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"speaker_name": "Hon. Amos Kimunya",
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"legal_name": "Amos Muhinga Kimunya",
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"content": "(v) paragraph (iv) shall not apply to the Business under Part XXIV of the Standing Orders (Financial Procedures). Hon. Speaker, as Members would be aware, we are starting the second part of our Sittings. When we met in the House Business Committee, cognizant of the fact that we are having the COVID-19 Pandemic with us, we worked out the best way of maximizing on the achievement of the business of the House while at the same time limiting exposure of Members to interactions and in-sittings. Because we also have a lot of business to transact between now and end of June and, indeed, for the remaining one year before we get into campaign mode, it is important we use as much time as possible in the House to transact as much business as we can. So, the effect of what we are proposing now is that we will have two Sittings on Tuesdays and Wednesdays where we will have the Afternoon and Evening Sittings. Members may recall that when we experimented with this in the First Part of the Session, it became very popular because Members could do their business in the course of the day and come in the evening to transact some business. Therefore, Members have asked if they can continue with evening sessions. We also realised that it was very short. It was only two hours and few Members could transact. So, we have added another half an hour to make it two-and-a-half hours. If you look at the totality of these measures, having those sessions on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and the normal Afternoon Session on Thursdays, the total sitting time comes to about 17.5 hours which is almost half an hour shorter than the regular sitting time which is 18 hours in a week. So, through these adjustments, Kenyans will get full value of their money. Members will also get a reorganisation of their time so that they are able to do business during the day and come to Parliament in the evening. They will also transact committee work in the mornings. On Thursdays, Members will be able to travel to their constituencies and to attend to committee work without feeling that they are leaving the House in sitting. So, it is a totality of package that we can experiment with. If it works, we can well continue with it and, hopefully, at some point, we will have the evening sessions ending probably at 10.00 p.m. or 11.00 p.m. This will give us much time to interact while also giving us a maximum time during the day to go and campaign, visit Government offices, follow up on constituency matters and then put our time in Parliament in the evening. This is because there is still other business to do and we need to represent our people as far as our constitutional mandate is concerned. That is basically the thrift of it. We have responded to Members’ wishes to have that evening session extend its time and also to free up all mornings for Members to do their committee work, follow up on the constituency work and other issues that they need to do in the morning. So, when you come at lunch time, you can prepare to attend the sitting. We are also cognizant of the fact that there is a lot of traffic disruptions in the afternoon. It does not help to rush to finish business by 7.00 p.m. and then you get stuck in the traffic jam for another two hours. You could as well use that time productively for the betterment of our great Republic and the people that we represent. This will start from next week and, so, we are talking of three weeks of this experimentation. By the time we go to the next Session, we will see whether to adopt it as a norm or amend it. With those words, I beg to move and ask the Leader of the Minority Party to second."
}