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{
    "id": 1227324,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1227324/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 32,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "The approval of the 5th Report of the Procedure and Rules Committee on the amendments to the Senate Standing Orders paves the way for Cabinet Secretaries (CSs) to appear before the Senate to respond to Questions. In approving the amendments to the Standing Orders, the Senate also resolved that the Amendments shall take effect from Tuesday, 11th April, 2023, and further varied the hours of meetings to provide for Sittings on Wednesday morning. In this regard, I wish to guide the Senate on the procedure in which Questions shall be considered. Hon. Senators, as is the standard practice, a Senator who wishes to ask a question will be required to deliver a signed copy of the question to the Clerk of the Senate. The Clerk shall process the question in line with Standing Order No.51B and submit the notification to my office for approval. Upon approval, the Clerk will be required to convey the questions to the relevant CS. The Clerk will also submit a list of questions to be asked to the Senate Business Committee (SBC), which shall schedule a date and time for appearance of the relevant CS before the Senate to respond to the question. The Clerk will be required to give a CS at least seven days’ notice before the date appointed for the CS to appear before the Senate. Upon approval of the schedule by the SBC, the Clerk will be required to publish on the Parliamentary Website and circulate to Senators a schedule of all questions not later than the Friday preceding the day upon which the question is to be responded to by the relevant CS. A Cabinet Secretary will in turn be required to provide a physical and electronic copy of a response to a question at least twenty-four hours before appearing before the Senate. Hon. Senators, questions shall be dispensed with in the manner approved by the SBC and as scheduled in the Order Paper. A Senator shall only ask his or her question on the day it is scheduled in the Order Paper. Senators will be required to address questions to the CS pursuant to Standing Order 51C (1), in the manner approved by the Speaker. It shall be out of order to introduce a new question on the floor of the Senate. Similarly, questions that are not listed in the Order Paper and therefore not approved by the Speaker, and accordingly not scheduled by the SBC, will not be permitted on the Floor of the Senate, and their introduction will be out of order. Pursuant to Standing Order 51C (2), a Senator may, in writing, nominate another Senator to ask a question on his or her behalf where the Senator shall be absent on the day on which the question is listed. Senators, kindly walk in."
}