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"content": "(Prof. Saitoti): Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, Sir. You may recall that, in my contribution on Thursday, I appealed passionately to the hon. Members to ensure that, on that Thursday, the House would leave having appointed the House Business Committee. I did enumerate the reasons behind that and I do not want to repeat them. But, basically, what I stated as the main concern was the fact that our own people are going through unprecedented problems of hunger as a result of failed rains, unemployment for the majority of our youth, the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), who are still languishing out there in the camps and economic problems. Therefore, it is, indeed, encouraging that, in your own ruling, you have been able to come out with a temporary formula to provide the mechanisms that are going to allow this House to transact business, so that the challenges that this nation faces will be addressed. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am sure that the time you spent over the weekend agonizing over how to get out of this stalemate has not been wasted at all. Your ruling is one that we do accept. I should, however, also say that it is, of course, encouraging to note that the two Whips have clearly consulted adequately, in the light of the fact that the list, which has been presented here, is one that reflects consensus. We, therefore, do accept that. Mr. Speaker, Sir, let me, however, say that we do appreciate the fact that there are certain areas that, in your own wisdom, you did say do not lie within your own competence, in the sense that we do have separation of powers that gives us the Executive, Parliament and the Judiciary. You were right in saying that the designation of the Leader of Government Business, as well as the nomination of the Chairman of the House Business Committee, lies with the Executive. You also went to great length to elaborate on the basis of the legal observations you made. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to end by saying the following: One, we all hope that this is going to be the very end of the quarrels within the Coalition. One thing that still remains in my mind, and that of the other hon. Members here, is that, yes, it is the Government that is supposed to designate the Leader of Government Business and, equally, the nomination of the Chairman of the House Business Committee. That issue is one that will have to be sorted out. It is not going to be here, but it has to be sorted out as to who really does the designation. I am not a lawyer, but I do believe sincerely and firmly--- That is why I felt that I must give this matter a clear definition. Wherever it is going to be found, it must tell us, without any ambiguity, who in the Government designates the holder of those positions. Mr. Speaker, Sir, with those few observations, I beg to support the Motion."
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