National Assembly · Afternoon Sitting

Hon. Speaker, I beg to give notice of the following Motion: THAT, this House adopts the Fourth Report of the Public Investments Committee on Social Services, Administration and Agriculture on its consideration of the Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of the following State Corporations, laid on the Table of the House on Thursday, 17th October 2024.

Next Order.

The Chairperson of the Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education, the Member for Bumula.

Pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 44 (2) (d) , I rise to issue a Statement on the mandate of the Public Investments Committee, Education and Governance regarding the current state of affairs at Moi University. Moi University was closed indefinitely on October 3rd 2024 due to a prolonged strike by lecturers and staff over unpaid salaries and unfulfilled promises from a 2017 to 2022 Coll…

It is against this background that the Committee calls on the National Treasury to immediately release funds and pending statutory remittances to settle salary arrears owed to the staff of Moi University. This will ensure that normal learning activities resume at the University. Hon. Speaker, this University needs the support of this House. I thank you very much.

Thank you, Chairman. That is a matter of grave national concern and if we have international students, then it goes beyond borders. I will direct that the Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Education tomorrow morning brings a statement from the Ministry of Education on the status of Moi University in reflection to what the Chair of the Committee has said, and any other relevant material tha…

Hon. Speaker, I hope the Chairman will be back in a short while but if he is not, I commit to whip him to come and respond promptly.

He has to be here to respond to Hon. Monica Marubu. Is she in the House? We can have Hon. Godfrey and Hon. Godfrey Ruku lay their Papers. Hon. Members, let us go back to Order 5. Hon. Gikaria, the Floor is yours.

My apologies, Hon. Speaker. Thank you for giving me a second chance. I beg to lay the following Paper on the Table: Report of the Departmental Committee on Environment, Forestry and Mining on its consideration of the Gold Processing Bill (National Assembly Bill No.46 of 2023) . Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Thank you, Hon. Gikaria. We go back to Order 7, request for Statements as per the Order Paper. Member for Isiolo County, Hon. Mumina Bonaya. Go ahead.

Hon. Speaker, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 44 (2) (c) , I rise to request for a Statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security regarding an accident caused by a Government vehicle in Isiolo County. On 28th February 2024, Mrs Paulina Lomwar Lochiman of ID No.30495689 was tragically knocked down by a speeding vehicle with registr…

Isiolo-Marsabit Highway. Unfortunately, the victim succumbed to injuries sustained during the accident. The family of the deceased has suffered a great loss and has been tirelessly seeking justice. However, their efforts to obtain clarity on the incident, including authenticating the ownership of the vehicle believed to be registered to one of the Government security agencies, have been unsuccessf…

Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security. Hon. Naomi Waqo, where is your Chairperson? Hon. Raso, the Vice- Chairperson, is here. Can you bring a response to that in two weeks?

Yes, Hon. Speaker. In two weeks, after recess.

That means on the first day after the short recess. Member for Kilifi Kusini, Mhe. Ken Chonga.

katika chumba cha kuhifadhia maiti cha Hospitali ya Rufaa na Mafunzo ya Pwani hadi leo. Aidha, siku ya Ijumaa, tarehe 11 Oktoba 2024, Bw. Mahmoud na mawakala wake, baadhi yao wakidaiwa kuwa maafisa wa polisi, bila sababu yoyote au kibali cha mahakama, waliifurusha familia hiyo kutoka kwenye ardhi hiyo. Kufurushwa huko kumeiwacha familia hiyo bila makaazi na kutatiza pakubwa uendeshaji wa shughuli …

Ahsante, Mhe. Chonga. Yes, Hon. Bowen. Do you want to speak on this issue?

Yes, Hon. Speaker. Before you pronounce yourself on that issue, Hon. Chonga has presented a request for a Statement to do with land issues and ownership, yet he is directing his request to the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security. Would I be in order to say that the request for a Statement would be best handled by the Chairperson of the Departmental Com…

[(Kilifi Kusini, ODM)]

Sawa. Mhe. Raso, utawakilisha jibu baada ya wiki mbili. Hon. Raso, take your seat. If, indeed, what he is saying is true, that there is a dead body lying in a morgue, and the person preventing the disposal of the remains of their loved one does not have a legitimate claim or ownership of the land, then the matter becomes even more urgent. I direct that you check with the Ministry that you oversee …

land. He will check with the Ministry of Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development to find out who owns it and pass on the information to Hon. Raso for him to give us a preliminary response tomorrow morning.

The children from that homestead are no longer going to school and the family is stationed outside their house.

One at a time. Let us deal with the issue as I have directed. Once the two issues are resolved, everything else will be resolved. Okay, Hon. Raso.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Much obliged.

Hon. David Kiplagat. DK.

Mheshimiwa Feisal, ungependa kuongezea chochote kwenye ombi hili? Mhe. Feisal Bader (Msambweni, UDA) : Asante sana, Mhe. Spika, kwa kunipatia nafasi. Ningependa kuongeza sauti yangu kwenye suala ambalo Mhe. Tandaza ameeleza. Hii ni barabara muhimu sana inayounganisha maeneo bunge matatu katika Kaunti ya Kwale. Hii barabara inaanzia katika Eneo Bunge la Msambweni, ambalo ninawakilisha hapa. Inapit…

Next is Hon. Zaheer.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I acknowledge the request for Statement by the Hon. Member. The Hon. Chairman will bring a comprehensive response in the next two weeks. Thank you.

It is so ordered. Thank you. Yes, Hon. Gichimu.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. On 2nd October 2024, I requested for a Statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock regarding payment of tea bonuses for Kimunye and Thumaita Tea Factories, which are in Gichugu Constituency. There was a commitment, through the Vice-Chairman, that this Statement would be responded to within two we…

Hon. Mutunga, you were supposed to respond to the Statement Request within the past two weeks.

Hon. Speaker, this issue concerns tea farmers across the country. It is not isolated to one area.

Do you have a response?

I do not have it but we will have it in a week’s time. We are going out this week to establish what caused the variance in pricing.

Okay. Thank you. I will start with the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Transport and Infrastructure. I have been told that Hon. Zaheer has the responses. Start by responding to the Statement by Hon. Monicah Marubu.

[[The Speaker (Hon. Moses Wetang’ula) left the Chair] [The Deputy Speaker (Hon. Gladys Boss) took the Chair]]

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. On Thursday, 20th June 2024, the Member for Lamu County, Hon. Monicah Marubu, requested for a Statement from the Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Transport and Infrastructure regarding the status of compensation of fishermen in Lamu County. In the Statement, Hon. Monicah Marubu sought to establish, among other things:

With regards to the measures in place to ensure that the fishermen from the affected fishing grounds and the local fisher community receive compensation and provide timelines for completion of the compensation process, the Ministry submitted that KPA, guided by the EACC, will adhere to a set criterion. The compensation is expected to be completed by mid- December 2024, contingent on the chairs of …

The originator of the Statement Request, do you want to comment?

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. The Hon. Member and a Member of the Committee have indicated that the identification and, indeed, the compilation of the listed beneficiaries was done in collaboration with everyone else except the Members of Parliament of the National Assembly. The Ministry of Transport and KPA are under the purview of the national Government. How come the names and the process we…

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Committee Chair.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I acknowledge the additional concerns raised by the Hon. Member. As a Committee, through the Chairman, we will follow up the matter by engaging the Ministry further and inviting the Cabinet Secretary to a further meeting with the Hon. Member and Members of the committee.

Fair enough. Thank you. Is there a response to the Statement Request by Hon. Ruku? He is not around. Let us proceed to the other Statement requests. Do you have the Statement? You proceed but the Member who requested for it is not here. The Member who requested for the Statement is not in. So, you can just table the response. Let us move to responses to previous statements. The response to Hon.…

[(Hon. Zaheer Jhanda off record)]

[(Hon. Robert Pukose spoke off record)]

[(Hon. Alfah Miruka spoke off record)]

Yes, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I am responding as the Vice-Chairperson of the Committee.

Okay, proceed.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. Hon. Clive Gisairo, the Member for Kitutu Masaba, in the 13th Parliament, requested for a Statement during this Third Session of the National Assembly. His first question was on the status of implementation of the Kenya Digital Economy Acceleration Project (KDEAP) since the disbursement of funds by the World Bank. The response is that the KDEAP project was declared…

The third question was what are the expected gains from this project. The response is that the beneficiaries of the project include citizens, the private sector, public sector agencies, students and civil servants. Individuals across the nation will benefit from wider opportunities to participate in the digital economy through the widened access to broadband internet, via public Wi-Fi hotspots and…

On a point of order, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

What is your point of order, Hon. Clive Gisairo?

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. Since he has responded to my Statement, it is fair that I be allowed to comment before he moves to the next Statement, which is not mine.

Okay. We can allow that. Hon. Alfah, hold on before we move to the next Statement. Proceed, Hon. Gisairo.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I sought a Statement almost six months ago. This was in regard to a disbursement by the World Bank of US$390 million, an equivalent of Ksh48 billion. The response we have heard is not worth Ksh100,000. This is simply disrespectful to this House. It is the reason why the Chairperson has always avoided bringing the Statement to this House despite my many follow-ups. …

Hon. Nabii.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. The Kenya Digital Economy Acceleration Project is by the World Bank. It is supposed to help not just anyone, but the young and disadvantaged people of this country. It disappoints me that we are talking about Ksh48 billion. This money was brought by the World Bank and was supposed to accelerate the economy. We cannot figure out a single project in this country funde…

The Committee can summon the relevant State Department so that the Member for Kitutu Masaba can attend and get finer answers. That is a better way of dealing with this. Is it acceptable?

Hon. Deputy Speaker, this is acceptable. They should give a timeline because it has taken six months to bring this response. Without a timeline, we may end the 13th Parliament without a response.

I direct that it be within two weeks after recess. Six months is out of order. You can now move to the next response to Hon. Dorice.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. We will do as guided by your office. We will invite the Member together with the Ministry so that we discuss it further. Let us move to the second Statement which was sought by Hon. Dorice Donya. Her first question was on the measures that are in place to ensure that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) such as Safaricom, Telecom and Airtel, compensate their customers…

Hon. Donya Dorice, do you want to comment on this?

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. My major question was, during power shortages or when Safaricom is doing its maintenance, and which takes two to three days, they do not compensate the customers who subscribe every month. For the three days that are lost, customers are not compensated! During power outages as well, no one gets the bundles for compensation. He has not even indicated what I had asked…

Do you have any response? She is saying that you have not answered the actual question.

I recommend that we refer the Member to the affected department from the Ministry so that we can dig in further on the issue.

Time frame? Within two weeks after we resume from recess. Thank you. I think we are done. Next Order. Whip of the Majority Party, do you have your weekly report?

[(The Deputy Speaker consulted the Clerks-at-the Table)]

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I am holding brief for the substantive Leader of the Majority Party for his usual Thursday Statement. Pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 44 (2) (a) , I rise to give the following Statement on behalf of the House Business Committee which met on Tuesday, 15th October 2024, to prioritise business for consideration during the week, although they still met tod…

On a point of order, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

What is your point of order Hon. Melly?

Hon. Deputy Speaker, the Whip of the Majority Party is demeaning my county, which is the source of champions. The county is known for tea and sugarcane. It is even where the nationalist Koitalel arap Samoei came from. He should read his Statement well and apologise to the people of Nandi County.

My apologies, Hon. Melly. I really did not mean to undermine the great County of Nandi. What I meant is that it is a county found in the remote areas of this country, but not a city. It does very well in athletics. The fact is that it is in the remote areas of this country. But Hon. Deputy Speaker, the question...

On a point of order, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

What is your point of order, Hon. (Dr) Pukose?

You know very well, Hon. Deputy Speaker, that the Sabaot are the grandfathers of the Kalenjin Community. I would not want Hon. Osoro to get away with disparaging Nandi County as remote. It is not fair Hon. Osoro. You need to withdraw your statement on this. With all due respect, the Whip of the Majority Party...

Thank you very much, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I hope Hon. (Dr) Pukose will take judicial notice of the fact that my first girlfriend hailed from Nandi County and I found their village very remote when I was visiting that area then. I also want to inform him that I was privileged to attend school in a remote area of Nandi called Kapsabet. I know when I say this. The school is great, but it is found in …

We can move to the next Order.

The Chairman, Departmental Committee on Trade, Industry and Cooperatives. He is absent. The Vice-Chairperson is also

Hon. Members, this is resumption of debate. Members who had spoken on this Motion are Hon. Raphael Wanjala and Hon. Joshua Mwalyo. Hon. David Ochieng’ was on the Floor. So, any Member wishing to speak on this, feel free.

On a point of order, Hon. Temporary Speaker.

Yes, Hon. Kimani, the Member for Molo.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, I rise pursuant to Standing Order 35. Considering that we do not seem to have the requisite Quorum, I move that the Quorum Bell be rung.

Thank you, Hon. Kimani. I order that the Bell be rung for 10 minutes. Hon. Members, for discipline in the House, I request Hon. Wangwe, Hon. Brighton and Hon. David Kiplagat to take their seats as the Quorum Bell is being rung.

[(Hon. Emmanuel Wangwe, Hon. Brighton Yegon and Hon. David Kiplagat stood along the gangways)]

[(The Quorum Bell was rung)]

Serjeants-at-Arms, you may now stop the Bell.