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"id": 224051,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/224051/?format=api",
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Wambora",
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"speaker": {
"id": 285,
"legal_name": "Martin Nyaga Wambora",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I want to start with the definition of a \"public officer\" and I can see right there that it means \"a person in the service or holding office under the Government of Kenya\". That one brings a lot of problems to those who are Ministers and Assistant Ministers. They cannot be founding members of a party, neither can they be officials. That definition is faulty. It should be clarified that Members of Parliament, Ministers, Assistant Ministers and councillors are not covered by that definition. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the other amendment I would recommend is on Clause 3 which talks about the Registrar of Political Parties. Clause 3 (1) says:- \"There shall be an office of the Registrar of Political Parties which shall be an office within the Commission\". That is where it should end because when you begin to say: \"and shall have operational autonomy\", then it brings problems because the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) is already autonomous. We do not need an individual who is autonomous of the ECK. Secondly, the practice all over the Commonwealth except Tanzania which is also trying to change, is to allow the electoral commissions to take charge of the registration of political parties. Thirdly, a Registrar of Political Parties autonomous, he can do things which can embarrass the ECK. Finally, I am also worried about the Registrar being autonomous because he is going to make very critical decisions. For example, Clause 18 talks about cancellation of registration of a political party. I would not want to imagine an individual cancelling the registration of a political party. It should be done by the ECK, if necessary, and not by one single individual. So, I propose that the ECK should be given the mandate of registering political parties. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the third amendment I would recommend is on Clause 7. There is a problem there where we are being told:- \"A person who is a member of the Armed Forces, the Administration Police Force, the Prisons Service, the Kenya Wildlife Service, the Judicial Service, or any other person who is a public officer shall not---\" Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the biggest problem with this clause is that it has left out a very important security department; the Kenya Police. We have included the Administration Police but left out the Kenya Police. I think that is an anomaly. It is an oversight that should be rectified. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I find Clause 9(5) very ambiguous. Clause says:- \"A person who has been deprived by the decision of a court of competent jurisdiction for the period specified therein of the right to vote, to be elected to Parliament as a Member of Parliament or as a member of the local authority or any public office shall not become a member of the political party.\" This means that hon. Kombe, who lost a petition, cannot be a member of the Shirikisho Party. I find this a bit strange. So, Clause 9(5) requires clarification. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have another clause which is also ambiguous. Clause 23(2)(a) states that:- \"Money allocated to a registered party from the Fund shall not be used directly- (a) for paying directly or indirectly remuneration, fees, rewards or any other benefit to a member or supporter of the political party\". April 26, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1005 I concur with the hon. Members who have said that political parties should have more lee- way without too much restriction, because they know what their priorities are. That clause should be revisited with a view to making it more clear. Finally, I want to refer to Clause 23(3), which states that:- (23)(3) Monies allocated to Parliament under this section shall be distributed as follows:- (a) twenty five per cent shall be distributed equally among political parties; and (b) seventy five per cent shall be distributed proportionately by reference to the number of votes secured by each of the political parties at the previous parliamentary elections\". I have no problem with part (b). I have a problem with part (a) because of what one hon. Member called \"briefcase\" parties, which will mushroom for the purposes of getting this 25 per cent. This will be unfortunate for the tax-payers if that happens. I want to suggest that this section reads that \"25 per cent shall be distributed equally among political parties with, at least, one Member of Parliament or at least, five councillors\". We do not want \"briefcase\" parties to benefit from taxpayers' money. The small parties with at least, one Member of Parliament such as Sisi Kwa Sisi, should enjoy that 25 per cent or those with at least five councillors. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}