Senate · Morning Sitting
Wednesday, 3 May 2023
Senator Mungatana pressed the Cabinet Secretary to honour campaign pledges to upgrade three specific roads in Tana River County, questioning the claim of resource scarcity. The Cabinet Secretary acknowledged funding constraints, citing large pending road bills and limited budget, and proposed using the upcoming equalisation fund and possible partnerships to finance the projects. Both sides highlighted the need for equitable infrastructure development and better coordination with county leaders. The Senate debated a long‑standing land boundary dispute between Meru and Tharaka Nithi counties, with Senator Gataya Mo Fire questioning why the Cabinet Secretary’s report recommendations have not been implemented and seeking clarification on the parties involved. The Cabinet Secretary highlighted past successes in title issuance and urged county leaders to cooperate to accelerate land titling, while the Senator expressed continued frustration over the lack of tangible outcomes. Both sides called for coordinated action to resolve the issue. The Senate confirmed quorum and the Speaker reminded members of proper supplementary questioning procedures before proceeding. Senator Mungatana queried road development in Tana River County, prompting the Cabinet Secretary for Roads, Transport and Public Works to detail national tarmac construction, the county’s share, equalisation fund allocations, and ongoing challenges in marginalised regions, including plans for the LAPSSET corridor. The exchange was largely factual and constructive, acknowledging both progress and gaps in infrastructure delivery.
Clerk, do we have quorum? Serjeant-at-Arms, kindly ring the Bell for 10 minutes.
[(The Clerk-at-the-Table consulted the Speaker)]
[(The Quorum Bell was rung)]
[(The Clerk-at-the-Table consulted the Speaker)]
Hon. Senators, now that we have quorum, we can proceed with the business of the day. Clerk, kindly proceed to call the first Order.
Hon. Senators, the first question is by Sen. Mungatana. I want to believe that the Cabinet Secretary (CS) is present. Clerk, kindly usher him.
Meanwhile, Hon. Senators, we need to distinguish between supplementary questions and primary questions. If you noticed, last week during such a session, quite a number of us were asking totally unrelated questions. Therefore, most of the CSs said they need time to respond. This is because the supplementary question asked was not related to the primary question. I hope it was a learning session and…
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I have two questions, which are quite related. I have gotten some answers to one of the Questions where the CS is talking about disputed areas. However, I want to ask the Question first. I want the CS to explain to this House, the entire nation and Tharaka Nithi County in particular, what has caused the delay in demarcation, adjudication and issuing of title deeds to r…
According to the Order Paper, that is the only Question that was scheduled to be asked. That is the only Question you are supposed to ask. I will now allow the CS to proceed to respond to it. You have asked Question No.9 is it not?
I have been guided by the secretariat that there is a Question I redesigned. I have been advised by the Clerk-at-the-Table that it has been captured in todays Business. There is a and b.
Let the CS answer the Question you have raised. As he does I shall consult with the secretariat.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I am well guided.
Proceed, Hon. CS. The Cabinet Secretary for Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development (Hon. Njeru) : Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for once again according me the opportunity in this august House. I thank and appreciate the Question from the Senator for Tharaka Nithi, Sen. Gataya Mo Fire. In order for me to effectively answer this Question, I want to give background information on the area…
[[The Speaker (Hon. Kingi) left the Chair] [The Temporary Speaker (Sen. Veronicah Maina) in the Chair]]
Thank you, Hon. CS. Sen. Gataya Mo Fire, proceed.
Madam Temporary Speaker, I would like to be on record that none of those recommendations the CS read has been implemented. We have several issues in the areas mentioned. I do not know why the CS has declared that the area is disputed. I do not know what is being disputed because all the administration structures are in place in Tharaka Nithi County. We have chiefs and assistant chiefs. I am the a…
Sen. Gataya Mo Fire, that then becomes a question, which the CS will respond to. The Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development (Hon. Njeru) : Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. When I was reading the recommendations, I said that when our team went on the ground and put up beacons, they were destroyed. I would like to inform this House that I was one of the happiest CSs …
As a Ministry, we want to do our work. The Ministry, through the State Department for Lands and Physical Planning, has the mandate of ensuring that matters to do with land administration are done fast and without problems. My request is that the leaderships of the two counties sit together and engage the Ministry where they feel they can and this problem of titling will come to an end in that are…
Sen. Gataya Mo Fire, do you have another question?
What the CS is telling this House is what we have been told for the last 60 years. I do not believe I have any answer to take to my people down there in Tharaka Nithi County because we are putting in place all the commissions and we even have an ad hoc commission. We have put all the mechanisms to make sure that there are levels of peace and tranquillity in those areas. However, up to now, we have…
What is the question Sen. Gataya Mo Fire?
The question is, can the CS give us a solution? He has given us a very huge narrative on the journey from the clashes up to now. What we are supposed to do as leaders in Meru and Tharaka Nithi Counties. What is very important is we as leaders from both Meru and Tharaka Nithi counties, have agreed to let people get title deeds from wherever they are. We are not interested in boundaries, where one l…
We can proceed to the next Order.
schools or work as a cause of lack of funds for sanitary products, that is both a health risk and a signal of gender inequity. FURTHER AWARE THAT in rural Kenya, two out of three pad users receive pads from sexual partners and 65 per cent of women and girls cannot afford sanitary pads, forcing them to use alternative materials like grass, cotton wool and cloth which lack adequate absorbent qualiti…
Is Sen. Gloria Orwoba not present? The Motion is dropped from the Order Paper.
(Motion dropped) Next Order.
highways such as satellite medical clinics, fire trucks and ambulances and identify the most convenient locations to develop them; and iii) The Ministry of Roads and Transport in conjunction with the Council of Governors to develop Public Private Partnership guideline on leasing of the road reserves to developers, financing the construction of the amenities and the packaging of incentives to attra…
Is Sen. Faki not present? The Motion is dropped from the Order Paper. Next Order.
Hon. Senators, there being no other business in the Order Paper, the Senate stands adjourned until, today, Wednesday, 3rd May, 2023, at 2.30 p.m. The Senate rose at 12.45 p.m.