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{
    "id": 1417524,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1417524/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 694,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Suna East, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Junet Mohamed",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "said they want to have a minimum of 14 and a maximum of 22 cabinet secretaries and principal secretaries. They have put all that in the Constitution. That Constitution went through a referendum which was the will of the people of Kenya. If we come back through this House and start creating offices which are supposed to be constitutional… If Kenyans wanted to have assistant or deputy ministers, whom we are now referring to as CASs, they would have voted in the referendum for the position to be put in the Constitution. We now call them CASs, but they should really be assistant or deputy ministers. I can tell you for free without any fear of contradiction that if this Bill is enacted, becomes an Act of Parliament and assented to by the President, if it is declared unconstitutional and vindicated through a constitutional court, it is going to be because of this CAS position. All the other things are correct and captured well. Most of the appointees of this year's positions are going to be election losers in their constituencies, counties and wards. The President has a lot of avenues to accommodate those people. He does not have to create an office for them through a statute. This is an abuse of the legislation process. If he wants to accommodate them, he can make them chairs and directors of parastatals. He can even tell them to cook tea for him in his offices and pay them. There are many ways he can accommodate them. We do not need to create an illegality through a statute. Look at what Kenyans are going through; high taxation. We are taxing Kenyans to the bone for us to create offices for people. I heard the Vice-Chairperson of my Committee say that during the previous regime, the CAS positions were there. Yes, but this Government came on the platform of not creating offices for big men and women. ‘ Hatutengenezi ofisi yawakubwa na wadosi,’ that is what we were told. What are we doing this afternoon through this Bill? We are creating offices for big men and women of this country. In that list, when it is presented, you will not see mama mboga, boda boda or vulnerable people. You will only see big men and women who are known. I can even table the list here now. I can determine the people who will be appointed to those offices. Are we going to tax Kenyans? Today, the discussion in this country is about taxing bread and milk. That is what we are discussing this afternoon. So, you want to tell me we are going to tax bread and milk so that we can create offices for people? Why can they not do other things?"
}