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{
    "id": 1397762,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1397762/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 125,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Speaker",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Hon. Members, you will recall that during the afternoon Sitting of Tuesday, 19th March 2024, during the Second Reading of the National Government Administration Laws (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No.73 of 2023), the Leader of the Minority Party, Hon. Opiyo Wandayi, rose on a point of order under Standing Order 47(3)(b). The Hon. Leader of the Minority Party sought the Speaker’s ruling on the constitutionality of some specific aspects of the Bill. In his submission, the Leader of the Minority Party claimed that there were grave constitutional issues that touched on the substratum of the said Bill, hence requiring determination by the Speaker before debate on the Bill could resume. The Leader of the Minority Party singled out the proposed amendments to the provisions relating to the National Government Coordination Act, 2013, whose import is to create the Office of the Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) and that of the Head of Public Service. He argued that the amendments, if passed in the manner contained in the Bill, would be unconstitutional. The matter elicited interest from several other Members, including Hon. Caroli Omondi, Hon. Jared Okello, Hon. (Dr) James Nyikal, Hon. Samwel Chepkonga, Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo, Hon. Gitonga Murugara and Hon. Owen Baya. Having listened to the concerns raised by the Leader of the Minority Party as well as the arguments and counter arguments by several other Members, I have distilled the following five questions as requiring my determination. These are – 1. Whether a state office may be created through national legislation; 2. Whether the offices of the Chief Administrative Secretary and the Head of Public Service as proposed in the Bill are public or state offices; 3. Whether the establishment of the offices of Chief Administrative Secretary and the Head of Public Service in the form proposed in the Bill is unconstitutional; 4. What is the value of a report of a Committee on a Bill to the House during debate at Second Reading of the Bill and at Committee of the whole House? 5. Whether the amendments proposed by the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs would cure any offensive provisions in the Bill. Hon. Members, the first issue is whether a state office may be established through national legislation. On this question, the Leader of the Minority Party opined that the two offices were unconstitutional to the extent that they were not contemplated under the definition of “state office” under Article 260 of the Constitution. The Hon. Members who expressed divergent views from those of the Leader of the Minority Party relied on the fact that the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs has, in its Report on the Bill, recommended certain proposed amendments intended to address the concerns raised by the Leader of the Minority Party. They also argued that the Constitution grants latitude to the House to exercise its legislative power to create offices in the public service through national legislation. Article 260 of the Constitution defines a public office as “an office in the national Government, county government or the public service, if the remuneration and benefits of the 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"
}