Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1379555,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1379555/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 345,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Dagoretti North, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Beatrice Elachi",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Let me start with the Traffic Act. It is important to have the intelligent transport system as this will be of help. For example, we post our police officers to roundabouts to monitor how we are driving. One of our cultural practices is that all of us are always in a hurry. In countries such as Pakistan, with 8 million people in the city, you never get a traffic challenge because people know that they just follow one another. As a country, we behave differently and, therefore, we have to introduce fines. If one repeats a traffic offence like speeding three times, he should be punished differently by being denied renewal of their driving licence. There must be discipline. There is no need of levying and keep speeding. We have a road accident every day thus losing lives in accidents. Let me comment on the Sexual Offences Act. Today we had a meeting with a team from Kibra under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), and it was a sad story when I looked at what the girls are writing. This amendment is going to curb sexual offences and discourage offenders. It is important to have a well-maintained register. It should not just cater for people out there, but also those within families. It should capture a man who marries a woman with a child and turns the child into a wife. When you look at such children, you can always notice that they have something to tell. This is happening in many homes. The woman in such a marriage stays because she may have five children who she believes no one will take care of. This is very sad and it happens all over. That kind of incest is not good. The register should cater for all. We have to start in schools and call things by their name. We have to find a way of protecting our children. On the Office of the Attorney General Act, as we make this an independent office, we have to also try and look at the regulations. I hope the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs will look at the regulations so that we do not come back here to find ourselves in a conflict between the Public Service Commission and the Attorney-General’s Office because of employment. The law says that the Public Service Commission hires. But because the Attorney-General has gone through a lot, he needs to employ State officers who will be appearing in court. We need to be careful so that we do not have a conflict. Also, as we make it an independent office, we need to ask ourselves if the Attorney-General will be sitting in the Executive. Constitutional independent offices are independent. In the current Cabinet now, the Attorney-General is part of the Executive. So, with this arrangement, will he be sitting in the Executive? We must organise the legislation so that when we make the Attorney-General's Office independent, he goes with the accolades of a constitutionally independent office. As an independent office, it will have opportunities and disadvantages. If that is how they wish it to be, then it is okay. However, we must organise the legislation. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is independent, and we have never seen him as part of the Cabinet. That is the same way we want the Office of the Attorney-General when we pass this Bill. On the Universities Act, we have to ask about the polytechnics. If you may remember, when the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) team was selecting students for university admission, it sent students to universities without knowing that some could not afford the fees. Some of them were taken to private universities to do medicine and are struggling. It is important that, as KUCCPS continues with placement … With the KUCCPS new system of identifying vulnerable students… The students who got help from me and went to school through bursaries, will also need bursaries as they join universities and colleges. Recently, many students and parents went through a lot of challenges with the KUCCPS system. As we debate, let us re-organise the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill. Let us ensure that the vulnerable students in the KUCCPS system are the same students who were funded through bursaries or sponsors in their primary and secondary education. 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"
}