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{
    "id": 1337753,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1337753/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 247,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Molo, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kuria Kimani",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " That was on a light note. I know you are aware that you are one of the great legal minds that I immensely respect in this Parliament. You make very good contributions. Just to inform the Chairperson of the Committee on Delegated Legislation, I do not have any NG-CDF funds. It is not my fund. I am only a patron of NG- CDF in my constituency. I appreciate the effort you put in making sure that the fund goes to supporting needy families in our constituencies, whether it is through bursaries or for renovation of our schools. For example, 98 per cent of schools in Molo now have equipped science laboratories. What we are doing at Junior Secondary School was a discussion, courtesy of this Fund. Article 94 of the Constitution gives power to Parliament to legislate. Out of the three arms of Government, only Parliament has the power to make laws. Parliament, in its generosity, donates part of this power to the Executive to make policies and regulations, but the Executive should not take that for granted. It is just holding that power delegated to it by Parliament. During the discussions this afternoon, most people have said that the Executive has taken this for granted and they are using this as a backdoor to make laws on behalf of Parliament. I would really want to check whether the policies, guidelines and regulations that some of the departments and institutions under the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning, like the Central Bank of Kenya, the Kenya Deposit Protection Authority and the Capital Markets Authority, are up to date when we table them. A few months ago, someone said to me, “You increased taxes again?” I asked, “What taxes did I increase?” He then said that it was Excise Duty, only to come here and be told that it went to the Departmental Committee on Delegated Legislation as a regulation. The Constitution talks about there being no taxation without representation. Representation cannot be done by anyone else apart from elected Members of Parliament. We found that even the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is using the backdoor to increase taxes through regulations. Not to speak ill of the Departmental Committee on Delegated Legislation, the talk on the streets is that when you want to pass something through a Departmental Committee and realise that it is difficult, pass it as a regulation or policy through the Departmental Committee on Delegated Legislation. I understand the Departmental Committee on Delegated Legislation deals with matters across all sectors, whether it is health, finance or transport. Surely, you cannot have human beings with the capacity to interpret, understand and make good decisions on all subjects."
}