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{
    "id": 477753,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/477753/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 293,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Kaluma",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1565,
        "legal_name": "George Peter Opondo Kaluma",
        "slug": "george-peter-opondo-kaluma"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. For the Leader of Majority Party, it is a matter of looking because really the Bill ultimately comes to the House under his name. It should not be a perfunctory process; he just gets any Bill and puts his name. The Leader of Majority Party ought to look at the Bill. If it is the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, is it really a Bill proposing minor amendments to the substantive law? There should be direct communication with the relevant Government office concerned. The constitutionality of legislation are matters the Speaker is entitled, under the relevant Standing Orders, to deal with before Bills come in, so that we do not put the time of Parliament into waste. Or we do not run the risk of imagining we are merely deleting a provision without having to consider the Bill against the parent law. Let me say that there is something fundamental and a good reason why the law proposes that only minor amendments will be undertaken through the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill. The substantive amendments are required to be made within the parent law itself. You need to look at the amendments being proposed against the substantive law. In most cases, you can determine whether that amendment, however minor it may appear on paper, is attacking or is attached to the spirit of that law. You can make a very small amendment or merely just a coma, but really you end up derogating from the entire spirit of that law concerned. Therefore, I would request that the office of the Speaker as the initiator or the person under whose name this Bill comes to the House and the Leader of Majority Party should consider this Bill before we go into it. Having said that let me highlight a few provisions. Of course, I oppose the entire Bill; it is not the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, because it does propose minor amendments to law. I would like to urge the House that we should stamp our authority so that this practice of developing legislation through this Bill stops Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, look at the proposed amendments to the Interpretation and General Provisions Act, you remember the Leader of Majority Party merely indicated that we were changing the word “Minister” and replacing it with “Cabinet Secretary.” That is a very normal thing, but you know this provision is making the President of the country a Minister. In fact, the President is being brought to the level of the people he appoints. He is being made a Minister and the Deputy President is being made a Minister as well. Is it not necessary that when you are undertaking such amendment you expose the matter to the public so that we can have the views of our people? These are matters we are talking about. Look at the proposals in terms of proposed amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code, I want hon. Members and the country to be alert. I am one member who had been to court accused, even as a Member. 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."
}