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{
    "id": 549375,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/549375/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 173,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. M. Kajwang",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13162,
        "legal_name": "Moses Otieno Kajwang'",
        "slug": "moses-otieno-kajwang"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise to also support this Parliamentary Service (Amendment) Bill that seeks to establish a National Assembly Service Committee and Senate Service Committee that shall work under the control and direction of the Parliamentary Service Commission. Having listened to some of the contributions by my colleagues, who have been in Parliament for a long time, it is obvious that the institution of Parliament in this nation has come a long way. The Senate Minority Leader told us a story of the years gone by, where the parking yard of Parliament resembled a garage yard, because Parliamentarians really had a difficult time. It was through the efforts of stalwarts like the hon. Oloo Aringo, who mooted the idea of a Parliamentary Service Commission, that the lot of parliamentarians in this country began to improve. I wish to also hail the king of Meru, who is not here today, for coming up with this clever amendment to the Parliamentary Service Commission. This is long overdue because the Parliamentary Service Commission currently is constituted with the old dispensation in mind. The Parliamentary Service Commission existed before the Senate was brought in under the new Constitution. Therefore, this amendment should not be seen as a way of the Senate asserting itself or flexing its muscles. It is a way through which the Senate is going back to the Constitution, looking at the constitutional provisions and making the relevant amendments that will ensure that the institution of Parliament functions as envisaged in the Constitution. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, laws should strive to help us to overcome some of the egos and competition that we have witnessed between the National Assembly and the Senate. I am not sure that by legislating or amending this Act we will be able to change the perception and competition that exists between these two Houses. In reality, in terms of perception, experience and expectation, the Senate is a superior House. If you go to Homa Bay County where I come from, there are eight constituencies, 40 wards and several islands that dot the county. My responsibility as a Senator is to oversight the activities of the county governments and represent that entire delegation, as opposed to Members of the National Assembly who have got much smaller units. They are important, but if you look at the bigger picture, the Senator has got a lot of expectations that stand on his shoulders. Unfortunately, the Senator has been treated similar to a Member of the National Assembly. When I go back to my county, there is pressure and expectations from my electorate that I will set up offices in all the sub-counties up to the level of wards. People expect that I am going to employ them, yet I have got a similar budget as that of the Member of the National 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."
}