USAID through its Agile and Harmonized Assistance for Devolved Institutions (AHADI) has been supporting Meru County Assembly to build a strong and effective legislative institution by training and mentoring members and staff of the assembly. AHADI focuses on staff and assembly committees as the driving engines for the young county assemblies which were established in early 2013.

 

Among the recently trained staff is John Macharia, Assistant Hansard Editor at the Meru County Assembly. 

 

When Macharia joined the assembly 30 months ago, he did not know how to carry out his work which entails recording and editing what was said in parliament without taking away from the meaning. It also includes votes, written statements and written answers to parliamentary questions.

 

After several training and mentoring sessions, he feels confident that he and his colleagues have mastered their work. He especially appreciates the mentoring sessions with experts. 

 

“Training is important, but through the mentorship we are able to practically work with the experts, because we had so many questions”, Macharia states. “The AHADI expert has been able to impart so much,” he adds. 

 

Macharia feels a real sense of responsibility to be accurate in his editorial duties as one of the first employees of the assembly. “We owe it to future generations to provide accurate records of decisions made by this assembly”, he emphasizes.