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{
    "id": 705999,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/705999/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 296,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "That will help us get to know what powers we have as the Senate and we will also get to know if we are behind, ahead or in the middle. We can compare ourselves with the Senates in India, USA, Russia, Germany, Australia and other countries. Otherwise, we will be lost. This is because somebody might just wake up one day and say that the Senate is not doing anything. Some of the people in the National Assembly who are telling us this were not even there when we were struggling with the Constitution making process. It is a pity to see that whatever was discussed at the Bomas of Kenya is being watered down. There is nothing that has not been included in this Bill on ratification. They know what a treaty is and there is no way you can allow a treaty to be passed without involving the Senate. This is because treaties are important especially to a country like Kenya. Most countries have noted that Kenya is a gateway to East Africa and that is why the cable connectivity has passed through Kenya before it goes to other parts of East Africa. This is because Kenya has housed a number of United Nations (UN) agencies such as the UNEP, HABITAT, and we have a number of people willing to come and invest in Kenya. We have also had a number of dignitaries who have seen it fit to come to Kenya which includes the Pope. This is because Kenya is viewed as friendly country and it has all the goodwill to attract foreign investors. All these things have been observed by foreigners. When we go to benchmark in places like Malaysia, Korea and so forth, we always tell them that Kenya was in the same level as Korea, Malaysia and Vietnam yet we are behind them. That is because of some of these things that people do not understand. It is one thing that the National Assembly does not understand and that does mean well to all of us. This is in a bicameral Parliament, when there is something like ratification of a treaty, it should be ratified by both the National Assembly and the Senate. We can then go for mediation if we do not agree. How long can it take? The process will take long and it will be overtaken by the other countries in Africa that are trying to claim Kenya’s position in economic development. This story is not yesterday’s, we have had treaties which have been ratified and they are still useful to us today. We have treaties such as Helgoland-Zanzibar Treaty which was signed by the British and the German in 1890. It is that treaty thatwas ratified by the then Kenya that made it possible for the British troops to be withdrawn from the German Island called Helgoland and it also made it possible for the Germans who were living in Witu to leave Kenya thus making Kenya a British Protectorate. Treaty making and ratification is as old as history and it is not today’s or yesterday’s activity. It has been there for a long time. That is why we are taking ourselves back to the 1880’s when we have to teach people about ratification of treaties. The 1890 Helgoland-Zanzibar Treaty made it possible for Kenya to be a colony because without it, British would not have occupied Kenya in 1894.That is why the railway line was to be constructed from Mombasa to Kisumu in the name of protecting the protectorate. Ratification of a treaty goes to as early as 1890.There is the Hamerton Treaty of 1845 and the 1822 Moresby Treaty that shaped Kenya. We are here because of these treaties. Therefore, when one says that they are not going to ratify treaties now, it means that they have lost the track and we are not going to understand what is going to be the future of this country. The future of this country is not now.What is happening now will be seen as history and people will be reading it as 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"
}