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"content": "Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise to second and also register my appreciation for the leadership of Sen. Kiraitu Murungi in piloting this work to conclusion and reporting to the Rules and Business Committee (RBC), chaired by you. I would also like to congratulate the Members of this sub-committee who worked tirelessly in order to make sure that we have these rules for consideration, and as we may know, that is contained in the Report. The Standing Orders, as they stand today, were approved by the National Assembly in the Tenth Parliament in exercise of powers which were granted to it by the Constitution of Kenya 2010 as part of the mechanisms of enabling a smooth transition from the old Order to the new Order. But as it is, the National Assembly was working from the perspective that they had no record other than the operations of the First Senate, whose functions were not quite the same as this particular Senate. They also tried to borrow from other experiences. But, Mr. Speaker, Sir, since we have sat, deliberated and debated on this in the Senate since March or thereabouts, it came to pass that there were areas within our Standing Orders that needed review, and where there were lacunas or where there were inconsistencies, this required a new look and, therefore, the preparation of this Report was crucial. I think it was crucial that it comes as early as possible so that if we, indeed, need to review these Standing Orders again, then we prefer the time when our term of office is about to expire. Mr. Speaker, Sir, my able co-Chair has really gone through the Report comprehensively and I do not want to undertake repetition in seconding this matter. But I just wanted to emphasize this; that Committees of the House of the Senate and the Standing Orders flow from Article 124(1) of the Constitution. So, when you sit in a Committee of the House, you are a creature of the Constitution; that body is critical because sometimes when we sit in these Committees, we assume that we are a creature of Standing Orders. But, actually, the enabling constitutional basis for the establishment of these committees is in the Constitution itself. So, when you sit as a Committee, you are exercising, to some respects, constitutional functions related to the core mandate of Parliament as spelt out in the Constitution. Therefore, I am just saying this in relation to the fact that sometimes when parliamentary committees summon entities, state organs or public officials, there will be assumptions that this is just a ‘small’ Committee created by the Senate. But these committees emanate from Article 124 of the Constitution and, therefore, in the manner in which they are provided for in the Standing Orders, it is to enable the Senate to perform its functions as spelt out or enumerated in the appropriate chapter in the Constitution. The second thing, as I said, Mr. Speaker, Sir, is the Standing Orders. The Standing Orders also flow from the Constitution and, to that extent, they are at the level of any other legislation by Parliament. Mr. Speaker, Sir, you have just gone through the procedure for approving this Report and the amendments, and compared it to the manner in which we pass Bills here. For what it is worth, it is not for other reasons that it will have to go through a Committee 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."
}