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{
    "id": 407616,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/407616/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 215,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Ms.) Odhiambo-Mabona",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 376,
        "legal_name": "Millie Grace Akoth Odhiambo Mabona",
        "slug": "millie-odhiambo-mabona"
    },
    "content": "basic resources that the Government is not able to provide in that constituency. Unfortunately, most of us look at civil society organisations, which people have branded negative. They are not negative, otherwise, I would not be in this House. They are not negative, otherwise, we would not have an increase in the number of women in this House. We would not have had the space that we have had in this House. However, I agree with the issue of accountability. I called for it when I was in the civil society. If we want the Government to be accountable, civil society organisations must also be accountable. So, the issue of accountability must be there. However, I oppose the issue of control of civil society organisations by the Government. Let us leave the civil society to operate within reasonable space and freedom and support our people. It is not just the Leader of Majority Party, a lot of hon. Members have taken a bipartisan approach. I even heard the Chairman of TNA, the other day, raise concerns with some of the provisions of this Bill. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I would like to encourage hon. Members that we have some informal discussion, in respect of which we have agreed with the Leader of Majority Party. We can then raise the issues that we think are of grave concern to us as Members, so that we can leave them out. I know that I cannot talk to everything within ten minutes. Yesterday, I sat down and looked at this Bill. I spent eight straight hours, after we rose, just looking at this Bill. I am a lawyer. I slept at about 3.00 a.m. I am wondering how much time the people who are not lawyers will take. I did not even go through the entire Bill even after spending eight straight hours on it. What I am saying is that the House and the Committee Chairman must guide us when we talk about miscellaneous amendments. It speaks to minor amendments, and not major amendments. Therefore, we must have a mechanism of ensuring that we do not allow major amendments done through this kind of Bill. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, the other issue is that I am seeing an increase in the number of Bills being brought to this House for amendment in an attempt to claw back on the gains that we had made in the Tenth Parliament. I want to appeal to our colleagues on the other side of the House; I know very many people who are reformists, including the madam seated on the Chair. I am sure that it is not your team that is moving this because you did not draft the Bills. Please, move away from the issue of tyranny of numbers because when we pass bad laws, it may affect me today but it will affect you tomorrow. Perhaps, they are the ten people that Senator Keter was talking about. I do not know whether they are the ones but, obviously, there are some mysterious people in the Executive who are sneaking claw backs into the law with a view to consolidating the powers of Cabinet Secretaries. I have no problem with Cabinet Secretaries, but why have a Cabinet Secretary who is more powerful than the President? What are they trying to achieve? I cannot speak to all of them but I just want to mention some of the other provisions that I am not happy with, due to time constraints. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, the presentation of the Bill is also wanting. What is normally required of a Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill is that it must have very comprehensive provision for the sections that are being amended. For some very mysterious reasons, this has not been provided. An example is the National The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}