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{
    "id": 1143480,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1143480/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 314,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kipipiri, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Amos Kimunya",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 174,
        "legal_name": "Amos Muhinga Kimunya",
        "slug": "amos-kimunya"
    },
    "content": "When you go to the Congress in the USA, there is what they call The Centre for Legislative Archives. This is where you find all the historical records of the House of Representatives as well as the Senate. The New Zealand has historical Bills which are again accessible online. They have a massive collection of as far back as 1854. These are just examples that are to buttress the point that this is a path others have trodden with success. There is no reason Parliament of Kenya cannot do the same. We also know we will not be starting from zero. We have made some progress; we have made some strides. We have the Parliamentary Broadcasting Unit (PBU) and livestreaming of parliamentary proceedings which has already archived a fair bit of what has been happening. We have our social media handles and websites that contain thousands of photographs of this House in action—whether in Committees or in Chamber, or when the Hon. Speaker is meeting with visiting dignitaries. We also know, and the Hon. Speaker knows this because we sit together in the Liaison Committee, that we have been having this annual showcasing of the work of Committees of Parliament. It is all documented in bits. So, at least there is somewhere to start. But it is all scattered and I am not sure how much we will get if we went to our library for some of the contributions. How easy is it to get what Hon. T.J. Kajwang’ said on a certain day? I am sure he would want generations to come to be quoting him. Even for some of the drama we have had in this House, for whatever reason, it would be important to see all that being recorded. I am also aware that if you were to search our website, that is the Parliament Website, you will access a fact sheet on the history of Parliament. Again, this is a small publication but it is a great start. I am told that we have about 30 such publications. Again, it is scattered depending with who wrote it, and from what perspective. I also know one of the former Clerks, Mr. Gichohi, wrote something about Parliament. I am sure there will be several others who might help in documenting this, either from memory or directly. After 115 years, if we do not document what we have, we are likely to lose it and confuse future generations. We will not be doing justice to the history of this nation and Parliament. I have mentioned the two documentaries that were produced by this House in terms of the interviews of the Committee Chairs. There was another documentary that was done recently; Members may have seen it or not. It is titled: “A House Defying COVID-19” documentary. Whereas these are not the only documentaries, it shows that this House has operated in different circumstances. We have had nine sessions and have responded to different circumstances that challenged how we do business. If we do not document them, those who will come after us may not know why we did things the way we did. What I am saying is that, it is important that we document. What gives me great hope about this Motion is that all that we do here will be conserved and systemised. This generation and future generations will access and they will know what we are doing, why we are doing it, why we are doing it the way we are doing it, what others did before and why we changed things, and when we changed our Standing Orders and for what reasons. Hon. Speaker talked of not wanting to chair the Powers and Privileges Committee. The next generation will get to know why that is his position. As we move from the 12th Parliament to the 13th Parliament with a possible transition rate of 70 per cent plus, it will be easy to induct the new Members when we have these documentations. I believe this will be a gift to us and future generations. I beg to move and ask Hon. Engineer Nduati Ngugi, MP for Gatanga to second."
}