Senate · Afternoon Sitting

Clerk, do we have quorum? Serjeant-at-Arms, kindly, ring the Quorum Bell for 10 minutes.

[(The Clerk-at-the-Table consulted with the Speaker)]

[(The Quorum Bell was rung)]

Clerk, do we have quorum? You may proceed to call the first Order.

Hon. Senators, I have a Communication to make relating to the admission of Sen. Gloria Orwoba, MP, back into the Senate following the conclusion of her suspension. As hon. Senators will recall, on 12th February, 2025, I issued a Communication on the implementation of the resolution of the Senate to adopt the report of the Committee of Powers and Privileges on the conduct of Sen. Gloria Orwoba, MP…

2023, which sought to quash the recommendations of the Committee of Powers and Privileges and the resolution of the Senate made on 20th September, 2023. Hon. Senators will also note that on 28th September, 2023, the High Court at Machakos issued orders whose effect was to suspend implementation of the resolution of the Senate on the conduct of Sen. Gloria Orwoba, MP, pending the hearing and deter…

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I, Sen. Gloria Orwoba, hereby tender my unreserved apology to this Senate. I undertake that I shall abide by the responsibilities of leadership as set out in the Constitution, the Leadership and Integrity Act, 2012 and the Parliamentary Powers and Privilege Act, 2017. I therefore beseech to be admitted to the Chamber. I thank you.

Have a seat, Sen. Gloria. That is not the apology as prescribed by the Senate in the report. Let me help you. The Senate sitting on 20th September, 2023, while considering the report by the Powers and Privileges Committee passed certain recommendations. One of those recommendations, which I believe was recommendation No.3, read as follows- “On resumption of the Senate Sitting for the Third Sessio…

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have apologized before and I have no problem reading a prescribed apology. I want to draw your attention that we have an ongoing court case. I have been advised that the prescribed apology in the wording that has been put is self-incriminating and undermines my right to a fair process with the current court proceedings. I have no problem apologizing to the House. I have apolog…

I brought this to your attention prior to this sitting that there is a sentence that is self-incriminating and can be used against me in an ongoing court process. I had kindly requested to give the apology as I have read it. I further tell my colleagues and this House that I continue to be sorry for the conduct that they perceived to be unbecoming. I do not know how else to appeal. As I stand her…

[(Loud consultations)]

You cannot raise a point of order. The Senator is not properly admitted to the House. So you cannot raise a point of order against her. Sen. Gloria, let me help you. It is not up to the Speaker or the Chair to vary the apology. The apology was prescribed by the Senate sitting at a plenary. It is only the Plenary, sitting again, to reopen this matter and amend that particular apology. As it stand…

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I stand guided. As I said, I have no problem reading it. However, I have been advised, and I am not a legal expert, I have an ongoing court case, and I do not know what else is required from me.

Sen. Gloria, the Chair is speaking, and you know our Standing Orders. I have told you that there are only two ways; you either read as prescribed, walk in, and take your seat, or you do not read as prescribed and you walk out until such a time that you will be ready to read the apology as prescribed. Which way do you want to go?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, having heard your advice and noting that by reading this apology, I will be incriminating myself, noting that this is attached to my work, I find that very unfair. I, therefore, stand by my dignity, and I stand by where I am. From where you have left me, I have no option, but to walk away from my duties because I cannot read an incriminating statement on a matter that has not be…

not by this House, not by an independent organ. So, therefore, I have no option but to walk away from the Chamber as you have directed. Having said that, I would also want to inform this House that it is happening to me now, but it is going to happen to you in the future. I am not fighting any one, I am saying I reported a case, it has not been investigated, and the powers that be are influencing…

Senate Majority Leader.

Next Order.

Hon. Senators, may the good Senator be heard in silence.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I will repeat-

Sen. Mohammed Chute, please proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

If you will allow me, I have three Statements to read-

Mr. Speaker, Sir, my final Statement is on the construction on Korongo Road in Karen, Nairobi County. I rise pursuant to Standing Order No. 53 (1) to seek a statement from the Standing Committee on Roads, Transportation, and Housing regarding the construction of Korongo Road in Karen. Korongo Road, which spans about 1.1 kilometre remains incomplete despite ongoing construction efforts. Although …

Sen. (Prof.) Tom Ojienda.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have three Statements. The first statement is on the revitalization of the Port of Kisumu. I rise pursuant to Standing Order No. 53 (1) to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on Roads, Transportation and Housing regarding the current state, operational challenges, and future plans for the revitalization of the port of Kisumu. Despite efforts to revamp the Port of Kis…

unreliable connectivity. Additionally, Lake Victoria Ports have roll-on-roll-off ramps, and all break-bulk cargo is handled manually, further slowing operation. Mr. Speaker, Sir, in the Statement, the Committee should-

Mr. Speaker, Sir, my second statement is on the transfer of core county functions by the County Government of Kisumu to the city of Kisumu. I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations regarding the transfer of core county functions by the County Government of Kisumu to the City of Kisumu as published by …

Hon. Senators, before I allow comments on the requested Statements, allow me to make the following communication.

[(Interruption of debate on Statements)]

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I have not really got the name of the school. Which school is this?

Elite Friends Boys School Kajiado County.

Okay, thank you. Let me also take this opportunity to join you and congratulate and thank the school, the students and the teachers from Kajiado. This is Sen. Seki, Senator for Kajiado. I want to thank and appreciate you for finding time to be here today to join us together as the Senate, and as Parliament, to learn more about Parliament, particularly the Senate, now that we are still on. The oth…

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. As I welcome the young people to this House, whom I hope will have an opportunity to serve in the coming days, let me celebrate with them the rich leadership that has traditionally come from Bomet. I remember when we started devolution in 2013, the Governor of Bomet County, Hon. Isaac Rutto, became the first chairman of the Council of Governors, and he did a great job.…

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we are busy this afternoon in this House, and the working environment is not conducive because of the music playing outside by people who have come to present their petitions and want to be heard by Parliament. Could they submit their petition without the music that they are playing, then, we can also do some work? Is it the intentional music that they are playing? Direct the Se…

Hon. Deputy Speaker, indeed, that singing and petitioning has been ongoing for the last five hours or so. When we sat as a panel, that music was still on. When we sat at the Senate Business Committee (SBC) , that music was still on. It is still on. Now, whatever the grievance, the leadership should listen to it. Pick whatever memoranda or memorandum is to be picked, and thereafter, ask them to re…

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I had the opportunity last week to discharge the duties that you are giving me now. It must be understood that those are workers of the Universal Healthcare, who happen to share the same professional background with me, albeit at different levels. It would look a bit dishonest if I went back to do the same after promising them action last week, unless you are asking me to reques…

Are you disqualifying yourself?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg that I be disqualified.

So, the Deputy Speaker and Senator for Nairobi, please, listen to these wonderful Kenyans and ask them kindly to retreat as we look into their grievances. So, we proceed to the comments on the requested statements. Sen. Beatrice Akinyi, proceed.

[(Resumption of debate on Statements)]

Mr. Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me to comment on the Statements. I want to add my voice to the Senator for Kisumu's Statement on the transfer of core county functions by the County Government of Kisumu to the City of Kisumu. The Urban Areas and Cities Act envisaged a situation where urban areas would be classified as either a city, a municipality, a town, or a market. I have seen Sen. (…

structures must have functions they are performing which ensure they have a budget and personnel that perform them. I support the transfer of the services if it has been done within the law. How else would the services be executed if they did not have them? I thank you.

Proceed, Sen. Mungatana.

Asante, Bw. Spika, kwa kunipa nafasi hii ili nitoe maoni yangu kuhusu chanjo za mifugo. Sisi watu wa Kaunti ya Tana River tumekuwa na wasiwasi kwa sababu tangu chanjo hii itangazwe na Serikali Kuu, kumeingia mushkil. Wengine wanasema zina shida na wengine wanasema ziko sawa. Tungependa Kamati husika iangalie na iseme kwa kikamilifu kwamba hizi chanjo ni safi na zitatusaidia pamoja na mifugo wetu. …

Proceed, Sen. Chimera.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for this opportunity to make brief comments on the Statement by Sen. (Prof.) Tom Odhiambo Ojienda, SC, on the transfer of core functions to our cities. Mr. Speaker, Sir, there is a saying that a law is valuable, not because it is law, but because there is a certain right in it. As a House, together with our counterparts at the National Assembly, we passed into law the…

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I urge the Standing Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations, and perhaps the Standing Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights, that as they go around the country sampling counties that are either compliant or not, to be firm and speak to the governors. They should inform them that there is a law that allows them to transfer core functions and mandate…

Proceed, Sen. Abass.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to contribute to Sen. Chute’s Statement on the livestock vaccination campaign. Livestock campaigns or vaccinations have been a common trend in this country. They are conducted annually and have been going on for many years. Livestock vaccination is a routine thing that has always been done by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development. However, this particular o…

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I support.

Sen. Seki, you have the Floor.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I also want to support the Statement by Sen. Chute on the livestock vaccination programme in the country at the moment. It has come at the right time for livestock farmers in the country. The Government has pronounced itself saying that they will vaccinate livestock all over the country. This Statement specifically looks at the kind of diseases and vaccination that will be carri…

[(Sen. Kathuri spoke off record)]

[(Interruption of debate on Statements)]

Senator for Meru, what is your intervention?

Next order. We are going to rearrange the Order Paper and defer Order Nos. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15. Next order.

Second Reading

Sen. Methu is not here. Sen. Manzo, you would want to contribute to the report on the Standing Committee on Finance and Budget.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for giving me an opportunity to contribute to the policy statement, which informs the law relating to budgeting and the finance bills. I would like to say that having a policy statement is very

important because it gives grounds as to how we are going to handle the matters thereafter and how finances will be dealt with. The Senate mainly deals with what will be devolved, but devolution has gone through a lot of challenges. Although the monies going to the counties have been reported not absorbed as quickly as they should be, some of the challenges need to be noted on why governors are n…

Sen. Mungatana, proceed.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I thank you for allowing me to contribute to the report of the Senate Finance and Budget Committee on the BPS. Many years ago, when we were in the National Assembly, we never had the opportunity to interrogate the Government's priorities. However, the new Public Finance Management Act, which came after we left the other House, has made it clear under Section 35 that a B…

the projection and the allocation. However, that is not what is reflected in this BPS. We need to push this to have two separate treasuries. When money is collected, it should be split automatically. The percentage that goes to counties must go to a different treasury than the one going to the counties. This BPS only serves the National Treasury's purpose. We need to interrogate this and ask ours…

I have a lot of respect for the current Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning, Hon. Mbadi. My prayer is that he will not go there and be surrounded by people who think that it was a mistake to create counties. I want to remind him that he intended to run for a county government position, that is the governor, before he came in as a nominated Member here. He should rearrange…

Thank you, Senator. There being no other Senator wanting to contribute, I will ask the Mover to reply. Is it Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale? Sen. Tabitha Mutinda, Vice-Chairperson, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I start by appreciating all colleague Senators who have given their views and remarks on the issue of BPS. As I reply, I want to mention where we have come from as far as BPS is concerned. We do this every year. It has a timeline, that is 15th February, which is not very appropriate. This is an issue that we have raised as a Committee. I am happy

because this is an issue that is before the Committee. We have been deliberating on it for amendment, so that more time is given as far as matters budget are concerned. That was just a mention because I know that most colleagues have raised this issue. These are matters that each and every committee has to look at and time has been a key factor. The BPS is a government policy document which sets …

Next Order.

Proceed, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I beg to move- THAT, the Senate adopts the Report of the Standing Committee on Finance and Budget on the 2025 Medium Term Debt Management Strategy, laid on the Table of the Senate on Wednesday, 12th March, 2025. As the Senate adopts the Report herein, it is good for us to bring it to the attention of the House that the Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy is …

[[The Temporary Speaker (Sen. Abdul Haji) left the Chair] [The Temporary Speaker (Sen. Veronica Maina) in the Chair]]

Thank you, Senator, but just hold on, Senator Tabitha. I do not know whether you have now profiled all of us who have not achieved the PhDs. We hope not, but let me give a communication from the Chair.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I do not know why the Senate Majority Whip is animated this afternoon and why he wants to announce to the students that I have not been around for a while but it is only last week and I have been coming in the evenings after class at five o'clock. So, I want to join you in welcoming these pupils and teachers from Golden Plains Academy, Kitengela, Kajiado County. There are…

What the Senate Minority Whip was doing, just to inform them of the procedure that we are going through, was moving a Motion. A committee is the Standing Committee on Finance and Budget where he sits, sat down, considered the report of Kenya's debt situation from the Treasury and now they are sending a report back to the House. What he is doing is called moving a report after which it will be seco…

Thank you very much, Hon. Senate Majority Leader, Sen. Aaron Cheruiyot, the Senator for Kericho County. I want to also give another Communication from the Chair on visiting teachers and students from Ndiaini Girls Secondary School, Mukurwe-ini Constituency, in Nyeri County.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. I take this opportunity to welcome the students from Ndiaini Secondary School, Nyeri County, and also not forgetting the other school from Kitengela. One thing that makes you all to be on that level of education is because you are all students. I always say that education is the only thing that nobody will ever take away from you. The knowledge and the skills …

Our work is to legislate, to represent and to oversight. We have a Speaker; as we speak right now, we have Madam Temporary Speaker, who is like the principal or the headmistress of the institution. We have the leadership of the House, the way you have deans in school, and we sit as Members. So, it is like another institution that has laws that we adhere to, the same way you have laws. I encourage…

rendered or goods have been delivered. We also deliberated on the issue of the cash basis versus the accrual basis of accounting and the importance of the accrual accounting system. As we speak, counties and the national Government have been using the cash basis system, which brings about the audit queries. With regards to debt, we deliberated on where are we with the debt, how much has been borr…

Thank you, Sen. Tabitha. I would like to now invite the Senators to contribute to this Motion, beginning with the Majority Leader.

[(Question proposed)]

I thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. This is an important Report that comes from the Committee on Finance and Budget. It is a pity that it is being moved late in the evening when most Members are out. However, I hope that each Senator gets an opportunity to speak on this particular issue, because it is a very fundamental issue.

Personally, I have been very consistent on my call for a better management of our debt situation as a country. From the days last Parliament, when we raised first, the nominal figure, I think from six to 10 per cent, I opposed that move, for reasons that I will speak in to, and why I feel the Finance and Budget Committee, though they have done good work, can do better on this particular issue. It…

In fact, many people sometimes discuss about this administration and what has been its biggest achievement. While there is debate about the stellar reforms that have been initiated in the agriculture sector, today, you go to public gatherings with coffee farmers or wheat farmers, they appreciate the interventions that have been made that continue to show positive results. However, a keen student o…

important point, it is not the main point in a budget conversation. In a budget that continues to grow and the Budget Policy Statement this year was at 4.3 percent, the fine print needs to be checked against what is it that continues to consume public expenditure. If it is salaries, is it sustainable in this day and age to continue with the year-on increase that almost all public servants continue…

Thank you, Sen. Cheruiyot, for that very hearted submission on the debt situation in Kenya. Sen. Maanzo proceed.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for giving me an opportunity to comment on this very important Report and also thank the Committee for making an attempt to look for solutions for this big problem of debt management in the country. I also thank the Senate Majority Leader for giving a way forward, which is more detailed than what the Committee had proposed. You truly have been in the House for …

Construction of proper roads makes it cheaper for the country in terms of buying and replacing spare parts, because they are not hard on cars. There are roads in this country especially in Eastern and Northern Kenya where even if you go with new tyres, you are likely to lose all in one journey. We need access to the people there, but tyres are being damaged by bad roads. Economically, it becomes …

Thank you Senator. When we resume, you will have a balance of 13 minutes.