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"content": "we pass this Motion, please go to the Office of the Minority Leader or the Majority Leader and request to be exempted from it. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, there is no need for people to be listed as having been Members in one, two, or three committees while they know they do not have the time to serve in many other committees. People must appreciate that there is only so much that you can do as an individual. As the Senate Majority Leader, for example, I know for a fact that given the demands of my office, both within and without the presence of this Parliament, it is not tenable for me to give maximum attention to the works of a committee, much as I wish to serve in some of the committees of this House. For that reason, I have exempted myself from serving in any particular committee. Secondly, you will find that there are Members who, as a leadership, may have felt that your competence will serve us better in a particular committee. However, if you feel strongly that, indeed, you do not have the time and the opportunity to serve on that particular committee, we will avail the opportunity. I do not mind bringing another Motion. We have done it many times before so that people can serve in committees where they feel they are comfortable. Therefore, we shall be monitoring. Members, we are aware that by the time we were concluding the last session, most committees were struggling for quorum. If a committee aborts two or three times because of the absence of a quorum, the better thing is to dissolve that committee and allow other members to serve there. Therefore, this is not a warning; it is not a threat, but it is a fact. As the SBC, we shall be checking on the attendance of committees. There is a reason why registers are kept. There is no need to block spaces for other Senators who want to serve in particular committees while you never have the time to attend that committee. If, after three or four sessions, we realize you have never shown up to a committee, the simple thing we will do is to bring a Motion to the House and request that you be exempted from that committee and allow other senators who are willing to serve in that particular committee. Therefore, the point that I am making is that, as SBC alongside the Liaison Committee, we shall be extremely vigilant to ensure that our committees perform optimally and live up to the demands of the Constitution on what the committees of the various Houses should do. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, because I can see time is moving, I know maybe colleagues may want to say one or two things about this particular issue, I do not know if they would wish that we proceed as was the case in the previous two other Motions. I want to end it at that because I am aware that we still have another Motion on the other committees that you are here to consider, and given that time is far much spent, I do not think I need to say more than that. With those very many remarks, I beg to move and request the Leader of Minority, Rtd. Justice Stewart Madzayo, to second. I thank you,"
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