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    "id": 362287,
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    "content": "back, it was not to be so. Can we also be accused for being selfish on that? I think the answer is no. Hon. Deputy Speaker, item number four and I have 11 grounds of law to demonstrate to the nation that these gazette notices are illegal and I want to move a bit faster because of time, there is breach of international labour conventions. SRC has breached international laws and conventions by reducing the remuneration of the office of Members of Parliament without the consent of the office holders. The SRC is composed of representatives from the Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU), the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) and the Senate. These three organisations, and it is important to know, have come out in strong opposition to the remuneration structure proposed by SRC in the gazette notices under consideration. It is therefore clear that SRC does not have a unanimous position on the matter of remuneration of Members of Parliament. Just imagine a situation where one of the key members of the SRC is actually objecting to the structure; not only one but three as I have said here. It means therefore there was no unanimous decision in terms of the structure that it laid before. Hon. Deputy Speaker, SRC also failed to comply with the relevant existing laws. Now, I would wish to quote Section 6 of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution which provides as follows: “Except to the extent that this Constitution expressly provides to the contrary, all rights and obligations, however arising, of the Government or the Republic and subsisting immediately before the effective date shall continue as rights and obligations of the national government or the Republic under this Constitution.” Hon. Deputy Speaker, these are obligations to Members of Parliament by the national Government. It existed before and it exists now by virtue of the saving of that section under Section 6 of the Sixth Schedule. Section 7(1) of the same Sixth Schedule again provides as follows: “All law enforced immediately before the effective date continues in force and shall be construed with the alterations, adaptations, qualifications and exceptions necessary to bring it into conformity with the Constitution.” Hon. Deputy Speaker, that is again another very serious provision. Even the High Court has been able also to speak to this issue in the case of John Harun Mwau versus the Attorney-General and others. The High Court in this case also dealt with the issue of remuneration of Members of Parliament as follows: “The terms and conditions of service of Members of the National Assembly are governed by the National Assembly Remuneration Act.” This is by an Act of Parliament. Section 2 of that Act provides that: “the persons for the time being---” I think the use of the phrase “time being” is clear because we keep on going home and others coming back; others losing and others coming back again. It goes on to say: “the persons for the time being holding the several offices specified in the first column of Part II of the First Schedule shall receive a sitting allowance at the rates respectively specified in the second column of that Schedule in respect of every meeting attended."
}