Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 491063,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/491063/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 187,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "We need, therefore, to spend an equal amount of time, energy and legislation to protect the interests of county assemblies the same way we protect those of county executives. At times, when we talk about county governments, our minds go to the county executive. However, under Article 96(1), protection of our counties and the representation of their interests should extend to both arms of Government as I have said. Very quickly, this Bill does a number of things. First, it defines the precincts of the county assembly to include the chambers and other buildings where the chamber is situated, where the staff of county assemblies are housed, including the press and public galleries. This also includes any building that is being used by the county assembly either in plenary or by a committee of the county assembly even if the building is outside the physical building that is ordinarily used by the county assembly. In other words, if a committee of a county assembly meets in Kisumu or Nanyuki for purposes of discharging parliamentary work, the meeting or place that the meeting is taking place is included in this definition. Two, this Bill allows officers of the national security organs with the permission of the Speaker to enter and remain within the precincts of county assemblies. For purposes of maintaining law and order, police officers and other officers of the national security organs may enter with the permission of the Speaker and remain within the precincts for purposes of maintaining law and order. Three, the Bill provides for access to the county assembly precincts by members of the public. This is an important provision. It allows the Speaker to make guidelines on how the public can access the precincts of county assemblies. Section 5 gives access but according to Section 6, there is a limitation which is; process servers in a civil matter may not serve the county assembly or its committee when it is sitting. I am sure Sen. (Dr.) Boni Khalwale had a similar encounter last week when some people purportedly tried to serve a committee of the Senate when it was in session. That is not allowed because it is a violation of the integrity and the dignity of the Senate. That provision is there. Thirdly, even in the limited situation where a process may be served, that is, if somebody has a court order in civil matters, they may serve within the Assembly but not when it is sitting and not when the committee is sitting. It can only be so if it relates to the attachment of the salary of a member of staff. For example, if somebody is not taking care of some of the children who do not live with him in the same house, their salaries can be attached. Such service is allowed because that is a civil issue but even then, that should not interfere with the proceedings of the Assembly or its committees. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, before I talk about freedom of debate, let me talk about the right of the public to petition the county assemblies. This is a new thing and as we modernize our own Parliamentary Privileges and Immunities Act, this is something that we also need to take on board when that time comes. Today, the Constitution allows the public to access Parliament and to petition because it is a constitutional right. However, this Bill proposes that the Speaker would designate a specific place where members of the public can exercise their right to picket or petition a county assembly. 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."
}