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{
    "id": 384573,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/384573/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 238,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Wako",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 366,
        "legal_name": "Amos Sitswila Wako",
        "slug": "amos-wako"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to propose an amendment and also to contribute to the Motion. This is indeed a very important Motion which goes at the root and at the heart of the success of a devolved structure of Government. Way back in the 1990s when people were agitating for a multi-party democracy; when people were agitating that we no-longer wanted an imperial presidency, a survey was carried out to determine what chapters of the Constitution they wanted amended. The survey asked the people what they really objected to. The surprising thing was that the survey at that time which involved the common man or ordinary person, they never suggested any amendment to the Constitution. They suggested amendments to the Chiefs’ Act, the Public Order Act and the Vagrancy Act. In other words, this machinery which was being used by the national Government at that time was the machinery which was seen by the people as oppressive and people wanted them amended. That is why also during the Inter-Parliamentary Parties Group (IPPG) of 1997, if you read that Statute Law Miscellaneous (Amendment) Bill, we did carry out quite a number of amendments to the Chiefs’ Act, the Public Order Act and other pieces of legislation which had been the base of the complaints by the people when specifically asked: What constitutional amendments do you want? To cut the long story short, that is why during the constitutional review process, everybody went for a devolved structure of Government. It is our duty, really, to ensure that this devolved structure of Government does indeed, work and work effectively in accordance with the Constitution which was endorsed by the majority of the people. Madam Temporary Speaker, the key words are that:- “The Provincial Administration must accord with and respect the system of devolved Government established in the Constitution”. I can say without any degree of contradiction that what has happened up to today as far as reforms to the Provincial Administration are concerned, do not in any way accord with a system as envisaged under our Constitution for the Devolved Government. For the Devolved Government to be effective, it must recognize the right of communities to manage their own affairs and to further their development. An effective devolved government must give powers of self governance to the people. One would pose the question: Have we really given – I know you have elected county representatives and so on – the people that power to participate in the decision making process; that power to be responsible for their own development and to contribute to their own development? That freedom of speech that is required at the various meetings at the local level; have you really given that power when I can assure you today that if a baraza was called to discuss a local issue and the chief or the District Officer (DO) were present and even the county representative was present, people will tend to fear the presence of the chief or the DO because they will say that that is the Government. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}