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{
    "id": 493355,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/493355/?format=api",
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    "content": "Hon. Members, in our endevour to create a proper interface between the House and the Executive on the oversight role of the Legislature, the procedure under the House Rules Committee has since the inception of this Parliament considered a number of options to be used in actualizing the provisions of Article 153(3) of the Constitution, bearing in mind the principle of separation of powers amongst the three arms of the Government. The Executive interacts with Parliament through several ways including the Presidential Speeches at the opening of a new Session of Parliament and during the Special Sittings of Parliament, submission of Budget Estimates by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, provisions of full and regular reports by the Cabinet Secretaries on matters under their control as provided for in Article 153(4)(b), interaction with Parliamentary Committees on audit matters or policy matters, consideration of Bills, consideration of Sessional Papers and Petitions submitted by the public among others. One other method of holding the Executive to account is through Parliamentary Questions. Questions give hon. Members an opportunity to ask the Government to clarify its stance on a particular issue or commissions or omissions in executing its mandate. Hon. Members, you may wish to note that the then Members of the Standing Order Committee of the Tenth Parliament had a big task in preparing and aligning the Standing Orders of the House to the new constitutional dispensation, given the change from unicameralism to bicameralism and from a semi-presidential system to a pure presidential system of government, where Cabinet Secretaries are accountable to the President for the exercise of their powers and the performance of their functions. The task of implementing the new Standing Orders, respecting the new Constitution was left to this Eleventh Parliament. Just as there has been challenges faced in implementing the Constitution in all levels and sectors of the three arms of Government, for which His Excellency the President has alluded to in His Communication to the Speaker, the Legislature has added its fair share of these challenges. Whereas we have done relatively well in the legislative and budgeting processes, the role of Committees in other oversight roles still has teething problems. For example, the House has since amended the Standing Orders to allow the Auditor-General to present before the Public Accounts Committee his findings on examinations of the accounts showing appropriations of the sums voted by the House to meet the public expenditure and other such accounts, and the Cabinet Secretary for Finance to pronounce before the House the Budget highlights and revenue raising measures at the same time as his counterparts in the East African Community One area, however, that has created challenges is that of holding Executive to account by seeking information through Statements or Questions. Question Time is the highlight of the parliamentary agenda. A study carried out by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) found out that a large majority of parliaments, indeed, 67 out of the 88 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."
}