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"id": 197798,
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"content": "Hon. Members, before Mr. Orengo proceeds, I had indicated yesterday that I will give a clarification this morning on a matter that was raised by Ms. Karua. This is my clarification. Hon. Members, yesterday, Tuesday, 11th March, 2008, you will recall that the hon. Member for Ugenya, Mr. Orengo, stood to move a Motion to reduce the publication period for the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2008 and the National Accord and Reconciliation Bill, 2008, which Bills were published on 6th March, 2008. The Minister for Justice and Constitutional March 12, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 59 Affairs thereupon stood to second the Motion but added that she was doing so on condition that the Motion was, in the judgement of Mr. Speaker, in accordance with the Standing Orders. You will recall that I deferred my ruling on the matter and undertook to give a considered ruling this morning. As I said, the issues for determination are the following:- (a) Whether it is in order for an hon. Member to move a Procedural Motion not set down in the Order Paper; and, (b) Whether it is in order for an hon. Member to seek to reduce the publication period of a Bill that is not before the House. On the first issue, the order of business of this House is governed by Part (7) of the Standing Orders. Standing Orde No.30 provides that the Order Paper showing the business to be transacted is to be prepared and circulated before the House meets. Standing Order No.31 details the order in which this House shall transact its business. It provides that business shall be disposed of in the sequence in which it stands upon the Order Paper, or in such other sequence as Mr. Speaker may, for the convenience of the House, direct. As a general rule, Standing Order No.31 will appear to leave no room for any business to be attended to by the House other than that set out in the Order Paper. This rule appears to be qualified by a number of exceptions. Some of these exceptions and qualifications are to be found at Standing Order No.45 which sets out the Motions that may be moved without notice. Among them, at Paragraph 45(g), is a Motion made in accordance with the Standing Orders governing the procedure as to Bills. Hon. Members, the circumstances leading to the Motion by Mr. Orengo are well known to all of us. We all know that the Bills in question were published at a time when there was no House Business Committee (HBC) in place. The HBC could not, therefore, have met and decided to have this matter placed on the Order Paper. The question, however, is: Is this mandatory so that failure to do so is fatal and must lead to disallowance of the Motion? The point of principle is that a Member has a right to invoke Standing Order No.45 to move a Motion that the publication period of a Bill be reduced. However, the House needs to know what it is being invited to do. The Order Paper is the agenda of the House and it will not be right for the House to be ambushed by being asked to reduce the publication period of a Bill without the matter having been listed as coming up before it. Hon. Members, the matter of reduction of the publication period of the Bills is dealt with by Standing Order No.98. The Standing Order makes it clear that a Bill can be introduced in this House before the expiry of seven days or 14 days as the case may be, if the House so resolves. This has been done on many occasions previously by this House. It seems quite clear to me from a reading of Standing Order No.98 that the need to reduce the publication period can only arise before a Bill has been introduced in this House. There can be no point of seeking the reduction of the publication period of a Bill when the publication period has already run its course and the Bill has been read for the first time in this House. However, to do this, the matter must be put before the House in the Order Paper. Hon. Members, from the foregoing, my ruling is that whereas Mr. Orengo's Motion was in point of substance in order, under our Standing Orders, the Motion could not be moved without the Bill being put in the Order Paper as this will amount to an ambush on this House. The House has to be seized of the Bill. It is so seized when the Bill is before it. Hon. Members, this matter has since been sorted out. The HBC discussed it last night and the relevant Procedural Motion is in the Order Paper for the morning sitting today. Thank you."
}