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{
    "id": 196346,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/196346/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 14,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Dr. Khalwale",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 170,
        "legal_name": "Bonny Khalwale",
        "slug": "bonny-khalwale"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am not rising in respect of the ruling, but I am rising to seek further clarification, if the Chair does not mind, because the events leading to the Statement you have just read have been borne out of the extraordinary circumstances that came out as a result of the 2007 General Election. I would like you to clarify to us, as the people who are behind this initiative, because we are doing this in recognition of the fact that the extraordinary circumstances that created the Grand Coalition have ended up giving the Government power. If it does not become very clear on what we are seeking, then we are going to move from having given the Government power to having given them absolute power. As Lord Acton said, \"power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely\". I, therefore, would like to request the Chair to consider the possibility of directing that we have the revised Standing Orders that have already been worked on to come in force such that we become blind to the requirement that they cannot be introduced at this stage and so that we capture the issue of the Official Opposition. I want to thank you for pointing out that Mr. Jirongo may sit on the seat reserved for the Leader of the Official Opposition. However, I want to remind the Chair that one man cannot face that Grand Coalition. He is not even going to start! He will be crushed and crushed like nobody else! These difficulties are real in the sense that, again, one man cannot fill all the vacancies in the Departmental Committees that are reserved for Members of the Official Opposition. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, why I seek this further clarification is because you have said that there is no political party with 30 Members which can, therefore, constitute the Official Opposition. However, do not forget that also, in the House today, we do not have a ruling party. What we have is a ruling coalition! So, if we do not have a ruling party, why should you interpret and deny us our request simply because we do not have a party with 30 Members?"
}