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{
    "id": 805142,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/805142/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 207,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Orengo",
    "speaker_title": "The Senate Minority Leader",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 129,
        "legal_name": "Aggrey James Orengo",
        "slug": "james-orengo"
    },
    "content": " Madam Temporary Speaker, I rise to support this Bill. Before I say anything on the Bill directly, I want to repeat what the Senate Majority Leader said here earlier; that the Senate is an institution which is recognised by the Constitution. Its powers, functions and mandate are clearly spelt in the Constitution. But, more importantly, any Act which emanates from any of the Houses does not have the force of law, unless it is enacted by Parliament. There is nothing in the Constitution that talks about an Act, which has got the force of law that is enacted by the National Assembly. There is nothing like that in the Constitution. Just like in the Constitution, we cannot enact a law until there is a Presidential assent although we are Parliament. The constitutional requirement for an assent is not a matter which was invented recently by constitution makers. It is something which has characterised all modern constitutions, including constitutions which emerge from monarchies. There cannot be an Act of Parliament that is not assented to by the President. Similarly, it is the Constitution itself which says that for an Act or Statute to have the force of law it must be passed by Parliament; not the National Assembly or the Senate. The reason I am talking about this issue is that if we do not respect institutions and the Constitution, then we have no business being lawmakers. We must live by the laws that create us and the institution that we serve in. Secondly, we must also respect the procedures which are well established in the Constitution and the Standing Orders. It is for this reason that there is some co-relation and harmony between the Standing Orders of the National Assembly and the Senate. We cannot act separately; there must be constitutional harmony in the conduct of our work as components of the legislature. I join the Senate Majority Leader in saying that this is the matter that we may not push, for the moment, intensively, but there may be a time when we have to put our foot down. When we put our foot down, as the Senate, and decided to 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."
}