Nca/117/11/2014(2) Nyandarua County Assembly Debates

NCA/117/11/2014(2) NYANDARUA COUNTY ASSEMBLY DEBATES

REPUBLIC OF KENYA

NYANDARUA COUNTY ASSEMBLY

1st ASSEMBLY-2nd SESSION

OFFICIAL (HANSARD) REPORT

6TH NOVEMBER 2014

The assembly met at the Assembly Chambers at 2: 30 PM

The Deputy Speaker, Hon. Wambugu King’ori on the chair

Prayer

Speaker: Clerk,can you confirm whether there is quorum.

Clerk: Mr. Speaker Sir there is quorum.

Speaker: We can then proceed. First order

Clerk: Administration of oath. Mr. Speaker Sir there is no one to administer oath to.

Speaker: Next order.

Clerk: Communication from the chair.

Speaker: Hon. Members, I wish to communicate to you that the County Assembly of Nyandarua invites bids from eligible and qualified bidders for provision of medical insurance cover for members of the County Assembly (MCAs) as indicated in the notice of tender which is advertised in today’s newspaper. There is a guideline on how to fill a form of the terms of reference. This formwill greatly assist the office of the Clerk. The number of children to be covered as dependants is not limited to four; it is open.

Next

Clerk: Messages.

Speaker: Next order.

Clerk: Petitions.

Speaker: Next order.

Clerk: Papers; Mr. Speaker Sir there is onepaper by Hon. Kariuki Muchiri.

Speaker:Hon. Kariuki Muchiri.

Hon. Kariuki Muchiri: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I wish to lay on the table the report on grabbed public land and proposed re-planning of Geta Town by the Committee on Lands, Housing and Physical Planning. Thank you.

Speaker: Thank you Hon. Kariuki Muchiri.The time for giving notice of the same will be allocated by the House Business Committee. Next order.

Clerk: Notices of motion.

Speaker: Next.

Clerk: Statements; Mr. Speaker Sir there is astatement to be responded to by Hon. Samuel Njiraini.

Speaker: Hon. Samuel Njiraini:

Hon. Samuel Njiraini:Mr. Speaker, Sir pursuant to Standing Order no. 44,I wish to respond to a statement sought by Hon. Edinald Wambugu, the member for North Kinangop Ward, regarding Geta Integrated Trout Fisheries Project.The matter was referred to the Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Committee and the chairman asked to respond to the statement providing information on the following:

a)The reasons why the project remains incomplete, yet the same had been allocated money for the purpose of completion.

b)The extent to which the project remains incomplete

c)The extent to which the 5.7 million shillings has been utilized towards completing the said project and whether the money was sufficient to complete the same.

d)When the project will be completed.

The committee wrote to the County Executive Committee Member for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries who provided the following information:

Introduction; the farm was started in the 2006/07 financial year. The aim was to produce trout fingerlings not only for the department’s use but also forselling to trout farmers country wide. So far the project has incurred a total cost of 13.6million shillings, the full amount having been funded by the national government.

The money has been used to:

• Put up the trout fingerlinghatchery, which is complete and ready for use
• Construct a store-cum-office
• Construct water intake system; water pipes were laid all the way from the intake to the farm
• Construct 5 ponds and 8 raceways

In its initial design the farm was to have a fish feeds facility for producing trout feeds. This is still being envisaged.

The reasons why the project remains incomplete:In the year 2013/2014, the county government allocated the farm 5 million shillings. The funds were however delayed by the National Treasury until the month of February 2014. This is the time that the funds were disbursed to the county treasury.

The ministry of public works was approached and requested to come up with Bills of Quantities (BQ) for what was being anticipated to be undertaken in form of development in the farm. The BQ was availed in May 2014.

After the tendering process, construction work was awarded to ‘Cetriff’ Building and Contractors and two Local Purchase Orders were raised by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries on the 20th June 2014 as shown in the table in the response report.

This money was not spent and as per the financial regulations it was returned to the National Treasury at the end of the financial year.

The extent to which the project remains incomplete;According to the BQ, the following activities (which remain undone to date) were to be undertaken;

a)Installation of power extensions

b)De-siltation of the water intake

c)Refurbishment of store and office i.e. repainting and other minor repairs

d)Hatchery repainting and activation of the hatchery trays

e)Staff house repainting and other minor repairs

f)Construction of Daphnia Tank

g)Construction of a powerhouse

h)Construction of a main gate

In financial terms, according to the BQ, the prime cost sum was 5,406,408 shillings, specialist services 100,000 shillingsand contingencies 200,000 shillings. This comes to a grand total of 5,706,408 shillings neededto complete the project.

The extent to which the 5 million shillings has been utilized: The project was actually allocated 5 million shillings and not 5.7 million shillings. The 5 million shillings allocated was never utilized and it was returned to the National Treasury when the financial year 2013/14 came to an end.

According to the BQ 5,706,408 shillingsis required to complete the project and, therefore, the 5million shillings allocated for the same was not sufficient.

Protect me Mr, Speaker Sir. There are a lot of consultations.

Speaker: Order members.Order Hon. Kiruka.

Hon. Kiruka: I was not consulting Mr. Speaker Sir.

(Applause)

(Hon. Kirumba rises on a point of order)

Speaker: What is it Hon. Kirumba?

Hon. Kirumba: Is it procedural Mr. Speaker for a member to stand and address you when you make a comment? Is it provided for in the Standing Orders?

Speaker: Agreeable Hon. Kirumba. It is out of order for a member to rise and address the Speaker after being told to keep order.I did not tell the member in question to keep quiet. I said we have order. So Hon. Kiruka you are completely out of order. Proceed Hon. Njiraini.

Hon. Njiraini:Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I am very proud of this House because things are taken seriously. The last item of the statement is:When the project could be completed.

The project could be completed within this financial year if funds are provided on time. I request the county assembly through the committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries to include funds for this project during the next supplementary budget. It is a request by the CEC member for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries that the money for the project be included in the next supplementary budget.

This committee needs to do a comparison with a similar project and how much it cost other counties and I would request the Speaker to guide us so that we can come up with a comprehensive report, complete with recommendations rather than a mere statement. This is a viable project that cost a lot of money and we cannot let it go to waste. I remember when we visited Sagana, on entering the ATC farm everyone was required to pay 300 shillings which is as a source of income to the county.

A kilogram of trout fish costs one thousand shillings. Trout fish is very sweet and contains a lot of proteins and omega 3.

With that I rest my case. Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.

Speaker: Thank you Hon. Njiraini. You know this project concerns me deeply because it is in my Ward and I am the one who sought this statement. In the introduction, the CEC member states that the aim of the project was only to produce trout fingerlings.This is not the case because the projectwould also be a demonstration and training site.

I concur with you Hon. Njiraini, the chairman of the committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, that there is need to come up with a comprehensive report that will guide the allocation of funds for this project in the supplementary budget. It is therefore prudent for this committee to conduct an in-depth research and come up with a report. This project is a replica of the one in Kiganjo and I believe that at the end of the day you will come up with a report. How much time do you require to come up with the report, Hon. Njiraini?

Hon. Njiraini: Thank you Mr. Speaker. This project should be treated with the urgency it demands because we cannot just let the money put into it to go to waste.

This project will not only be beneficial to the county of Nyandarua but to the country at large. We need one month to come up with a comprehensive report, especially because I am aware that we have a foreign tour which will take us two weeks.

Speaker:Hon. Njiraini, I know it is not all the members of the committee going for the tour so I believe you can delegate the work if you so wish.

Hon. Njiraini: Since I have a very able vice- chairman, I will delegate this as a matter of urgency.

(Hon. Kieru rises)

Speaker: What is it Hon. Kieru?

Hon. Kieru: Mr. Speaker, I wish to understand the implication of Standing Order no. 44, with respect to what has been happening

d) Where a Member requests for a statement from a Committee Chairperson relating to matters under the mandate of the Committee, the Speaker may either appoint a day for the statement or direct that the statement be issued on the same day, and the statement sought must be restricted to matters within the mandate of the Committee and which have been exhaustively dealt with and concluded by the Committee or where the Chairperson is authorized by Members to issue preliminary reports to the House.

Mr. Speaker, I have tried to consult my memory and I don’t think that the committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries has ever dealt with the matters in the statement sought.I do not know whether the chairperson has been authorized by the committee to give preliminary reports to the House. So I need to be guided whether this issue has been exhaustively dealt with because the procedure is that as I go through a certain report, I find something I need clarity on and so I raise a statement on it. Was there such a report by this committee? Thank you.

Speaker:Hon. Kieru,are you seeking guidance from the Speaker on whether the chair of the committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries should clarify?

Hon. Kieru: Yes.

Speaker: So can the chair of the committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries clarify.

Hon. Njiraini: Mr. Speaker Sir, I understand that we agreed to be proactive. I remember, Mr. Speaker, you were very pro-active and that is why you wanted to know how much had been allocated tothe trout fish project in your Ward.That is why you asked for a statement and since we had visited the site and understood the concerns of the project…

(Hon. Kieru rises)

Speaker: What is it Hon. Kieru?

Hon Kieru: Hon. Njiraini is misleading this House. I expected the member who sought the statement to have found something in a report of this House in order to seek the statement. Is there a report of this House concerning the project?So Hon. Njiraini cannot respond to a statement and then go and write a report on the same issue. A report should come first and then a statement should question the report.

(Hon. Thuita rises)

Speaker:Hon. Thuita.

Hon. Thuita: I think it is important forHon. Kieru to listen carefully so that he can get it right. There was a report by theBudget and Appropriations committee, where they indicated that Geta Integrated Trout Fisheries Project was allocated 5 million and the member for North Kinangop was concerned because he had not seen the use into which the money had been put. Pursuant to the Standing Orders, he has a right to ask for a statement.

The committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries took up the task to investigate whether the 5 million shillings allocated to the project was utilized.It is after that that the committee brought this statement to answer the questions asked by the member for North Kinangop. From the statement given, it is clear that the money allocated has not been used and now the committee wants to go and investigate and give guidelines, resolutions and recommendations as to what should be done.

(Hon. Kieru rises)

Speaker:YesHon. Kieru?

Hon. Kieru:He has approached it from a very interesting angle that the Budget and Appropriations committee wrote a report in reference to Geta Integrated Trout Fisheries Project.Pursuant to Standing Order no. 44, the Budget and Appropriations committee should be the one giving this statement, not the committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries as Hon. Thuita has clarified. Mr. Speaker, please guide us because I feel this statement should emanate from the committee that dealt with the report.

My point that a report should come first before a statement questions it should not be ignored Mr. Speaker.

(Hon. Thuita rises on Point of order.)

Speaker: Yes Hon. Thuita.

Hon. Thuita:Hon. Kieru is misleading this House with regard to what I have said. The committee was not specifically mandated to go and look at the status of Geta Integrated Trout Fisheries Project. In its report the Budget and Appropriation Committee quoted the project as having been allocated 5 million. It is from that that this issue of statement arose.

Speaker: The Standing Order 186, (5) (e) states that:

The Sectoral Committee shall investigate and inquire into all matters relating to the assigned departments as they may deem necessary, and as may be referred to them by the Assembly.

Remember when we are making the Budget we involve all the sectoral committees. Every sectoral committee is tied by this Standing Order. Therefore I do not see the irrelevance of the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock Development and Fisheries in reading a statement on the same from the department Hon. Kieru.

Proceed Hon. Njiraini.

Hon. Njiraini: Thank you.

(Hon. Kamau Ngotho rises on a Point of information.)

Speaker: Do you need the information Hon. Njiraini?

Hon. Njiraini: Yes, yes.

Speaker:Hon. Kamau Ngotho.

Hon. Kamau Ngotho:Mr. Speaker, we need to know that we are not the first Assembly in this universe. People who know about the Statement hour in the previous dispensation when even Cabinet Ministers were members of the Assembly, a member would rise and challenge even a situation that happened just the previous night. A member would say that they needed to get a statement from a certain Cabinet Minister on an issue that arose. That is why Standing Order 44 (c)says that if the Speaker directs, it can be supplied immediately.

Where a member requests for a statement from a committee chairperson relating to a matter under the committee’s mandate, the Speaker may either appoint a day for the statement or direct that the statement be issued on the same day. So it is not that you must have the report that has been brought to the House in order to seek a statement on it. That would be misleading to this House and we are not living in oblivion.

(Hon. Kieru rises on a point of order.)

(Murmurs)

Speaker: Proceed Hon. Kieru.

Hon. Kieru: I am not in any disagreement with MheshimiwaKamau Ngotho. He has read Standing order 44 (c) which is in regard to an issue referred to a chairman;

That a member may request for a statement from the Committee chairperson relating tomatters under the mandate of the Committee and the Speaker may either appoint a day for the statement or direct that the statement be issued on the same day.

Speaker:Hon. Kieru, Standing Order 44 (d)?

Hon. Kieru: Yes. It says;

Where a Member requests for a statement from a Committee’s Chairperson relating to matters under the mandate of the Committee, the Speaker may either appoint a day for the statement or direct that the statement be issued on the same day, and the statement sought must be restricted to matters within the mandate of the Committee and which have been exhaustively dealt with and concluded by the Committee or where the Chairperson is authorized by Members to issue preliminary reports to the House.

Speaker: We could have read that one; ‘that the Speaker may direct that the statement be issued on the same day.’

Hon. Kieru: It can be issued on the same day with regard to a report. I want to be gotten clearly. Mr. Speaker these guys are...

(Loud murmurs)

I withdraw, Mr. Speaker I withdraw.

(Hon. Kamau Ngotho rising on a Point of order)

Speaker:Hon. Kieru is on a point of order.

Hon. Kieru: Please protect me Mr. Speaker.

Speaker:Hon. Kieru, resume your seat. Hon. Kieruyou are completely out of order. You are technically okay because you have withdrawn thoughwe did not know what you were withdrawing.