Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 1203115,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1203115/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 32,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Speaker",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "hesitate to move this House to exempt the said Bills from pre-publication scrutiny so as to ensure that the Bills proceed without undue delay. Hon. Members, you will also recall that before the adjournment of the 12th Parliament, as I had noted in my acceptance speech, the House made progressive amendments to the rules of this House, amongst them being the new Standing Order 114 (7A) which prescribes a new sui generis procedure for conducting pre-publication scrutiny of legislative proposals seeking to amend the Constitution. Standing Order 114 (7A) provides that in respect of a proposal to amend the Constitution, the proposal shall be accompanied by signatures of at least 50 other Members in support, unless it is sponsored by the Majority Party or the Minority Party. Hon. Members, since the commencement of this Parliament, I have received several requests from Members wishing to introduce legislative proposals to amend the Constitution. Amongst them are proposals from the Member for Gichugu Constituency, Hon. Robert Githinji Gichimu; and the Member for Matungulu Constituency, Hon. Stephen Mule. The two Members are proposing to amend the Constitution to anchor the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) in the Constitution. In this regard, I request that any Member seeking to introduce a legislative proposal to amend the Constitution does comply with the requirements of Standing Order 114 (7A). This requires attachment of the signatures of at least 50 other Members to the legislative proposal for approval by the Speaker. Hon. Members, the new Standing Order No. 114 (7A), in my view, shall enrich the legislative process as it seeks to provide for consensus through collection of views of other Members, the Attorney-General, the constitutional commissions and the Kenya Law Reform Commission (KLRC) on any proposed amendments to the Constitution. Indeed, the new Standing Order No.114 (7A) actualises the provisions of Article 256 (2) of the Constitution, which obligates Parliament to publicise any Bill to amend the Constitution and facilitate public discussion. It is also notable that Standing Order No.114 (1) as amended also allows Members to co- sponsor Bills in the House. In this regard, Members with legislative proposals dealing with related issues may opt to co-sponsor legislative proposals for introduction in the House. Hon. Members, when adopting the Report of the Procedure and House Rules Committee on amendments to the Standing Orders, the National Assembly of the 12th Parliament also noted that there is need to amend a number of statutes that have implication on the rules of procedure. The intention of the proposed amendments is to keep them in accord with the Constitution, related laws and the reality of modern times. The Hansard of the afternoon Session of Tuesday, 31st May 2022 records that the Committee also tabled four draft legislative proposals containing amendments to statutes that were proposed to be urgently considered to operationalize certain procedures of the House. Hon. Members, the said proposals are: 1. The Draft Public Finance Management (Amendment) Bill, 2022 that sought to enlarge the time for consideration of the Budget Policy Statement from 14 to 21 days; 2. The Draft Political Parties (Amendment) Bill, 2022 that sought to require the Registrar of Political Parties to convey certified copies of all coalition agreements to the Clerk of each House of Parliament; 3. The Draft Parliamentary Powers and Privileges (Amendment) Bill, 2022 that sought to streamline the Membership of the Committee of Powers and Privileges; 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."
}