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{
    "id": 514362,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/514362/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 51,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Speaker",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "invited and meetings do not take off or end up with one or two Members conducting the business of the committee. It has been reported that in many instances, a member asks a question but is not even available to listen to the response by the Cabinet Secretary or any other accounting officer. This is a shame and must end. Furthermore, there have been instances when committees fail to raise the requisite numbers necessary for adoption of reports, thus draft reports remain pending before committees for unnecessarily long periods as was the case with the Departmental Committee on Labour and Social Welfare on the Tassia Infrastructure Project Inquiry and the PAC Report on the Judiciary, among others. I exhort Members to fully participate in committee sittings to enrich their deliberations and be seized of the matters under consideration to enable committees to come up with impeccable findings and recommendations. Let us all ensure that retreats and field visits are properly utilized to conduct businesses and not picnics and beach holidays as is alleged. There must be value for money on any committee activities. I wish to remind Members that they should attend committee meetings without fail. If they fail, the provisions of Standing Order No.187 will apply where failure to attend four (4) consecutive meetings without the permission of the chairperson or the Speaker will lead to automatic removal of that member from that committee. Any Member discharged from a committee in a situation such as this for non-attendance will not be eligible for re-appointment to any other Committee. I urge chairpersons of committees to co-operate with the clerks to provide lists of attendance on every committee sitting for purposes of administering Standing Order No.187. As agreed in the Leadership Retreat recently in Mombasa, I hereby direct that the provisions of these Standing Orders and recording of sittings of committees and on quorum be implemented to the letter. I need to remind ourselves that those who desire not to attend or be members of committees can as well indicate such desires to the appointing authority; namely, the leadership of the political parties. Five, on committee reports, hon. Members, committees communicate to the House through their reports. It is, therefore, imperative that committees prioritize consideration of Bills, Sessional Papers, statutory instruments, audit reports and Petitions and submit reports within the statutory timelines. Some committees have taken inordinately long to conclude inquiries, engaging in unending investigations while others re-open inquiries even after going for report writing. An example is the Departmental Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Co-operatives which has been inquiring into the sugar crisis in western Kenya for the past one year and only managed to table its report last week."
}