Senate · Afternoon Sitting

Clerk, do we have quorum? Serjeant-at-Arms, kindly ring the Bell for five minutes. Clerk, do we have quorum now? First Order, please. Sen. Oketch Gicheru, walk out and finish your call. Hon. Senators, I have the following Communication.

[(The Quorum Bell was rung)]

[(Sen. Oketch Gicheru received a phone call while in the Chamber)]

[(Sen. Oketch Gicheru walked out of the Chamber)]

Hon. Senators, I do have the following Communication to make. I would like to acknowledge the presence in the Speaker’s Gallery this afternoon, a delegation from the Kisii County Assembly comprising of Members of the Committee on Broadcasting and Communications and its secretariat.

The delegation is undertaking a two-day benchmarking visit with the Directorates of Hansard, Library Services and Broadcasting Unit in the Senate. I request each member of the delegation to stand when called out so that you may be acknowledged in the Senate tradition.

The Chairperson of the Committee on Lands, Environment and Natural Resources had a Paper to lay. I am not seeing him in the House. Is there a Member of the Committee who has been mandated to do that? Sen. Wamatinga, please proceed.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to lay the following Paper on the Table of the Senate today, Tuesday, 21st March, 2023. Report of the Standing Committee on Land, Environment and Natural Resources on its consideration of the Natural Resources (Benefit Sharing) Bill (Senate Bills No.6 of 2022) .

[(Sen. Wamatinga laid the document on the Table)]

Next Order.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to lay the following Paper on the Table of the Senate today, Tuesday, 21st March, 2023: The Fifth Report of the Committee on Procedure and Rules on the review of the Senate Standing Orders.

[(Sen. Wakili Sigei laid the document on the Table)]

Next Order. Sen. Murango, please proceed.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to give Notice of the following Motion: THAT, AWARE THAT the Constitution of Kenya acknowledges the Nation’s respect for the environment and obligates the State to eliminate processes and activities that are likely to endanger it; FURTHER AWARE THAT there has been extensive cultivation of eucalyptus trees in Kenya owing to their rapid growth, high biomass yield, and adapta…

NOW THEREFORE the Senate urges the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry in coordination with the National Environment Management Authority to:

Sen. Wamatinga, please proceed to give the Notice of Motion.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to give notice of the following Motion. THAT, AWARE THAT water is an essential yet scarce resource whose demand is increasing rapidly due to population growth, urbanization, and industrialization, and whose wastage has become an issue that needs to be addressed urgently owing to Kenya’s vulnerability to climate change; NOTING THAT there is a growth in the number of building…

Senator, you had two notices to give. Proceed with the second.

Mr. Speaker, Sir. I beg to give Notice of the following Motion. THAT AWARE THAT the high unemployment rate in Kenya has pushed many Kenyans to seek loans from Saccos, Microfinance Institutions and Banks to start Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to sustain their livelihoods; NOTING THAT the youth in particular have invested in movable assets, including vehicles and motorcycles, to start business…

Next Order, Clerk. Sen. Wakili Sigei, you had a Notice of Motion to give.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I give Notice of the following Motion- THAT, pursuant to Standing Orders No. 269 and 270, the Senate approves the Fifth Report of the Procedure and Rules Committee on periodic amendments to the Standing Orders of the Senate, laid on the Table of the Senate, on Thursday 16th March, 2023, and pursuant to the provisions of Article 124 (1) of the Constitution and Standing…

Hon. Senators and Clerk, make sure that every Senator gets a copy of that Report so that when debate ensues, all Senators are informed and aware of the kind of amendments of the Standing Orders contained in the Report. Next Order.

Hon. Joe Nyutu proceed. Hon. Members the Statements Hour starts at 3.14 p.m. and will end at exactly

Hon. Senators, I would like to acknowledge the presence in the Public Gallery this afternoon, a visiting delegation from Riara Group of Schools in Nairobi County. The delegation comprises five teachers and 56 pupils who are in the Senate for a one-day study visit. Hon. Senators, in our usual tradition of receiving and welcoming visitors to Parliament, I extend a warm welcome to them and on behalf…

Mr. Speaker, Sir, thank you for giving me this opportunity, to extend a word of welcome to the teachers and pupils of Riara Group of Schools. As you can see, these are Senators who represent the 47 counties across the country. Here, we are charged to oversight devolution and make sure that counties and their governments are working in accordance to the Constitution. I encourage students and pupi…

[(Resumption of debate on Statements)]

Proceed, Sen. Mwaruma

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to seek two Statements. The first Statement is on terms of service for community scouts engaged by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) . Mr. Speaker Sir, I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on Lands, Environment and National Resources regarding the terms and conditions of service for t…

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise again pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on Roads, Transportation and Housing concerning the status of the Bura-Mghange-Werugha-Wundanyi-Mbale-Mto Mwagoti and Chala-Njukini-Illasit roads. Both of them are in Taita/Taveta County. In the Statement, the Committee should-

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for this opportunity to make a brief comment on the first Statement by the Senator for Taita Taveta, Sen. Mwaruma. There has been no recruitment of wildlife rangers in this country since 2016. This is a fact because I have followed the wildlife menace in my county. When I talked to the KWS officers and their county bosses, they told me lack of enough personnel is the …

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I also rise to support the Statement by the Senator for Taita Taveta on the issue of the 5,500 community scouts engaged by the KWS. This was an affirmative action at that time arising from the effects of COVID-19. It really helped our young people to access employment at that time. What is not clear is the conditions and terms of service. It is important that we consi…

We move to the next request by Sen. Seki.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations regarding the implementation of the second level of devolution through decentralization of services in urban areas. In the Statement, the Committee should -

I did not want to interrupt the Senator requesting for Statement. Sen. Abass, you are out of order. Under Standing Orders, you are not allowed to be in between the Chair and the Senator speaking. Kindly, refer to Standing Order No.117 (2) , so that you get to know exactly how to--- Proceed, Sen. Mungatana, MGH.

[(Sen. Abass spoke off record)]

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to make my intervention in this matter. I rise to support the Statement by Sen. Seki. The plight of municipalities, which have been set up by county governments is a real serious issue across the country. In my county, the whole municipality was set up with a lot of pomp and pageantry. However, there is absolutely no budget for developme…

development of municipalities. Otherwise, they will just be a drain on funds and nothing tangible will come out of them. I thank you.

Proceed, Sen. M. Kajwang’.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, this is a heavy and important Statement request. I encourage the Chair of the Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations to not just deal with it as a Statement, but consider it as ripe for an inquiry on its own. I have had the privilege of chairing the Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations in the previous session. There is need for this House to d…

Proceed, Sen. Abass.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, as Sen. M. Kajwang’ has said, this a weighty matter. As we are aware, we still have teething problems in the counties. However, some governors are still creating more municipalities and urban centres without budgetary allocations.

I know there is a Bill coming in the next few days to do with boundary issues. I hope the teething problems on boundaries, cities, urban centres and all will be sorted. Being the Chair of the Standing Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations, we have taken note. This will be taken seriously and we will bring a report to this House. Therefore, we will follow up on the issues raised.…

Let us move to the next Statement by Sen. Cherarkey. What is your intervention, Sen. Veronica Maina?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I had an intention to rise and support this weighty Statement sought by Sen. Seki, because devolved governance is the core promise of the Constitution of Kenya and over 80 per cent Kenyans support---

I will allow you two minutes and then we move to the request by Sen. Cherarkey. We have up to 3.15 p.m. to conclude on Statements. However, if you look at the Order Paper, we have two more.

Mr. Speake, Sir, I appreciate that indulgence. As I was saying, devolved governance is the core promise of the Constitution of Kenya and over 80 per cent of Kenyans support devolution. Kenyans also have confidence and legitimate expectation from county governments that services will be rendered to all citizens in Kenya. The only way an effective government can achieve this objective is through an…

Yes, Sen. Cherarkey, please proceed to request for your Statement.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for the indulgence. I rise pursuant Standing Order No.53 (1) to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on Trade, Industrialization and Tourism on the state of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Kenya.

In the statement, the Committee should-

Sen. Oketch Gicheru, you may proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise to support this very important Statement by my friend, Sen. Cherarkey. Where are were are today, if we do not start thinking critically about how we cultivate FDI into this country, we will have a very big problem. I am very proud of the fact that Sen. Cherarkey has touched on the issue of the Ministry trying to look keenly on the policy interventions. This sta…

Is there a nexus between the policies that we saw in the BPS and areas that can attract foreign investors into the country? This critical Statement needs the urgency before the BPS is passed. The Ministry of Trade Investment and industry should not only do a public relations exercise as Sen. Cherarkey has talked about the campaign, but it should be based on economics that makes sense to the count…

Sen. Seki, you have the Floor.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I also rise to support this Statement from Sen. Cherarkey. Being the Chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Trade, Industrialization and Tourism, I want to put my voice on the support of the Statement by saying that it is a very weighty matter. It is very important to understand that the Government has put a full State Department on Investment that is led by …

Sen. Seki, confine yourself to the request made by Sen. Cherarkey. If you are done, kindly yield.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. These are issues that are very weighty in our county.

I am aware if we were to discuss all things that are weighty, we may discuss them till midnight.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

It does not mean that I do not acknowledge the fact that the matters are weighty.

I thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Sen. Oketch Gicheru, proceed to make your request.

Once again, thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on National Security

and Defence and Foreign Relations from the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs’ directive to diplomatic and consular missions to liaise with the Office of the Deputy President on issues of a cross cutting nature that involve more than one Ministry. In the Statement, the Committee should-

Sen. Mungatana, MGH, please proceed.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the Statement by Sen. Oketch Gicheru. As the relevant Committee investigates this matter, I request them to also investigate the question of distribution of members of staff within diplomatic missions. We know that whenever a President of the Republic of Kenya take Office, they undertake to reorganise missions, High Commissions and Embassies across the world wh…

Sen. M. Kajwang’, after you are done with your contribution, please approach the Chair.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, as the Committee looks into this matter, I would also like to urge them to look into Kenya's foreign policy. The last time Kenya had a formal foreign policy was 2014. Since then, there have been many shifts in geopolitics. The centre of the world is moving slowly from the Global West towards China and India. Africa is rising. We have the Africa Free Continental Trade Area. Coul…

Sen. Cheruiyot, please proceed.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I was following through this question keenly as well as the contributions of Sen. M. Kajwang’ to know all

the things he enjoyed in Russia. I have been with him in Moscow before and I know what he loves most. Unfortunately, he did not list it.

Hon. Senators, the Statements hour is long spent. We have already overshot the runway as far as this Order is concerned. Therefore, we shall proceed to the next order. Clerk, proceed to the next Order.

Hon. Senators, we shall have to defer this particular order owing to the limited delegations present now. This particular Order is deferred to tomorrow. I hope that the two leaders both the Majority and Minority side, especially the Whips will make sure we raise the numbers necessary. The Minority side has no excuses whatsoever not to whip because we have a very able Senate Minority Whip in the na…

Next Order. Second Reading