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"id": 282063,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/282063/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Kimunya",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Transport",
"speaker": {
"id": 174,
"legal_name": "Amos Muhinga Kimunya",
"slug": "amos-kimunya"
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"content": " Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise to support this Motion and record my appreciation of the work that has been done by the Committee and, indeed, the origination of the work from the Speaker’s Office. I would also like to appreciate the fact that now we have some rules to guide us in the appointment of the Members to the EALA. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I agree with all the other contributors and do not want to repeat what they have said. This is because we will be looking at those rules in the Committee and could well amend where we feel that there is need for some amendment. But going forward, I am looking at the issues being expressed about the wider East African Community (EAC). From my own interaction at the Community level during my days in Ministry of Trade and Ministry of Finance, where I had to spend quite a bit of time in Arusha, I am quite aware that the five member countries do not have the same financial capacity to sustain the operations of the Community. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, going forward, one may wish to think whether as the Kenyan Parliament or people, we should not be thinking of different ways of achieving the same objectives at EALA through the change of the mode of representation in EALA. I have in mind the model that we currently use for the Pan African Parliament, where the membership is drawn from the individual parliaments. I know that the founders of the Community and, indeed, people who supported the direct appointment of Members of Parliament from outside, were very passionate about the people being represented within EALA. But, obviously, one sees some total disconnect between the issues as expressed in the national Parliaments in the various countries and what is going on within EALA. Since member countries are showing very clearly that the cost of sustaining the Community is quite high, if for some reason we are able to moderate, nine members from each of the member countries could well come from the appointed Members in the Parliaments of each of the Member countries, who will then be sent to EALA to sit on separate sessions. But, again, this is a suggestion that can be considered and processed through the Summit, with the concurrence of the other countries. But I do feel that it is time we started anticipating future burdens on our East African citizens as we move towards a federation. In any case, when we move to a federation then, perhaps, it will not quite make sense to have separate Parliaments. But I can see that there is a disconnect between what the “Wanjiku” – if you use that terminology in its acceptable sense – expects of what is happening within East Africa and their Parliaments. They can tell that they appointed somebody to Parliament and there is an accountability mechanism and feedback. What happens within EALA and ourselves here is that we will receive a report and relate with it. But how do the Kenyan people relate with that report on the work of the EALA. The appreciation is not quite there in terms of what is happening. As we move towards getting the public to participate, including if we were to ask them about this election, they would actually be throwing that challenge to us, saying: “We elected you into Parliament. Who is this going to this other Parliament that we do not seem to know?” Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I just thought that I should put that on record, so that the relevant Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations may well want to take up the matter with the other member countries. If there was merit in that, perhaps, it could then be processed through the organs of the EAC or Summit, and next time round, in another five years, we could then have a different model of drawing our membership from a different source, rather than through the election. But for now, our leaders have expressed themselves and a new session has been declared. So, we now have to go forward and the best we can do is to make sure that we have the rules to enable us, as political parties, appoint the right people to serve the people of East Africa within EALA and without any contestation, as happened in the past. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those remarks, I beg to support."
}