Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 1461441,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1461441/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 234,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Daniel Nanok (",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "THAT, this House adopts the Report of the Select Committee on Parliamentary Broadcasting and Library on Enhancing Reporting of Parliamentary Business on Online Platforms, laid down on the Table of the House on Wednesday, 4th October 2023. This Committee is established pursuant to Standing Order 212(d) and that Standing Order mandates the Committee among other mandates to consider and report on all matters relating to broadcasting of proceedings of the House and to advise the House on matters related to public participation. Hon. Temporary Speaker, Article 118 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 provides that Parliament shall conduct business in an open manner and its sittings and those of its committees shall be in public. It also provides for public participation and involvement of the public in legislative and other business of Parliament and its committees. In addition, Articles 34 and 35 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 provide for the freedom of the media and access to information respectively. Involvement of the media in scrutinising Parliamentary proceedings and business in plenary and in-House committees is fundamental to meeting the threshold of good governance. This Committee is seized on the matter of public participation. We have developed a Bill that is already a possession of this House on matters public participation, which is a very important aspect in governance. The Parliamentary Service Commission has a Strategic Plan, 2019 to 2030 and in that Strategic Plan there is Pillar No. III, which is a matter on public trust, that is the involvement of the public in the legislation and the oversight functions of Parliament. It is because of the importance of engaging the public in matters legislature that Parliament in its wisdom started the Parliamentary Broadcasting Unit (PBU), which was established in 2008 and there exists a contractual agreement between the Parliamentary Service Commission and the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) to broadcast Parliamentary business on a 12 hour per week arrangement on radio and television. This contractual arrangement is somehow restrictive because of the 12 hours. The other thing about that contractual agreement between the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation and the Parliamentary Service Commission is that, that broadcast is within Nairobi and its environs. This means that the members of the public outside the Nairobi area do not get the broadcasts. Maybe there can be broadcasting through other media houses that are fed by KBC, but the contract is between the KBC and the PSC. That is restrictive. It is important for us to realise that the world is changing. We are now at the digital age which requires that we take all activities that are undertaken in Parliament to a wider audience. This is the reason the Committee on Parliamentary Broadcasting and Library decided to bring 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."
}