Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 380100,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/380100/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 808,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Kembi-Gitura",
    "speaker_title": "The Deputy Speaker",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 242,
        "legal_name": "James Kembi Gitura",
        "slug": "kembi-gitura"
    },
    "content": " Order, I think we need to cut short this issue. I would like to bring to the attention of the House the provisions of the Constitution which are very clear; specifically a number of issues that you have discussed and exchanged ideas on. These are the provisions of the Constitution, more specifically the Division of Revenue, Article 217 and Section 11 of Schedule 6 of the Constitution because these are clear issues. I do not think it would be right for us to sit in this Senate and say that the actions we are taking are in futility. That would negate the purpose of the Constitution. We all know that we were not sitting in 2012 and that Section 11 of Schedule 6 of the Constitution--- Parliament did certain things which became Acts of the Senate because that is what the Constitution provides as provisional clauses. The Division of Revenue Act talks about the Senate, every five years, creating the formula. That was done by the National Assembly and that is what we adopted. However, I want to agree on this score with the Chairman of this Committee, Sen. Billow. It would not be right to tell the nation that we are doing actions in futility because of the very simple reasons amongst others that for the few days we have been debating this Bill. We have gone through all the motions and stages. We were in the Second Reading where we debated this Bill very thoroughly. Indeed, the Schedule to the Bill has been replaced by another Schedule. It has different figures. This is because the Committee considered all the issues and came up with them. We have just adopted that Schedule. We have just adopted the Bill; the Second Reading, the amendments and everything else. So, with respect to Sen. G.G. Kariuki, making a ruling on the point that has been made by Sen. Billow, I do not want to say that he is misleading the nation. It is good for us to take cognizant of the fact that we are acting pursuant to and under the Constitution. Nowhere have we acted against the Constitution. We are within our mandate as the Senate in doing what we are doing this afternoon. If you call it an act in futility, I hope that you did not vote against what we are doing. However, I hope that you voted in the affirmative in all the issues we have dealt with this afternoon because these are public vote. That would be my view on that position. I request you very kindly to look at the provisions of the Constitution as pertains to what we are doing this afternoon."
}