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{
    "id": 554627,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/554627/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 239,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Lati",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2762,
        "legal_name": "Jonathan Lelelit Lati",
        "slug": "jonathan-lelelit-lati"
    },
    "content": "say the number. The question that I want to raise here is: Are members of this committee supposed to go into mediation as individual Members or as delegations of the two Houses? That question is very fundamental because if you look at Article 113(4), it says that this Bill can fail or go through two means. If Mediation Committee disagrees, then that Bill fails. If one of the Houses disagrees with the Report of the Mediation Committee, then that Bill fails. My understanding here is that the Mediation Committee goes in as a delegation of the Houses and not as individual Members. If the Constitution contemplated individual Members being in that Committee and standing as individual Members, then it would have provided us with an opportunity to vote. In my opinion, the voting carried out by the Mediation Committee is their invention. They were supposed to go there as delegations from the Houses. That is why the Constitution did not provide for voting of the Mediation Committee. It assumed that the delegations will sit down and agree or disagree. In this aspect and instance, in my opinion and I think that is what the Constitution implied here is that the Mediation Committee’s delegates disagreed. So, this Bill failed at the mediation level and we should not be debating it now. Hon. Speaker, you need to guide us there because I truly believe that if the Constitution contemplated that Members go to the Mediation Committee as individual Members, then it should have provided a way of voting so that if they vote one way or the other then they disagree or agree. However, it only provided for delegations to agree or disagree. In this instance, the delegation of the National Assembly by majority disagreed with the Senate. Hon. Kajwang’, with all due respect, went into that mediation representing the National Assembly and not on his own as Hon. Kajwang’. Otherwise, this is something that we already passed in the House where Kajwang’ was representing as a Member. Hon. Kajwang’ cannot be presented as a Member in the House and in the Mediation Committee as well. He represents the House as a Member but when he gets into the Mediation Committee, he represents as a whole delegate of the House of the National Assembly. So, he can only vote as a delegate. Hon. Speaker, if we go by the Constitution, I think we are debating something that has already failed Article 113(4) of the Constitution. Having said that, I will wait for your ruling because I think we are debating something that already failed at the mediation level. We all know that the Division of Revenue Bill, even if it is not official underwent a very lengthy process and some compromises were made and agreed upon. If you look at the Report of the Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council (IBEC) where the governors are represented, they agreed with the national Government on the Division of Revenue Bill. For the governors whom we know want money to agree with the national Government that they have got enough, I find it very difficult. The Senate with no information on implementation of funds in these counties seems to be better informed than the governors. There is something malicious here. The Senate was trying to disagree with the National Assembly for reasons that are malicious. If you look at constitutions the world over, interpretations are for areas that are not explicit. In our Constitution - although I am not a lawyer but I can read English - it is explicit under Article 95(4)(a) of the Constitution that the National Assembly determines allocation of national revenue between the levels of Government. Under Article 96(3), the Senate determines allocation of national revenue among counties. There are only two 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."
}