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{
    "id": 1372062,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1372062/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 107,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Wakili Sigei",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "To the extent that this power is donated to the organ of the presidency, and that is the main reason why the address to Parliament by the President is important at the beginning of every elected Parliament, and once every year. That underscores the importance of that particular address. That address is so sacrosanct to this House and to the people of Kenya who donated the power to the Government of the day. When my friend, Sen. Oketch Gicheru, talks about two minutes, he is trivialising that Address and the importance of that debate because it is not about those who will support or those who will oppose it. It is an opportunity that this House gets to debate that Address, because it talks about the promises made, what has been done, what has been achieved and what has not been achieved, including the plans which are ahead for purposes of delivering to the people of Kenya. Therefore, when the House decides to debate, it is about supporting and criticizing the Address that the President, at any given time when he is supposed to address the House is made. Therefore, the duration which is given is also objective. It does not make sense, therefore, to say we just spare two minutes of that time. In fact, once Sen. Oketch Gicheru is given an opportunity, the two minutes is not sufficient for him to do the preliminaries before he criticises, if at all, such a speech whenever the President addresses. Therefore, when we debate, let us debate so that we achieve the mandate of the House by criticising, where necessary, and enhancing very objective debate on the speech of the President at any given time that he addresses the House. I equally support the proposition that, where possible, and if it means amending the relevant provisions of the law, it would be very key and important where the President sits through the sittings when that Address is being debated by the Houses of Parliament. It will not only give Parliament an opportunity to have a conversation, it will give us, as Members of this House, an opportunity to look to whatever debate that we are going to do. I support."
}