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{
    "id": 707634,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/707634/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 126,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Okoth",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 12482,
        "legal_name": "Kenneth Odhiambo Okoth",
        "slug": "kenneth-odhiambo-okoth"
    },
    "content": "would love to lobby for myself to be included in the Mediation Committee because health is one of those key human rights issues that we have been following up as the Human Rights Caucus. I also know that it is a key issue that the Kenya Young Parliamentarians Association (KYPA) and the Kenya Women Parliamentary Association (KEWOPA) have been following. We want to make sure that the final amendments and agreements on this Bill really reflect the interest of the youth and women in this country. That is the key point I would like to begin with. Secondly, I am very concerned by the number of deletions the Senate has proposed. I have just done a quick count and the Senate is proposing, as per the Order Paper, 29 deletions, which makes it seem as if all those 30 or so clauses that we had in the Bill were superfluous. These are not subclasses or anything to do with definitions, but substantial clauses on the institutional structure of our health system and how it would be administered. That concerns me, and I would like to urge Members of this House to be alert. We should not assume that now that the Bill went to the Senate from here then it must be good. In fact, I think the Senate used a chopping knife on the work that this House had done. We must, therefore, look back and see which of those clauses that had been proposed must be restored in the Bill. It is quite spectacular as I look at it. For instance, there is a proposal to delete clauses 62, 63, 64, 65 and 66. I could continue until your head just twists and you get confused. That is too much because we have a Departmental Committee on Health in this House that looks at these things. Procedurally, I have shockingly received - maybe it is through my own fault - the report of the Departmental Committee on Health which Hon. Pukose mentioned just this afternoon. So, even as I pressed to speak in detail about it, this is my chance to read about it. I will be looking at it more carefully and I hope to contribute during the Third Reading. I hope the Hon. Deputy Speaker will be indulged. I hope that will not be today because I can see it is slated in the Order Paper. For Members to receive a report now and introduce any amendments in one afternoon is unrealistic. It is very hard because it is now past midday. It will be very hard to propose any amendments and get them approved by the Speaker for debate at the Committee of the whole House and Third Reading, if that is done today. I hope that for consideration of parliamentarians’ input, we will be allowed to have the Committee of the whole House and the Third Reading happening at another point and not this afternoon. This is because we have just received this comprehensive and dense Report from the Departmental Committee on Health. We are taking steps because health is a human right that is protected in our Constitution. The people of this country from Kabarnet and Kabartonjo all the way to Kibera and Korogocho are watching carefully the Senate and the National Assembly. They expect the two to come up with a good framework. I am sure we will do it because we are up to the task. Health is majorly a devolved function and a large amount of money will go to the county level where governors and county assemblies run health policies. It should not be the case that a lot of money for health sector remains in the national Ministry where it is likely to be gobbled away in scandals and mismanagement or purchases that have not been taken through proper public participation. An example is the issue of the containers that was highlighted recently. The containers were bought at very exorbitant and inflated prices and yet they remain stuck at the Port of Mombasa because they have nowhere to be taken. So, with those few remarks, I beg to support and ask for your indulgence to allow us to propose amendments before this matter comes to the Committee of the whole House and the Third Reading as is indicated in the Order Paper today. 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."
}