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{
    "id": 358420,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/358420/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 85,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Oyugi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 444,
        "legal_name": "Augostinho Neto Oyugi",
        "slug": "augostinho-neto-oyugi"
    },
    "content": "Hon. Speaker, Sir, thank you for giving me this chance. Ordinary people always ascribe power in constitutions. The Kenyan people ascribed power in the Constitution, giving a distinction between the House of Parliament, which is the National Assembly and the Senate. The role of the Senate and the National Assembly, in my opinion, is not one that should be solved in this House because the Constitution settles it; it is very clear. Article 95 of the Constitution isolates what we really need to be doing as the National Assembly and Article 96 is clear in terms of what the Senate is supposed to do. It is proper for every human being to want to be in a position of power and higher authority. But as it is stated in this particular Constitution, it goes without any reasonable doubt that the National Assembly is the one that is superior to the Senate. I am not just saying that because I am a Member of this particular House. Hon. Speaker, Sir, the Constitution states very clearly which House is above the other. I would like to quote Article 112 of the Constitution which states that:- “Even though the Senate does have the role of allocating money to various counties, but you will see that the National Assembly has veto over those decisions of the Senate. So, if we can veto the decision of the Senate on issues of the county, then where else will they get the power to stamp their authority in Parliament?” Hon. Speaker, Sir, the other thing that I would like to speak on is the Article that creates for us the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) Act, which is one of the things that Members of the Senate have spoken to in the past couple of days. Hon. Speaker, Article 202 in its sub-articles states that:- “The counties can be given additional grants.” It is the particular CDF Act, which enacts CDF, which says that there should be additional money to the counties. But it is only managed through Members of Parliament. So, whereas the Senate would like to engage this particular House in all manner of wars of superiority, I do not think any amount of tricking in the Standing Orders would amount to amending this particular Constitution. The Constitution has spoken and I think our colleagues in the Senate need to understand their roles which are limited to issues of legislation in the counties and, perhaps, in the most unfortunate circumstances, the impeachment of a President, if at all, it will ever arise. But then again that has to originate from this particular House. It is the National Assembly that needs to originate that particular Bill of impeaching the President for the Senate to then rubber stamp. Otherwise, in everything else, I think it is the National Assembly that is superior. Thank you very much. I really think the Senate should sit pretty and know that the National Assembly is supreme and we do not have to fight over it. Thank you, hon. Speaker."
}