Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1009744,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1009744/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 130,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kikuyu, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kimani Ichung'wah",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1835,
        "legal_name": "Anthony Kimani Ichung'Wah",
        "slug": "anthony-kimani-ichungwah"
    },
    "content": "Hon. Speaker, I want to comment on the issue that has been raised by the Chairman because, indeed, the Budget and Appropriations Committee puts in a lot of work and I can tell you that being a Chair Emeritus of this Committee. A lot of time is spent by the Committee outside of the budget cycle in consideration of the legislative proposals. However, you also appreciate that, at the beginning of this Session, I think in February last year, the House Business Committee under your leadership was kind enough to fast track a number of Private Members’ Bills or legislative proposals and actually exempted some from the rigorous process of going through departmental committees. That is why we have seen, out of that effort by the HBC, a number of legislative proposals have seen the light of day and coming before the House for debate. I appreciate that even my own Bill on the establishment of a Disaster Management Authority was concluded this morning. At the beginning of this Session, I raised the issue of a number of legislative proposals lapsing. The Chair has mentioned the Committee has spent tremendous time and public resources to consider over 140 legislative proposals. This is because when they meet it is public resources they are expending. If we are unable to process these legislative proposals within this Session of Parliament this year, and we only have four weeks after we come back… Also, if we continue not knowing how COVID-19 will behave, we will have three or at most four sittings in a week. We may see a number of proposals lapsing at the end of this Session. Hon. Speaker, I had sought your guidance. If I remember well, this is a matter you referred to the House Business Committee (HBC) to consider. That, we exempt many of the Members’ legislative proposals from lapsing at the end of this Session; so that the tremendous work done by the Budget and Appropriations Committee and other Departmental Committees does not go to waste. I want to beg you to direct the Leader of the Majority Party and the leadership in the HBC to facilitate a Procedural Motion where we will exempt many of these proposals from lapsing. I appreciate what the Chair has said, that the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning had a Public Finance Management (Amendment) Bill that is still somewhere in the works. Maybe the Chair is concerned on economic Bills touching on the economy and financial matters being given priority by the HBC, maybe in the next half of this Session when we come back from the short recess. Thank you, Hon. Speaker."
}