National Assembly · Morning Sitting

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I beg to give notice of the following Motion: THAT, this House adopts the Report of the Public Debt and Privatization

Hon. Members, before we continue, allow me to welcome the following persons who are sitting in the Public Gallery. These are village elders from Tembelio Ward, Moiben Constituency, Uasin Gishu County. I will ask Hon. (Prof) Bartoo, Member for Moiben Constituency, to welcome them on behalf of the National Assembly, and particularly on my behalf, as I come from the same area. Thank you.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker for this opportunity to welcome the village elders from Tembelio Ward, Uasin Gishu County. These are the men and women who have been supporting me in running the Government agenda. I thought I would do them an honour by inviting them to Parliament, where we make laws. I want to welcome them and tell them that in as much as they do not benefit from any Government pa…

[(Applause)]

Hon. Member for Kipkelion East, I have seen that you pressed the intervention button.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker for the opportunity. When I came in, I thought we had another squad in Parliament because of the uniform that these village elders are wearing. I want to congratulate Hon. Bartoo for taking time to ensure that they dress well. This follows what we have been discussing in this House about taking care of the village elders. I want to emphasise that we fast-track what …

[(Hon. Timothy Toroitich stood in his place)]

Hon. Timothy Toroitich, you have a matter which has been stood down several times because of your absence coming up. If you could kindly not leave the House. Hon. Ng’elechei, Member for Elgeyo Marakwet.

Thank you very much, Hon. Deputy Speaker for the opportunity. I have a special attachment to the village elders since that is where I was born and bred. I am from Kamaua Village, and I am sure my village elder and the assistant chief, Madam Mercy Kesse, who is my classmate and someone I am so proud of, are here. I want to assure the village elders from all the villages that I know and I am associ…

Hon. Sunkuli, Member for Kilgoris.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I wish to join my colleagues in commending Hon. Bartoo for this rare opportunity that she has accorded the village elders. She has done something which no one has done before; inviting the ordinary leaders who work for our country back at home. Apart from the fact that I have been in charge of the Provincial Administration, I also stand to contribute to this because I have a s…

Hon. Jerusha Momanyi, Member for Nyamira County.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity so that I can also congratulate the village elders from Moiben Constituency. Indeed, these are great men and women. What they do in our villages is so commendable that this House has severally discussed the matters of village elders. We assure you that we are fighting for you because of the good work that you are doing. I commend my s…

To the village elders, congratulations and welcome to Parliament. Some of your children will be great Members of this House. Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

The last one on this matter is Hon. Chepkonga, because he is from Uasin Gishu, then we move to the next Order.

Thank you very much, Hon. Deputy Speaker. At the outset, I would like to congratulate and thank Hon. (Prof.) Bartoo for inviting the green team from her Constituency to Parliament. This Constituency was the larger Eldoret East before it was split to Ainabkoi and Moiben constituencies. What Hon. Bartoo has done, in kitting the village elders, is commendable. In my opinion, she is a trailblazer in …

Next Order.

There is a request for Statement by Hon. Yakub Kuno, Member for Bura to the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. Pursuant to Standing Order 44 (2) (c) , I rise to request for a Statement from the Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security regarding the registration and regulation of education and immigration consultancy services in the country. The Directorate of Immigration Services (DIS) regulates education and immigration consultancy ser…

It is against this background that I request the Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security to apprise the House on the following:

The Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security. He seems not to be in. Is there any member of the Committee in the House? Hon. Ng’elechei, kindly give an undertaking on behalf of your Committee. How long will you take to respond to the Statement?

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I request for a period of two weeks.

Thank you. Next Statement by Hon. Abdul Haro, Member for Mandera South.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. Pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 44 (2) (c) , I wish to request for a Statement from the Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Education regarding the inability of universities in Kenya to issue certified duplicate degree certificates to graduates who lose their original certificates. Many Kenyans lose their degree certificates due to circumstances …

an original certificate is lost and cannot be invalidated, there is a possibility of its fraudulent use by third parties. It is against this background that I request for a Statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Education on the following:

Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Education, when will you bring a response?

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. We will bring a response in two weeks' time.

We still have one more request for a Statement by Hon. Wambugu Wanaina, the Member for Othaya.

Hon. Deputy 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 Education regarding the low enrolment rate of students in rural area primary and secondary schools in Kenya. It is deeply concerning that the number of children who are out of school has been on the rise in the recent years. Accordi…

Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Education.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. The response will be ready in two weeks.

Thank you. Next, we have a response from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Education to a request for a Statement by Hon. Timothy Toroitich, Member for Marakwet West. Are you ready? You have an assistant.

Yes, Mwalimu Orero. I rise to make a response on the request for a Statement on the criteria for recognition and equation of certificates and diplomas obtained from schools offering international curricula in Kenya. This was asked by Hon. Rashid Bedzimba, Member for Kisauni Constituency. The question has three limbs, which we wish to respond as follows. On the reasons for the inordinate delay in f…

[(Equation of Certificate)]

[(Revised in Edition IV)]

Curriculum Development (KICD) and the Directorate of Quality Assurance at the Ministry of Education.

[[The Deputy Speaker (Hon. Gladys Boss) left the Chair] [The Temporary Speaker (Hon. David Ochieng’) took the Chair]]

Asante sana, Mhe. Spika wa Muda kwa kunipa fursa kuchangia majibu haya ambayo yametoka kwa Kamati ya Kiidara ya Elimu. Kwanza, nitapongeza sana Kamati hii kwa bidii na juhudi waliyofanya. Swala hili limechukua muda mrefu kujibiwa lakini wamechukua nafasi na jukumu la kumuita Waziri ili wamuulize. Hata mimi niliulizwa kama nilikuwa na nafasi nikae hapo. Kwa hivyo, nimeridhishwa na majibu hayo kwa …

You do not need to say anything on that, do you? Go ahead.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. The only thing I understood from my colleague, because he spoke in Kiswahili, is “ameridhika”. That means he is satisfied with the response. I congratulate him because, unlike the other former colleague who did not attend, he attended the meeting and asked his question.

Thank you. Well said. Millie Odhiambo-Mabona : On a point of order, Hon. Temporary Speaker.

[(Suba North, ODM)]

You surely know there is nothing out of order there.

There is.

What is it?

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. The Member said many Kiswahili words when responding. Hon. Orero, whose family I know very well because they were an immediate neighbour when we were growing up, has said that he only knows the word “kuridhika”. I know him. I face similar challenges. I know there is a very similar Kiswahili word that means “succession”. I hope he is not thinking that this is an …

Hon. Orero, umeridhika?

Hon. Temporary Speaker, I like the way my colleague always thinks about succession. It is because she knows we come from the same area and that I am a potential candidate for that succession. However, I thank her very much for allowing me to know that she thinks about me every time.

Okay, she thinks about you every time. Hon. Members, before we go to the next Order, join me to welcome students seated in the Public Gallery. They are:Nguluni Secondary School, Kaiti Constituency, Makueni County. In the Speaker’s Gallery, we have South Tetu Girls High School, Mukurweini Constituency, Nyeri County. They are welcome to follow the Proceedings of this morning, and to the Houses of P…

Hon. Members, for lack of numbers, I will defer putting that Question to next time the Bill is put in the Order Paper. It is for obvious reasons. Next Order. First Reading

[(Putting of the Question deferred)]

(The Bill was read a First Time and ordered to be read a Second Time by leave of the House)

Let us hear Hon. Nyikal before we go to the Committee of the Whole House.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I wish to ask that we stand down this Order. The last time we had it, it was agreed that we had to harmonise a number of clauses. I was given the task to harmonise between the proposer and Hon. Kaluma who brought many amendments. We have started that process. It is a little lengthy process. We are working on it and are making progress. I would ask that we get mor…

Hon. Millie Odhiambo.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, we actually engaged with Hon. Kaluma and Hon. (Dr) Nyikal on this Bill yesterday. All I want to say is that if you look at the very first time it was stepped down for harmonisation, it has been a very long time. I think it is almost a year now if my memory serves me right. I have agreed for a last harmonisation process and we were waiting for this then we proceed with the h…

Hon. Orero is here, he is back but I will not give him a chance because if he is your junior, then he cannot comment on those kind of matters as regards you especially. Hon. Kaluma, on this issue of harmonisation, one minute.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, harmonisation of the amendments was ordered by Hon. Speaker the previous time. We are making good progress and I think we have even agreed that straight from here if Hon. Speaker allows the stepping down of this Motion, we are proceeding into a meeting to continue with the process. The challenge of course has been this season in which we have all these Budget things going o…

we disagreed. I also crave your indulgence in the manner the Chairperson of the Departmental

Thank you. In view of the fact that this matter of harmonisation has taken a long time, more than a year, I order that a report of that exercise of harmonisation be brought to the House on Wednesday, next week. I hope you understand that we want a report of the harmonisation, whether it is a blank page or agreed clauses, we have to get a report before we go into the Committee. I hope that is under…

Hon. Timothy Toroitich.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for this opportunity. This morning I had intended to Move this Bill, The County Governments (Amendment) Bill (Senate Bill No.25 of 2023) , which is a Bill for an Act of Parliament to amend the County Governments’ Act to increase the thresh-hold for the removal of a Member of a County Executive Committee and for connected purposes. However, with a lot humility, I …

Thank you very much, Hon. Timothy. For the reasons advanced by Hon. Timothy this Bill is also stood down to the next time it is put in the Order Paper. I will not be able to say when as of now. Thank you.

Kenyans have access and receive essential quality health services; cognizant of the fact that in 2020, the Ministry of Health adopted the Kenya Universal Healthcare Coverage Policy 2020- 2030 with the theme: Accelerating Attainment of Universal Health Coverage which is currently being implemented through the introduction of Social Health Insurance Fund; noting that there is need to increase the qu…

Hon. Sabina Chege. She is not in the House. I hope she is informed about this Motion coming up today. If she is not there, the Motion is also stood down for the reason of the absence of the Mover.

Hon. Marianne Kitany. Interesting. Members are aware of their Motions being in the Order Paper and they are not turning up. The Motion is also deferred for the reason of absence of the sponsor. THAT, aware that the world is rapidly embracing Artificial Intelligence (AI) , which is the use of a digital computer or computer-controlled robots to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent bei…

Hon. Timothy Wanyonyi. Also not in the House. Members, the Order therein is stood down for absence of the sponsor of the Motion.

2018-2022, under Kenya’s Vision 2030; recognizing that, the Vision 2030 aims at capitalizing on the country’s international reputation as a world class sports powerhouse whose sportsmen and women have won international accolades and recognition, especially for their prowess in athletics; concerned that, despite bringing honour and national pride to the country, most sports men and women face a myr…

Hon. Charles Ngusya. Interesting. The Motion is also stood down for the absence of the sponsor of the Motion.