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{
    "id": 755913,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/755913/?format=api",
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    "content": "that as we expound on Article 96 of the Constitution, we ensure that the Senate is open to the people and in the spirit of Article 10 on National Values and Principles of good Governance. We should also ensure that there is public participation on what we do, as Senators, so that our people on the ground understand and ensure that we are going forward. I want to thank the President because as somebody has noted in this House that this is the first time that at least most of the functions of devolution have been devolved. When you look at some of the jurisdictions like the federal government which borrows some similar attributes or characteristics from Nigeria, it took quite some time for some of these things to function. Therefore, we want to thank the Jubilee Government and the President for ensuring that devolution works. I want to call upon the governors to ensure that devolution works for all of us and especially the wanjikus of this world. They should also prioritise development and also ensure they arrest the issues of corruption so that as we, Senators, work hard to ensure that we bring resources to the ground, they are not mismanaged and to ensure that they are utilized in the right way. Finally, there is this independence of public institutions. In as much as the Jubilee Party side led by the President accepted the ruling of the Supreme Court, I want to salute him because it is hard for an incumbent president in this part of the world to agree with a decision of nullifying his election. When you read about “The State of Africa” by Martin Meredith and you look at African leaders or African despots, they would not agree to some of these issues. Therefore, in as much as we say the Supreme Court is the first of many, we want to also applaud our President for respecting that independence of public institutions. It is key that when you look at the objects of setting up independent institutions under Article 249 of the Constitution, one of the objects is constitutionalism. If I am right, I was taught by Prof. Mutakha Kangu whom I have seen with part of NASA Coalition who said that every arm of government must have limitations and when you look at the principle of John Locke, one of the reasons governments had limitations was to ensure that we check excesses. Therefore, the Supreme Court particularly should not be allowed to be rogue. We must criticise them in a constructive and in a positive way so that we protect the constitutionalism that is provided for independence of all public institutions. Therefore, in as much as all of us agree with what the Supreme Court did, we have a right to criticise them. I want to call upon our colleagues from the other political side; the reason why we were elected was to represent the interest of the people. The interest of the people is not to be represented by organising press conferences, taking tea and mandazis in hotels and ethnically profiling some of the officials in some of these independent institutions. I wish we could allow and ensure, just as the President called upon us, that we should have independence of public institutions. They are very critical and the moment we intimidate or coerce them, that is the moment they lose their independence. Therefore, this country needs to move forward. We are headed to a very critical phase which is less than 35 days before we have the repeat of the presidential election on 17th October, 2017. I want to singularly thank the President because he condemned anybody who is a hatemonger or who is inciting"
}