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{
    "id": 1405654,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1405654/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 495,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kilifi North, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Owen Baya",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I beg to move that the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, (National Assembly Bill No.67 of 2023), be now read a Second Time. This Bill was introduced in keeping with the practice of making various amendments that do not merit the publication of separate Bills by consolidating them into one Bill. In the 12th Parliament, omnibus Bills posed a significant challenge for me. However, I realized that we need them as we cannot publish all the amendments separately. Hence, we use discretion to publish these miscellaneous Bills. Just like Saul became Paul in the Bible, I was convicted. This Bill contains proposed amendments to nine statutes: The Children’s Act of 2022, the Copyright Act No. 12 of 2001, the Scrap Metal Act No. 1 of 2015, the National Employment Authority Act No. 3 of 2016, the Fisheries Management and Development No. 35 of 2016, the Energy Act No. 1 of 2019, the Public Private Partnership Act No. 14 of 2021, the Parliamentary Services Act No. 22 of 2019, and the Judicial Service Act No. 1 of 2011. This Bill is sponsored by the Leader of the Majority Party. Delving into the several Acts in this Bill, I would like to begin with the Children’s Act of 2022. I hoped that Hon. Millie Odhiambo would be present today because this is her forte. This Act was introduced due to a court case known as Adoption Case No. E004 of 2022. The court was of the view that Section 186 (4) of the Children Act goes against the tenets of the Constitution, which forbid discrimination on any grounds. The provision in question discriminates against male applicants who wish to adopt a child on their own. Initially, I thought that this provision was reasonable as it prevented men from adopting children. However, people went to court and opposed this and sought an interpretation of the Constitution. The court ruled that the provision was discriminatory and needed to be aligned with the Constitution. The Committee also observed that there is a need to amend the Act to refer to the correct section that is being amended, which is Section 186 (6) (e) and not 186 (6) (f) of the Act. It prohibits the court from granting a sole male applicant to adopt a child. The second Bill to be amended is the Copyright Act No. 12 of 2001. This proposed amendment seeks to provide performers and producers of sound recordings with equitable remuneration and expand the responsibility of collective management organizations towards authors and performers. Many of our producers and musicians have not been receiving their fair share of remuneration. This Bill seeks to make amends to rectify that mishap. The Committee recommends that the proposed amendments to the Copyright Act 130 be withdrawn from the Bill for reasons that I would not want to go into. We will all have an opportunity to look at this Bill and make the various amendments. Next is the Scrap Metal Act No. 1 of 2015. The amendments to this Act are to, among other things, provide for the issuance of licences to persons dealing with copper, aluminium, and other alloys and to increase penalties for offences under this Act. If you live in urban areas, your water meter can be stolen anytime because it can be sold as scrap metal. If you leave your car outside, somebody may steal the bumper to go and sell it as scrap metal. Even transformers have been vandalised to remove the copper wires which are then sold. Vandals have even been 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"
}