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{
"id": 110746,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/110746/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Chachu",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 18,
"legal_name": "Francis Chachu Ganya",
"slug": "francis-ganya"
},
"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I support this draft Constitution, but with amendments. Constitution making is a struggle to enhance basic tenets of democracy and good governance. A Constitution is the soul of this nation. The Constitution making process in this country has been a struggle to address some of the omissions in our current Constitution. If this draft Constitution is passed, it will embody our hope, aspirations, vision and the foundation on which we can be a better Kenya. I salute the champions of the Constitution making process in Kenya. Whether they are alive or have passed on, they deserve our salute. I salute the civil society, the political elite as well as the international community and all the other players that have brought us this far. One of the major problems that we are trying to address in the current Constitution is the imperial presidency whereby power is so much concentrated in the hands of a few individuals or an individual at the expense of the whole nation. We have a situation where Parliament, which is supposed to represent the people of this nation, is hardly independent enough to effectively discharge its duty. We have a Judiciary that is dependent on the State, not just for funds, but even for direction. We are trying to do away with this dictatorship and a tyrannical regime which does not care about the will of the Kenyan people. If this Constitution is passed, it will ensure that there is separation of power between the Judiciary, the Legislature and the Executive. For the first time, Ministers of this nation will be professionals. They will be experts running the affairs of this country and re-engineering our State machinery to deliver for this nation. They will be experts vetted by Parliament to ensure equity, fairness as well as professionalism. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for the first time, under this new Constitution, the President of this nation, once elected, will have absolute legitimacy of the entire nation. I am saying so, because for him or her to be elected, he or she will need to garner 50 per cent plus one of the total votes cast in that particular election. If there are two, they will go to each and every corner of this nation and ensure that they get votes from all the Kenyans. By that, there will be a total legitimacy even in remote constituencies on the Kenya/Ethiopia border like North Horr. This will really usher in a situation where we will have presidents who are elected with full legitimacy in the eyes of the electorate. In addition to that, they need to garner more than 25 per cent of the votes cast in more than 50 per cent of our counties, namely, a minimum of 24. That will be the face of this nation. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Constitution also enables the President, once elected with such kind of legitimacy, to have total liberty, to form his own team that will enable him to deliver on his manifesto and the pledges that he has made to the Kenyan people without necessarily tying his hands, but within the rule of law. The independence of the Legislature will not in any way be affected by that Presidency, simply because we also have a serious oversight role to play. We need to do some serious legislation which will check that powerful Presidency."
}