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{
    "id": 415004,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/415004/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 17,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Speaker",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Hon. Members, I had indicated that this Communication relates to the status of Motions and Statements in the last Session of the 11th Parliament, registration for use of the biometric system in the Chamber and Members’ welcome reception. Hon. Members, I wish to welcome all of you to the Second Session of the 11th Parliament. I hope you had a good festive season and the year has begun well. It is my sincere hope that all Members are re-energized for the business ahead of us, because our programme for this session is quite a busy one. I wish to make communication on three subjects as stated above. As you are aware, the First Session of the 11th Parliament ended on 5th December, 2013. Today, Tuesday 11th February, 2014, thus marks the commencement of the Second Session of the 11th Parliament. Therefore, in line with our parliamentary practices and traditions, all Motions and Statements that had been approved in the Session just ended, and thus were before the House, lapsed at the end of the Session. Hon. Members will, therefore, be required to file them afresh for approval. When this happens, the House Business Committee (HBC) will be asked to prioritize certain Motions that were not concluded in the last Session. Such include the Motions for the nomination of Members to the Pan African Parliament and the approval of nominees to the Parliamentary Service Commission. Hon. Members, the National Assembly has installed a biometric attendance registration system in the Chamber for use by Members when they attend sittings of the House. The biometric register uses a Member’s fingerprints to record attendance. This is one of the efforts that we are making towards ensuring a paperless National Assembly. The system is also meant to solve the challenges that have been experienced in manual registration. In this regard, I wish to request all hon. Members to officially register with the ICT Department to enable use of the system. The system will be operational from today and will run simultaneously with the manual registration for a week after which the manual registration will cease. I, therefore, invite all of you to ensure that you have registered to avoid any inconveniences. The registration is being conducted in the Chamber, Main Parliament Buildings, from 9.00 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. whenever the House is not sitting. Hon. Members, I also wish to correct the wrong impression created by the media that the biometric system is meant to detect fraud. Nothing could be further from the truth. I wish to draw to your attention the provisions of Article 103(1)(b) of the Constitution that says that a Member may lose their seat if they are not in the Chamber in one Session for eight sittings without written permission from the Speaker. Please mark the words “eight sittings” and not “eight consecutive sittings”. It, therefore, means that this is also a safeguard for Members to avoid busybodies out there who may wish to harass them. In conclusion, I wish to inform the House that there will be a Members’ cocktail at the rise of the House. The welcome cocktail hosted by the Speaker will provide an opportunity for Members to mingle and share with colleagues after the long break that we have had as we commence the Second Session of the 11th Parliament. All Members are welcome to attend."
}