The Office of the Senator of Mombasa County (OSMC) is set up under The Parliamentary Service (Constituency Offices) Regulations, 2005 (Legal Notice No. 77 of 2005) and the Parliamentary Service Commission (Constituency Offices) (Amendment) Regulations (Legal Notice No. 13 of 2012).
I had prepared the Office of the Senator of Mombasa County (OSMC) Strategic Plan 2015 – 2017 in anticipation of making effective and efficient utilisation of the Counties Oversight Fund then provided for in the 2015/2016 national budget proposals. Following a mediated settlement between the Senate and the National Assembly to allocate more resources to counties as proposed by the Senate, the National Assembly recklessly ‘struck back’ by reallocating the monies allocated to the Counties Oversight Fund to fund the proposal to increase resources to counties. This therefore denied the Senators the capacity to oversight counties and became the latest scheme to systematically erode the mandate of the Senate and deny the Senators any meaningful capacity.
Following these developments, my options were therefore limited. Either to shelf this Strategic Plan or to defy the odds and devise creative ways to effect it. I chose to defy the odds! We must equally take cognisance of the fact that if Senators are not capacitated to discharge their functions, oversight and devolution as a whole will be the principle casualty.
Taking into account its limitations, the OSMC therefore narrowed down on a few areas of priority as highlighted below:
GOAL ONE:
Operationalisation of Article 10 of the Constitution to facilitate and
guarantee the participation of the people in governance and decision-making processes
at all levels.
Key Result Area
• Enhanced citizens’ participation
GOAL TWO:
Institutionalisation of the Office of the Senator of Mombasa
County; and the Operationalisation of the mandate of the Senator at the County and
National level.
Key Result Areas
• Institutionalisation of the Office of the Senator of Mombasa County
• Informed citizens’ participation in the budget-making process at Mombasa
County
• Effective strategies and narratives to combat insecurity, radicalisation and
violent extremism.
• Enactment of cutting-edge legislation to address the inequalities and
promote social justice.
GOAL THREE:
Enhanced public awareness on the role and mandate
of the Senate/Senators and a vigilant public which demands and defends
devolution.
Key Result Area
• An informed, vibrant, vigilant and engaged citizenry
• Defending devolution through public participation
GOAL FOUR:
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