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"content": "We have 58 Bills that are pending conclusion, of which 40 are at the second reading stage, while 18 are the Committee of the Whole stage. There are 29 Motions and 26 Petitions pending conclusion before the various standing committees, whereby, 19 of such, are already due for reporting. They are way past the statutory period. There are 441 Statements before the committees pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1). There is also crucial business awaiting consideration by the Senate, including the Mediation Committee reports on Division of Revenue Amendment Bill (National Assembly Bill No.38) and County Government's Additional Allocation Bill. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I do not see the Chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Budget and Finance. However, this is such an important mediation exercise such that any minute Sen. Roba walks into the House, the circumstances would warrant him to give an update to the House on the status of the mediation. Previously, more than ten years ago, we have not held mediation exercise for such a long time. Now we are in November without a determination of what is the actual shareable revenue to our counties is. The longest I can remember is about September. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I hope Sen. Roba, the Vice-Chairperson or any Member of the Mediation Committee in the Senate Standing Committee on Budget and Finance will find time in the course of today to bring the House up to speed on what is the status of the mediation exercise, so that we make an informed decision. As Senators retire for the weekend, I am sure citizens will confront many of them. As you know, the favourite excuse that the governors give these days is, “I would have done this, but the Senator has not brought the necessary tools for working.” So, I plead with your kind indulgence, later after I am done, if there is a Member of the Committee, to kindly bring the House up to speed. Hon. Senators, you will also note that Part IV of the Calendar of the third Session will conclude on Thursday, the 5th of December. This implies that the Senate has approximately 11 sittings from today to conclude on the business that is before us. At an appropriate time, I will make a proposal to SBC on the business to prioritise before the conclusion of the sittings of the third Session. It will be unfair, if we go on recess without concluding on certain key legislation that this House has transacted and moved extremely well, that we are almost either at the Committee of the Whole stage or concluding on debate of those particular Bills. I would rather that we conclude on them so that they are with our sister House, even as we begin our recess programme, knowing well that we have done what we are duty-bound to do. Mr. Speaker, Sir, in the meantime, I would like to implore the movers of business listed in the Order Paper to prioritise presence in the Chamber so that they can prosecute their business. Many times, people propose business, be it Statements, Petitions or Motions, but at the time of calling on them to transact that business before the House, they are hardly available. That is not a practice that we want to encourage. I like how you say it, “statement dropped”. That is how it should be. Perhaps the only thing we may need to add is: Dropped for how long?’ Is it three months or six months, so that people can learn to be in the House when they propose business. On Tuesday, the 19th of November, 2024, the SBC will meet to consider the business for that week. The tentative business for that day will include any business that we will not have concluded today at the rise of the House. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}