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{
    "id": 456992,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/456992/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 164,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Wandayi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2960,
        "legal_name": "James Opiyo Wandayi",
        "slug": "james-opiyo-wandayi"
    },
    "content": "There is provision in this Bill for financial assistance to the heroes who shall have been nominated. It has been a shame that in this country people who have struggled over the years to help bring the country where it is have ended up dying as paupers. We hope this is a matter that this Bill is going to bring to a close once and for all. I am also happy to note that there is a provision to withdraw the privileges that these heroes are going to be entitled to in the event the heroes go against the spirit and the interest of the country as far as their conduct is concerned. Before I conclude, I need to point out that a matter that still needs to be looked at is the composition of the National Heroes Council. There is a running trend in this country that every time you have to constitute a body or a board or council you find that it is full of people from Government. In fact, you find the Executive filling the board. In this case you will find that nearly 100 per cent of the people sitting in this Council being nominated by the Cabinet Secretary. There is a principle in the Constitution which we are forgetting very fast. If the President is compelled by the Constitution to present his nominees to this House for us to vet before he makes appointment, how come we are beginning to give Cabinet Secretaries a free hand in appointing individuals to offices? This is something we are seeing every now and then and we need to put an end to it, if we are going to protect the letter and spirit of the Constitution. I hope I will have a chance to propose certain amendments to the composition of the National Heroes Council. It is important that the Council is as representative as possible. It is also important that the method of appointment of people to that Council be as democratic as possible and that cannot be so if the whole affair is left in the hands of one Cabinet Secretary. This is one good Bill that is long overdue. In fact, it could not have come at a better time. I, therefore, support with the minor amendments that I will seek to present."
}