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{
    "id": 1108691,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1108691/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 218,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Rarieda, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr.) Otiende Amolo",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13465,
        "legal_name": "Paul Otiende Amollo",
        "slug": "paul-otiende-amollo"
    },
    "content": "More importantly, Hon. Speaker, the bodies sought to be reorganised are not State corporations. These are professional bodies that operate outside of the State. Therefore, the premise of the amendments is wrong. To the extent that these bodies comprise professionals who pay subscription, they are associations that are protected by Article 36 of the Constitution. If you were to abolish or reconstitute them to the extent that the professionals lose control, it is like withdrawal of registration. That is expressly prohibited by Article 36(3)(a) and (b) of the Constitution. In fact, Article 36(3)(b) goes further to say even if you were to consider withdrawing registration, there must be proper and fair hearing. That proper and fair hearing has not been given to any of these professional organisations by the Committee. Thirdly, the Bill offends a very basic principle: the constitutional principle of restraint of State power. State power should be exercised only for the organs that belong to the State, not for organs outside of the State. To the extent that the Bill now seeks to give the President power to appoint chairpersons of all these professional bodies and the Cabinet Secretary appoints other people and reducing the number of members from the professions, this is allowing the President and the Executive to exercise State power outside of the State. That cannot be constitutional. I invite you to consider a more fundamental issue. A careful reading of Article 132 of the Constitution thoroughly restrains powers of the President. It states what he can do and cannot do. The only leeway it allows is under Article 132(4)(a), where the President is allowed to establish a public office and before that is done, there must be legislation that enables it. So, the only extension that the President gets is if legislation allows him to exercise that power and if it is a public office. These are not public offices. These are professional offices. How then can the President come in to determine to professionals who to be their chairperson? That is unconstitutional. Lastly, if you look at what is proposed as Clause 3(2), it is even more intriguing and it is repeated for all the other bodies. It allows the Cabinet Secretary to appoint some four persons through conventional board resourcing procedures, including through applications, referrals and knowledge of the market. I do not know whatever that means."
}