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{
    "id": 1516703,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1516703/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 358,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. M. Kajwang’",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13162,
        "legal_name": "Moses Otieno Kajwang'",
        "slug": "moses-otieno-kajwang"
    },
    "content": "The second thing we resolved which SBC should consider and we agreed that a Motion was to come to this House was giving effect to Article 249(3) which requires Parliament collectively, the Senate and the National Assembly, to be involved in the provision of adequate budgets to independent offices and constitutional commissions. This does not need a constitutional amendment, it does not need an advisory opinion and it does not need interpretation by the courts of law. What we need to do because the national Treasury and the entities that bring budgets to Parliament have chosen to take them to the National assembly is to resolve and generate a certificate at the hand of the Clerk of the Senate to the national Treasury and Executive to compel them to bring the budget of constitutional commissions as required under Article 249(3). I hope that this initiative is not going to die in the hands of this SBC. Madam Temporary Speaker, ordinarily, when you have a Motion on constitution of a committee, the Members who are supposed to be in that committee ought to be in the House. This is so that they can take note of the mandate that the Senate is giving to them. I do hope they are following online because it would be untidy for us to say this and to support the establishment of a committee when they are not here. I will wade into the issue of Article 108 and I wish Sen. Sifuna was here. I agree with him that Article 108 only talks about the Minority and Majority leadership of the National Assembly. This is where history sometimes is important. Every time we had a problem with the other House, many a time, the Leader of Majority in that House who happens to be a member of the Cabinet, hon. Aden Duale kept reminding us that the Majority and Minority Leaders of the Senate were useless and non-existent positions. Madam Temporary Speaker, he said that those positions were unconstitutional and in his reading of the Constitution, Article 108 only provides for the Leader of Majority and Minority being drawn from the National Assembly. We have known of this since this Senate was established. That is why in 2014/2015, this Senate by resolution agreed to look at the Constitution and address the gaps that gave the short end of the stick. That Committee was chaired by Hon. Kipchumba Murkomen and he was the then Majority Leader. It was a bipartisan Committee and it was vice chaired by Sen. Mutula Kilonzo. That is what this House should do and not descend into drama that makes us appear as if we are a branch of the National Assembly. I will disagree with an interpretation that whatever decision is made at the National Assembly applies to the Senate. That will make us subordinate to the National Assembly. That is the conversation we should have. What are the provisions in the Constitution that left gaps, that if left interpreted on the fact of it, puts the Senate at a disadvantage? Hon. Aden Duale went ahead and said that even the vehicles and privileges that that the Senate Majority and Minority Leaders are enjoying are unconstitutional. He threatened to go to the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) to have those benefits withdrawn. Madam Temporary Speaker, you will notice that even when you go for public functions or presidential events, you will find that the Leader of the Majority and 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."
}