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{
    "id": 725044,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/725044/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 306,
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    "content": "given half an hour, matters of national importance are as important as the President’s speech. Sometimes, it may be a disaster somewhere that requires this House to spend time on it and there is an urgency to discuss it. The House Business Committee should look at this issue of adjournment Motion. Quite often, the House finds that we are just involved in a procedural matter. When there is an important issue to be discussed, you are only given 30 minutes. Members always hardly have any time to develop their points. That way, issues are left unfinished. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, sometimes I find the three days we spent debating on the President’s speeches useful but it should be balanced to other Adjournment Motions that we have in this House. It is provided that when the period proposed by such a Motion does not exceed nine calendar days, the debate shall be limited to a maximum of 30 minutes and shall be confined to the question of--- That does not make sense because what can a whole House say in 30 minutes? It means that if all the Senators want to speak, each of them will speak for a half a minute. So, I think there is no rationale between this particular one as compared to the time given to the President’s speech. Quite often when we debate on the President’s speech, by the time we come to the third day, people repeat themselves and nobody can exhaust 15 minutes. So, why do we not take a balance there to Adjournment Motion? That is something that the House Business Committee (HBC) should look into because all my life in Parliament, I have always been very dissatisfied with Adjournment Motions because Members may come to the House with a very important Motion and then it is just treated as a mere show. Since the Senate Majority Leader is here, I hope he will take it to the HBC. Given the next Motion we will debate is about revision of Standing Orders by Sen. (Dr.) Machage, I hope that the Deputy Speaker and the Temporary Speaker, Sen. (Dr.) Machage, will take into account the revision of time given to Adjournment Motions by Members."
}