Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1200200,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1200200/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 146,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Ugunja, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Opiyo Wandayi",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I actually did not want to say much on this matter. I would like to welcome the Uthiru Genesis School from the great Kikuyu Constituency. It is a constituency that I have fond memories of because it is home to the great Alliance High School. Allow me to say one or two things just to echo what had been said earlier by my colleague, Hon. Ichung’wah. This is perhaps one of the most difficult times for leadership in the House. I have been blessed to be here since 2013 and I can tell you, for the times that I have witnessed the happenings during and around the time of placement of Members into committees, I can confirm that this is one of the most difficult times. Why do I say so? You will find a familiar pattern more or less on both sides of the aisle by Members essentially narrowing down to not more than 10 particular committees. You will find that these are the committees of choice to nearly three quarters of membership. For instance, on the side of Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya Coalition Party, we find that we have well over 100 Members who have expressed interest to be placed in the Budget and Appropriations Committee against placement opportunities of not more than 12. This obviously goes a long way to indicate or to show how difficult the task is to decide who to place there and who to leave out. All Members should understand that even if your committee of choice is X, Y or Z and you end up not getting placement, you should take the disappointment in stride knowing well that being left out is not on account of lack of experience or skills. You are not any less qualified to belong to that particular committee than those who have been placed there. That should be the guiding principle. Eventually, the most important thing is that in line with what the Standing Orders dictate, every single Member of this House will be selected to, at least, one committee. In some cases, Members will be selected to two committees. As you also know, following the amendment to the Standing Orders at the tail end of the last Parliament, the number of committees have increased even though the number of Members in these committees has decreased. Every single Member will have a chance to belong to a committee or two. I would like to reiterate the fact that each and every committee of this House is as important as the other. It all depends on what use you put the committees into including how well you oversee the respective departments, engage with the Executive and engage with the people who are the ultimate consumers of our work. Ultimately, each committee should satisfy the needs and interests of all of us. Without belaboring the point, my plea to all Members is that even as we navigate through this process, let us try to be as cooperative and understanding as possible, so that we can get over it as quickly and smoothly. This will allow committees to get down to work and deliver for the people of Kenya. With those many remarks I support. I thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker."
}