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{
    "id": 1028316,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1028316/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 352,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Farhiya",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13179,
        "legal_name": "Farhiya Ali Haji",
        "slug": "farhiya-ali-haji"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I want to join my colleagues in congratulating the Committee for coming up with concrete solutions. They say that extraordinary times call for extraordinary solutions, and that is exactly what our Committee has done. The fact that we are taking this innovation to the next level is good. As mentioned by Sen. (Dr.) Musuruve, as much as our deliberations are public, and the Committee work and everything that we do is for the public, there is need for some level of protection in terms of unwarranted interference in terms of people who are getting into the space without the permission of the Committee or the House. We need to put in place extra measures to ensure that, that is safeguarded. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, sometimes in these virtual committee meetings, I just see either an empty picture of a participant or an empty screen, and the person does not contribute. Therefore, you just wonder whether the person is in the meeting or out of that meeting. Those are some of things that I wonder how we can mitigate, to ensure that there is a little bit more transparency in how we conduct our business. This is so that the rest of the participants can know that you are there and are transacting business. If you do not contribute, nobody knows whether you are there or not. There is also the issue of people who have health problems, the threshold required for voting and all that. I think we need to address that bit more conclusively, so that we understand what the procedure is. A Member who was not able to be present to this House sitting because of their age and other problems, at one time requested me to vote on their behalf, but later that vote was not counted. I think we need to be specific in terms of how such a person can authorize another Member either through writing to the Speaker or any other prescribed process, to be able to vote on their behalf. It is unfair that a Member is unable to participate in the voting in the House because of their age and health problems. We need a solution for that, which is definite and very clear in these procedures. This will ensure that a Member follows that procedure and then they are assisted in a way that is more acceptable. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}