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"id": 1286265,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1286265/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Cheruiyot",
"speaker_title": "The Senate Majority Leader",
"speaker": {
"id": 13165,
"legal_name": "Aaron Kipkirui Cheruiyot",
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"content": "I see Members agree on the need of the Bill, but many of them are disagreeing with one procedure or the other. Of course, I even had people speak of how we expedited the process. If you ask our colleagues who sit in the Health Committee--- You know how Parliament works; we work through our committees. Our committees are our eyes because when you are considering a Bill, the reason most of the time we wait for that committee to guide us, much as it is not standard that you must have the report of the specific committee, is because committees take time to read clause by clause. That is why when we were on recess, our Committee on Health was in Mombasa with all the stakeholders and practitioners going through this Bill for almost a whole week. There has been extensive public participation on this whole concept of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and what needs to happen. Of course, as is expected on a broad subject such as this, you are never going to get uniformity and agreement on how every procedure is supposed to be done. At least, nobody can say there has not been significant stakeholder involvement in all the four Bills that are coming before us. That is not factual. Our Members of the Committee on Health that are in the House can confirm that. I remember engaging Sen. Mandago, the Chairperson of the Committee on Health as early as late last year, when I could see the Cabinet Secretary, Hon. Nakumicha, engaging with the Members of the National Assembly. I asked him, ‘how come the Senate is not involved, yet you understand that health is a devolved function?’ We were able to resolve all those issues and mentioned to the Cabinet Secretary that any time they have a stakeholder engagement, they should have the Senate and the National Assembly Committees on Health seated jointly, if they ever expect us to pass that Bill. It is on that account and intervention that our Committee on Health has been extensively involved in this particular process. Colleagues who rose and said that this ought to have been done differently, remember to file your amendment. The issue of superintendent and administrator of the hospital, which was raised by Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, the Majority Whip who is a medical practitioner and perhaps has a better appreciation of some of these issues--- Though I know it has been long since he practiced, I know he still remembers anyway, as a trained medic. The problem I have with many of you, colleagues, is that you are so eloquent during your contribution, but not diligent enough to follow through the proposals that you made. We shall shortly after I reply, go to division for Second Reading, which is to progress the Bill to the next stage. This is where all the beautiful ideas I have listened to from colleagues can be put together in the Bill. That is why I expect that between now and tomorrow, in the afternoon, when we now do Committee of the Whole, Members will have taken time to file all the proposals that they have made. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I appreciate the time our colleagues have taken to respond to. Of course, many of the insinuations that have been made about the Bill are unfounded; some of them are actually not factual. They do not even feature in the Bill. However, in the nature of debate, politics and all these things, many good ideas sometimes get lost. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard Services,Senate."
}