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{
    "id": 1375688,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1375688/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 122,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cheruiyot",
    "speaker_title": "The Senate Majority Leader",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13165,
        "legal_name": "Aaron Kipkirui Cheruiyot",
        "slug": "aaron-cheruiyot"
    },
    "content": "(3) The Mung Beans Bill (Senate Bills No.13 of 2022). (4) The Startup Bill (Senate Bills No.14 of 2022). (5) The Persons with Disabilities Bill (Senate Bills No.7 of 2023). (6) The Kenyan Sign Language Bill (Senate Bills No.9 of 2023). (7) The Equalization Fund Appropriation Bill (Senate Bills No.30 of 2023). The Bills have been referred to the National Assembly for consideration. I take this opportunity to commend hon. Senators for their zeal, dedication and presence in the Chamber for the voting process and urge all of us to continue with the same spirit during this Session. Mr. Speaker, Sir, there are currently 33 Bills at the Second Reading and four at Committee of the Whole stages. These Bills will be scheduled on the Order Papers for the coming week. I urge hon. Senators to familiarize themselves with the Order Paper of every sitting day, take interest in the upcoming business as indicated in the Notice Paper and avail themselves in the Chamber to contribute meaningfully to the debates. I cannot overemphasize the need for Movers to avail themselves in the Chamber to prosecute their business. This is a worrying trend which I believe we need to address. You will find that a Senator has a Bill, which is on the Order Paper, but he is not present in the House to move it. That is an unfortunate occurrence. I hope that colleagues with Bills at various stages will be present in the House for prosecution. I also reiterate on the importance of Senators to get the Order Paper way in advance. I must commend the Office of the Clerk. We get the Order Paper every evening before the sitting and sometimes even a day or two earlier. Therefore, you are able to tell what business is before the House. The Senate Business Committee (SBC) meets more than a week in advance to prepare the legislative business. Therefore, there is no excuse for Senators not to contribute meaningfully; not just to rise and respond based on rumours. By the time we are one and a half years into our term, I expect to see Senators with notes prepared prior to coming for debate in the House; having factual findings about why they agree or disagree on certain provisions in a particular Bill. The business of causally walking into the Chamber in the afternoon and sometimes listening to information or misinformation that has been peddled out there about a Bill and reacting to it, should be a thing of the past. It is important that all our House debates are informed by facts, either in support or opposition. It does not matter, but you need to convince us with sound logic. Mr. Speaker Sir, there are 20 Petitions due for reporting by respective standing committees. I continue to urge them to expedite consideration of these Petitions and table their reports thereon, pursuant to Standing Order No.238 (2). I wish to reiterate the importance of Petitions as a tool to facilitate our people to exercise their rights under Articles 37 and 119 of the Constitution. With respect to Statements, there are a total of 271 Statements sought pursuant to Standing Order No.53(1) that are pending conclusion. The Standing Orders, with specific reference to Standing Orders No.56(1)(a), provides a mechanism for which Committee 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."
}