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{
    "id": 1132913,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1132913/?format=api",
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    "content": "Hon. Members, the second Communication relates to the Gaming Bill (National Assembly Bill No.35 of 2019). Yesterday, Wednesday, 1st December 2021, I received a request from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Sports, Culture and Tourism to consider scheduling the Gaming Bill (National Assembly Bill No.35 of 2019) in today’s Order Paper for consideration by the House in the Committee of the whole House. My Office conferred with the Leader of the Majority Party with respect to having the Bill included in the Supplementary Order Paper for this Afternoon Sitting. Ordinarily, the function of scheduling business is one of the mandates of the House Business Committee as envisaged in Standing Order 171(4)(e). However, in view of the imminent long recess, my intervention as your Speaker, in concurrence with the Leader of the Majority Party, would have sufficed in order to facilitate the business of the House today. Hon. Members, you may recall that the Gaming Bill, 2019 was published on 27th May 2019 and read the First Time on 11th June 2019. It was thereafter committed to the Departmental Committee on Sports, Culture and Tourism for consideration, pursuant to Standing Order 127. The Committee tabled its Report in the House on 14th November 2020. In the said Report, the Committee proposed a raft of amendments to the Bill. Sometime last year, the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government further submitted to the Office of the Clerk further proposed amendments to the Bill. The amendments included the functions of the proposed National Gaming Authority, the functions and powers of gaming inspectors, gaming advertisement, application for licences and their issuance, and provision for offences. In addition, the Ministry proposed amendments for the protection of children and young persons. Consequently, the Committee considered the proposed amendments and tabled an addendum to its Report in the House on 8th October 2020. Hon. Members, my Office approved a request for the Committee to hold a sitting on Wednesday, 1st December 2021 at 10.00 a.m. to harmonise further proposed amendments to the Gaming Bill following submission of additional amendments from the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government and the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage. Consequent to this process, the Committee has come up with additional proposed Committee stage amendments. Indeed, at 10.15 a.m. today, Thursday, 2nd December 2021, the Office of the Clerk received a raft of amendments from the Chairperson of the Committee. Standing Order 133(2) reads in part as follows: “No amendment shall be moved to any part of a Bill by any Member other than the Member in charge of the Bill unless written notification shall have been given to the Clerk twenty four hours before commencement of the sitting at which that part of the Bill is to be considered”. A close scrutiny of the proposed amendments by the Committee disclosed that the Committee is proposing to amend over 110 clauses of the 162 clauses of the Bill. The Committee is also proposing amendments to five of the six schedules to the Bill. The Committee is also proposing to include a further 13 new clauses to the Bill. You will agree with me that the final Bill will therefore be fundamentally different from the published one. Given that the Bill in question is a “repeal and enactment Bill”, the practice of the House requires that where the sponsor of a Bill is proposing amendments whose effect is to replace almost the entire text of a Bill, then the Bill ought to be republished afresh so as to accord an opportunity to Members and the public to familiarise themselves with the content of the new Bill. It is for this The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}