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{
    "id": 158405,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/158405/?format=api",
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    "content": "(e) How any inconsistency between the National Accord and Reconciliation Act and the Constitution, or for that matter the Standing Orders, is to be resolved; (f) What the Speaker is to do in the event that he receives two different letters from the same Government designating different persons as Leader of Government Business in the House; (g) Whether the House can remove a Leader of Government Business and if so, through what procedure; (h) The procedure for the nomination of the chairperson of the House Business Committee and whether the nominee of Government for chairperson is to be part of the list submitted to the House for approval or is additional to that list; and, (i) Whether the House can proceed to approve the membership of the House Business Committee without regard to the question of who the Leader of Government Business or the chairperson of the Committee is. Honourable Members, those are the issues. I seek your indulgence as the menu for determination is very long. Allow me to pronounce myself as concisely as I can on each of these issues, and I plead for your patience. Honourable Members, the first and, probably, the most important issue is the question of who or what constitutes the “Government”, for the purposes of the designation of a Minister envisaged under Standing Order 2. This issue was canvassed at length and is at the core of the present impasse. Various documents were cited as providing the answer; including the Interpretation and General Provisions Act; Chapter 2 of the Laws of Kenya, the Constitution and the National Accord and Reconciliation Act. The simple question being asked is this: When the Standing Orders provide for designation of a Minister to be the Leader of Government Business in the House by the Government, who is envisaged to make that designation? Honourable Members, the position of Leader of Government Business exists in virtually all Parliaments in the Commonwealth. There are, however, no hard and fast rules as to who shall hold that office. In some jurisdictions, the matter is expressly provided for in the Constitution and, while in others, it obtains by the statute or by the standing orders. The following few examples shall illustrate this point:- In the Republic of Ghana, the Leader of Government Business is not specifically provided for in the Constitution and the holder of that office need not be a Minister. In fact, as of today, the Leader of Government Business in the Parliament of Ghana is not a Minister. He is not a member of Cabinet and cannot lay a paper in the House on behalf of a Minister. In the Republic of Uganda, pursuant to Article 108A of the Constitution, the Prime Minister is designated as the Leader of Government Business in Parliament. In the United Republic of Tanzania, under the Constitution, the Prime Minister is appointed by the President and is the Leader of Government Business in the National Assembly and has authority over the control, supervision and execution of the day-to-day functions and affairs of the Government. In the Republic of South Africa, the President appoints the Leader of Government Business in Parliament. In democracies with a longer history, such as the United Kingdom, and India, the Leader of Government Business is designated by the Prime Minister who is the Head of Government. There is, therefore, no universal rule of general application in this matter. Honourable Members, in Kenya, the Office of the Leader of Government Business is recognized and defined only in the Standing Orders. I say that with emphasis. In Kenya,"
}