Wednesday, 25th February 2026

Serjeant-at-Arms, ring the Quorum Bell.

Hon. Members, we now have quorum to transact business.

Members on their feet, take your seats. Hon. Members, I wish to introduce to you a delegation from the National Assembly of the Parliament of Namibia who are seated in the Speaker's Row. The delegation comprises the following Members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Youth, Civic Relations and Community Development:

Hon. Members, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 42(1), I wish to report to the House that I have received a Message from His Excellency the President seeking approval of persons nominated for appointment to the positions of Chairperson and Members of the National Land Commission (NLC). In the Message, His Excellency the President notifies that, in exercise of the powers conferred to him by the provisions of Article 250(2)(c) of the Constitution as read together with section 7(2) of the National Land Commission Act, Cap. 281 and Section 5 of the Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Act (Cap. 7F), he has nominated the following seven persons to the positions of Chairperson and members of the National Land Commission, and now seeks the approval of the National Assembly—

Leader of the Majority Party.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to lay the following papers on the Table:

Thank you, Hon. Naomi. I am told the Chairperson of the Public Debt and Privatisation Committee is not present. So, we will put that aside.

Before the next Order, allow me, Hon. Members to acknowledge, in the Public Gallery, the presence of Kuikui Senior School from Baringo North, Baringo County. On my behalf and that of the House, we welcome the students, their teachers and those accompanying them to Parliament.

Next Order.

Chairperson of the Select Committee on Implementation. Or any Member of the Committee? Chairperson of the Public Investments Committee on Commercial Affairs and Energy. Hon. Ariko, are you the Chairperson or you are holding his brief?

I am the Vice-Chairperson. Hon. Speaker, I beg to give notice of the following Motion:

THAT, this House adopts the Report of the Public Investments Committee on Commercial Affairs and Energy on its examination of the audited financial statements of selected State corporations in the roads and transport sector, laid on the Table of the House on Tuesday, 14th October 2025. Thank you.

Chairperson of the Select Committee on Implementation, stay that until tomorrow. As we call the next Order, can the Leaders of the Majority and Minority Parties approach the Chair? Hon. Junet, have you resigned? I said the Leaders of the Majority and Minority Parties should approach the Chair.

Clerk-at-the-Table, call out the next Order. Hon. Members, today we will be having the Cabinet Secretary, Hon. Ruku. I was requested by the House Business Committee to schedule him to be here by 4.00 p.m. and he promised to be here. We have two other requests for Statements by Hon. Abubakar Talib and Hon. Bernard Kitur. We will combine those to come at the time when the Cabinet Secretary will be here. Is Hon. Talib in the House?

Yes, there you are Mombasa Raha. Hon. Kitur? Whoever sees Hon. Kitur, tell him his Statement will be requested at 4.00 p.m.

Next Order.

Yes, Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations. Hon. Members, if I find your submissions tautologous in the course of the debate, I will close and move on to the next business. Tautologous means repetitive.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, I beg to move: THAT, taking into consideration the findings of the Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations in its Report on the approval hearing of a nominee for appointment as a Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kenya to the United Nations Environment Programme, laid on the Table of the House on Tuesday, 24th February 2026, and pursuant to the provisions of Article 132 (2) (e) of the Constitution and Sections 3 and 8 of the Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Act, (Cap.7F) , this House

approves the appointment of Canon (Dr) Ida Betty Odinga, EGH, as the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kenya to the United Nations Environment Programme. The office of the Permanent Representative stands as a vital outpost of Kenya's sovereignty and environmental leadership as defined in Section 21 of the Foreign Service Act of 2021. The head of mission is not only the President's personal representative but also a steward of Kenya's foreign policy, the custodian of our national image, and the administrator of the mission's resources.

In the specific context of UNEP, as the only United Nations headquarters located in the Global South and domiciled right here in Nairobi, this role carries the additional weight of anchoring Kenya's status as the global hub for environmental diplomacy.

In the solemn discharge of the mandate under Standing Order 216(5)(f), the Committee approached its task with diligence and unwavering fidelity to the Constitution. Chapter Six guided on leadership and integrity and animated by the spirit of public participation as enshrined in Article 118. We subjected the nominee to rigorous scrutiny by measuring her academic qualifications, professional experience, moral compass and vision of Kenya's environmental interest.

Probably, this must have been one of the unnerving experiences of the vetting process because we had to interrogate the nominee. With all her experience, it was humbling that she submitted before our Committee. Some of us on the other side were even younger to her children. However, she submitted before our Committee with humility. In keeping with Standing Order 42(2), Hon. Speaker, your Office relayed to the House the President's Message regarding the nomination. I do not want to repeat it.

In further fulfilment of due diligence, the Clerk of the National Assembly wrote to relevant agencies. They are the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP), and Office of Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP). It was to seek reports on the nominees’ integrity, tax compliance, criminal record status, loan obligations, and political affiliations. I am glad to report that all agencies returned clean reports affirming the nominee's good standing.

The Committee conducted an oral approval hearing on Friday, 20th February 2026. I want to say that the nominee is a distinguished Kenyan whose journey has been defined by unwavering allegiance to the Republic.

In strict adherence to Article 78 of the Constitution, the nominee confirmed that she is a Kenyan citizen by birth and does not hold any dual citizenship, thus satisfying the fundamental eligibility criteria for State office. Her robust academic foundation anchored her suitability further. Madam Ida Odinga holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography from the University of Nairobi. The academic background is not merely ornamental. Rather, it proved the early scientific grounding for a profound understanding of the technical and policy dimensions of UNEP's work.

Beyond the classroom, her career trajectory is a testament to versatile leadership spanning her service as an educator in the Kenya High School, her roles in private enterprise as the managing director of East Africa Spectre Limited. This House will note that it is a clean energy company. It did not limit her impactful tenure as the First Lady to the late Prime Minister. She bridged the gap between high-level policy and grassroots reality.

During the hearing, she demonstrated a sophisticated vision for environmental diplomacy. Particularly highlighting the link between sustainability and socio-economic development in health, nutrition, and livelihoods. She is not a stranger to the global stage because she served as a global peace Ambassador to the United Nations and founded the Ida

Odinga Trust. Further, her strategic leadership was evident in her nuanced approach to the resource constraints facing the United Nations.

She underscored the need to strengthen UNEP as the only UN Headquarters in the Global South by proposing a collective, collaborative and multi-stakeholder model to mobilise solutions. This anchors Kenya's leadership at UNEP.

Regarding the character of the nominee, let me say she embodies a high standard of leadership and integrity. She secured clearance from all the agencies requested to confirm her status as a compliant and upright citizen. Significantly, she has never been charged in a court of law. She has never been adversely mentioned in any investigatory report or dismissed from office that would contravene Article 75 of the Constitution.

In fact, on this stage, I jokingly asked something about all the years the deceased Prime Minister had been jailed. Whether she had never been in any way charged in a court of law or even been picked up. That is even when we had a regime that was very quick in picking spouses and punishing those who held a contrary opinion to what the State believed in at that time. Madam Ida has never found herself on the other side of the law.

As I conclude, the nominee's responses reflected a lifelong commitment to public service and patriotic readiness to answer to the call of duty. Her experience in advocacy, consensus building and negotiation is directly transferable to the multilateral diplomatic engagement required by UNEP.

Based on these findings, the Committee is satisfied that the nominee possesses competence, integrity and vision to represent the republic. Therefore, I urge the House to adopt the Committee's recommendations and approve this appointment. I beg to move. I now respectfully invite my Vice-Chair, Hon. Major (Rtd) Abdullahi Sheikh, to second this Motion.

Hon. Bashir.

Hon. Speaker, I rise to second the Motion on the Report of the Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations on the approval of Dr Ida Betty Odinga, EGH, for appointment as the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kenya to the UNEP.

The Committee thoroughly assessed the nominee based on certain criteria as set out in the Constitution and various Acts. The vetting considered academic qualifications, professional track record, constitutional compliance and personal integrity. The Report we tabled yesterday is very detailed. I am sure and believes that Members have gone through it. It contains every aspect of the vetting process we did.

During the approval hearing that we held on Friday, 20th February 2026, the nominee demonstrated knowledge of Kenya’s environmental diplomacy priorities, the strategic role played by UNEP, which is headquartered in Nairobi, and the importance of multilateral partnership in addressing global environmental challenges.

Hon. Speaker, the nominee demonstrated that with her vast experience based on her education, social life and, above all, having been in the political landscape of this country for far too long. She equally possesses the qualities required to represent our country in this very important institution that is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.

Hon. Speaker, in addition to the normal legal threshold, the nominee’s background in matters education, public leadership, advocacy and judicial engagement equips her with the skills required in undertaking this noble task of UNEP. It has not been easy to work or stay under our late Prime Minister. Somebody who has been with the Prime Minister day in day out for 50 years has the capacity and all the essential memories of ensuring that they represent our country in this kind of engagement. One thing that made us look differently is she happened to be the only nominee that has so far brought her Curriculum Vitae in a well-articulated and detailed booklet. I have never seen such a CV.

Thank you. Hon. Members on their feet, take your seats. Thank you, Hon. Members.

Hon. Nyikal.

Put the Question.

Should I put the Question?

Thank you…

Hold on, Hon. (Dr) Nyikal. How much time do you want us to spend on this?

Hon. Speaker, the leaders can get five minutes and the rest of us two minutes and it would be fair.

Okay, the leaders five minutes and the other members two minutes. Can we do this Motion in 30 minutes?

Order. Like I said, Mama Migori, if the submissions and contributions are too tautologous, we will move to the next business. Yes, Hon. (Dr) Nyikal, you have two minutes.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I can read the mood of the House. The credentials of Mama Ida Betty Odinga, her experience, her exposure, both in politics, professionally and in leadership, her credentials, and educationwise are impeccable.

So, the Committee has made a decision in line with what most of us thought when the appointment was made. Her credentials and ability have been recognised within and outside the country and many universities have given her honorary doctorate positions, positions of leadership and even canon in the church. With a person like her, I do not think we even need to discuss more, and I am extremely happy that you have given me the chance to say something about her. I fully support her appointment as recommended by the Committee. Thank you.

Thank you. Yes, Hon. Milemba.

Hon. Speaker, thank you very much. In 1982 when my father used to buy the Standard Newspaper and I think the price was about Ksh1.80 or Ksh2, I remember vividly reading the story of Mama Ida when she was being removed from one of the houses in the schools. That was because her husband had been imprisoned courtesy of the coup that had just occurred. I remember the way Mama handled herself and since then, having been an educator for a long time – because by that particular time she had taught for more than 20 years – her life thereafter became a diplomatic life, leading and negotiating with all parties in this country, whether it was the National Super Alliance (NASA) or Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) or any other organisations. I am sure she was doing a lot of diplomacy behind her late husband, Hon. Raila Odinga. So, this is a great diplomat who can handle that position very well. I want to wish her the very best as she takes this job on behalf of this country and I ask the House to support.

Thank you.

Yes, Hon. Robert Mbui.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. On this issue of the Permanent Representative to the UNEP, I think there is no better person to serve in that capacity than Dr Ida Odinga because of her service to the nation. She has also been an excellent teacher. In fact, she has taught people that have gone into leadership positions, like the Governor of Machakos County was her student in Kenya High School. So, this is a person with impeccable credentials. She has also been a mother of democracy for this country, because she suffered under the hands of previous regimes when her husband served detention without trial and she had to run her family during the period that he was absent. Later on, you notice that she also had to sacrifice her husband to the country, because it helped shape the politics of this nation for those years. That was also sacrifice for her to have allowed him to do that work. I think this is a perfect person for that position. Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Thank you. Mama Migori?

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. First, I want to declare that Mama Ida is our daughter. She is a daughter of Migori County and we are very proud of her. I also want to tell Kenyans that Mama Ida stands on her own stairs. She is not leaned towards who Baba was. She is a woman of substance and deserves any position that she would desire to be. She is a very straightforward woman and has brought up too many Kenyans as her daughters and sons and we are very proud of her. She is a Christian and a well-educated woman. We are very proud of our daughter and we know that she will serve Kenya and make Kenya proud. Kudos Mama. We love you. As you do your duties, always remember that we will never forsake you. Congratulations Mama and Kenya.

Thank you. Member for Turkana Central, Hon. Emathe, go ahead. Give him the microphone. There is one next to you on your right side.

Hon. Speaker, thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to contribute.

First of all, to our wives out there, take care of your husbands. When they are no longer in this world, you will carry the legacy they leave behind. As we always say, behind every man there is a good wife.

Secondly, Africa rejected Hon. Raila. May his soul rest in peace.

He was not rejected. He did not win the election.

He did not win the election in Addis Ababa. Kenya has done a good service to the family by remembering that there was a person who stood behind Hon. Raila. We ask that when she takes the seat, please represent us, as Kenyans, well.

Hon. (Dr) Otiende Amollo.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I have three quick points.

Firstly, under the Act, three things are supposed to be satisfied: professional training, experience and integrity. Mama Ida stands tall as a professional, having been educated in the University of Nairobi. She proceeded to teach many professionals and served as a United Nations Peace Ambassador. She also managed the family business, Spectre International Limited, for all these years as our icon was busy trying to mend this country. She has impeccable integrity.

Secondly, the Act requires the Permanent Representative to represent Kenya’s foreign policy objectives at UNEP. It is not a representative of the President or the President’s governing party. It is a representative of Kenya’s foreign policy objectives which are determined by this country. Those who want to confuse Kenyans must know that this is not the position.

Thirdly, Mama Ida has endured the longest sufferance of political intolerance. The longest person to suffer this is our late statesman, Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga. However, throughout that time, Mama remained steadfast. She perhaps suffered even more when Hon. Raila was jailed.

Lastly, it should be noted that no legitimate objection was raised against her, as she joins the list of distinguished Kenyans, including the late Ambassador Pamela Mboya.

We support the Motion.

Hon. Harold Kipchumba.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I rise to support this Motion and to declare that I call her Mama. Canon Dr Ida Odinga is the matriarch whom Kenyans need and have missed over time. As in the days of Esther in the Bible, I believe this is the time we have a person who can stand in the foreign policy gap of our country.

This assignment calls for consistent resilience and inner strength, qualities that have defined her life as both a pillar of her family and a leader alongside the late Hon. Raila Odinga. There is an emerging doubt in parts of the world about whether climate change is real. This is the time for Kenya to offer a representative with steady hands at the helm. I bless her journey and pray for her. May it be well with her.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Hon. Hassan, Member for Kamukunji.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to contribute. I rise to support the proposal to confirm the nomination of Ms Ida Odinga. I consider her an extraordinary person and a freedom fighter who has been in the trenches for democracy and the change we enjoy today for the longest period in Kenya’s history. She plays a pivotal role in the fight for social change, social justice and equity, particularly in the struggle for women who have been denied leadership positions.

I recall when I was in exile in the 1980s, she was dismissed from her job and evicted from her house, while her husband was in prison. As a Member of the Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners, we supported her to ensure she had accommodation and could take her children to school. I consider her the most eminent person nominated for this position. She is well qualified and I congratulate her. I believe she will do an excellent job for the people of Kenya.

Hon. Ruweida.

Asante Mhe. Spika. Mwanzo, ningependa kumpongeza Rais, kisha Bi Ida Odinga. Ni mwanamke ngangari ambaye yuko na jitihada nyingi. Anasimama na wanawake wenzake. Sijapitia mikononi mwake lakini nimeona wanawake wengi ambao wamepitia hapo.

Ninamuombea kila la heri na huko anapokwenda, aendelee kufanya jinsi anavyofanya. Huyu ni mwanamke na nusu. Anatumia ile tunayoelezwa kuwa mwanamke akitaka kuonekana, lazima afanye mara mbili ya mwanaume. Ni mwanamke ngangari kabisa. Anapokwenda, aweke bendera ya Kenya juu na ajenge jina la wanawake.

Asante, Mhe. Spika.

Are you done? Hon. Anthony Oluoch.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I want to highlight some of the things that need to be known about Mama Ida. She is not only a mother of her four children but also the mother of the nation. We have had three First Ladies, but only one is known as “Min Piny,” meaning Mother of the Nation. She carried herself with dignity and represented the soft power behind the persona we knew as Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga.

As it is known by many people, she has many projects in education and mentorship. I am a trustee in one of her projects as an alumnus of an institution, called Dr Ida Odinga Library Resource Centre, which is about to be launched. As a mentor of many girls, she is also a patron of Linda Kesho where she mentors young children and brings dignity to them. Under Article 73 of the Constitution, leadership and integrity are core values of a State Office which you find in Mama Ida.

Lastly, we must condemn the social media attacks that came after the death of Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga. They were trying to tarnish Mama Ida’s name, legacy and persona without reason. We must shame these people. On behalf of the sons and daughters of Mama Ida, I stand here to support her. There can be no better representative to UNEP than her.

Hon. Kirima of Imenti. Go ahead Wakili.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I hope you will not confuse me again with that man. We are not of the same calibre in many ways. It is only that we are colleagues.

First, I thank the President for appointing Mama Ida to this good position which is very honourable in the Republic of Kenya. That position has not been held by many people and to pick Mama Ida to represent Kenya in that position is something wonderful. I congratulate Mama Ida for being appointed. When she appeared before us in the Committee, she really impressed the Committee. She is very much committed to her work. The point is that she is a model example to many mothers and our good ladies that if they take care of their good husbands, at the end of the day, they reap what they have been doing. Actually, if you look at it well, it is out of recognition of Baba. The way she has been supporting Baba and even in her own right, shows that she is entitled to that position. I know she is going to deliver, and she will make this country proud.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Hon. Raphael Wanjala.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I start by saying that behind every successful man, there is a woman.

And behind every failure?

Behind every successful man, there is a woman. That is what I said. And for Hon. Wanjala, there might be women. There is no problem. I also congratulate His Excellency, the President, for this appointment; he got it right. I also agree with the Vice-Chair of the Committee that this is the only time they have gotten the right CV, for the rest, Kenyans have been doubting what we have been passing here. I agree with him that some of them are people who do not qualify to be ambassadors, but they have been brought to this House and passed. I agree with them that this is the best CV they have brought to this House and that is why I am able to contribute on it.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Hon. Members, the 30 minutes I allocated is running out. Hon. Kaluma.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I came from abroad today to speak to this Motion. You know you sent me out of the country.

Your time is up. Hon. Bensuda. After Hon. Bensuda, Hon. Junet, followed by Hon. Ichung’wah, and then the Mover will reply.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to also add my voice to the most distinguished Canon Dr Ida Betty Odinga for being nominated to this position.

Allow me also to recognise and appreciate the President, Dr William Samoei Ruto, as a scholar who saw it wise that a scholar deserves that position, and also saw that women are capable and competent. Let that lens be continuously magnified so that it can continue seeing more women who can be placed in various positions.

I rise to talk about Canon Dr Ida Betty Odinga on her presentability not only taking care of men, but there are some men you can take care of and they do not take care of you. So, it means in the family of the enigma who passed on, it was a two-way traffic. That is why His Excellency the late Dr. Raila Amollo Odinga passed on when he had a woman, not women. A woman.

Number two… (Hon. Raphael Wanjala spoke off the record) Hon. Wanjala just relax. As a woman, I can demystify the presentability I am talking about. I am referring to her intellect and how she presents herself. Go to her house, see how she even prepares food, how she dresses and how she speaks. She does not dig words. She talks with calculation, a lot of psychological influence and intelligence. That is why she will represent this nation. We have just got it right.

Hon. Speaker…

Give her a minute.

Hon. Speaker, thank you. I know at times, we women, are mistaken for jealousy, that we are our own weapons. Look at Dr Ida Betty Odinga when we lost our enigma. She gave this nation an ample time and freedom to mourn Jakom Baba. May his soul rest in peace without limitation. She is the patron of what is known as the story of the daughters of the Lake. It is called Sigand Nyinam. Women in this nation must recognise and respect Dr Ida Betty Odinga. This far she brought us, we must reciprocate.

Hon. Speaker, you have improved this Parliament. I thank you very much. The aesthetics of this Parliament is above board. Organise a real dinner in honour of Canon (Dr) Ida Betty Odinga.

Hon. Bensouda, did you read a book by Moliere called The Imaginary Invalid? Go ahead, Hon. Junet.

Hon. Speaker, I have very little to add after the speech of Dr Bensuda Osogo, doctor.

Plus, the presentation. The presentation and how Hon. Bensouda has dressed today says a lot. She prepared for the day, to come and do her presentation.

She cannot beat Hon. Kaluma, who just flew in to speak to this.

Hon. Kaluma not only came fast, but he also cut his trip short, to make sure that he contributes to this Motion. He cut his trip to New York short.

I also want to join my colleagues in supporting the recommendation of the Committee that we approve Dr Canon Ida Odinga, as the Representative United Nations Environment Programme for this country. Many of us came through Baba's hands, but likewise we came through Dr Ida's hands. She is a diplomat par excellence and I remember many times when you have issues, even politically, in our party and others, she played a big role in solving them.

I want to agree with Hon. Bensouda about the way she cooks food. One of the things that I will ever remember about Dr Ida Odinga, is when you would go to her home and visit her late husband. In spite of her stature in society, she is the one who would serve you food. She is the one who would pour the tea into your cup and ask you to take. She would make sure you do not leave her home without eating. I saw that as great diplomacy.

She also had a very long distinguished career in education, civil society, advocacy for human rights and constitutionalism. She has been beside her husband. She has been supportive of her husband in everything she has done in this world. So, I agree with Members that there is no better person to serve this country at that level than her. As a family, they are very passionate about environmental matters. Remember how the late party leader was passionate about environmental issues. The way he was conserving Mau Forest, until it almost cost him his political life.

She was supportive of that. She was beside him when he was doing all that. I take this opportunity in this House to disabuse a section of Kenyans who always link every appointment that is made in this country to politics. Mama Ida is not looking for a salary. She is not looking for an allowance. She is taking up this job to serve Kenya, so that she can be remembered as a woman who served her country when she was called to that job. There are Kenyans all over in social media castigating people. Oh, you do not deserve this. Oh, you have sold out. Oh, you have done this. Give us a break. Shame on those Kenyans.

The people I am talking about know themselves. They have been on the barrage of attacking her, attacking our party, and attacking us on the social media for why she is standing out to serve her country. Every Kenyan is willing and ready to serve his or her country when called upon, So, if you are not ready to serve your country, shut up and go and do other things. There are other businesses you can do, farming and other things.

Let us not politicise. Let us not balkanise the country all the time any Kenyan is called to serve his country. There are people who are hell-bent to make sure that certain people who come from certain parts of this country do not serve this country. Whenever we get appointments from that part of the country, it is a problem. Even when the Broad-based Government was formed, they kept talking about the few appointments that came from that side. They never talk about the appointments that come from other parts of the country. Give us a break. Let Mama Ida Odinga serve her country. She is ready and willing to serve. She has served the country before. She has done a good job for this country. She has participated in the democratisation of this country. She also suffered for this country. She was removed from her job because of this country.

Let us give her all the accolades. Let us support her. Let us approve her ideas and it is Kenyans who will benefit from her service, not herself. She has done everything she could do in this country. She has brought up politicians. She has done everything she could. It is for the benefit of this country for us to have somebody of Mama Ida's stature to serve us as a unit. With those few remarks, I urge the House...

Hon. Ichung’wah.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Let me agree with everybody who has spoken that we are approving a great person and a lady of impeccable credentials. Looking through her CV, I noted that Dr Betty Odinga has also served or has experience in international forums and, therefore, sits at a very pivotal position today to serve in this diplomatic role as our Permanent Representative to UNEP. She has experience in international forums such as the UN Commission on the Status of Women. This has equipped her very well to serve in the position that she has been nominated.

Let me not belabour what has been said of Dr Ida Odinga, that she has sacrificed for this country. That sacrifice cannot go for nothing and I want to agree with Hon. Junet. It is not fair that you demonise people on the basis of their names or the places where they come from. That habit that is among a few of us as Kenyans, should come to an end, because Canon (Dr) Betty Ida Odinga has served this country through the service that Baba Raila Amolo Odinga served this country over the years in her own way. Those who have served with her in ODM, or under the tutelage and stewardship of Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga can attest to that. Those of us who have never had the opportunity to work with or are in ODM, can see it from

where we are. We have seen the sacrifices that this great lady of our nation has offered to this country by serving not just her husband but the party and the nation.

True, as has been said, she left public service as a teacher who had served diligently in the teaching profession, but she never stopped serving the people of Kenya. I want to bear witness to what Hon. Kaluma is saying, because last June, you remember we were in Homa Bay during the Madaraka Day celebrations. I had an opportunity to sit with the former Prime Minister and Mama Ida, and she passionately spoke about the school in Homa Bay and the work that she is doing.

Last year, you remember we all joined in to contribute to the work that Mama Ida Odinga has been doing in that school. I want to promise Hon. Kaluma we shall be there to witness the opening of that great facility that Mama Odinga, has helped the children of Homa Bay and the children of Kenya to build. She did this not from a position in Government or anywhere. She did the work that she has done in that school as a former student or an old girl of that school and she has done very well. Therefore, have no doubt that she will be able to leverage on her diplomatic credentials, her skills as a teacher and on the social capital that she has built over the years, because Mama Ida Odinga is not any other ordinary lady in this country, or in fact in the world.

She has social capital that she has built courtesy of being the spouse of a great statesman, a nationalist and a Pan-Africanist in the person of Raila Odinga. Therefore, she will leverage on that social capital and the networks that she has built over the years to position our country even in a better place. Remember this is the only country in the global south that hosts a UN Headquarters in UNEP. Therefore, I look forward to Mama Ida Odinga being able to use her networks, the social capital that she has built across the globe over the years to pull more UN Headquarters into this country.

You have seen what has happened in New York where Hon. Kaluma has just flown in from this morning. Many of the UN agencies that were there are relocating to other places and there is no better home.

Not other places; to Nairobi.

To Nairobi. I was going to say there is no better home for UN agencies than Nairobi and we look forward to Mama Ida Odinga using her social capital, her networks globally to convince other global players and the UN family to set up more of their headquarters in Nairobi as they are doing so that we have more agencies that will create more opportunities in terms of jobs for our young people.

With that, I beg to support and urge the House to approve this great lady of our nation and a great daughter not just of Migori and Homa Bay, but a great daughter of Kenya and Africa to serve the world because she deserves to go on and serve the world. As Hon. Junet has said, she is not getting this position to serve herself. You cannot even tell that Mama Ida is as elderly as she is because she still looks young, beautiful, energetic and very visionary in service to the world, not just this country. I support her and urge the House to fully and quickly approve her. We have everything that we need today. We have the numbers and everybody supports her. I have not heard even a single voice of dissent.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Mover to reply.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I totally associate myself with the sentiments of my colleagues on Mama Ida, with a special mention of those by Hon. Bensouda. She has captured the mood of our Report. I appreciate her for that.

We wish Mama Ida all the best as she moves into the next phase of her professional career in diplomacy. As the world is confronted with changing dynamics and challenges in the

environment, there is no person who can step forward better than Mama Ida Odinga. I wish her all the best.

The Committee will continue to pray for her and her family after the demise of the former Prime Minister. I personally know three members of that family, namely, Raila Odinga Jr., Winnie Odinga and Rosemary Odinga. I pray for them and wish Mama Ida Odinga all the best in the next phase of her career at the United Nations Environment Programme.

I beg to reply.

Members on their feet, take your seats. Hon. Elijah and Hon. Mary, take your seats.

On a light touch, Hon. Wanjala said that behind every successful man there is a woman. Who stands behind a failing man?

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I am in agreement but note that the Cabinet Secretary is coming in at 4.00 p.m. We have about 17 minutes. So, we may need to quickly rush through these Motions.

Okay. Hon. Chonga.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to move the following Special Motion:

On Tuesday, 10th February 2026, the Speaker of the National Assembly relayed a Message to Members from His Excellency the President of Kenya, Dr William Samoei Ruto, and referred the nominee's name together with his Curriculum Vitae to the Departmental

Committee on Labour for approval hearing, vetting, and report to the House. While referring

Hon. Chonga, the material you are...

I am almost done, Hon. Speaker.

Are you almost done?

Yes.

Otherwise, you are including excess and unnecessary material...

No, I am almost done.

Okay.

Hon. Speaker, the Committee noted that Article 250 (6) of the Constitution provides that members of commissions and holders of independent offices are appointed for a single non-renewable six-year term with no possibility of reappointment whereas there has been a practice of members of commissions serving on different commissions. Therefore, there is need to clarify whether the intention of the Constitution was to limit this six-year term to a specific commission or to all commissions, so that a member only serves in one commission for a maximum of six years and is not eligible for reappointment to any other commission beyond the six years.

Article 250 (6) provides that a member of a commission or the holder of an independent office shall be appointed for a single term of six years and is not eligible for re-appointment. However, there has been a practice of commissioners serving in one commission and later moving to another. This creates the need to clarify whether the Constitution intended the six- year term limit to apply to a specific commission or to all commissions. That is so that a member serves only once for a maximum of six years and is not eligible for re-appointment in any other commission or beyond the six years.

In light of the above, the Committee recommends a constitutional amendment to Article 250 (6) to provide clarity on the six-year single term that is non-renewable in any other commission or independent office. Emanating from the above observations, the Committee recommends that the House approves the appointment of Mr Francis Meja to be the Chairperson of the Public Service Commission.

I beg to move and request senior counsel, Hon. Otiende Amollo, to second the Motion. Thank you.

Senior Counsel.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I rise to second the Special Motion.

This nominee’s academic qualifications, professional experience, and integrity were not brought into question. What was brought into question was eligibility on four different areas. It behoves us to disabuse everyone's mind on those issues. I will address them seriatim.

Is the nominee eligible under Article 233 (3) ? The argument is that he is a serving Commissioner with the Public Service Commission. How can he transit to be the Chairperson? This matter has been settled through precedent, starting with this House. I was one of those who objected when you were nominated to be Speaker. That you were serving as a Senator and therefore not eligible.

Based on prior precedent, even before your time, it was interpreted that “at the point of appointment” is important. That particular view has been variously stated here. Various Members of Parliament have gone on to be Cabinet Secretaries and resigned just before appointment. The courts have also restated that position, in the case of Omondi & Others vs the Attorney-General, determined in 2025. The court found that it is at the point of appointment that the issue arises, as long as a nominee resigns before they are eligible. Unless and until that matter is appealed and the decision changed, this objection cannot stand. I agree with the Committee completely.

Is there a term limit of six years? The answer is yes, but there is a distinction. Under the Constitution, this House is called to approve only two categories of commissioners: the person as chairperson and then the commissioners. If approved as chairperson, one can only serve as chairperson of a commission for a flat six years and similarly if approved as a

commissioner. However, there is no bar—not in the Constitution or any legislation—that stops one from transitioning from a member to chairperson.

Or even from a chairperson of one commission to another.

Yes, there is absolutely no bar. If you want to be a professional commissioner and this House finds it okay, there is nothing wrong with that. On that recommendation, I beg the Committee to consider that we do not need an amendment. Some people do well in commissions. If this House decides to take them to another commission, so be it. An issue may arise only if one is a vice-chairperson because this House does not approve vice-chairpersons. It approves commissioners. Transitioning as a vice-chairperson would raise a problem.

Thirdly, is there a conflict of interest under the Conflict of Interest Act? The answer is no. The objection was that the nominee might have participated in the process. However, the selection panel is clear and the Committee has outlined it. The nominee did not participate at any stage. There is no conflict of interest.

Lastly, it is an objection that the nominee participated in the gubernatorial elections of Kajiado County. It is not an objection that the nominee was a candidate or participated. It is the civic duty of every Kenyan to participate in elections. Even judges participate in elections. Participation cannot be a problem. In fact, the allegation would be more legitimate if it was that the nominee did not participate. It would mean that the nominee does not care about the affairs of this country.

As I close, I note that some of the three persons who objected have gone to court. There are active court orders but they have not succeeded in getting any adverse orders from court. Therefore, there will be no reason to get that favourable determination in this House.

I beg to second.

Thank you, Hon. Otiende Amollo. Indeed, they would not injunct us from doing what we are doing even if they had got the orders. We can finish our work and they go to court.

Put the Question.

Yes, Hon. Ngogoyo. I will give two minutes each to three Members from both sides then your leaders.

Thank you. I rise to support the Motion. These are the rare appointments that the President does very well.

Francis ole Meja was the Registrar of Motor Vehicles before the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) came into being. He also foresaw the NTSA from its inception to what it is today. He is among the few CEOs who lead institutions fairly even when members of their community are not the majority. A very fair gentleman in leading organisations.

I saw an objection in the Committee Report that he vied—he tried to be the Governor of Kajiado. He never became one. He went to nominations but did not go through. He did not go for maandamano. He did not go for an election petition. He went home. As fate would have it, he has been nominated to this position today. While he comes from Kajiado and is someone I know, there are many times we appoint incompetent people to offices. Incompetent in terms of performance. I can bet that this gentleman will serve this country with distinction as the Chairperson of the Public Service Commission. Congratulations.

Members of this House, kindly let us approve Francis ole Meja. Although President William Ruto has nominated him, he is good for the Republic of Kenya. He is a worker, a diligent servant, and a good son of Kajiado County. Unlike many that might have come from our county, this one is an excellent gentleman.

Thank you very much.

Yes, Hon. Murugara. You have two minutes.

Thank you very much. In fact, it will be right to inform Hon. Ngogoyo that the President who is the appointing authority possibly knows Francis Meja better than you do. Not the fact that you represent him in Parliament.

Hon. Speaker, I support this Special Motion and confirm that I know Mr Francis Meja during his stint at the NTSA. We handled many NTSA regulations in the last Parliament. He was at the forefront of presenting them before the Committee on Delegated Legislation. He is capable. There is no reason whatsoever why this House should reject him. We expect him to serve the Public Service Commission with distinction. This is purely because, as a commissioner, he has gained experience that will help him chair the Commission effectively.

I urge the House to approve this appointment so that the Commission has a substantive Chairperson in office. Thank you.

Hon. Oundo.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Let me also join my colleagues in supporting the Report of the Departmental Committee on Labour on its approval of Mr. Francis Meja as the Chairperson of the Public Service Commission. As Sir George has put it, we interacted with Meja many times during my time in the Committee on Delegated Legislation. I found him to be a very competent, level-headed, sober and objective gentleman. I hope and pray that he will carry on with the same values, virtues and work ethic as he assumes one of the most important independent commissions created in the Constitution of Kenya.

There are too many challenges facing the public service. I hope and believe that together with those staff with experience in public service, he will continuously address those challenges so that the civil service can offer services objectively to this country so that we can move to the next level.

With those few remarks, I support and wish him well.

Hon. Ole Ntutu.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker for giving me the opportunity to contribute on this very important Report. I would like to sincerely commend and thank the President for nominating Francis Meja as the Chairperson of the Public Service Commission. We are very grateful as the Maasai community for the trust and faith demonstrated by the President on us by nominating Francis Meja. Dr William Ruto has indeed picked a qualified Kenyan with a proven track record for the right job. Mr Francis Meja brings a lot of experience in leadership, having served our country in different leadership roles. Recently, he was a member of the Public Service Commission, besides being the Registrar of Motor Vehicles in the past. Francis Meja is known for his leadership as a founding Director- General of the National Transport and Safety Authority. Following his nomination as the Chairperson of the Public Service Commission, Meja will bring a lot of experience in public sector reforms, banking and strategic management.

Finally, Francis Meja's nomination signifies a focus on improving the management of public service with his leadership style. I support the Report.

Hon. Junet.

Hon. Speaker, I rise to support the recommendation of the Committee. In Parliament, we have a Standing Committee on National Cohesion that has done a lot of reports on the way the public service is constituted. It has raised many serious issues. However, I am very happy that today somebody from Kajiado called Meja has been nominated for approval as the Chairperson of the Public Service Commission. Since Independence, there has been a skewed manner of appointments in the public service. There are certain communities that are almost clocking 50 per cent of other Kenyans. I want Francis Meja to address that matter with the urgency it deserves so that every Kenyan feels that they are part and parcel of the civil society that serves them. The public service is the face of unity of this country. It is the easiest way to know whether as a country we are united or not. When we have skewed appointments where one community is 26 per cent, another 20 per cent and the rest 18 per cent, 6 per cent and 4 per cent, then we are not an equal society. That is not what our Constitution talks about under Article 10 on national values and principles of governance.

The public service is a monster. It is an elephant that nobody knows. The Public Service Commission is a monster that you cannot understand its way of operation. You cannot understand the way it recruits people. It just advertises although by the time the advertisements are made, it has already decided who will be appointed. The interviews are just formalities. We want Francis Meja to go there and enhance transparency so that every Kenyan, irrespective of where he comes from, gets an equal opportunity to serve this country.

I see long adverts in the newspapers every Tuesday, but when I look at the kind of people that are being appointed, for example, if it is an appointment of 50 people, one county will have 26 or 30 people and the rest of the Kenyans get drops of one or two in each county. If we continue with that trend – I know Meja from the way he did a good job at NTSA, he will do a good job – it will be the beginning of the fall of this country. So, I have a lot of faith and hope that Mr Francis Meja will change that. I support his approval for appointment.

Hon. Ichung'wah. Hon. Chonga get ready to reply.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I also join everybody else in supporting the appointment of Francis Meja. As it has been said, he was our inaugural Director-General of the National Transport and Safety Authority and he did a splendid job. I know when I say to Francis that patience pays, he will know what I mean. He has been a patient man. After he lost his bid to be the Governor for Kajiado County, he has been patient and diligent in the public appointments that he has had, including his time as a Commissioner in the Public Service Commission. I pray like everybody else that he injects the professionalism that he used to conduct his work as the DG of NTSA into the public service and ensure that there is fairness in the recruitment of public officers in the country so that all Kenyans who deserve and are qualified to serve in the public service get a fair opportunity.

I support.

Hon. Chonga. Hon. Kaluma, I said we will have three speakers from either side then your leaders. You have exhausted all those opportunities to speak. Hon. Chonga.

Hon. Speaker, I am being seduced to donate one minute to Hon. Kaluma.

Reply.

I am well guided, Hon. Speaker. Let me take this opportunity to first of all appreciate all the Members who have contributed to this Report. Honestly, we have done our due diligence. We realised that Francis was indeed qualified for this position. As Hon. Otiende Amollo has well-articulated the sections that were being contested on why Francis Meja should not be the Chairperson of the Public Service Commission have been well analysed to the extent that we now understand that whoever was contesting them was not doing so in good faith.

I beg to reply.

Next Order. We will dispose of the next Motion in the same way. The Minister is now in the House waiting.

The Chairperson, Departmental Committee on Energy, Hon Gikaria. Give Hon. Gikaria the microphone.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I beg to move:

THAT this House adopts the Report of the Joint Committee of the Departmental Committee on Energy of the National Assembly and the Standing

Hon Gikaria, read the Motion as it has been framed in the Order Paper. No shortcuts.

Okay. I beg to move the following Motion:

THAT, this House adopts the Joint Report of the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Energy and the Senate Standing Committee on Energy on their consideration of the Field Development Plan and the Production Sharing Contracts for Block T6 and T7 in the South Lokichar Basin, Turkana County, laid on the Table of the House on Tuesday, 24th February 2026, and pursuant to the provisions of Article 71 of the Constitution and Section 31 (2) (a) of the Petroleum Act (Cap. 308) , approves the ratification of the Field Development Plan and the Production Sharing Contracts for Block T6 and T7 in the South Lokichar Basin, Turkana County. Let me first state that this is one of the largest investments to take place in this country. It is projected at approximately Ksh1.9 trillion to develop the oil fields in Turkana. The Field Development Plan and the associated Production Sharing Contracts for Block T6 and T7 were tabled in the House on 27th November 2025 pursuant to Article 71 of the Constitution. That

Article requires that any grant of a right or concession for the exploitation of a natural resource by or on behalf of the national Government, be ratified by Parliament.

Hon. Speaker, the Production Sharing Contracts and the Field Development Plan outline the proposed commercial development of six oil discoveries. Article 96 of the Constitution mandates the Senate to represent and protect the interests of counties and their governments. Article 95(2) mandates the National Assembly to deliberate on and resolve issues concerning the people of Kenya. That is why both you and the Speaker of the Senate directed the formation of the Joint Committee that undertook this exercise.

The Joint Committee received written memoranda from members of the public and various stakeholders following an advertisement placed in newspapers on 29th November 2025. It also engaged key stakeholders, including the relevant Ministry, Government agencies, oil and gas experts, and the contractor, Gulf Energy BV.

One of the persons who appeared before the Joint Committee was a first-year petroleum engineering student from Kenyatta University, who submitted a handwritten memorandum and made a presentation on various aspects of the project. A key issue raised in the submissions was security. Many contributors expressed concern about security-related matters that could hamper crude oil production.

Among the notable issues considered were constitutional and legal compliance. The Committee observed that the project, the Field Development Plan and the Production Sharing Contracts comply with the Constitution and the relevant laws.

Regarding the nature of the resource and production realities, Kenya’s crude oil is waxy and solidifies at room temperature. However, due to its low sulphur content, it is a high-quality product.

Ratification will unlock Kenya’s first commercial oil production, targeted for December 2026. As stated earlier, this is the largest single investment in the country. The capital expenditure is projected at approximately Ksh900 billion, while the operational expenditure is estimated at around Ksh1 trillion. Approximately 73 per cent of this investment will remain within Turkana for the purposes of uplifting Turkana County.

In terms of economic and strategic value to the nation, Government revenue is projected to range between Ksh1.5 trillion and Ksh2.9 trillion over the life of the project. The project will mobilise approximately Ksh7.6 trillion in combined capital and operating expenditure. This is a transformational infrastructure project.

The Government will invest in supporting infrastructure to the tune of over Ksh56 billion, including road infrastructure, electricity and water. Some of this will be undertaken by the Kenya Defence Forces. This infrastructure will not only support oil production but will also benefit local communities through domestic use and irrigation.

On local content, it has been agreed that 100 per cent of unskilled labour will be sourced from Turkana, and approximately 70 per cent of skilled labour, subject to the availability of qualified professionals within the county.

In the first phase, over 600 trucks will be used to transport crude oil from Turkana to Mombasa. Eighty-five per cent of that transport opportunity will benefit Turkana County.

On environmental safeguards, the Field Development Plan assures adherence to international environmental and social standards, including zero routine flaring, biodiversity protection measures, comprehensive waste management, and safeguards to ensure responsible development without compromising environmental integrity.

On community engagement and benefit sharing, in accordance with the Petroleum Act, the national Government will receive 75 per cent, the county government 20 per cent, and the local community in the oil-producing area 5 per cent. Ratification aligns with the national interest. It enables Kenya to move from discovery to production and avoids further investor uncertainty.

Lastly, this is more than a contract. It is a project that will unlock Kenya’s first oil, create jobs, restore dignity in Turkana, strengthen our economy and transform national infrastructure. It fully complies with constitutional and statutory requirements, respects community rights, safeguards the environment and advances our strategic national interests.

I therefore move that this House ratifies the Field Development Plan and the Production Sharing Contracts for Block T6 and T7 so that Kenya may take its rightful place among oil-producing nations, secure posterity and benefit future generations.

I now invite my Deputy, Hon. Lemanken Aramat, to second the Motion. Thank you.

Hon. Gikaria, you do not end at that. You should beg to move the Motion and invite someone to second.

Sorry, Hon. Speaker, I beg to move the Motion and invite Hon. Lomanen Aramat to second.

Give Hon. Aramat the microphone.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Chairman, I am not Lomanen. I am Lemanken Aramat.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to second that the House adopts the Joint Report of the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Energy and the Senate Standing Committee on Energy on their consideration of the Field Development Plan and Production Sharing Contracts for Block T6 and T7 in South Lokichar Basin. I do not want to belabour because our Chairman has spoken, but allow me to say something. Article 71 of the Constitution requires Parliament to ratify any grant of rights to explore national resources. The instrument before the House, tabled on 27th November 2022, includes the South Lokichar Development Plan, and the production sharing contracts for an associated addendum aligning the agreement to the Constitution and Statutory Framework under the Petroleum Act of 2019.

Hon. Speaker, Phase 1, which will start in 2026 to 2032, targets a peak of 20,000 barrels of oil per day, and Phase 2 of 2032 to 2050 will scale up to 50 barrels per day. This is a capital- intensive undertaking that will have approximately Khs753 billion and an operating cost of Ksh1.06 trillion. Despite this significant investment and projection, revenue stands at approximately Ksh2.3 trillion over the life of the project. We did intensive public participation, and the issue of land and compensation was a major concern for the people of Turkana. The concern regarding compensation was addressed under Article 116 of the Petroleum Act. In the absence of the Gazette Land Value Index in Turkana, the National Land Commission is applying a hybrid valuation approach combining market value and distribution allowance to ensure fairness and recognition of livelihood disruption.

Hon. Speaker, another key issue was water and security. Within the community, approximately 16,500 metric tonnes of dam water will be pumped per day to Lake Turkana. The local content was also an issue that was looked at. We beg this House to adopt this Report of the Joint Committee as laid and tabled in the House.

I second.

Order. Hon. Members on your feet, take your seats.

Leader of the Majority Party.

Hon. Speaker, since I see the Cabinet Secretary already in the vicinity of the House, allow me to thank the Departmental Committee on Energy for the great work they did, especially carrying out extensive public participation in Turkana, West Pokot, Uasin Gishu, Trans Nzoia, Lamu and Mombasa counties.

Almost a decade ago, when it was reported that we had discovered oil, Kenyans have patiently waited for us to transition from the point of discovery to development and production. What we are doing this afternoon is to approve that Field Development Plan and the production and profit-sharing agreement between the developers and the Government of Kenya. For those who have cared to read the Report that was tabled yesterday by the Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Gikaria, this Field Development Plan (FDP) covers at least six blocks, namely, Ngamia, Amosing, Twiga, Ekalesi, Agete, and Etom. As you can see, all Hon. Members from Turkana County, like Hon. Ariko, Hon. Nicholas and the Member for Loima, are all in the House because this matter is very pertinent to them. Many a times, people from the northern part of Kenya have been vilified because of the marginalisation that pertained in our country since we gained our Independence.

Hon. Speaker, the Sessional Paper No.10 of 1965 made our economy grow in a very skewed manner and we must speak out and be open about these things. I know there are petty individuals who see some regions of this country as worthless. They consider the North dry and nothing valuable comes from there. They even show contempt to the people from these areas. I want to tell those hate mongers that those places they vilified in yesteryears are the new frontiers that will move our country to a First World nation.

Give him one minute to finish.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. These are salient issues that have been raised over time. How much does the national Government get? They get 75 per cent while the county government gets 20 per cent and the local community gets 5 per cent. This is why you see all these Hon. Members from Turkana here, like Hon. Ariko, to make sure there is a mechanism to ring-fence the 5 per cent to ensure that money actually goes to the local community, who are giving their ancestral and community land for the development of these oil resources in our country.

Let me not belabour what has been said. Hon. Members will read the Report and see that this is a momentous point in our nation and in the growth of our economy. This nation will be able to progress. With projected revenues of Ksh2.32 trillion, it speaks volumes to what we will be doing in the next few weeks to establish a national sovereign wealth fund that will ensure that money generated by such natural resources of our country does not go to waste but benefits our generation and future generations.

With that, I beg to support this and urge the House to support this Field Development Plan and revenue sharing agreement.

Thank you.

Yes, Hon. Lochakapong.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I wish to comment on the Report presented by Hon. Gikaria and the Committee. While I recognise the good intentions behind this Report concerning the development and Production Sharing Contracts for Block T6 and T7 in South Lokichar Basin, I have not seen any mention of the owners of water. The oil production requires water from River Turkwel, and we are discussing the supply of water for domestic use and irrigation in West Pokot and Turkana. We have been provided with truck packs along the road, and there are indications that irrigation projects will be shared between Turkana County and West Pokot. However, in the areas where oil is being produced, with the involvement of the national Government, the county government, and the community, how will the community benefit?

Your time is up. Hon. Ariko.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the matter of the Lokichar Oil Development Project. God is great. God has seen Turkana County. God has seen Kenya, which will now stand among the world's oil-producing nations. This is a big investment. The Government of Kenya has an investor who is prepared to invest substantial funds into this project, potentially exceeding even the investment in the SGR, which we regard as a heavy investment. The people of Turkana have been waiting for this project.

Give him a minute to conclude.

As part of the leadership of Turkana County, I request more time. We wish to discuss this subject further. Allow me to shed some light on what the people of Turkana seek from this project. The gains from this project, including infrastructure, will encompass the road and railway networks necessary for transporting oil from the Lokichar Oil Basin...

Hon. Speaker, I am really worried about those signals.

If you stop complaining, you will make your point. So, just go on.

Next is Hon. Nicholas Ng’ikor. Hon. Members, you agreed to speak for two minutes. Please make your points within that time.

Hon. Speaker, this is an important Motion for this House. However, we are attempting to rush through it. I would like to address the contents of this Report, which impact my constituency, Turkana East, located to the south of the Lokichar Basin. I thank the Committee for capturing the discussions that took place during the public participation, particularly those relevant to my constituency. I urge all members here

to support this Report. The development plan sets us on a path towards oil production in this country, placing us among the countries recognised for oil production globally.

If approved, this Report will be an eye-opener regarding our economy. As outlined in the Report, this country stands to benefit financially from this resource. The issue of local content has been addressed in the Report as the Turkana people desired. This will assist our communities in remote areas in developing and catching up with the rest of the counties in this country.

Regarding job opportunities, this initiative will greatly assist not only the Turkana people but all Kenyans. It is worth noting that the company undertaking this project, Gulf Energy, is a local entity that will bring numerous benefits to local communities.

Hon. Caroli Omondi.

Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker. My main concern is the haste with which we are discussing such an important matter. This marks the first time in Kenya's history that we are addressing a field development plan for the commercial production of oil. We are aware of the historical context surrounding oil. The political, social, and economic challenges that arise when balancing risks and profit-sharing are not always effectively managed. Why are we rushing? This Report was tabled only yesterday, and we have not interrogated it as Members. We need to examine the backing rights; there is even a concept of backing rights, indicating that the Government should own 20 per cent under the law. There are too many aspects we need to explore. Why are we in such a hurry? Why must we pass it today? We are doing a disservice not only to the people of Turkana but to the entire Republic of Kenya.

I propose that we suspend the discussion if there is no time. Let us allocate a proper period for debating this field development plan so that the citizens can fully understand it, instead of taking them for a ride.

Hon. Caroli Omondi, you have used the time I allocated to you to complain rather than contribute. Yes, Leader of the Majority Party, what is your point of order?

Hon. Speaker, you have actually captured what I wanted to raise. This Report was tabled yesterday. Hon. Caroli Omondi has spent his time lamenting instead of addressing the contents of the Report. The Committee spent a lot of time engaging with the public, and those of us who made the effort to read the Report last night and yesterday afternoon are keen to contribute substantively.

Hon. Nabuin, the Member for Turkana North.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I rise to support this Report. The people of Turkana have waited over 14 years to access the benefits of their oil. The opportunities stemming from the production of this oil, as expressed by the Turkana people during the public participation exercise, are substantial, including employment and business prospects. They are eager to see these opportunities come to fruition. Of importance is the issue of insecurity in the region. The Turkana people are looking up to the Government

to ensure that the situation regarding insecurity is addressed. If the production and movement of this oil can help alleviate insecurity, then it should commence without delay. This is the message that the Turkana people are telling this Parliament. Approve it.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Hon. Emathe. Hon. Gikaria, get ready. You will be next.

Hon. Speaker, I thank you. I rise to support the Report. We are not here to ratify the Report. I remember attending a conference with you in Perth, Australia…

Yes.

One thing that you raised in that meeting with the Titanium Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is that it is not good to dwell on pit- pot. In this case, Turkana needs to be a model of transformation in general. This is the time we can extract fossil fuel since Kenya is trying to reduce its carbon emissions by 32% by the year

Hon. Ruku, you should be reminded that you are no longer a Member of this House.

Hon. Speaker, when we are ratifying this Report, we should make Turkana a national corridor of transformation and development, not just a pit where we extract and move with the oil in other places.

Hon. Speaker, I support.

Hon. Gikaria.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I thank all the Members who have contributed towards this very important investment in this country. I know too many issues have been raised, one of them being from West Pokot. Since I tabled this Report yesterday, I wish that Members take their time to go through and see the immense benefit. Turkana will not be the only beneficiary; six other counties will benefit, including the transport route and where the oil will be stored in Mombasa.

The Leader of the Majority Party had highlighted the six counties. I urge Members to read this Report and see the benefits it will bring to this country. A Ksh2.3 trillion investment will be one of the biggest investments we will have in this country

Hon. Speaker, I beg to reply.

Order, Hon. Members.

Hon. Members, looking at the Public Gallery, do we still have Chebwagan Boys High School from Bureti, Kericho?

Yes.

On my behalf, and on behalf of the House, I welcome the students, their teachers, and those accompanying them to the House of Parliament.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to lay the following Paper on the Table of the House:

Report of the Public Debt and Privatisation Committee on its consideration of the Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy for the Financial Year 2026/2027 to 2028/2029. Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Thank you. Now go to Order No. 6 and give notice of Motion.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to give notice of the following…

Order, Members! Members who have an interest in the drought situation in the country, the Cabinet Secretary is here to respond to your concerns. Hon. Shurie, give your notice of Motion.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to give notice of the following Motion:

THAT, this House adopts the Report of the Public Debt and Privatisation

Thank you. We will now go to Order No. 7 on Questions and Statements.

Hon. Kitur.

Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker…

Hon. Kitur, which road is this? From Eldoret to Shamakhokho. Where does it pass?

Kapsabet.

Okay. The Kapsabet-Kapkangani Road. Go ahead.

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 Transport and Infrastructure regarding the expansion of the Eldoret- Shamakhokho Road.

The Eldoret-Shamakhokho Road is a major transport corridor which links Eldoret to Kisumu and serves as a key route for the movement of goods and passengers between the North Rift and Western regions. The road, designed in the late 1960s, is no longer able to cater for the volume of traffic between the two regions. This has led to frequent congestion and has been reportedly linked to a rise in road accidents, some of which have resulted in fatalities. The Eldoret - Shamakhokho Road is important for trade, transport and regional connectivity and it is imperative that the Ministry of Roads and Transport enhance its capacity and safety of motorists.

It is against this background that I request for a Statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Transport and Infrastructure on the following:

Hon. Kitur, would it not be wise for you to amend your request to read Eldoret-Chavakali Road? That road does not end in Shamakhokho.

Seemingly, Hon. Speaker, from Shamakhokho onwards, the road is expanded.

It is not. I know it. So, expand your request for the Chairman of the Committee to deal with the Eldoret-Chavakali Road.

Well guided, Hon. Speaker.

Yes.

Okay.

Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Transport and Infrastructure. Hon. Saney, you are in the Departmental Committee on Transport and Infrastructure.

On behalf of the Committee, I promise that there shall be a response one week after the recess.

No, the last week before we go on recess; we have three weeks to go.

Well guided, Hon. Speaker.

Make sure you deal with Eldoret-Chavakali Road and not Eldoret- Shamakhokho Road.

Hon. Osoro, request for a Statement quickly so that we go to the Cabinet Secretary.

Hon. Speaker, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 44 (2) (c) , I rise to request for a joint Statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Health and Chairperson of the Departmental

Chairpersons of the Departmental Committee on Health and Departmental Committee on Education, when can you bring a response? Hon. Melly, you have the microphone.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. If it is agreeable with my counterpart in the Departmental Committee on Health, we can present a report in two weeks’ time because we need to summon two Cabinet Secretaries and the regulators on both sides.

Can you bring a response next Thursday?

Is it on Thursday, next week?

Yes. This is a very simple matter.

Yes. Let me find out and then I will bring it back.

Hon. Jaldesa, your Chairman said that you are holding brief for him.

We shall do as you have guided.

We will now go to Questions and we only have one. Hon. Yussuf Farah has Question 2/2026.

Leader of the Majority Party, the Cabinet Secretary, Hon. Ruku, is in the House. Because of the widespread drought situation in the Northern part of Kenya, I directed him to anchor this Question to give the House and country a comprehensive Statement on the interventions he is taking to mitigate and ameliorate the situation out there that is claiming lives of livestock and causing misery to many Kenyan pastoralists.

Hon. Farah, can you read out your Question?

Hon. Speaker, I rise to ask the Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes the following Question:

Could the Cabinet Secretary—

Cabinet Secretary, I believe this is your maiden appearance in this House since you crossed the Rubicon.

The Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes

: Yes.

You are welcome back to the House. You are directed to give precise and concise responses to the questions and the Statement that I have directed you to give.

The Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes

: Hon. Speaker and Hon. Members of this esteemed august House, I sincerely thank you for giving me the opportunity to address the House on matters relating to the Ministry of Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes. Notably, this marks my maiden appearance before the House to respond to the questions raised by Hon. Members.

Hon. Speaker, as outlined in the Executive Order No. 1 of 2025, my Ministry is mandated to coordinate disaster preparedness, response and recovery efforts during crisis such as floods, drought, fires, disease outbreaks, pandemics, as well as other national emergencies and geological disasters to provide food, aid and other essential supplies to affected populations among others. The Ministry is committed to ensure a coordinated, timely, accountable and humane response to disasters. This is in line with Article 43 of the Constitution which guarantees every person the right to: be free from hunger, and to have adequate food for acceptable quality; accessible and adequate housing; clean and safe water in adequate quantities.

Kenya is a climate vulnerable country that experiences drought, floods, landslide and other climate-induced shocks. They have become more frequent, intense and complex with far- reaching implications on food security, livelihood, public health and national cohesion. Historically, Government responses to disaster were rapidly reactive, fragmented and event- driven. There were other successive national emergencies, most notably the 1997/1998 El Nino floods followed shortly thereafter by 1998 terrorist bombing of the United States Embassy in Nairobi. They laid bare the institutional and coordination gaps in national disaster management. These events underscored the need for a central, permanent and authoritative coordinating entity that manages disasters holistically, from preparedness, response and then to recovery and resilience.

It is against this backdrop that the State Department for Special Programmes was established within the Office of the President, initially as the National Emergency Coordination Mechanism. Over time, the State Department for Special Programmes has evolved in both scope and responsibility, reflecting the changing nature of disasters in Kenya. Today, it is domiciled in the Ministry of Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special

Programmes. It serves as a nerve centre of Government's disaster and humanitarian response architecture.

The State Department for Special Programmes does not operate in isolation. Rather, it provides strategic coordination, policy leadership and operation oversight, working closely with the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), ministries, departments and agencies, county government, humanitarian and development partners, as well as community- level disaster management structures. These evolutions reflect a deliberate shift from ad hoc emergency relief to institutionalised disaster risk management.

To answer the first question on the status of the drought in Turkana, Marsabit, Mandela, Wajir, Garissa, Isiolo, and Samburu, including the number of households affected, I have visited all these counties in the effort to manage the disaster which this country is facing. Kenya is experiencing worsening drought conditions driven by persistent hot and dry weather, and

compounded by below-average rainfall across consecutive seasons. As a result, about 3.3

million people in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) counties are food insecure and in urgent need of food assistance. In addition, the drought has also affected nine other non-ASAL counties, which include Nakuru, Elgeyo Marakwet, Kiambu, Machakos, Siaya, Homa Bay, Kirinyaga, Murang’a and Migori.

According to the analysis from Kenya Drought Early Warning System (DEWS), Mandela, Wajir, Kwale and Kilifi counties are in the alarm phase. Garissa, Tana River, Isiolo, Marsabit, Kajiado, Kitui, Lamu, Samburu, Taita Taveta, Tharaka – Nithi, Turkana and Baringo counties are in the alert phase. Embu, Narok, Laikipia and West Pokot counties are in pre-alert phase. Nyeri, Makueni and Meru counties remain in the normal phase, though Meru is showing early warning signs. For the record, I have in recent past visited most of these counties. That is Turkana, Marsabit, Mandela, Wajir, Garissa, Isiolo, Samburu, Taita Taveta, Tana River, Kajiado and several other counties.

Question two is on the measures taken to provide relief food and cash transfers, and the funds allocated and disbursed for these purposes. The Government of Kenya has deployed a robust most sectoral emergency response to address the effect of drought. The National Treasury and Economic Planning has so far allocated Ksh9 billion for drought interventions. Out of this amount, Ksh8.5 billion for emergency food assistance and Ksh500 million for livestock feed to protect the pastoral livelihood. On Monday, I was in Turkana County where I signed a cheque amounting to Ksh215 million towards this intervention as far as cash transfer is concerned. I am sure the Members from Turkana County witnessed this function. I can see some of them here.

The relief food has been distributed to all affected counties based on the need identified following a comprehensive food and nutritional assessment, conducted by the NDMA and partners. To implement this, the NDMA is implementing a cash transfer programme in the said

integrating social protection programmes to cushion the vulnerable households during shocks, as I mentioned on the issues to do with cash transfer.

As earlier stated, the State Department, in collaboration with the National Drug Management Authority, has continued to implement a cash transfer programme aimed at cushioning poor and vulnerable households. Most recently, an amount of Ksh778,536,900 was disbursed to 133,101 households registered under the Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP). The above measures, among others, will facilitate a gradual shift from real dependency to resilience building and self-reliance.

It is also worth noting that the Government is in the process of setting up the National Infrastructure Fund, which this House, I am sure, is discussing, or is undergoing the process of legislation, so that the Fund can help the nation in building resilience projects, such as dams and irrigation schemes.

Hon. Speaker, allow me to briefly highlight some of the challenges my Ministry faces in fulfilling its mandate. They include:

Thank you. You can now take your seat. We will take supplementary questions, starting with the questioner, Hon. Farah. You will take questions from those who want to ask. You can record and answer all of them at once.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, I have three follow-up questions. First, I want to acknowledge and appreciate the Cabinet Secretary and his Principal Secretary for doing a wonderful job this time round despite having budgetary challenges. My question is: the animal feeds that he talked about are yet to be supplied in various counties as of today. How many tonnes of feeds were allocated to each county or specifically to each constituency or even the beneficiaries of those animal feeds and what was the budget?

Second, Waziri said that the drought cannot be declared an emergency because it has not overwhelmed the Government. My question, therefore, is: how do we measure the loss that people in Northern Kenya and ASAL areas undergo every drought season? Millions of animals are lost during every single drought including the current one. What measures has the Government taken or have to see to declare this drought as an emergency? From where I stand, the drought

several counties are at an alarm stage while others are at an emergency stage. What happens or what are we waiting for? Are we waiting for all the animals to perish and everybody becomes poor before the Government comes in to say it is overwhelmed and they need extra resources?

The Cabinet Secrtary has already said that he also has a challenge with funding. Waziri has admitted that there is shortage of funding to mitigate this drought. That clearly shows that the Government has no capacity to handle this drought alone. It is the right time for Waziri and the drought management team to consider and save these people who are suffering every time and losing millions of animals.

Thank you, Hon. Farah. You can end there. The rest of the joyriders will only ask a question each. I indulged Hon. Farah because he is the owner of the Question.

Hon. Keynan.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. At the outset, allow me to thank the Cabinet Secretary and his two Principal Secretaries for doing a wonderful job under very difficult circumstances.

This challenge has always been there. However, before I ask the question, allow me to state some historical facts. This season has been there with us since time immemorial. However, during the colonial time, we used to have livestock grazing zones, holding grounds and migratory routes. These natural disasters were there but they were managed very well. Right now, people have been left on their own. The Cabinet Secretary was in my constituency the other day and I really appreciate him because he did a wonderful job. He has also gone to different places. As far as I remember, the previous Cabinet Secretary who did a similar job was the late Hon. Shariff Nassir, when he was the Minister in charge of the same docket in the Office of the President. We appreciate him but that is the theoretical part of it.

What you need to do right now forms my question. Drought is a natural calamity, but these days, we have a weather forecasting facility which is so accurate and predictable. We can use that as a basis to predict how this issue can be dealt with.

Hon. Cabinet Secretary, as a Government, for years our communities have been reduced to depend on relief. That is dehumanising. As we speak today, too many people in our region are dying. Let me inform you because you may not have been told. Too many families have lost everything. Many school-going children are out of school. It is not enough to say we are waiting for a report from the National Disaster Management Team. Is it not high time you declared this a national disaster? I understand the dynamics but that is not enough. There is a bit of business and national interest but there is nothing more important than the lives of our people. Can you consider requesting the Government led by His Excellency the President to declare this a national disaster?

Secondly, …

Ask only one question, Hon. Keynan.

Waziri, there are countries that have faced similar challenges. A country like Saudi Arabia and Israel sat down, looked at their different geographical location and came up with prudent measures to deal with this. Is it not high time under your leadership to consider this so that this problem is dealt with once and for all?

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

On a point of order, Hon. Speaker.

Thank you. Hon. Saney, what is out of order?

Hon. Speaker, my point of order is in reference to Article 208 (1) of the Constitution, which provides for contingency funds. What is the rush for declaration of an emergency when the Constitution stipulates that the Government must be prepared upfront and avail financial resources to make sure that there is no life and livelihoods lost. It is something within our Constitution.

What does it really mean to declare an emergency when contingency funding itself is empty and that constitutional clause is not fully implemented? Is it in order to declare an emergency when there is a constitutional mechanism to resolve the issue?

Cabinet Secretary, note all those questions. You will respond to them. Hon. Naomi Waqo.

Ask one question each.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Waziri, thank you very much. I have gone to Marsabit County with you several times. Thank you for the good work that you keep doing with your Principal Secretaries.

I know that food distribution has been done and the Government will continue doing it but we have not seen much in the livestock sector. Then there is the component of water tracking that is really pushing us because we are all using our money to help people in Northern Kenya. Tell us what you are doing on that. We are expecting rain now. Normally when it rains, we experience flooding that sweeps away the animals and sometimes even homes. Some people lose their lives. Waziri, tell us the plans you have in place to also take care of the rains that are just about to come.

Hon. Ariko.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Drought is a prolonged period during which we do not receive rain in our counties. How long will you continue providing food to those affected areas? Secondly, regarding the constitution of the

county steering group, your approach is causing confusion by involving legislators in that specific steering committee. A case in point is Turkana County. This will create total confusion and conflicts in the implementation of food relief in the counties. When you include the county assembly, the county government, Members of Parliament, and the Executive, it will result in complete chaos in the distribution of that food.

Finally…

I said you ask one question at a time, Hon. Ariko. You said “Two,” then “Finally.” You ask one question only.

Hon. Mulyungi, you are joyriders. Please, ask one question only.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Relief food is never enough. It comes in piecemeal. When it comes, it is distributed in one day, and the families which receive the food cannot even consume it for more than three days before they go back to suffering. What is the Cabinet Secretary doing to ensure that the supply of food is a continuous process, especially in the poor affected counties like Kitui County? It is not only the North Eastern region that is affected by drought. Kitui County is a neighbour to the North Eastern region, and we are equally affected. Our livestock are also dying.

Next is Hon. Cynthia.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Allow me to appreciate the Cabinet Secretary for giving us a response to this matter. I must say that we must move from responding to crisis to reducing the risk in terms of drought.

As you can clearly see, the relief food distribution can never be sustainable. What is the Cabinet Secretary doing in regard to community preparedness so that every community can know what is about to happen?

In my constituency, everyone knows that the rains are there, and we are supposed to plant coffee in April. Everyone is getting ready. What is the Cabinet Secretary doing in terms of training and making sure that the community is properly aware of what is imminent so that they can prepare? What is he doing about establishing fodder banks? How many fodder banks does he have so that he can be able to save livestock, which are the livelihood of people who are facing drought right now?

Thank you.

Hon. Nabuin.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I thank the Cabinet Secretary for making his maiden trip to Turkana County on Monday. He came face to face with the challenges that the people are grappling with in Turkana County. Of course, one of them was how that food could be transported to the interior parts of the county. There was lack of fuel and vehicles for that purpose. I want to ask the Cabinet Secretary. There are a number of pastoral communities that moved across the border. In my constituency, which borders Ethiopia, we have a good number of pastoralists who have moved across, and they are right inside Ethiopia. I want to find whether the Cabinet Secretary has the number of pastoralists who have moved to Ethiopia? The reports coming from there indicate that they are facing hunger. They went to Ethiopia to graze their livestock because the situation there is good for the animals. However, they cannot find and buy food.

Secondly, the animals are getting sick. Do we have plans to provide veterinary medication to the livestock that is across the border?

Hon. Double N.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Waziri Ruku for a job-well-done during this time of drought, which has affected many counties. Over and above, I would like to know whether the Government has plans to provide some animal feed to the livestock. Are there plans by the Government to buy livestock from farmers in drought-hit areas and sell on their behalf?

Lastly, are there any long-term plans to ensure that arid and semi-arid lands/regions have a budget to construct dams, so that relief food is no longer an issue? We can then have water for irrigation on our farms and for domestic use. We should not be dealing with lack of food when the Government can construct dams for irrigation and domestic use.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Yes, Hon. Dekow.

Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker. I also want to take this opportunity to thank the Cabinet Secretary for the elaborate response that he has given on this issue. However, my region, Northern Kenya, does not require any more relief food because it has the potential to provide food not only for itself, but also for the rest of the country if enough resources are allocated to that region to put up infrastructure to produce food and fodder for humans and livestock, respectively. What is the rationale in transporting trucks of hay all the way from Nairobi to Mandera and yet, the water of River Tana and River Dawa in Garissa and Mandera can be used to produce hay or fodder for that region? Currently, enough hay or fodder has been harvested by farmers in Garissa County, and specifically in Garissa Township Constituency. Farmers are ready to sell that produce and yet, the Ministry is shipping truckloads of livestock feed from as far as Naivasha and transporting them all the way to Mandera.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Next is Hon. Saney.

Hon. Speaker, drought is not like a hurricane. Neither is it a disaster that occurs within a short time span. Drought is there to stay and is part and parcel of our seasonality. What is the Ministry’s level of preparedness? As much as I appreciate the Cabinet Secretary’s response in terms of cash delivery and relief food supply, what is the level of preparedness in terms of our livelihood and livestock? How many boreholes did they drill in Wajir North Constituency to ensure that pastoralists’ livelihoods are safeguarded? Why is fodder imported while small-scale farmers in Wajir can grow fodder that can be sold or bought from them? What are the ecological consequences of importing grass from another part of the country and taking it to an arid and semi-arid land? Did they really study the consequences?

Lastly, I would like to comment on the indignity involved in queuing for relief food. Protection of dignity is a constitutional right. Must we, after 63 years of Independence, still queue for relief food? Why should Kenyans be demeaned to that extent?

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

I will give the last opportunity to Hon. Basil.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Thank you, my brother, Cabinet Secretary Hon. Ruku, for your great work and great responses to the questions that have been asked. How is the Ministry integrating drought response into the broader climate adaptation policy? What measures are in place to prevent dependency on relief food?

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Let us, finally, have Hon. Emaase and then the Cabinet Secretary will respond since you are only two.

Thank you. There are pockets of famine even in Teso. There are people who are going without food.

Having said that, I just want to emphasise that distributing food to drought-affected areas does not solve the problem. It will never be sustainable. I think the Cabinet Secretary needs to come up with more innovative interventions and, probably, do an audit. There are many programmes. There is the Livestock Development Programme under the African Development Bank’s Arid Lands Projects. Do an audit to assess the impact. What is the impact of those programmes and many others within ASAL regions? You can then come up with

innovative means of addressing those problems so that we do not talk about drought all the time. We know that drought comes every year. What are we doing about it? Come up with sustainable ways of sorting out the issue.

I indulge Hon. Lelmengit.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I appreciate the Cabinet Secretary of Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes.

There are poverty-stricken areas that could also be considered artificial droughts. I have specific areas in Emgwen Constituency, where people cannot even afford a meal. Students do not go to school because their parents cannot afford to provide meals. I wrote a letter to the Cabinet Secretary, requesting for emergency relief food for those specific areas. Can the Cabinet Secretary carry out an assessment in those areas with a view to provide the necessary support?

Cabinet Secretary, can you, quickly, respond to all those questions? Most of them are overlapping and cross-cutting.

The Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes

: Thank you, Hon. Speaker and Hon. Members, for the questions.

The first question is about animal feeds. I was in Turkana County on Monday. We ensured that there are animal feeds. Members from Turkana County can confirm. I can also confirm to this House that animal feeds have been delivered to Mandera County. I was in Bura Constituency of Tana River County on Saturday last week. I went to two places—Bangali and Chewele. I can confirm to this House that animal feeds were delivered to those two points. Distribution of animal feeds is continuous and ongoing. It is not only food like beans, maize and rice, but also fortified flour for children and breastfeeding mothers.

There is the question of how much in the Budget has been set aside for animal feeds. We have the first batch of Kshs500 million. We also have a second batch of Kshs500 million, which is in the process of getting utilised. The total budget for animal feeds is Kshs1 billion.

The other question was on how we measure loss and our mitigating measures. The long- term strategy I have put in place through my Ministry is that the National Youth Service (NYS) will start growing fodder for animal feed starting this year. The NYS is under the Ministry of Public Service. Executive Order No.1 of 2025 says clearly that the State Department should work with the NYS to put in place programmes that can mitigate or can help in managing disasters. Drought is one such disaster. Last week, we agreed with the NYS that they will not only plant avocados, but also grow appropriate fodder and hay so that we can establish fodder banks and animal feed reserves across the country. We know that after every two years, there is usually a cycle of drought.

On the challenges of funding, it is not so much about provision of emergency relief food and livestock feed. The main challenge is staffing in the State Department for Special Programmes. We need to employ about 66 staff members. So far, the National Treasury has not given us the green light to proceed with the employment of the 66 staff that are required in the State Department. The reason given is that there are not enough resources to cater for that.

It is important to report that there has been no death reported across the country due to hunger. There is no death. I want to repeat that the Government has mechanisms for establishing whether there has been any human death as a result of hunger. So far, none has been recorded.

On provision of relief food to schools, the Government, through the National Council for Nomadic Education in Kenya (NACONEK) , which is under the Ministry of Education, has provided enough resources to ensure that the school feeding programme continues in all arid and semi-arid counties.

On water trucking, I was in Bura on Saturday last week. The NYS is providing water trucking service in Tana River County. I flagged off water bowsers from the NYS to provide water trucking service in Tana River County. We have allocated water bowsers from the NYS to different counties. We have also mobilised other regional bodies with water bowsers to assist in water trucking.

As far as flooding is concerned, the Government is prepared to address the issues arising. There have been reports of flooding in Migori County and we are addressing that situation. We have adequate resources to respond to flooding.

Regarding the question of how long we will continue providing relief food, the Government of Kenya will provide food for as long as there are Kenyans without food. As long as there is any Kenyan facing food insecurity because of hunger, the Government is committed to ensuring that relief food is provided. To elaborate further, the Government has also been providing relief food in urban areas within Nairobi County, where we have many slums. I have been to almost every constituency in Nairobi County to ensure that we distributed food and other non-food items.

On the confusion mentioned by the Member for Turkana County, Regulation 19(10) of the Public Finance Management Regulations gives the Cabinet Secretary power to gazette what we call “County Drought Management Committees.” The law provides the Cabinet Secretary with powers to gazette those committees in the 23 arid and semi-arid counties so that they can help manage drought. It is a good process of democratising this process.

Cabinet Secretary, you may have missed his point on whether you are able to depoliticise the distribution of food by weeding out politicians. You let it be a government-led technocratic approach so that politicians do not jump on the bandwagon to gain cheap political mileage at the expense of deserving wananchi. I think this is what Hon. Ariko said and it makes sense. Give him the microphone. That is what I understood from you.

Hon. John Namoit

Hon. Speaker, that is part of what I said. The Cabinet Secretary said very clearly that he wants the county assembly, Members of Parliament and the Executive to be involved in the distribution of relief food. This will bring total confusion and infighting.

That is what you said and I paraphrased it. The Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes

: Hon. Speaker, issues of accountability and transparency were raised. Hon. Members complained that the National Government Administration Officers

(NGAO)

sell the food. They also do not know when the people they represent get food. It is a very thin line. The NGAO are not very comfortable when it comes to involving all the politicians in the process.

To ensure accountability and transparency for people who are 50 kilometres away from where the food is being distributed, there must be someone to say that they must also get relief food. We need this process to be as accountable and transparent as possible. Therefore, we need to involve the people and locals in the leadership. That is why I gazetted the County Drought Management Committee – to ensure that it is not only politicians or NGAO who are being involved in this process, but also, we have community leaders. This will ensure that every person who is affected by drought gets food.

Cabinet Secretary, there is one more issue that you have not touched on, which I consider important. It is the one raised by Hon. Nabwera.

The Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes

: I am not done.

Are you done? The Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes

: I am not done.

The other issue is on whether we know the number of animals and people who have crossed our borders. There are people and their livestock in Ethiopia, Uganda and South Sudan. We are in the process of getting the actual numbers. I can provide the information to this House next week.

Cabinet Secretary, in conjunction with the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, you need to have cross-border protocols with those countries because our herdsmen go there and theirs come to our country when they have drought. You need to have a situation where if Kenyans cross into Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Government and the Kenyan Government know who they are, how many animals they have and provide them with services like veterinary services and protection. We should also do the same for theirs when they come to Kenya.

We have a committee that deals with Uganda and Kenya on those migrations with livestock. If you liaise with the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, you will help our people because we do not cease being responsible simply because they have crossed the border.

The Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes

: I am well guided, Hon. Speaker. I commit to work closely with the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs to coordinate this process.

Wind up now. The Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes

: As far as the livestock uptake is concerned, we are coordinating with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, through the Kenya Meat Commission, to start livestock uptake so that families do not lose their livelihood to the drought.

Finally, on the question of shipping hay from Naivasha all the way to North Eastern, as a Ministry, we are committed to buying hay in Lamu, Wajir and other parts of the country where we have hay. We have done that. We have bought hay in Tana River and in Lamu as well as in Wajir, but the amount of hay we need is in millions of tonnes. That is why we are mopping all the hay that we can get from different counties.

About boreholes, as I said in my initial response, the National Drought Management Authority has an allocation of Kshs350 million and part of that money is for rehabilitation of the boreholes which are not working.

On how the Ministry is integrating the broader aspect of climate change, if you look at the Act which constitutes the National Drought Management Authority, from the first page to the last page, it talks about climate change. We are doing a lot as far as climate change is concerned in terms of adaptation and mitigation, restoration of landscapes and also in proper coordination with the Ministry of Environment and the National Drought Management Authority to ensure that what the Ministry is doing is well-targeted as far as climate change is concerned.

I thank you.

Hon. Members, we will stop here. Perhaps, Hon. Ruku, as you go, there is something that no Member has asked. We have drought in the Northern Region. We have plenty of food and rain in the Western Region. What arrangements do you have as a Ministry to move food from food-secure areas to food-insecure areas so that you support the farmers in those areas?

crops and other fruit crops. Would you consider, with your team, to also be supporting farmers in those rain-secure areas by buying that food to take it to less fortunate areas when we have this kind of situation? You know, we say in every tragedy, lies a silver lining, and that could be the silver lining for the farmers in the rain-secure areas.

The Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes (Hon. Geoffrey Ruku): Thank you, Hon. Speaker. For the record, more than 90 per cent of the food that is being distributed at the moment comes from within our borders. I have instructed my technical team to come up with a framework for procurement that can incorporate all the food we are talking about, including bananas and cassava, among others. Cassava is one of the staple foods across Africa and it should also be part of the framework.

About 65 per cent of Africans live on cassava, if you do not know. The Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes

: Exactly, Hon. Speaker. It is not only bananas, but also cassava, arrowroots, sweet potatoes and Irish potatoes from our potato-growing zones. I have instructed my technical team to ensure that, moving forward, we establish a proper framework. At the moment, we do not have a framework to guide the procurement of those locally grown food items for distribution. At the moment, it is maize, beans, rice, green grams and other legumes. Be assured that we are going to include those other types of food items so that it can be even cheaper for us as a nation to supply relief food. The Government is spending a lot of money taking care of this drought.

Hon. Dorothy, what is it? We are closing. We want to go to other business. Yes, Hon. Dorothy?

Thank you, Hon. Speaker for giving me this opportunity. I do not intend to go back but allow me to congratulate the Cabinet Secretary for roaming this country in the shortest time possible. He has traversed almost all the counties in this country. If every other Cabinet Secretary could work like him, I am sure we would be somewhere.

My only concern, which I wish to indulge him on, is as he is considering working with the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, could he also consider involving the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, so that we educate our people in the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) , and in other areas, on how to plant climate resilient crops – crops that can stand the test of drought, like cassava and other crops in that category?

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Yes, Hon. Makilap. Some Hon. Members come late and then take us back. Give Hon. Makilap the microphone. I am indulging him.

Thank you, Chairman. I was also dealing with the assignment you assigned us as a committee.

Which Chairman?

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Yes.

It is because I came from a committee that was chaired by a chairperson. I am sorry.

The state of this country, especially in our ASAL regions, requires a special programme of utilizing natural water sources like the dams that God has given to us in some of those areas to do irrigation, so that we do not rely on relief food supplies. Relief food has a connotation of poverty and backwardness. We can invest in Lake Baringo or Lake Turkana or the Turkwel Dam, which is like a lake. The soils there do not require fertilisers. Even in my constituency, I have never known the price of fertilisers. The Government, through this Ministry, must invest in special programmes to generate food for the people without being fed on relief food for many years.

Thank you. Yes, Hon. Oundo.

Hon. Speaker, I came much earlier but Hon. Kaluma engaged me on stories from the United States of America. Some of us rely on him to give us stories.

That is improper use of parliamentary time.

Okay. Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I just want an assurance from the Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes. In my Constituency of Funyula, we have seen very many occasions where relief food labelled “Government of Kenya” is being distributed and yet, we do not know the source of that food or who authorises its movement. So, I just want him to give us an assurance that when I see relief food labelled GoK, I can assume that it is safe for human consumption. When there is an issue, I will be asked why I did not know about this food and yet, I come from Nairobi.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Hon. Ruku, all those are just comments. I will release you to go.

Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker. My apologies for coming late.

I have heard Hon. Ruku talking about water trucking and giving relief food. I think in his final submission, he said it is not sustainable. The solution is what you have said - that we must look at what is productive in every part of Kenya. We do not have to grow maize in North Eastern, if you can grow enough in Western Kenya. We can do cattle production in North Eastern and then do exchanges. Today, it is raining in Marsabit and yet, for the last four months, it has been dry. What is the Government doing? With climate change, we can no longer predict the weather. The Ministry must begin to think on its feet. The Cabinet Secretary is doing a good job so far.

Hon. Lochakapong. We want to end there. You are the last Member to speak on this matter. Let me not see more hands.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I want to commend the Cabinet Secretary and his team. We will need to fast-track the Disaster Risk Management Bill, which is at the mediation stage. Secondly, we require resources for strategic food reserves to provide relief aid. The National Drought Emergency Fund (NDEF) also needs to be resourced so that, in case of serious problems, they are able to respond in good time rather than mainly relying on Article 223 of the Constitution to address the challenges facing Kenyans.

Hon. Wandeto. Give him the microphone. There is one next to you.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I also want to thank the Cabinet Secretary for doing a good job in responding to the questions by Members.

Until yesterday, I sat in the Departmental Committee on Regional Development, which oversees some of the activities that we are discussing right now. So, I have an idea or two. My

concern is the duplication we tend to see within the Government regarding drought mitigation responses. We have the Northern Kenya Development Initiative and the National Drought Management Authority. Within the ministries, we have the Ministry responsible for special programmes providing relief food. We also have the Ministry of East African Community, Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs), and Regional Development, which also addresses the same issue.

Could the Cabinet consider bringing all those relief initiatives under one coordinated framework? If we were to add the donor initiatives, we should not still be talking about food insecurity in Northern Kenya. For the last 60 years, donors have been stepping over each other trying to help Northern Kenya. The Government has poured trillions of shillings into the region and yet, we do not seem to see tangible results. I do not know whether to echo the words of the former Deputy President, who said that, perhaps, the leadership of Northern Kenya has failed, but that is not a debate for today.

Going forward, we want to see a more coordinated effort so that we can sustainably relieve our brothers and sisters in Northern Kenya from this long, enduring cycle of hunger and misery.

Hon. Ruku, take those as comments. I am not inviting you to respond. Take them as comments and leave the Chamber. Well done for your maiden visit.

Have a good evening. Next Order.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I beg to move: THAT, the Motion for agreement with the Report of the Committee of the whole House on its consideration of the Judges’ Retirement Benefits Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 27 of 2025) be amended by inserting the words

‘subject to recommittal of Clauses 2, 8, 23, 26, 44, 54 and 55 and the Long Title.’ I request Hon. George Murugara to second the Motion.

Hon. George Murugara.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to second.

THAT, Clause 8 of the Bill be amended by inserting the following new subsection immediately after subsection (1) —

THAT, Clause 23 of the Bill be amended by inserting the following new subclauses immediately after subclause (1) —

Is it the mood of the House that I put the question? Yes, Leader of the Majority Party.

I know the Chairman has been very wordy, but this relates to the non-pension benefits that the other five judges of the Supreme Court, who are not the Chief Justice or the Deputy Chief Justice – and are now four after we lost Justice Ibrahim - to benefit from. We are basically giving clarity on at what point you can benefit from this if you retire. You may serve in the Supreme Court for two or three years and opt to retire. You do not benefit from those non-pensionable benefits if you retire before attaining the age of 65 even after having served for at least 10 years. This helps so that one does not get in office today, leave tomorrow and enjoy the same benefits as somebody else who has served for 15 years.

As the Chairman has clearly stipulated, those are non-pensionable benefits. You will enjoy your pension as anybody else does.

Thank you. (Question, that the words to be inserted be inserted, put and agreed to)

Hon. Temporary Chairman, I beg to move:

THAT, Clause 26 of the Bill be amended in subclause (1) by—

Yes, Hon. Temporary Chairman. Again, the purpose of many of those recommittal clauses is to create clarity to what might have been a bit ambiguous in the Bill.

This amendment is providing clarity that retirement benefits will not be pegged on past pensionable emoluments. Pensionable emoluments could include other allowances like transport and house and mileage allowances for those who may be benefiting from them. This is restricted to basic salary and therefore judges’ monthly contributions will be computed based on that. They will contribute 7.5 per cent of their basic salary while the employer, the Judicial Service Commission, will contribute 15 per cent of their basic salary.

It removes ambiguity on what pensionable emoluments are as opposed to what was initially contained in the Bill.

I support.

Clause 44

THAT, Clause 44 of the Bill be amended in subclause (2) by deleting paragraph

THAT, Clause 54 of the Bill be amended in subclause

(1)

by inserting the words “of the Constitution” immediately after the expression “Article 166”. This is purely to include the phrase “of the Constitution”. This insertion purposes to bring clarity to that particular section.

(Question, that the words to be inserted

be inserted, put and agreed to)

Clause 55

THAT, Clause 55 of the Bill be amended by—

THAT, Clause 2 of the Bill be amended in the definition of “retirement savings account” by deleting the expression “section 45” appearing immediately after the word “under” and substituting therefor the expression “section 42”. This is a definition of retirement savings account. This is for cross-referencing because there was an error in this. We seek to correct it.

(Question, that the words to be left

out be left out, put and agreed to)

Long Title

THAT, the Long Title to the Bill be amended by deleting the word “to” appearing immediately after the word “benefits” and substituting therefor the word “of”. This is to say that the pensions benefits are ‘of judges’ and not ‘to judges.’ This is to correct the typographical error.

The Temporary Chairman

: The Chairperson of Justice and Legal Affair Committee is known for his attention to detail.

(Question, that the word to be left

out be left out, put and agreed to)

The Temporary Chairman

: I now call upon the Mover to move reporting.

Hon. Temporary Chairman, I beg to move that the House reports its consideration of the Judges’ Retirement Benefits Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 27 of 2025) and its approval thereof with amendments.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to report that the Committee of the whole House has considered the Judge's Retirement Benefits Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 27 of 2025) and approved the same with amendments.

Mover.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Committee in the said Report. I also request Hon. Naomi Waqo to second the Motion for agreement with the Report of the Committee of the whole House.

Give her the microphone.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I second.

Mover.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to move that the Judges’ Retirement Benefits Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 27 of 2025) be now read a Third Time. I also request Hon. Mulyungi to second.

Yes, Hon. Mulyungi.

Hon. Speaker, I second.

Thank you, Principal Secretary Mulyungi.

Next Order.

Hon. Speaker, I wanted to beg your indulgence. Since this debate has started and about an hour is remaining, may we skip Order No. 13 to allow the Chairman of the Decentralised Funds Accounts Committee, Hon. Mulyungi, to move his Motion under Order No.14?

Okay. I order and direct that Order No. 13 be stepped down and be placed in the Order Paper for tomorrow. Clerk-at-the-Table, call out Order No. 14.

Hon. Mulyungi.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, I beg to move the following Motion:

THAT, this House adopts the 7th Report of the Decentralised Funds Accounts Committee on its consideration of the audited accounts of the National Government Constituencies Development Fund Board for the financial years 2016/2017, 2017/2018, 2018/2019, 2019/2020, 2020/2021 and 2021/2022, laid on the Table of the House on Tuesday, 2nd December

Hon. Dorothy Ikiara.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I beg to second the Motion that this House adopts the seventh report of the Decentralised Funds Accounts Committee on its examination of the reports of the Auditor-General on the financial statement of the National Government Constituencies Development Fund Board for the financial years 2016/2017, 2017/2018, 2018/2019, 2019/2020 and 2021/2022.

I agree with the issues raised by the Chairperson, as they are the Committee's deliberations. Moreover, I wish to reiterate the following. During the examination of those audited accounts, the Committee engaged extensively with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NG-CDF Board, who serves as the accounting officer. The Chairperson has been very categorical that, after our extensive engagement, we realised that the money withdrawn from the Board’s KCB Bank account was returned and refunded.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, it is through the cooperation and collaboration of the Committee that we were able to achieve this.

I would also like to appreciate the Committee for the recovery of Ksh82,334,891. The 290 constituencies will benefit from the amount the Chair has stated, through the recovery of those monies, which were deposited in Chase Bank. The Committee's examinations are not mere interrogations but also action plans to protect public funds, recover any monies lost, and recommend the prosecution of any officers who are found culpable.

Safeguarding public resources is no longer an option for us. It is a legal requirement and a moral obligation for everyone to uphold.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, I second this Motion.

Hon. Ndindi Nyoro, do you want to contribute to this Motion?

Yes.

Proceed. Give him the microphone.

Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me the chance to contribute to this Motion. As the Members have checked the Report of the Committee, we are discussing an audit Report for the 2016/2017 Financial Year in 2026. This calls upon all of us in this House and all other bodies concerned, especially the Office of the Auditor-General, to ensure that audits that overstay and get caught up in time become

irrelevant. Some of the issues we must always deliberate on in this House concern the officers who are currently in the offices. However, when we discuss a Motion, especially one based on an audit conducted a decade ago, accountability concerns arise.

To a large extent, audit is about accountability. When it is delayed, it is denied. I hope we can all improve, especially the audit committees, so that we can be a little more realistic about time and the audit process. It is not only on this Committee, but also on all the other committees, including the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Public Investments Committee. It is important that we fast-track these audits through the Office of the Auditor- General so that we are not so archaic in our discussions.

Secondly, we must discuss the audit report of the NG-CDF Board. As Hon. Members know, it is very significant in the businesses we conduct in our constituencies, while serving Kenyans. I laud our courts because there are many issues currently present in the corridors of justice, as far as the NG-CDF is concerned. As a Member of Parliament who oversees the Kiharu NG-CDF, like all other NG-CDF committees across the country, I have seen the transformation it has brought to our villages, especially in improving education standards in Kenya.

Just before I came here, I was in Kiharu at Githagara Primary School, a public primary school. There was a transition of over 50 per cent into national schools, with half of the candidates receiving what is now called Exceed Expectations (EE). A school like Githagara Primary School is, like many others, supported by NG-CDF. I had the privilege today of officially commissioning a laboratory in a primary school as part of the Junior Secondary School (JSS). It is a block of eight classrooms. That shows how transformative NG-CDF has been in serving Kenyans, especially in education. This has been in the public domain, and I am sure you might have also seen it.

When you talk about specific constituencies, you are also talking about the entire country. I am so glad that because of NG-CDF, many schools in Kiharu Constituency, which is very expansive with over 110 public primary schools, including the one where I was today, look like academies. All pupils step on tiles, courtesy of NG-CDF. It is purely NG-CDF.

I am also glad that it is not just the hard part of building laboratories, classrooms and halls, but it is also effective on the other hand, which is the soft side of education by ensuring that learners are in school. We run a programme called Kiharu Masomo Bora, where the bullwork and the cornerstone are the NG-CDF. Learners in Kiharu pay only Kshs500 in school fees per term. They eat in school from Monday to Saturday. On the last Friday of the month, they enjoy Chapati for lunch across all 65-day secondary schools, reaching over 12,000 learners.

That is just part of it, because I know many Hon. Members here support day schools, just as in Kiharu, where we also support boarding schools, short courses, TVETs, universities and colleges, and the rest. I am saying this because there cannot be an audit of the NG-CDF Board without the existence of NG-CDF itself. I think it is important that the judicial system, with all the latitude to determine issues, should not be too strait-jacketed, without considering the circumstances and Kenya's current economic development. We must incorporate all of this to understand the role that NG-CDF plays, especially in ensuring that our communities develop.

As I finish, I have interacted with the Office of the Auditor-General in many ways. This is one of the offices, including the personnel and Madam FCPA herself, where I have seen a lot of patriotism in service to Kenyans. That is one of the Government organisations where whatever they preach is what they take. As we debate, I call upon Hon. Members, that as we debate the Budget Policy Statement (BPS) and the Estimates later, we capacitate the Office of the Auditor-General by allocating sufficient resources so that it can enlarge its scope. As we speak, many public schools are not audited by the Office of the Auditor-General, primarily due

to capacity constraints. We must equip it with resources to hire more personnel and implement additional systems so that they can conduct a broader audit and incorporate much more.

Special audits of finances and processes are also important. Many times, we only talk about money. We audit money, but sometimes the processes and decisions made by leaders cost Kenyans much more than the money that we debate here. Currently, various things are happening in the country, including the Kenya Pipeline Initial Public Offering (IPO), which, by yesterday, was under-subscribed. However, yesterday, which was the closing day, many parastatals, like the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), which is audited by the Office of the Auditor-General and this House, received calls to put workers’ money into a venture that their own analysts had ruled out.

Entities like KCB, where the Government holds only 19 per cent, are so over-bearing that they pressure KCB to invest billions of dollars in an IPO that their internal experts had already ruled out. The same applies to the Superannuation Fund and to Kenya Re.

Some of these processes cost our country dearly. We must equip the Office of the Auditor-General to address such matters as they arise. If we allow these kinds of things to keep on happening, Safaricom IPO comes, we talk a lot of Kiingereza, we sell it for a song, then we audit it 10 years later. These kinds of things need to be done promptly when they are relevant so that we can save Kenyans from the loss of resources, especially from the political bulldozing of institutions that are otherwise independent.

I submit.

Thank you, Hon. Ndindi. Hon. Mukunji.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I also want to add my voice to the Report of the Committee. I proudly speak about NG-CDF today, having won the case in court that was almost threatening a fund that I believe has transformed the lives of Kenyans and improved our education sector. I agree with my colleague that it is unfortunate that, when it comes to audit issues, we are not always as aware as we should be.

This comes from many things. First, there is a deliberate effort to strangle audit and oversight in this nation. We have seen it even from governors and many other officers who are called upon to answer questions. We have seen a deliberate effort to ensure people do not answer questions when they are supposed to. I am not very worried because I know NG-CDF itself and the Act we have put in place in this House fairly protect the resources our Kenyan taxpayers provide. It is one of the funds, I can clearly say - and I dare say - we need to embrace it in all other funds that have been established when it comes to management. You do not find many funds that allocate only 3 per cent to administrative work.

It is only the NG-CDF where you can use only 3 per cent at most, and the rest must go to the issues and mandate given to the Fund. Those are schools, security, and the environment. I also want to laud the management of NG-CDF at the national level, led by the CEO and the Members who serve in this Committee. We have seen a deliberate effort, even within our constituencies, to borrow best practices from one another. This has not endangered the Fund in any way. Many of the Members here have a story to tell about the impact of NG-CDF in their areas.

Manyatta Constituency is not left behind. In three years, you will not find a school with a JSS class without laboratory equipment, which has led to a crisis of under-equipment in our public day schools. You will find that our schools are now able to get better infrastructure. We can assist parents and undertake all manner of activities to ensure that the Fund is truly felt on

the ground. I believe the naysayers of the NG-CDF are people who have not been in touch with the ground. They have not listened to the ground. In one of the political parties, they say Sikiza wananchi, Sikiza ground meaning listen to the people and put your ears to the ground. I believe in NG-CDF, but many leaders have come out to challenge its best uses.

But with NG-CDF, even the tendering process is different. If you are building a class in Rift Valley and another on this side, you cannot have very different prices. It tells you this fund is well utilised and can take this nation far. I propose an incremental increase in the budget to ensure this fund can access more funds and perform more roles, so that a fund that works for the people continues to work for the people.

As we discuss the audit, I also want to make it clear that we must ensure the Auditor- General's office is well-funded. It is a shame that the Auditor-General herself and I sit in the Committee of Constitutional Implementation and Oversight (CIOC). When she appears, she clearly says that she is underfunded. How do we allocate money? Serious money has been generated from Kenyans' sweat and yet we underfund the Auditor-General's Office. It is not right. It is not fair. It is contrary to the spirit of our Constitution. We must fund the Auditor- General's Office to ensure it has the resources to produce better, well-researched audit reports.

Lastly, this House must continue to take the Auditor-General's reports seriously. We have had serious claims and loud misuse of monies from various places, but it ends there. We no longer hear people resigning from their serious jobs due to audit queries. I remember, even during the Nusu Mkate government, as they used to call it, the current President had to resign from his position as Minister for Agriculture due to audit issues. But we are becoming numb to the fact that today you can be read in the papers, you divert Ksh10 million for a certain event, you keep saying sorry, and it is business as usual. I believe this House has a big role to play. We must call ourselves to order, and audit reports must be serious issues when it comes to running this country.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, I submit.

Thank you. Hon. Jane Njeri Maina wants to contribute to this. Give her the microphone. The last time she contributed, she had a name called Itungati.

My microphone is not working.

Itungati

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. You know, I bear the name Itungati with very much pride. The other day, you asked what it means, and I told you what it means in my community.

Hon. Speaker, it is very unfortunate that we can wait as a House and yet, we are mandated to oversee the National Government projects. Then, eight years later, we tell Kenyans that we have done absolutely nothing to curb corruption. Kenyans would ask us: “Who are we waiting for to come and resolve these issues?”

We cannot keep debating these reports endlessly in the House. We saw last year, when the Auditor-General said that, of the e-citizen amounts paid to the Social Health Authority (SHA) , Ksh60 billions of taxpayers' money has been lost. Failing to take action against some of those parastatals and ministries is failing Kenyans. It is very unfortunate that our young people are struggling to get employment opportunities, that they are living hand-to-mouth and going to fight wars in Russia and Ukraine that do not concern them, because this country has consistently been unable to curtail corruption, so that we can invest those funds in areas where our young people can eke out a living.

As I wind up, I will be speaking on these issues today on the Jeff Koinange Live (JKL) show, and I will be calling out and agitating for better governance and leadership. I dare say

that the young people and young leaders of this great Republic are ready to take over from the status quo.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker.

Is that Hon. Gimose? Give Hon. Gimose the microphone.

The microphone is not on.

It is now on, Hon. Gimose.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, this debate is timely. I am sorry, I have a heavy case of the flu. The contributions by Members on the NG-CDF are apt. The Auditor-General must be commended for his work. The NG-CDF is important in this country and has done a lot for its people. I can vouch for it because in my constituency, the NG-CDF has done and continues to do a lot of good for the people.

I echo the views of the other Members that the delay in auditing this facility is erratic, incongruent, wrong, and a waste of time. It is wrong for people to wait for a report for all this time when maintaining that the effectiveness and validity of the NG-CDF is necessary.

Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Hon. Temporary Speaker.

Thank you, Hon. Gimose. Hon. Eric Muchangi.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. Allow me to thank the Chairman of the Committee, as I support this Report. The Committee has done a fantastic job. It is important to note that, in its oversight function as a Committee, the Committee ensured that the funds that had been lost were recovered. That is good because public resources that were previously thought as having been lost were recovered. Allow me to emphasise that public resources are not supposed to be pocketed by a few people for their own benefit. Those funds are intended to serve our country, develop it, and ensure the sustainability of development. Allow me to thank the Committee for a job well done. I hope it will continue doing its job this way.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker.

There being no more interest from Members to contribute, I now call upon the Mover to reply.

Allow me to thank Members who have contributed to this Report, particularly for recognising that the NG-CDF is the only Fund whose development you see within Kenya. You can see the icon of development in almost every village. You will see something accomplished through it within a radius of less than a kilometre. Therefore, I thank Members for their contributions.

With those few remarks, I beg to reply.

For the convenience of the House, the Motion appearing under Order No.14 will be subjected to a decision when the House Business Committee next schedules it.

Next Order.

I will step down the matter appearing under Order No. 15 and reorganise the Order Paper so that the House transacts business under Order No. 16 in priority.

Call Order No. 16.

I beg to move: THAT, this House adopts the Eighth Report of the Decentralised Funds Accounts Committee on its consideration of the audited accounts of the National Government Affirmative Action Fund for the financial years 2016/2017, 2017/2018, 2018/2019, 2019/2020, 2020/2021 and 2021/2022, laid on the Table of the House on Tuesday, 2nd December 2025. The Committee held several sittings, examined several reports, and invited the Principal Secretary of the State Department for Gender and Affirmative Action, who is the Fund's designated Accounting Officer, to respond to the Auditor-General's issues. The Committee’s examination focused on both financial propriety and compliance with statutory obligations.

While examining the accounts of the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) , the Committee noted that the Fund's CEO signed the accounts and financial statements, rather than the Principal Secretary responsible for Gender Affairs. That is contrary to the Act. Pursuant to this, the Committee sought advice from the Attorney-General, who confirmed that the Principal Secretary responsible for Gender Affairs is the accounting officer of the Fund and must sign and submit the financial statements in compliance with Section 84 of the Public Finance Management Act.

Consequently, the Committee recommended that the Principal Secretary responsible for Gender Affairs should sign all the Fund's accounts and be held accountable in the future.

The Committee also examined the 2019 amendment Regulations that reconstituted the NGAAF Board. It found that the Regulations were published without being tabled before the National Assembly as required under the Statutory Instruments Act and Section 24 (4) of the Public Finance Management Act. Consequently, the Amendment lacked legal force.

Therefore, the Committee recommended the annulment of the said amended Regulations by the relevant Committee of the House, as the Board was reconstituted irregularly. Failure to comply with statutory requirements undermines transparency and accountability in the management of public funds.

The other issue is the failure to promptly disburse funds to the counties. The Committee noted that the NGAAF Board did not disburse all funds allocated to county committees, including funds for monitoring and evaluation. In some instances, funds were spent at the Board level instead of being transferred to the counties. Therefore, this denied county committees the ability to support county-level initiatives, as the money was spent at

headquarters. This disrupted implementation and led to under-absorption of funds. The Committee recommended strict compliance with NGAAF regulations to ensure timely and full disbursement of funds to the county committees for implementation.

The Committee also noted weaknesses in the preparation and presentation of financial statements, including the submission of consolidated financial statements for all 47 counties. The Committee recommended that each NGAAF county committee prepare separate financial statements for examination in accordance with the standards prescribed by the Public Sector Accounting Board. We noted that the fund prepared only one financial statement for all 47 counties and so, we were unable to examine each county's accounts in detail. Therefore, we recommend that NGAAF maintain separate accounts for each county going forward.

We also noted irregular fund reallocation by the county committees and recommended that they strictly adhere to the budget allocation approved by the Board. Regarding the management of imprests, the Committee noted that staff were issued multiple imprests concurrently, and some remained outstanding beyond the financial year's closure. Temporary imprests were used to procure goods and services in violation of the procurement law. The Committee recommended strict enforcement of the relevant provisions of Regulation 93 of the Public Finance Management Regulations.

We also noted some procurement irregularities in various instances, including splitting procurements and failure to maintain procurement documents by the tender committees. The Committee recommended strict adherence to the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015, and its regulations. We also noted that in Bungoma, 1,200 water tanks were allegedly procured in the Financial Year 2016/2017, but were not visible. We even went there to try to locate them, and we could not see the 1,200 water tanks worth Kshs17,400,000.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, the Committee recommended that this matter be investigated further because the residents of Bungoma did not get value for their money, worth Ksh17.4 million, for the water tanks, which we could not locate. There were also weaknesses in internal controls regarding Board expenditure. Therefore, we recommended that it digitises and automates its operations to ensure proper internal controls in its management.

NGAAF plays a critical role in advancing women's economic empowerment, supporting youth initiatives, assisting persons with disabilities and strengthening community-based interventions across all 47 counties. However, this mandate can only be achieved through strict adherence to the constitutional principles of public finance under Article 201 of the Constitution, which require openness, accountability, prudence, and the responsible use of public resources. Therefore, the recommendations contained in this Report are aimed at strengthening governance, enhancing accountability and ensuring that NGAAF resources are utilised effectively for the benefit of the vulnerable groups whom the Fund was established to serve.

NGAAF complements NG-CDF. When you visit the villages, you will see many activities that are being carried out by NGAAF. Therefore, it should be promoted by all means and anchored in the law because it is not in the law at the moment. The Committee recommended that we establish a legal framework to support this Fund.

I want to thank the Committee Members for their dedication. I also thank the Office of the Speaker and the Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly for the support accorded to the Committee in the discharge of its mandate.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, I beg to move and request Hon. Dorothy Muthoni to second the Motion. Thank you.

Hon. Dorothy Muthoni Ikiara.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I beg to second the Motion on the Adoption of Eighth Report of the Decentralised Funds Accounts Committee on its consideration of the audited accounts of NGAAF for the Financial

Years 2016/2017 to 2021/2022. I agree with the issues raised by the Chairperson as they are the true deliberations of the Committee.

Moreover, I would like to reiterate the following. The Fund in question has consistently received modified audit opinions due to poor record-keeping and failure to reconcile accounts between the headquarters and county offices. To remedy this, the Committee recommended that the NGAAF Board prioritise continuous capacity-building for officers and ensure that all financial statements are prepared in strict compliance with the formats prescribed by the Public Sector Accounting Standards Board.

The Committee was equally concerned, as the Chair stated, by the failure to promptly disburse the entire allocation to the 47 county committees. This has had a very negative impact, as our 47 county women are unable to carry out the activities they have planned in a well- planned manner. Delayed disbursements amount to delayed project implementation.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, the Committee also noted with concern the Fund management's failure to provide critical documents to the Auditor-General during the audit. This is a recurring matter because, without documents such as cash books, bank statements, payment vouchers, and monitoring and evaluation reports, the Auditor-General is not in a position to flag out key issues that are preventing the Fund from serving the public as intended.

The Committee, therefore, argues that the accounting officer should ensure that all documents are properly maintained and made available for audits without delay. The NGAAF is a very important Fund, serving as a tool and enabler for women so that our communities can reap the maximum benefit from Government resources.

It is not only the women who are empowered through this Fund. Youth and persons with disabilities are beneficiaries of this Fund. However, its impact is diminished when resources are lost in poor procurement practices and unaccounted-for imprests. The implementation of the Committee's recommendation aims to safeguard those resources, enhance governance, strengthen financial discipline and restore public confidence in the management of the Fund.

The 47 County Woman Representatives should be supported in discharging their duties without hindrance. The Committee's recommendation is very firm, and we want to say that the Fund is meant to help women County Members of Parliament involve themselves with the communities they serve. For this, we also thank His Excellency the President of the Republic of Kenya, for standing with this Fund, because without the involvement of women in our communities, they cannot advance.

I support the Chairperson and pray that this House will help us ensure that all recommendations are properly implemented for the success of this Fund.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, I second.

Hon. Eric Muchangi.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Allow me to, once again, thank this Committee for a job well done. At the same time, allow me to thank the leadership of this House, led by the Hon. Speaker Wetang’ula, for the wisdom in having this Decentralised Funds Accounts Committee. We are discussing reports covering the period from 2015 to 2022. Basically, that is more than 10 years ago, and some are from five years ago. That is a lot of time. It is not very easy to trace the people who are mentioned in these reports owing to the time that has passed. In the wisdom of the leadership of this House,

we now have a Committee that is able to fast-track its business and ensure reports are handled well.

Previously, the Committee dealing with this matter had a lot of work and, perhaps, that is why it has delayed so much. This House has a responsibility to oversee Government resources and funds. This fund has brought significant change in our communities, especially in the places where adequate public participation has been undertaken. We have seen many people getting support from this fund. It is for this reason that we need to ensure that it is not misused. I once again laud the efforts of the Committee to ensure that this work is done well.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, I support.

Hon. Naoma Waqo.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to add my voice to this important Motion. I also congratulate the Committee for tabling this relevant report, though it covers the years 2016 to 2022. When you consider that the purpose of accounting is to correct mistakes annually, this delay shows there is no proper accountability.

I support because I know the importance of the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) that has transformed lives on the ground. It has educated many children who would not have managed to attend school. It has also empowered youth in the villages, women groups and other vulnerable groups. The funds may be little, but the difference they make is huge.

In my area, when I go to the villages and distribute water tanks and sometimes goats to poor women, bursaries or empower young people to start small businesses, you are only encouraged by the joy you see on their faces and the immediate transformation after they receive the funds or equipment. I would recommend that since we have 47 Women Representatives and each is working hard in her county, there is a need for additional funding so that this money can touch and transform more lives.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, when we do not account for monies on time, we deny people their rights. When funds are delayed in reaching the ground or the county committees, we deny our people timely services. As recommended by the committee, monies should be released on time. Members of Parliament at the county level should also utilise the monies promptly so that lives are touched as intended.

With those few remarks, I support the report and congratulate the Committee.

Thank you, Hon. Naomi Waqo. Do we have any more interest on this particular Motion? Hon. Ndindi Nyoro, Member for Kiharu.

Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker. It is good that these things are coming at the same time. You can compare and relate based on the previous contribution. We have just debated the National Government Constituencies Development Fund Report of the Financial Year 2016/2017, which is a decade ago. We have now the 2015 Report, which makes it even worse. We are now going backwards. Kenyans are watching us from their homes discussing about an Audit Report of the year 2015. I believe that some of the Members of this House were in high school in that year. That calls us to be more concerned about the State infrastructure that we have on accountability. We cannot be here talking about National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) in 2015. Actually, our colleague and my friend, the Member for Kacheliba, was not even the CEO then. He since became NGAAF CEO and now he is a Member of Parliament. That means we are yet to debate his years as the CEO of NGAAF. He is now a sitting Member of this House.

We need to fast-track the kind of audits that we are doing. I know the conveyor belt on the Office of the Auditor General’s side has done its best. It has churned some reports. At the very basic, we should just be at par with them, and then we can start talking about how we can progress further by making the Office of the Auditor General develop further to, at least, deal with audits of the last two years and not of the last decade so that the things that we talk about in this House here are more relevant to the current situation.

We see the performance and the output of devolved funds. Many times, as I sit and ponder about the big cake that we call the national Budget of currently over Ksh4.5 trillion, I wish that we had much more resources for the devolved funds. Their bureaucracies are very constrained. The bureaucracy of the NGAAF and the NG-CDF is so thin that most of the money goes to where it is supposed to be. That is the reason why if you go to the villages, you are likely to see the impact of devolved funds more than you are likely to see the impact of the National Government resources which is left with the bigger piece of the national cake after devolved funds have taken the cramps. What devolved funds take is not even a drop in the ocean; it is just vapour in light of the entire budget. When we talk about the NGAAF and the NG-CDF combined, it is about 1.1 per cent or a maximum 1.5 per cent of the entire budget, but we see their impact.

We need to interrogate ourselves, not just as a House but as Kenyans. If, for example, we multiplied NGAAF and the NG-CDF three or four times, we would tarmac our roads using NG-CDF and do away with the business of schools completely. We will put tiles, ceilings and even carpets in classrooms. We will have so much resources, figuratively speaking. We will have all the learners in school in terms of support through bursaries. We will be seeking authorisation from the NG-CDF board to do tarmac roads and mega electricity projects of lighting our villages because those resources would be monumental. I keep wondering because it is not just a matter of those resources not being available, but it is a matter of where they are left. At the kitchen where the bigger cake is left, the bureaucratic machine is so heavy. We use a lot of the funds in oiling the Government bureaucratic machinery than in actually dispensing services to the Kenyan people. That is a balance we need to interrogate as Kenyans so that we drive more development to our villages.

The other thing is that we need to keep on strengthening systems. NGAAF has come a long way, just like NG-CDF. Initially, when NG-CDF was introduced, just like NGAAF, even money could be handled in cash. Funds could be taken to a school in cash. There were no NG- CDF committee members. A Member of Parliament could be approached with a complaint that a toilet had collapsed, and the Member would write a cheque there and then. However, the systems have now improved. When systems improve, they bring efficiency as well as accountability.

I am pleased that NGAAF has also made progress in terms of systems. In Government, and in the manner in which the Government dispenses resources, the output is only as good as the process. When we streamline the process, we are likely to improve the output. However, there is still room for improvement in NGAAF systems so that they are more stringent and more closed-ended rather than open-ended.

As I mentioned earlier, the Office of the Auditor-General has rendered great service to our Republic. When we speak about a modern country such as Kenya, three elements are always critical. The first is the instruments of a modern state. These are the institutions and bureaucracy of government. When we refer to boards, parastatals, departments and state agencies, these constitute the state functionaries and institutions.

The second element of a modern state and economy is the rule of law. Accountability mechanisms, including the reports under discussion, are anchored in the rule of law and our judicial system, which sits at the apex of this accountability framework.

The third element is accountability through democracy. We are elected leaders, not appointed officials. We are the representatives of the people. For that reason, a representative must always speak the language of the people. One is not elected to become separate from the people but to represent them. For example, you cannot go to a chama like the one Gachai belongs to and Mukunji is going there to vie for the chair. They choose one of their own to represent them. Similarly, in parliamentary committees, the chairperson is a member because he or she represents colleagues. Accountability through democracy is anchored in democratic institutions such as the National Assembly and the Senate.

Therefore, when we are in this House, we must always speak for the people, not for the system. We must advance the welfare of the people because we are their representatives. When one is elected, there should be no gap between the representative and the people in terms of mandate and representation.

Returning to the central point, NGAAF, NG-CDF and similar bodies are part of Government and State institutions. We must continue refining them so that they function better. In my previous contribution, I also referred to real-time audit, especially where special audits are required. Kenya is currently facing unprecedented situations. There is a Ksh204 billion Safaricom IPO, which is a face of incompetence. There is also the Kenya Pipeline IPO, which was under-subscribed as of yesterday, but became over-subscribed within hours because the Government is selling the shares to itself. You purport to be doing an IPO as Kenya Pipeline, but you are selling to NSSF…

You are added two minutes.

Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker. We are here to discuss monumental issues. The divestiture of the Government’s stake in Safaricom is a Ksh204 billion transaction. Kenya has never had such a transaction since Independence. The Office of the Auditor-General needs resources to investigate and arrest such matters. That is why they need to have one account.

Second is on the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) . We are making an Initial Public Offering (IPO) , but it is not public. It is under-subscribed. Within a day, phone calls come to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) , the Public Service Superannuation Scheme (PSSS) , the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) , the Kenya Reinsurance Corporation Limited (Kenya Re) and other institutions that also have other private shareholders. We channel money there and then tell Kenyans that they are over-subscribed. They are over-subscribed because of political interference where, commercially speaking, we are putting workers' money in sub-optimal areas. That is why the Office of the Auditor-General needs capacity so that they can move with speed to stop such matters.

Currently, we are handing over the control of the KPC to our brothers in Uganda. Has it become the Kenya-Uganda Pipeline? Everything is bogged down because of political interference in the running of institutions.

I wish you had asked for more time. Hon. Mukunji will now make his contribution.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. It is sad that we are talking about the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) audit reports of 2015. If my Mathematics is right, that is 11 years ago. That means that the audit report for Kirinyaga County, which Hon. Njeri Maina oversees, will most likely be done when she is President or I am President in 11 years. Either there is something wrong or there is

something very wrong. Usage of public funds for 11 years without oversight or accountability goes against the Constitution of Kenya. This House is clearly mandated to look into the usage of our hard-earned taxes under Article 95 of the Constitution.

While we agree that the two funds that we have discussed today, namely, the NGAAF and the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF), have a good model that can be emulated by this nation, I feel that it is not right. We will further consult your office to see how we can come up with recommendations to make those funds more effective in terms of the audit reports that we are discussing.

We might be talking about the NGAAF and the NG-CDF, but what about the over 1,000 Government agencies, parastatals and funds that should be at the same level? We may unearth scandals from 2026 in 2035. That is dangerous and unacceptable. This House is progressive. Therefore, we need to re-look at how we can improve that situation.

The Member for Kiharu has raised very serious and pertinent matters. He has stated that calls were made to ensure that the Kenya Pipeline Company's initial public offering (IPO), which was under-subscribed, would use funds intended for pensions in the NSSF to buy shares in a venture they were clearly not interested in. If this House does not call for a special audit and pose the necessary questions, we will be failing in our mandate. Today, we are discussing the sale of our assets, and then we begin repurchasing them without questioning what happens if pensioners lose their resources. This would set a bad precedent.

We have recently put two of our Government assets up for sale. What about the rest? Will people discover that their funds have been misused in these matters we are discussing? We are seeking resources to develop infrastructure. I dare say that even the Infrastructure Bill we are debating must ensure that the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) is included as one of the beneficiaries of the Fund. Whenever we consider infrastructure, we cannot categorically say that these are resources to be set outside this House. We cannot relinquish our mandate. We cannot give our mandate to State House. We must not allow someone to sit and reward those who say “Two Term.” This is simply unacceptable.

This House derives its mandate from the people and must recognise its duty to ensure that public resources are utilised appropriately. We should also ensure that NGAAF is incorporated into the implementation of the Infrastructure Fund. This way, when Hon. Gacheri identifies the need for a Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) in Kirinyaga, she can obtain resources from the Infrastructure Fund that this House is debating. This is how we ensure that resources reach the right people.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, as I conclude, we have also witnessed an explosion in the use of cash at various political events under the guise of “empowerment.” Leaders are moving around with more than Ksh100 million. Who audits those funds? Who verifies the origin of those amounts? This is why we hear reports of individuals exhausting their budgets in just two months. Knowing Kenya, when Ksh100 million has been allocated for a purpose, you can be sure that less than 10 per cent of that amount will actually reach its intended destination. This indicates that questions must be asked and answers must be given. This is the only way to fulfil the dream of our Constitution and live up to our motto: For the welfare of society and the just government of the people.

I call upon this House to ensure that we do not read audit reports for Hon. Gacheri in

Member for Kapenguria will now make his contribution.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I really enjoyed today's discussion about NGAAF and NG-CDF. It is good for Members to

understand that for Kenyans to enjoy whatever is given to them, this House must ensure that everything goes to them.

On the other hand, on devolution, governors are running left and right to ensure nothing is going on, especially for people from Northern Kenya, where the 1965 Session Paper left them out. Additionally, the current Constitution, led by the late Hon. Raila, uplifted them by giving them 5 per cent for the Equalisation Fund, and yet it is not there.

The NGAAF and NG-CDF are doing very well since they are even monitored by the villagers. In West Pokot County, the current Women Representative is doing very well. Every weekend she is with the women. Additionally, NG-CDF is doing very well in four constituencies.

We need to be serious. I was here during Moi’s time, and the Opposition is lured with small benefits, and they come to shout here. I heard my former Chairman, Hon. Ndindi Nyoro, a young man that we are proud of, who we will still promote to another level, singing Governments tunes but now that he is out, he is bringing issues up.

We need to get good brains out of this House, out of Government, so that they can inform us what is happening. As for me, this is the best Government we have. It is Broad- Based. I began in the Government of National Unity during Kibaki’s time. Some people were making noise, but this country has prayerful people. Every Friday, Saturday and Friday, people hold prayers. I believe there is no time that Kenya will fail because we have people who are faithful to God.

Let us ensure we protect NGAAF and NG-CDF. I am just from a committee where we were discussing the monies that went to the Equalisation Fund, and nobody would disclose how it got to the governor's hands instead of development that is meant to uplift the lower counties to the level of the developed counties in Kenya. We need to be serious. People assumed the Kenya African National Union (KANU) was evil when I was in it because we used to remove people from it. Now, this party is doing the same by removing people as well. Mungu aendelee. I support whatever is going on out here. Thank you.

There being no more interest to contribute and this being similar to the next Motion, I now call upon the Mover to reply. Hon. Jane Maina Njeri, you will contribute on the Motion under Order No.18, which is the same.

There is another similar Motion. She can contribute on that one. Hon. Temporary Speaker, I beg to reply. Thank you.

Again, the matter appearing under Order No.16 shall be subjected to the House's resolution the next time the House Business Committee reschedules it for consideration. For the convenience of the House, the matter appearing under Order No.17 is stepped down to the future. I have reorganised the Order Paper so that the matter appearing under Order No.18 proceeds in priority.

Next Order. Mover.

I beg to move: THAT, this House adopts the Ninth Report of the Decentralised Funds Accounts Committee on its consideration of the audited accounts of the National Government Constituencies Development Fund for 11 Constituencies in Nakuru County for the financial years 2013/2014, 2014/2015, 2015/2016, 2016/2017, 2017/2018, 2018/2019, 2019/2020, 2020/2021 and 2021/2022, laid on the Table of the House on Tuesday, 2nd December 2025. The Report contains findings from examination of 99 audited reports from the Auditor-General on NG-CDF of 11 constituencies in Nakuru County. They are Bahati, Gilgil, Kuresoi North, Molo, Naivasha, Nakuru Town East, Nakuru Town West, Njoro, Rongai, Subukia and Kuresoi South.

I wish to highlight that out of the 11 constituencies examined, Gilgil, Nakuru Town West and Njoro constituencies successfully addressed all audit queries with no issues. I commend the Fund’s account managers of the constituencies for their diligence and commitment to accountability.

While the Nakuru County report primarily addresses audit queries, it also highlights various projects that have had significant impact on the lives of constituents across the 11 constituencies. The projects span from education, security, infrastructure and social welfare. These examples of development projects in those constituencies demonstrate that, when funds are properly managed, NG-CDF delivers tangible benefits that improve education outcomes, grassroots security and overall quality of life in Nakuru County.

During the examination, the Committee identified several cross-cutting and persistent issues and made the following recommendations.

Delay in exchequer releases. We noted that the National Treasury released money very late to the Board, and the Board also released the money late to the constituencies. This affected delivery of projects in the constituencies and delayed the implementation of the projects. This automated an audit query. Further, there were many issues on difficulties with the Fund Account Managers in financial reporting of accounts. Therefore, the Committee recommended that there should be continuous capacity building of the Fund Account Managers, to ensure that they are conversant with the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) .

We also noted that there were so many issues on land procured with no title deeds. We recommended that all those land issues be transferred to the Board headquarters. This will ensure that NG-CDF Board does not lose land to land grabbers in the future, and that it secures titles for all those properties procured with no title deeds.

We also noted that during the audit period, some Fund Account Managers were not able to provide documents on time. We recommended that the Board takes administrative action to ensure that Fund Account Managers submit documents on time to the auditors, so that they can examine the books and make proper reports.

The recommendations in this Report aim at enhancing transparency, and ensuring that every shilling allocated to our constituencies translates into meaningful development to our people. I thank the Office of the Speaker and the Clerk, the Office of the Auditor-General, and the National Treasury for their support. I also thank my Committee members and the Secretariat for their dedication.

With those few remarks, I beg to move. I ask Hon. Caroline Ng’elechei to second the Report. Thank you.

Hon. Caroline Ng’elechei.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Before I second, let me first appreciate my able Chairman of the Committee. This is because we are well aware and have been informed that since this Committee came into existence in Parliament, it has never been able to work on as many audit reports as we have tackled so far; for over 100 constituencies. As you can see, most of the reports are from financial years 2013/2014 to 2021/2022. It means those are things that were overtaken by events very long time ago. Even if the Committee works hard for the remaining time in this 13th Parliament, we will not be able to go beyond 2022. Our able Chairman has led us very well and we have managed to try and catch up.

There are notable problems that I think NG-CDF Board should work on properly. One of them is the acquisition of land without proper documentation. You find that they go ahead and do projects on land that they do not have title deeds to. At times, you ask yourself, supposing the owner or the person who sold the land comes and reclaim a land which already NG-CDF has done Kshs100 or Kshs200 million projects. That is something that NG-CDF Board should be very careful on, and be cautious about going forward.

The second one is the issue of exchequer. Many of those issues emanate because they received money very late, with others delaying up to nine months. By the time they want to utilise the funds, already the audit query has been raised by the Auditor-General. I think next time the National Treasury should be mindful of this because other people find themselves in problems of audit queries not because of their own making, but because of the National Treasury.

Hon. Njeri Maina Itung’ati.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, you say it very well. Allow me to appreciate the Chair for the work that the Committee has done to the point of tabling this Report before this honourable House. It is very intriguing that the issues

that plague the NGAAF also plague the NG-CDF. These are the issues of untimely disbursement of funds to the constituencies with respect to the NGAAF. I must appreciate the drafters of the 2010 Constitution because were it not for them, Hon. Temporary Speaker, you would not have known a great Itung’ati like Njeri Maina.

With that, NGAAF and the NG-CDF are a direct return on investment in regard to the Kenyan taxpayer. I know my colleague, Hon. Ng’elechei, will agree with me that even though we have a constrained amount that is a standard of Kshs9 million per constituency, NGAAF has had monumental changes on the ground. It has funded community-based organisations and chamas for women, People Living with Disabilities (PLWDs) and special interest groups like the youth.

In Kirinyaga, we have funded over 300 groups, injecting them with cash capital of Ksh100,000 so that they can initiate economic empowerment programmes. Further to that, we have also partnered with institutions like Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) to run a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Programme that has impacted over 500 students, equipping them with the necessary technical skills to enable them eke out a living and grow as young people of this nation.

Further, NGAAF has also initiated an innate programme via partnership with Equity Bank where youth groups are funded by NGAAF to a tune of Ksh300,000 per group. We are speaking about job creation for young people. We must walk the talk. I know there are other devolved funds, but I do not want to belabour them. However, NG-CDF and NGAAF are felt by the common mwananchi.

It is very apparent that the funding disparities, which is an issue for county members of parliament, hampers them in the implementation of NGAAF programmes. I have just told this House that we get a standard Ksh9 million per constituency. In one of my constituencies in Kirinyaga County, I am supposed to match a constituency Member of Parliament who is getting Ksh220 million. We know that the allocation for NGAAF is meagre, but the voters need programmes that impact them. Sufficient civic education was not carried out. Hon. Ng’elechei can tell you that people queue to request for bursaries and yet, we only allocate 20 per cent of Ksh9 million for bursaries. That is the only vote head that we have room to wiggle through.

Sometimes, people ask us to construct roads. This is because there is a mismatch in funding NGAAF. It cannot continue because it paints women leaders as if they are not equal to the task. Because this is a county seat at the local level, people believe that I have more money than the constituency Member of Parliament to a tune of maybe Kshs500 million. However, that is not the reality on the ground.

As we speak to these challenges and the reports that are brought before this House, we must also address the funding constraints of NGAAF in the House. I beseech our male colleagues to have a conversation where we can increase the funding of NGAAF and entrench it in the Constitution to match a percentage of the national budget.

The other issue that has been raised is the regulations. I know that NG-CDF is at par with regulations, but NGAAF is still struggling. It operates on regulations that were passed when this kitty was developed. We must fast-track the amendment of NGAAF regulations to match the current needs of the development in law. We must also ensure that we equitably fund the implementation of NGAAF programmes. I can give you an example of this. Two weeks ago, County Members of Parliament issued sanitary towels to all Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) across the counties. You can imagine the cost of logistics like transportation that cannot be catered for from a mere budget of 2 per cent of the amount.

Every financial year, as County Women Representatives, we receive National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) disbursements from the National Treasury, which are like quinine - they are there, or they are not there. The need by the people on the ground is there. I also recommend that, as we table and discuss these reports, we look into having a committee that handles the issues of the NGAAF. I want to thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker and the Speaker, Hon. Moses Masika Wetang’ula, who indulged us when I raised a Statement and allocated us a Committee, the Departmental Committee on Social Protection, to handle our issues.

However, we still need a committee, a specific NGAAF committee, to address the gazettement of the NGAAF Committee, for example, which has stalled and yet, its current term has lapsed. This committee would also address the concerns of the entrenchment of the Sanitary Towel Programme into the Women Representatives' mandate. With that, I thank you.

Hon. Timothy Toroitich, do you want to contribute to this?

Hon. Temporary Speaker, I will be very brief on this subject matter. I take the cue from my colleagues who spoke before me, especially on the delay of this Report. This Report refers to an audit that was done in 2013. That is 13 years ago. Some of the recommendations have been overtaken by events. We have enacted several National Government Constituencies Development Fund legislations in this House, which have actually addressed some of the concerns that have been highlighted in the Report.

In future, we need to propose an amendment under the Standing Orders so that we can be able to set a timeline within which those reports must be tabled before this House. Nonetheless, I wish to thank this Committee because it has done its best in ensuring that this Report is tabled. Looking at the two fronts, the NGAAF and the NG-CDF, there is every reason, as a House, despite the recent court ruling by the Court of Appeal, for us to entrench these two fronts in our Constitution. This is necessary so that we avoid situations in the future where the fronts may be declared unconstitutional, even by a higher court.

We must ring-fence these particular fronts in the Constitution. You are aware that nobody in future may declare the Constitution unconstitutional. Looking at the issue, for example, of land, the issue of land must be handled on a case-by-case basis. There are constituencies and counties in this country where land adjudication has not been done. In Elgeyo Marakwet, for example, there are areas where there are no title deeds. There is no land adjudication. If the basis of releasing funds to an NG-CDF Committee is based on title deeds, then what happens to constituencies where land adjudication has not been finalised and they do not have title deeds?

On the issue of fund managers, we have a problem with fund managers insofar as the NG-CDF is managed. The proposal that I am going to give in the near future is for those officers to serve on a contract basis. In fact, they should sign performance contracts to ensure that they deliver. What is happening now is that the fund managers are being swapped from one constituency to another constituency because of the framework of the law that is in place.

On the issue of implementation, I have sat in this House for quite some time. There are so many recommendations that committees in this House have made, but I beg to ask what happens. We must empower the Committee on Implementation. Most reports in this House have a challenge in terms of the implementation of the recommendations that are brought to this House.

Since we are passing this Report and adopting the recommendations, we must follow up and ensure that we set a timeline in which these recommendations are effected and/or actualised, so that we do not have reports we have passed here but, at the end of it, those recommendations are not implemented.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, having said that. I rest my case. Thank you.

There being no more requests, the Mover will reply.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I want to thank Members who have contributed to this Motion and agree with their comments. In particular, the fact that the NG-CDF and NGAAF have impacted heavily on the development of the constituencies and counties, especially in the villages, I recommend that in the future, we consider enhancing the funding of the NG-CDF and the NGAAF so that whatever has been achieved can be doubled.

With those few remarks, Hon. Temporary Speaker, I beg to reply. Thank you.

Thank you. Again, the putting of the question to this Motion under Order No.18 is deferred to the future for the convenience of the House.

Next Order!

Motion is deferred to the future, as and when the House Business Committee will schedule it for consideration by the House.

Next Order.

Again, this matter is deferred to the future when the House Business Committee will schedule it for consideration.

Hon. Members, that being the very end of the matters which were listed for consideration, the House will adjourn, but before it does so, I want to thank you, the Chairperson of the Decentralised Funds Accounts Committee, for your commitment to duty. You have sat in the House from the start of the House at 2.30 p.m. today without even breaking. I urge the other Committee Chairpersons and Vice-Chairpersons to commit to that extent to this duty. I am very happy we are discussing the NG-CDF together with NGAAF in terms of accountability and audit.

People forget that some of us were the brainchild of the NGAAF. The way it was conceived was not to engage in the construction of material infrastructure. The social fund is meant to put money into the pockets of the marginalised sections of our societies. Of course, we have gone into building. I do not know what is being built with Ksh9 million per constituency. It is going to bursary and other things. Maybe it is time for Parliament – and by Parliament, I mean the National Assembly – to begin thinking, or even rethinking, the framework in terms of the uses to which public funds, particularly NGAAF, are applied.

Hon. Members, the time now being

Published by Clerk of the National Assembly