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{
    "id": 362271,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/362271/?format=api",
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    "content": "Hon. Deputy Speaker, the ranking of State offices is not about individuals. We are not talking about hon. Kaluma or hon. Jakoyo Midiwo or hon. Duale. We are talking about an office of a Member of Parliament. Hon. Members come and go but the office remains. Therefore, we are addressing the issue of the constitutional office of a Member of Parliament. The two institutions of Parliament have been ranked numbers 43 and 44. The Cabinet is number six, followed by the Judiciary at number seven. How far is number 34 from numbers one and six? Parliament plays a supervisory role over those State officers to ensure that they always comply with the law in executing their functions. This is a fundamental function. It is not the Speaker or the Senate saying so. It is not even the Chairperson of the Committee on Delegated Legislation saying so. It is not even the Leader of the Majority Leader, it is a constitutional mandate. I would like to refer to Articles 95, 96, 142 and 254 of the Constitution. These are the Articles that confirm to this House and the nation that Parliament is, indeed, supreme. Parliament supervises other organs of the Government, and we should not be blamed. It is the law as it is which provides for this, and not the law as it ought to be as others would want to think. Hon. Deputy Speaker, Members of Parliament are the representatives of the people. They are elected to Parliament to exercise the sovereign will of the people. It is, therefore, not proper for the office of the Member of Parliament to be set below the offices of State officers who are subordinate and subject to Parliament’s supervision. I have two people who are elected by the Kenyan people; namely, the President and the Deputy President. Below them is a Member of Parliament. Therefore, we are demeaning the status of the elected leaders of this country. We are demeaning the status of this House. This House must, therefore, be able to explain this to the nation, so that we can correct the situation. There is another serious issue, namely, the disparity in remuneration. This has been unfairly done by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC). I would like to refer to another principle. There is need to ensure that there is parity across the three arms of Government. The Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary are the three arms of Government which govern this country. If one of them is undermined, it will not have the power to function in the way it should. Let me give an example of the Governor in the devolved governments. Governors deserve the remunerations allocated to them. I am not saying that they must not earn that much. In fact, they should even earn more. Governors earn Kshs640,681 per month. The Governor is the Executive Officer of the county."
}