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{
    "id": 1479815,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1479815/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 465,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Osotsi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13588,
        "legal_name": "Osotsi Godfrey Otieno",
        "slug": "osotsi-godfrey-otieno"
    },
    "content": "The other parties, including the party where Sen. Cherarkey belongs are all non- compliant. If the Registrar of Political Parties was serious, those parties that should be de- registered, so that we only remain with one political party in this country, ODM. He was talking about foreign parties such like the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and the African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa. However, if there is a party that has elaborate structures that other parties can copy from in Kenya it is the ODM. If you go to every village, you will find an ODM committee. Even in the most politically hostile areas, you will find someone wearing an orange cap and saying that they are a member of ODM. How I wish that all the other political parties were like ODM. They need to come and learn from us. We have very good examples on how to run a political party. I hope that the Commission will start by auditing the political parties that we have in this country, because we have an excess of 70 political. Some of them are not even in existence anywhere. Before the inspectors from the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties register a political party, they must ascertain that the political party has an office in a particular county. I saw someone had put a branding for a political party in a functional butchery and it had been cleared as an office of a political party. We hope that this new Commission is not going to acquire the bad manners of the current Office of the Registrar of Political Parties, where they are clearing briefcase parties, which have no offices or members and have ended up being registered as political parties. We want proper function of political parties with offices in at least 24 counties of this country. Madam Temporary Speaker, on the issue of membership. I do not think that the membership data at the office of the Registrar of Political Parties is any more reliable. If you go there, you may even find that you belong to five political parties. You are an elected member, but the records show you belong to another party. How did it happen? One of the things that this Commission needs to audit once they assume office is to have a look at the membership data for political parties in this country and harmonize it, so that we have a person belonging to one political party at a time. Madam Temporary Speaker, Political Parties Fund was a good idea. However, but I think the National Treasury is violating the law. The Political Parties Act is very clear, that a certain percentage of the national revenue should go to political parties. Right now, the National Treasury or the Kenyan Government owes the Orange Democratic Party Kshs11 billion. Since Jubilee is still new, maybe it is in the range of Kshs5 billion. This is a lot of money which if it went to these parties, would make them even stronger. I disagree with those who say that all political parties in Kenya should be funded. I can only agree with that analogy if those parties are properly regulated. If you have functional offices in 24 counties, a membership register, complying with the Political Parties Act and have your members elected in positions, then you can qualify. However, we cannot say all political parties, including briefcase parties to get money from the Political Parties Fund. This fund must also be looked at so that only deserving political parties get funding which must be properly audited. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only.A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and Audio Services,Senate."
}