Lobbying starts for Samburu County Assembly Speaker

Intensive lobbying has started for the next Samburu County Assembly Speaker, days after the August 9 elections were concluded.

Interested aspirants have started courting the newly elected members of the county assembly (MCAs) in a bid to get their votes for the coveted position.

They are banking on the 15 elected MCAs to secure the position, now held by Solomon Lempere. Besides the 15 elected ward reps, more than 10 new members will be nominated by various political parties to join the assembly.

So far, two names have been fronted by various political formations for the Speaker position. They are current Finance Chief Officer David Lesamana and Fred Lengees, a brother of former Samburu West MP Steve Lengees.

Mr Lempere, who took over the mantle from Steve Lelegwe (now county senator) in 2017 has not declared publicly whether he will defend his seat.

During his tenure, he led the assembly to pass important legislation. The assembly adjourned indefinitely (sine die) on June 9, having passed 23 bills over the five years.

Mr Lempere rated the House highly, saying their performance was unmatched during the five years because they "passed crucial bills that will change people's lives".

Among the bills that he noted were passed under his leadership were the Community Conservation Bill 2019 and Climate Change Bill 2021.

The Community Conservation Bill sought to fund community-owned conservancies to the tune of about Sh500 million, according to Mr Lempere. Samburu became the first devolved unit to approve such a bill, which will have a significant impact on the ability of community conservancies to be independent and sustainable. Most community conservancies in Samburu depend on donors.

"This is a crucial bill that will boost conservation, create employment and generate more revenue to Samburu County through wildlife," Mr Lempere said on June 9.

The bill also supported the establishment of more community conservancies across the vast Samburu County with the approval of the KWS and other relevant conservation bodies.

The Samburu assembly also passed the Community Health Services Bill 2021 in a unanimous vote. The bill ensured community health volunteers are trained on basic health skills to enable them to administer services at the household level with the intention of responding faster to emergencies.

Under the law, community health volunteers are entitled to a monthly stipend to boost their morale. Community health volunteers, including members of their families, will also be accorded health insurance.

Samburu County has at least 900 community health volunteers.

The assembly also commissioned a new golden and brass Mace to replace a wooden one that was supplied by the defunct Transition Authority at the advent of the devolved system of government.

Elected ward reps are planning an informal meeting to get to know each other and discuss how to start plenary sittings.

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