Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 38468,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/38468/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 318,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Kimunya",
    "speaker_title": "The Minister for Transport",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 174,
        "legal_name": "Amos Muhinga Kimunya",
        "slug": "amos-kimunya"
    },
    "content": "I have heard people say quite often that since we have moved into a new constitutional dispensation, we need public participation in public matters. I believe that when we worked on the new Constitution, one of the things which seemed to be very clear was that people’s participation through their elected representatives had been muzzled. The first step towards addressing this issue was the creation of the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) to start exerting the independence of Parliament. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the whole idea of getting people to go to the Bomas of Kenya and work on a new Constitution was for the people to be involved in the drafting of the new Constitution and feel that they also participated in making it through their elected representatives. However, we seem to have forgotten that route. We are still agitating for public participation through the civil society and through calling everyone to come and make a decision, almost forgetting that the people have elected their own representatives, whom they pay, to agitate for them and also represent them in decision making in the country. This is something we need to work on as we go forward; we need to decide where public participation should end because there are different levels of public participation. Our Constitution is very clear on what issues the people should participate in. The people shall give powers to their elected representatives in Parliament to makde legislation and vet appointees to public office. We should not then deny hon. Members, who have been elected, that power by calling other people to come and help in the vetting process. That power has been specifically given to Members of Parliament. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, when we say that at the end of every five years, the people will go for a general election and elect people to represent them in Parliament, it specifically means that the people will give mandate, or delegate their responsibility and power, to their elected representatives to make decisions on their behalf for a period of five years. We should not treat that delegated authority as temporary. It should not be the case that when hon. Members are given a task by Parliament, we need to call people to come and tell us who we should pick between one candidate and another. This is because hon. Members have been elected to represent the people. Judgements have been given the world over, and it has been made very clear that once you are elected, you need not go back to the people to ask them how you should vote on a certain matter, because by virtue of the fact that they have elected you, they have given you full power to make decisions on their behalf. That is something we need to figure out as we go forward because we could as well lose the power that has been given to Parliament to the civil society. As we go forward, it is important that we look into this issue."
}