, this Bill as it is drafted, will bring about investor confidence and people will be able to invest in such ventures.

It has been mentioned here not once or twice, that I am the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Roads, Transport and Housing. Currently, my committee is looking into the issue of the PIP by Adani Group and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

The way we will handle this issue will bring confidence and trust to those investors who would want to invest in this country because there is a trust deficit in the Government. I would like to assure Kenyans we are here for them. We will stand for them and do exactly what we must do for them.

If we do not carry our people along with us, we lose them along the way. As I said the other day, we will find them at the finish line. When we find them there, they will not be happy with us. We have to do exactly what we are mandated to do as Senators. We have to protect the interests of our counties and the consumer when it comes to power bills whenever they are using KPLC.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, without further ado, I support this Bill. I thank the Senator of Nairobi because we needed this Bill like yesterday so that we can encourage counties to generate power and use it for their utilities and agencies. I support.

By making this information public, we will know who owns what and we will be able to watch them because we know them. If your name appears somewhere as the owner of this company and from the way you live, you do not appear as if you own something like that, we will know that you are a proxy to someone. So, I believe this Energy Amendment Bill brings about transparency and accountability.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, whenever you have this kind of engagement where the Government is contracting someone to provide energy, this Bill as it is drafted, will bring about investor confidence and people will be able to invest in such ventures.

It has been mentioned here not once or twice, that I am the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Roads, Transport and Housing. Currently, my committee is looking into the issue of the PIP by Adani Group and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

The way we will handle this issue will bring confidence and trust to those investors who would want to invest in this country because there is a trust deficit in the Government. I would like to assure Kenyans we are here for them. We will stand for them and do exactly what we must do for them.

If we do not carry our people along with us, we lose them along the way. As I said the other day, we will find them at the finish line. When we find them there, they will not be happy with us. We have to do exactly what we are mandated to do as Senators. We have to protect the interests of our counties and the consumer when it comes to power bills whenever they are using KPLC.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, without further ado, I support this Bill. I thank the Senator of Nairobi because we needed this Bill like yesterday so that we can encourage counties to generate power and use it for their utilities and agencies. I support.

Hon. Senators, there being no other Member interested to contribute, I call upon Sen. Sifuna to reply to this Bill.

Some people think that these discussions that happen in the Senate or in our committees are idle talk. I am happy to assure Members of this House that I can already see movement in terms of implementation of these recommendations. I must thank all the stakeholders; the Ministry of Energy, the KP and all the other stakeholders for trying to put in place some of our recommendations.

I will give an example of just three of them for the benefit of the House. One of the proposals we have made and is in the amendment Bill, is prioritization during the dispatch of power based on merit order, giving preference to the cheaper power producers.

I saw a report in the newspaper just a few weeks ago that there was an increase of 88 per cent of the uptake of power that we import from Ethiopia. It is one of the cheaper sources of power at Kshs8 per kilowatt hour (KWh), but a bit more expensive than the Kshs5 KenGen charges.

There was an increase of 88 per cent for the six months to June of this year compared to a similar period last year. The recommendation appears on page 56 of the committee report, paragraph No.219.

Secondly, there has been a policy shift that KenGen is now moving to put in place power storage facilities. These are batteries to be used in order to ensure that the intermittent sources of energy from solar and wind farms that may not be available throughout the day and night, can continue to be useful to the grid even when the sun is not shining or the wind not blowing.

Lastly, there is a recommendation at paragraph 210 of the report of the Senate Energy Committee that the Ministry of Energy, in consultation with all thermal power plants, should institute a mechanism for purchase of heavy fuel oil in bulk within 90 days of adoption of this report. I am happy to report that this is being done.

I want to assure Members of this House and members of the public that what we do in our committee is not idle talk. In fact, with the coming into force of this law, there should be a move towards cheaper electricity in the country.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply and request that the putting of the question be deferred to a later date pursuant to Standing Order No.66(3). I thank you.

Some people think that these discussions that happen in the Senate or in our committees are idle talk. I am happy to assure Members of this House that I can already see movement in terms of implementation of these recommendations. I must thank all the stakeholders; the Ministry of Energy, the KP and all the other stakeholders for trying to put in place some of our recommendations.

I will give an example of just three of them for the benefit of the House. One of the proposals we have made and is in the amendment Bill, is prioritization during the dispatch of power based on merit order, giving preference to the cheaper power producers.

I saw a report in the newspaper just a few weeks ago that there was an increase of 88 per cent of the uptake of power that we import from Ethiopia. It is one of the cheaper sources of power at Kshs8 per kilowatt hour (KWh), but a bit more expensive than the Kshs5 KenGen charges.

There was an increase of 88 per cent for the six months to June of this year compared to a similar period last year. The recommendation appears on page 56 of the committee report, paragraph No.219.

Secondly, there has been a policy shift that KenGen is now moving to put in place power storage facilities. These are batteries to be used in order to ensure that the intermittent sources of energy from solar and wind farms that may not be available throughout the day and night, can continue to be useful to the grid even when the sun is not shining or the wind not blowing.

Lastly, there is a recommendation at paragraph 210 of the report of the Senate Energy Committee that the Ministry of Energy, in consultation with all thermal power plants, should institute a mechanism for purchase of heavy fuel oil in bulk within 90 days of adoption of this report. I am happy to report that this is being done.

I want to assure Members of this House and members of the public that what we do in our committee is not idle talk. In fact, with the coming into force of this law, there should be a move towards cheaper electricity in the country.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply and request that the putting of the question be deferred to a later date pursuant to Standing Order No.66(3). I thank you.

As requested by Sen. Sifuna, the putting of the question is deferred to the next sitting of the House.

Let us go to the next Order.

the state of insecurity in Turkana County, laid on the Table of the Senate on Wednesday, 7th August, 2024.

Similarly, in the absence of the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on County Public Investments and Special Funds, Sen. Osotsi, that Motion is deferred to the next sitting. Let us go to the next Order.

Similarly, in the absence of the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on County Public Investments and Special Funds, Sen. Osotsi, that Motion is deferred to the next sitting. Let us go to the next Order.

Kakamega, Kirinyaga, Makueni, Meru, Bomet, Murang’a, Nandi, Nyamira, Nyeri, Siaya, Vihiga, Wajir and Samburu County Executives for the Financial Year 2019/2020 laid on the Table of the Senate on Tuesday, 5th March, 2024.

Similarly, the Chairperson of the County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) is not present in the House. Therefore, the Motion is hereby deferred. Let us go to the next Order.

Hon. Members, shall we all rise? Hon. Senators, there being no other business on the Order Paper, the Senate stands adjourned until tomorrow, Wednesday, 18th September, 2024, at 9.30 a.m.

The Senate rose at 5.48 p.m.

Hon. Members, shall we all rise? Hon. Senators, there being no other business on the Order Paper, the Senate stands adjourned until tomorrow, Wednesday, 18th September, 2024, at 9.30 a.m.

The Senate rose at 5.48 p.m.