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{
    "id": 1085963,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1085963/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 29,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Yatta, Independent",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Charles Kilonzo",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 46,
        "legal_name": "Charles Mutavi Kilonzo",
        "slug": "charles-kilonzo"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. The need for this Bill is as a result of many visits by Members of this Committee from the 9th to 12th Parliament. I sat in the same Committee in the 10th, 11th and the current Parliament. In those visits and, of course, from interaction with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, Members realised that there is need to professionalise the activities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Just like any other Ministry, you cannot run the Ministry of Foreign Affairs without an Act of Parliament and claim to be professional. The Ministry of Agriculture is guided by several Acts, among them the Agriculture Act (Cap. 318); the Ministry of Water is guided by the Water Act (Cap. 372); the Ministry of Defence is guided by the Kenya Defence Act, 2012; and, the Ministry of Health is guided by so many Acts. As the Mover has said, the key aim of this Bill is to professionalise the Foreign Service. Kenya deals with the outside world through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We cannot afford to have quacks, improperly trained personnel or people without the necessary skills engaging the international community. For that reason, after giving the Ministry very many opportunities from the 8th to the current Parliament, this Committee felt it is necessary to take it upon itself and engage the Ministry and the Attorney-General’s Office. This Bill has a lot of input by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Attorney-General’s Office. Later, after public participation, other stakeholders came on board. Briefly on the Bill, Part II contains provisions for the establishment and composition of Foreign Service and the key functions of the Cabinet Secretary and the Principal Secretary in relation to Kenya’s foreign missions. I remember one time we had a very interesting case in the 10th Parliament. Because of lack of legislation, a High Commissioner was appointed to the UK and he could not get instructions from the Minister. He was saying: “Look, I am an appointee of the Head of State and, so, you cannot talk to me. I can only get orders from the President.” This was a clear indication of lack of enough legislation. So, this Bill is going to solve some of the problems that the Ministry has experienced in performing its duties. Part III of the Bill outlines the relationship between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and overseas missions while Part IV talks about staffing of those missions."
}