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{
    "id": 114965,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/114965/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 35,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "In Constitution making, Parliament is comparable to the Court of Appeal because the final draft that will go to the public for adoption through a referendum will be approved by this House. A Court of Appeal does not begin to consider a case until its seized of it. It is in this House that it matters. We must all stop antics and shadow- boxing at all manner of fora including pre-wedding parties. Men and women of substance must and will be heard here where it counts. The changes all of us would like to see in the Harmonized Draft should be subjected to mature debate. Hon. Members would do a great job for this country if they spent most of their time listening to what the people are saying instead of advocating to the public what they want removed from the draft, et-cetera . For my parting shot on this subject, I quote from an eminent 18th Century American lawyer:- “The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people; it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government.” Your Excellency, every politician – all Hon. Members are politicians – has an ambition to capture state power through the electoral process and form or be part of the Government. The people of Kenya expect us, hon. Members, to give them a Constitution that will restrain the Government from unnecessarily interfering in their affairs, and not restrain them from prying into the affairs of the Government. The new Constitution we must have will be measured against this primary benchmark. This far, I may sound idealistic but I must confess that I am a dreamer, awake to the reality that Government is the greatest reflection of human nature and that men and women, of whom politicians are part, are not angels for if they were, no government would be necessary. Our focus, therefore, has to be, to give it our all so that Kenyans have premier leadership. Your Excellency, you are the longest serving hon. Member of this House and with that unique unparalleled tenure, you have direct personal knowledge, skills and experience on parliamentary procedures and diplomacy. In the year 2006, the National Assembly successfully hosted the 114th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting in Nairobi. The Government played an indispensable role in ensuring that the meeting was a resounding success. During my tour at international parliamentary meetings, I have met several delegates who came to Nairobi for the IPU meeting in 2006. They still cherish fond and fresh memories of Kenya and its people, whom they say are warm, friendly and kind. Once again, in the month of September this year, we are going to host the 56th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Plenary (CPA-P) meeting here in Nairobi. The Government has already assisted the National Assembly in several ways to ensure the successful hosting of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association meeting. We shall, Your Excellency, keep you posted, as the presiding patron of the CPA, on the progress towards the meeting since your personal experience and advice on all this is peerless. And we value it. As a country, we must live up to our reputation to always go for the best, if not emerging the best Your Excellency, it is now my honour and proud privilege, with all the humility I can command, to invite you to make your Speech."
}