Fractious Kisumu assembly passed over 60 laws
Kisumu County Assembly passed over 60 bills despite being dogged by perennial wrangles, says Speaker Elisha Oraro (left).
The bills included the Lake Front Corporation Development Act 2021, which led to creation of the Lake Front Development Corporation that is spearheading several development projects along the lake.
Others are Kisumu County Facility Improvement Fund Bill, Climate Change Act and Budget Appropriation Bills.
“As an assembly, we are going home very proud of creating a foundation for the third assembly and the county executive to work as appropriate. These Bills are key to development of the county,” said Oraro. He praised a recent shift to consultative leadership, saying he steered the assembly through a change of tack on governance — embracing dialogue and consultation.
“We had teething challenges. But the solution was when we sat down; discussed and agreed on issues. We also improved on the relationship between the assembly and the executive,” he said yesterday.
Oraro became the assembly’s acting Speaker in 2019 and was later substantively elected in 2020. He took over from Speaker Onyango Oloo, who was impeached by county assembly members.
Oraro challenged the third assembly to prioritise the legislated Bills, saying failure to do so could stifle the county’s development agenda. He said the assembly was undertaking the construction of the Speaker’s residence and an ultra-modern assembly to cut down on rent expenditures for staff offices. The assembly currently pays about Sh600,000 a month as rent for staff offices.
