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{
    "id": 1126069,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1126069/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 288,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Nominated, ANC",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Godfrey Osotsi",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13172,
        "legal_name": "Godfrey Osotsi",
        "slug": "godfrey-osotsi"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to contribute to this important Bill. I concur with the rest of the Members who have spoken that this Bill has very important benefits to this country. For instance, it will boost social welfare in our communities. It will also make it quicker to register groups because as you know, right now, groups are registered as either societies, trusts or associations. However, this particular legislation will now make it easy to register other groups including resident associations, family groups and even social media groups. It will be possible. I have read through the Bill and noticed that there are some gaps which actually violate the Constitution. These gaps can be looked at during the Committee of the whole House to bring amendments. For instance, trying to confine the community groups to geographical area may prejudice people who do not come from that geographical locality. Secondly, this Bill proposes the creation of the Office of the Director of Social Development, who is very powerful. He or she has been given array of duties including supervisory and investigative powers. You know that the issue of groups touches on freedom of association and such issues. So, by reading through the roles of this Office, you would realise that the functions of this Office may interfere with the freedom of association as enshrined under Article 36 of the Constitution. Those roles must be looked at very carefully so that they do not interfere with that important freedom of association as enshrined under Article 36 of the Constitution. If you limit people to a particular geographical area, then you are actually interfering with their rights. I support the Bill, but it has to be looked at so that those grey areas which may look unconstitutional will be handled at the Committee of the whole House stage. This raises an issue about Senate bills; many of the bills from the Senate are largely Private Members’ bills. Very few Bills are Government sponsored. If you look at these Bills critically, you will realise that most of them have issues which contradict the Constitution. The Senate secretariat must be very keen when they process them so that they do not bring to this House Bills which have legal loopholes that may compromise vital freedoms under the Constitution of Kenya. With those few remarks, I support the Bill, but with reservations that I have stated. For instance, the issues to do with constitutionality must be looked at so that this Bill is not challenged that it regulates the freedom of association under Article 36 of the Constitution. I support."
}