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"id": 190826,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. C. Onyancha",
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"legal_name": "Charles Onyancha",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I wish to support this Bill. It is time that we had a commission like this. It is more urgent now than ever before, because of what we experienced recently. I have a few general comments to make on the Bill. Generally speaking, tribal clashes and the violence that we had was as a result of misunderstandings between communities, disparities in incomes and general failure by religion to promote harmony between communities. This is an issue which is of utmost importance and which we must face head on. Since Kenya belongs to all of us, whatever resources are available within the country should also belong to all citizens of the country, and should be shared out equitably, fairly and in a manner that reflects some of the aspects of this Bill such as gender and regional balance. Their distribution should address wrongs which have already been committed. In some aspects the Bill falls short of addressing those issues in a corrective manner; it should introduce some affirmative action to correct past wrongs and also existing imbalances. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, language is one of the tools that could have been included in the Bill to promote racial harmony. It can be a mandatory measure in certain instances like in schools, public transport and any other area where it is known that various communities interact, so that we can get to a point that the Tanzanians got to a long while back. Let me now go to the specifics of the Bill, I wish to bring out one or two issues. First is with regard to Clause 28(1) concerning investment of the funds that may belong to the proposed commission. We are talking about public funds, because this commission will be a public body, and I would have been more comfortable if investing in securities was stated more definitively to actually refer to Government securities. This is in view of the fact that many private institutions have gone under with public money in the past. Also the business of this commission will not be investment. For holding savings, I believe that Government securities are more secure within any country. With regard to deposits in financial institutions or banks, I would have been more comfortable if it was specified that banks meant Kenyan banks. The way it is now gives some leeway for banks outside the country to benefit. Indeed, it could have specified that only local banks will be used; it should be the Government's intention that we promote our local institutions, which are owned by us Kenyans. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I note that in the First Schedule, Paragraph 5, where the National Assembly shall nominate 15 persons, from whom the President will pick eight. I agree with the previous contributors that this should be a function of Parliament. But be that as it may, eight commissioners appointed by the President should reflect gender, equity and regional balance as specified in Paragraph 7. I would have wished that these plus the three, who will be automatic appointees from the other relevant institutions, should be considered together to determine gender and equity. We should be specific and say that at least a half of them will be women. Unfortunately a half of 11 is five and a half. So, the number may not be perfect, but should be within accetable reasoning. I also want to comment on the issue of promoting various issues, so as to make this commission effective. I hope that it will include revision of syllabi of all institutions at all levels to reflect the reality of introducing harmony and equity in our society as a whole. I am further interested in the Third Schedule about meetings. I am concerned about Section 3, which talks about the quorum. A quorum of seven members out of 11 may be rather big. I would have been more comfortable if it was five. Lastly, quarterly meetings by the commission should be able to consider quarterly reports by the commission itself, and the quarterly reports should be brought to this House, so that we can periodically know the performance, the actions and the activities of the commission, rather than wait for the whole year to get a report. In conclusion, I would like to congratulate the Minister for Justice, National Cohesion and July 3, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1657 Constitutional Affairs for this Bill, and wish to support it fully."
}