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{
    "id": 194286,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/194286/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 225,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Chachu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 18,
        "legal_name": "Francis Chachu Ganya",
        "slug": "francis-ganya"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise to oppose the Motion. These are extra- ordinary times in this Republic. We are facing many challenges. It is a difficult time. It is time we burnt the midnight oil in this House to serve this nation. The reasons which were advanced for the adjournment of this House are not good enough. We were told that it is the tradition of Parliament to adjourn before the Budget Day. As far as the tradition is concerned, so much has happened in the Tenth Parliament. Therefore, that argument cannot carry the day. We now have the Prime Minister and two Deputy Prime Ministers, with no Official Opposition. So much has happened, which has defied the tradition of this House. So, advancing the argument that it is the tradition of this House to adjourn before presentation of the Budget, really does not carry the day. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have been told that we should go back to our constituencies. We have been doing so. I am sure we are all professionals and we can manage our time. We do not need a recess to visit our constituencies. We have been told that we should engage more in the management of our Constituencies Development Fund (CDF). We are doing that already. We have been told that we should even take some time and study the Standing Orders. We have even had a workshop to do this. So, the reasons that have been given, including that the Ministers are tired, and maybe, that is why they need the recess, are not valid. The only reason which has not been given for this intended adjournment is that the Government has no business for us to transact. It is in the process of letting down Kenyans again. That is why they brought the Motion for the Adjournment. As Members of Parliament, it is our duty to keep the Government in check. It is our duty to force the Government to play its role. It does not make sense for the most bloated Government in the world to have no business for Parliament to transact for the couple of weeks we have been in session, having come back from another recess not more than three weeks ago. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the idea of the creation of the Grand Coalition Opposition is nothing more than fostering parliamentary democracy. It is not anything more than entrenching the oversight role of Members of Parliament. Any government needs checks and balances. That is what the idea of creating a Grand Coalition Opposition is all about. Unless we are being told that the Cabinet Ministers and the Assistant Ministers who constitute the Grand Coalition Government are the holy of the holiest and, therefore, they do not need any checks and balances, any person who really values democratic principles should not stand in the way of those hon. Members who want to May 14, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1065 create a Grand Coalition Opposition. With those few remarks, I oppose the Motion."
}