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{
    "id": 364008,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/364008/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 195,
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    "content": "the Senate and the National Assembly has doubled in the recent past, and the number of your visitors, drivers, security and other personnel staff also has gone up. You also know that the number of committees has gone up from the former 14 to 28. The membership too has increased from 11 to the current 29 in most Committees, thus overstretching office space, committee rooms, catering and health services, besides overwhelming our parliamentary staff whose number has remained more or less the same. Over 230 Members of both Houses do not have offices and are not able to perform their constitutional duties well. Other Members make do with sharing basic resources in congested facilities. Some Committees have been forced to sit in the Members’ Small Dining Hall and in every other small space available. I wish, however, to report that negotiations between the Parliamentary Service Commission and the Government to take over most of the office facilities at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) have been concluded, and arrangements are being made to speed up allocation of the facilities to hon. Members. On that note, I wish to thank all hon. Members and staff for their patience during this very uncomfortable transition. However, following instructions issued yesterday after long deliberations of concerns raised by the House Business (HBC) regarding measures to deal with the congestion, including the use of the Media Centre by Parliamentary Committees, a misconception has been created that we have thrown out journalists from Parliament. Far from it, representatives from the media cover, and will continue to cover, parliamentary and committee proceedings without hindrance. Indeed, parliamentary office holders, including myself, are operating from offices not commensurate to their status, a situation that has been brought about by the on-going renovations. We have made a conscious decision to use every space available. The Media Centre is one such facility. In addition, hon. Members are asked to reduce the number of visitors they invite to the Members’ restaurant to one person at a time, and alternative space has been provided for members of staff for serving meals. Under these circumstances, parliamentary journalists are, therefore, advised to make use of the Parliamentary Press gallery until alternative space is made available. Nothing stops the journalists from covering committee proceedings at any time. It will, therefore, be misleading to say that the media have been barred from covering plenary and Committee proceedings. We are fully cognizant of the spirit and letter of Article118 of our Constitution, which provides that Parliament shall conduct its business in an open manner, and its sittings and those of its Committees shall be open to the public; Parliament shall facilitate public participation and involvement in the legislative and other business of Parliament and its Committees. We shall always defend these constitutional tenets. Journalists covering parliamentary proceedings will have a free hand in performing their duties. Parliament will always provide the necessary support, where possible to enable them discharge their cardinal mandate of informing, entertaining and, where necessary, educating members of the public."
}