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{
    "id": 1385457,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1385457/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 537,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Okiya Omtatah",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I have lost some time. The Kenya Kwanza side seems to have made unconstitutional promises to the people of Kenya. They are premising this issue on their manifesto. Secondly, I also inform them that I am not part of the Azimio la Umoja Coalition. There is a third side. I am an independent voice. Therefore, I did not have anything on affordable housing. Thirdly, there was a decision by the court and this Bill has not addressed it at all. Questions of discrimination and violating the Constitution are still there. Discrimination in the nature that there is mandatory requirement on salaried employees to contribute, but a voluntary opportunity for others to contribute. There is no universal application of the law. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the court clarified between policy and implementation. However, it looks like the National Assembly and the Executive have taken the implementation role upon themselves, which is supposed to be vested in the counties. The Constitution requires access to affordable housing. It does not prescribe ownership of affordable housing. All over the world, the State is always required to provide access not ownership to housing. I do not know where the Kenya Government is getting the impression that it can expand the Constitution or the Parliament. Access cannot be read to mean ownership. The entire Act violates Article 43(1)(b) upon which it purports to be anchored. It is also an arbitrary deprivation of property from salaried employees to demand that they should part with salaries in a forcible fund. It is a mechanism of forcing people into associations contrary to the Constitution. This Act is unconstitutional, and it will remain so despite whatever colour or shape it takes. Finally, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it is unfortunate that we are debating an important Bill and Members are only given four minutes. It is not possible to give your ideas and ventilate this Bill in four minutes. If we are extending the time to the point when we are done with it, why are we giving ourselves four minutes? Why are we gagging people who would like to ventilate on the Bill? I would like that to go on record that it was wrong to gag Members by limiting the time to debate. I also support the Senator for Garissa who said that the Bill violates the principles of Islamic religion who are specifically exempted under the Constitution when making Bills. I thank you."
}