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    "id": 354767,
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    "content": "They must now know that things have changed. We are now in the National Assembly and we should behave like people who are in the National Assembly and should not discuss insignificant things. Hon. Speaker, Sir, I wish to support the Motion and commend the Committee for the good work they have done on the Standing Orders and the membership of the Committees. The business of this House is mainly going to be driven by Committee reports in the next five years. For that matter, Committee reports are very important and so is the membership of those Committees. It is very important that every hon. Member belongs to at least one or two committees, so that hon. Members are able to execute their mandate properly by contributing to debates in this House. I do not think the issue of expanding committees is reasonable. This is because Committees have secretariats that support them. That issue will be covered by sub- committees that will be formed under the committees. I wish now to request the committees to look into Standing Order Nos. 205 and 206, which concern the Public Accounts Committee and the Public Investments Committee. As you are aware this is a House of rules, traditions and precedence, and there is no way the minority, which has been granted the permission to chair those Committees, not because the Standing Orders allow that, but because of the tradition of the House--- They the minority in number in those Committees. It does not make sense at all that you are a member of a committee and you have been granted the chairmanship of that committee, yet you have fewer Members. If issues go to voting, you will be irrelevant in those committee. Some of our Members are claiming that all of us are here to do oversight work; the Leader of the Majority Party has been forming the Government since last week on television and radio. So, if you allow the same Leader of the Majority Party and his Members to be the majority in committees, I think Government business will be going on all time. We are, therefore, requesting the indulgence of the House. We need to be reasonable so that we have effective watchdog committees in this House. I know everybody has come here to legislate and do oversight work as Member of Parliament from whichever constituency. However, we know that we have the minority and the majority in this House. For that reason I seek the indulgence of the hon. Members that we allow the minority to have one person more in the Public Accounts Committee, the Public Investments Committee and the Budget and Appropriation Committee. That will be for the good of the House. The minority are the guys who will be doing the work of the Opposition in this House. If you say that they should Chair the committees, yet they are few in numbers, they will just be masquerading as watchdog entities. They will not be doing any job. Let us not personalize issues. We want to provide effective leadership and oversight for the country. We are Members of Parliament and I do not want us to extend the tyranny of numbers. People have forgotten that; let us not introduce it in the House and make those three Committees useless. With those few remarks, I support the Motion."
}