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{
    "id": 1368608,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1368608/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 183,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Owen Baya (",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Senate and the Commission on Revenue Allocation. The Petition in court also states that the Act violates the basic structure of the Constitution, the rule of law and the distinctiveness of the levels of Government. Lastly, the Petition also has something that says that the Act violates the principles of public finance. However, it is good to note that the Chief Justice is yet to constitute a bench to consider the Petition. We are informed that the matter will be mentioned on the 30th of November, 2023, to confirm whether the bench would have been constituted by then. Therefore, this Bill comes at a good time such that by the time the bench is constituted, allegations of unconstitutionality of the NG-CDF Act 2015 will be moot, and the concerns raised in the Petition would have been addressed through this amendment. This Bill seeks to address the issues of constitutionality that are being raised in the Petition that is before the court of law. As we debate and pass this Bill, we will be addressing the issues of constitutionality as raised in the Petition. The Bill has 14 clauses. It is a small Bill, and you can pick it up from the Table Office. Go through it to understand. The memorandum is self-explanatory, and the issues canvassed here are very easy to understand. I request Hon. Members to pick a copy of the Bill from the Table Office. The 14 clauses and the amendments can be generally classified as aligning the Act to funding projects that are falling under the exclusive functions of the national Government as set out in the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution. In addition, the amendments seek to separate powers between the two levels of Government; that is, the national Government and the county governments. Clause 2 of the Bill provides for the amendment of Section 3(h) of the Act to provide that the object of the Fund shall be to facilitate the National Assembly to exercise its oversight role. The National Assembly and NG-CDF will now play an oversight role. That is what that clause tries to do over exclusive national Government projects and supplement the infrastructure development of projects falling under the exclusive functions of the national Government at the constituency level, as provided for in the Constitution. This ensures that the Fund shall only fund projects that are falling under the exclusive functions of the national Government at the constituency level as set out in the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution. This is just to make this area neat, and to just emphasise that NG-CDF will only fund those functions that are in the purview of the national Government, as provided for in Schedule Four of the Constitution. Hon. Deputy Speaker, Clause 3 provides for the deletion of Section 4(3) to cater for situations where collected Government revenue is lower than the preceding year and which may necessitate lower allocation to the Fund than the previous financial year. In Clause 4, the Bill provides for the amendment of Section 15 of the Act to empower the Public Service Commission to make recommendations to the Cabinet Secretary on the persons to be appointed as members of the NG-CDF Board. In the past, the Public Service Commission has not been involved in identifying and ensuring that we have a replacement of board members, but when we amend Section 15, the Commission will have a say on who is appointed to the Board. Clause 5 of the Bill provides for the repealing of Section 19 and substituting it with elaborate provisions that incorporate the public service recruitment process of Board members as envisioned under Article 234 of the Constitution, that the appointment of members of the Board should be competitive. We are allowing this amendment to provide for the issues as provided for in the Constitution; that we do not just pick people but ensure that the process is competitive and follows the values and principles of public service. Therefore, Section 19 does that. 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."
}