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{
    "id": 1373593,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1373593/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 100,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Ugunja, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Opiyo Wandayi",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker for giving me the first bite of the cherry. Let me start by saying that, of course, this Bill is obviously a response or a reaction to the now very famous High Court ruling of November 2023. We must thank our courts for jolting the Executive to do what they should have done at the first instance. We must also take cognisance of the fact that even as we debate this Bill, the matter is still live in court. It is still lying in the Court of Appeal pending determination. That notwithstanding, let me make the following comments. The introduction to the Bill itself states categorically that: “A Bill for an Act of Parliament to give effect for Article 43(1)(b) of the Constitution to provide a framework for access to affordable housing and for connected purposes.” At the outset, the question one would like to ask repeatedly is, if this Bill is passed and becomes law, how on earth is it going to contribute to the realisation of the right under Article 43(1)(b) of the Constitution? Hon. Speaker, it might be important for me to just read the Article for the benefit of Hon. Members who may not have their copies of the Constitution with them. The Constitution dictates that: “Every person has the right— to accessible and adequate housing, and to reasonable standards of sanitation.” If you want to understand clearly how this Bill will not solve the problem by not addressing the matter of the realisation of the right under Article 43(1)(b), you simply go to the paragraph on page 2126 of the Bill, the one dealing with eligibility, criteria and application procedure for an affordable housing unit. But before I go there, let me now thank the authors of this Bill. I wish you could allow Hon. Ichung’wah, to listen to me. Let me thank the authors of this Bill for having now come out to clearly state – unlike what was being sold to us through the infamous Finance Bill, 2023 – that whoever is going to contribute to this Housing Levy will not be guaranteed to get a house. That is now clear."
}