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{
    "id": 1215066,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1215066/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 141,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kikuyu, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "7. Hon. Anne Wanjiku Muratha 8. Hon. Charity Kathambi Chepkwony 9. Hon. Jerusha Momanyi Mongina 10. Hon. Elisha Odhiambo Ochieng 11. Hon. Ruth Busia Adhiambo Odinga 12. Hon. Robert Basil Ngui 13. Hon. Beatrice Elachi 14. Hon. Paul Abuor 15. Hon. Elsie Muhanda Busihile Hon. Deputy Speaker, these are the same Members. As we indicated, there are two sessional committees which are the Committee on Member Services and Facilities and the Committee on Powers and Privileges that is on Order No.11. The term of these two sessional committees lapsed at the end of December last year and, therefore, we needed to renew their mandate to enable them to continue with the business of the House. We have largely maintained the same membership within the committees to facilitate them to hold their elections to elect their chairs and vice-chairs and commence business. Hon. Deputy Speaker, the Members Welfare and Facilities Committee is a very important committee for Members. I was a Member of this Committee in the last Parliament and I will tell you that this Committee did a lot of work under the chairmanship of the current Cabinet Secretary for Education, Hon. Ezekiel Machogu. Those who were in the 12th Parliament and had occasion to use our gymnasium and have been there now can attest to the work of this Committee in ensuring that Members enjoy good facilities including the improvement that we saw in the Members private dining and the lounges. I am sure there is a lot of work cut out for this Committee. More importantly, there is a huge responsibility that has been bestowed upon this Committee by our Standing Orders that all other Constitutional commissions are overseen by this House and the Parliamentary Service Commission is not an exception. It needs and it must be overseen. The Committee that is charged with the responsibility of overseeing the workings of the Parliamentary Service Commission is the Members Welfare and Facilities Committee. I want to challenge the Members of this Committee, Hon. Beatrice Elachi and the other Members, that once you embark on your work, please, occasion Members of the Parliamentary Service Commission to appear before you to account for their work as commissioners. This is the only committee that can oversee the Parliamentary Service Commission to ensure that whenever the institution is employing staff, they are employed in a fair, transparent and competitive manner in line with our Constitution and our statutes. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I hope that once this Committee embarks on its work, they will pick up that task to ensure that even the staff that serve us in the other committees, are recruited competitively and the best calibre of staff in this country. More importantly, they must ensure that there is both regional and ethnic balance in the composition of our staff in Parliament. This is because Parliament cannot be treated as a village institution. This is not a county assembly. This is the National Assembly and the Senate of the Republic of Kenya. We cannot have a few communities having the bulk of staffers in an institution that should be the face of our nation. At times, it is shameful that there are offices you would walk into and find people conversing in vernacular. I am saying these things because a lot of times this Committee has been underappreciated because of the history it had in the 7th, 8th and 10th Parliaments when one very famous Member from West Pokot said that he cannot be taken to the kitchen committee. This Committee is no longer the Catering Committee. It is a very important committee to this House. If we find ourselves in a position where Parliament is recruiting staff that come from my village as the Leader of the Majority Party or that of Hon. Mohammed Ali or Hon. Makau, it is only people from Mavoko who are being employed by 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."
}