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{
"id": 1026595,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1026595/?format=api",
"text_counter": 311,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kipipiri, JP",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Amos Kimunya",
"speaker": {
"id": 174,
"legal_name": "Amos Muhinga Kimunya",
"slug": "amos-kimunya"
},
"content": "(a) that, the House will hold morning and afternoon Sittings on Thursday, 30th July 2020, commencing at 10.00 a.m. and at 2.30 p.m. respectively, thereafter, the rest of Sittings of the House of Tuesdays and Thursdays shall stand suspended; and, (b) that, with effect from Wednesday, 5th August 2020, the House will hold its Sittings on Wednesdays only (Morning and Afternoon), commencing at 10.00 a.m. and at 2.30 p.m. respectively. Hon. Speaker, I am sure Members will appreciate that the rate of infections of COVID-19 is constantly rising. We thought it would be contained, but it is actually going up and this House is not spared. Members themselves are not insulated hence the House Business Committee, in its sitting deliberated on this matter – I see Members still not quite careful about social distancing even within the House – and saw the need to minimise the overall risk to Members of Parliament because, of course, we know the importance of Parliament to this nation, and that risk can only be minimised by minimising the time that Members interact en masse as a House by reducing it to one day. In the past, we increased to two days, but that will now be reduced from next week to only one day which gives adequate time for fumigation of the House and for taking care of the other Ministry of Health protocols that need to be administered to ensure that these facilities are safe. This does not mean that the Committees will not be meeting. They will continue to meet virtually as guided. Even those who need physical meetings will have more time to use these facilities. But for purposes of Sittings of the House as a whole, they will be limited from next week to only one day a week. For this week, as you may recall before we went on recess, we were meeting on Tuesday morning and afternoon and Thursday afternoon. The House Business Committee then decided to create one extra Sitting on Thursday morning for this week to expedite business, then from next week we will have just the two Sittings on Wednesday. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays Committees will sort their meetings virtually or physically as the case may be. This is a fairly straightforward matter. I remind Members that things are not as rosy as we would wish to have in the country. As a House, we need to provide leadership in terms of adhering to the guidelines and helping the rest of the country to flatten the curve and reduce the rate of infection, which is now reaching alarming levels. If we do not do that, then our health care system will be overwhelmed with resultant catastrophic effects as we have seen in other countries. The onus is on us individually and collectively as a House to help during this pandemic, including reducing our exposure with the constituents. We still see a lot of activity going on, whether we are distributing supplies or whatever. I cannot re-emphasise the need for care. Each one of us, the 349, are at risk. So, let us know that it is not one of us, but we are responsible for one another as an institution. If we can help in bringing the numbers down and flattening the curve, we will be able to get back to normal as soon as we can. With those words, I beg to move. Once again, I ask the Leader of the Minority Party, who sits with us in the House Business Committee to second."
}