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"content": "Government through the decisions they make. Most importantly, in the bicameral legislature, each House of Parliament has an opportunity to check each other so that if there is something that could have been covered up in the Senate, it is unearthed in the National Assembly. Similarly, if there is something that could have been covered up in the National Assembly, the Senate is also there to unearth those issues. It is becoming apparent that in the Ruaraka land saga, our Senate Committee is already investigating certain issues and looking at certain documents and pieces of evidence that the National Assembly Committee was unable to look at. Maybe that could have made some people uncomfortable because it exposes, on one hand, the possibility that anything could have been covered up in this great Republic of Kenya. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to reiterate and emphasise that as the Majority Leader in this House and the person responsible for introducing Government Business in this House, I am extremely proud of our committees and their deliberations. I am also proud of the business we are running in this House, the profile that the Senate is getting from that business and the commitment of the Senators to deliver on the mandate that was given by the people of Kenya. I will stand, at any instance that will be required, to defend the legislative, oversight and representative mandate of the Senate. Mr. Speaker, Sir, allow me to also address another matter of utmost importance which is related to the legislative process of Parliament. The legislative process commences with the drafting and publication of a Bill by a Member of a Committee in either House of Parliament. Once the Bill is published and before it is considered by either House, Article 110(3) of the Constitution requires the Speakers of the two Houses to jointly determine, through the concurrent process, whether it is a Bill concerning counties. Once the concurrence process is concluded, the Bill is then introduced by way of First Reading in the originating House. In the case of the National Assembly, if the Bill does not concern counties – and this will have been established by both Speakers in the concurrence process – once the National Assembly passes it, the Bill shall then be referred for presidential assent under Article 115 of the Constitution. It does not come back to you and to this House. However, the Bill is one that concerns counties. This determination will have been made by Speakers during the concurrence process and before the Bill is introduced in the National Assembly. The Bill, once passed by the National Assembly, shall be referred to the Senate for consideration. Mr. Speaker, Sir, all Bills considered by the Senate are referred to the National Assembly for consideration. Despite these provisions of the Constitution, the legislative process between the two Houses of Parliament have suffered serious problems that have literally paralyzed the legislative process in the past, especially when it comes to Senate legislation. Hon. Senators have been saying they passed certain legislation in this House, but they do not know where they are. Why are they not being deliberated in the National Assembly for the purpose of presidential assent? Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to enumerate some of the challenges that we have faced in the past and we still face in so far as the legislative process is concerned. The first challenge is the concurrence process under Article 110(3) of the Constitution. As observed above, Article 110(3) of the Constitution requires that before either House considers a Bill, the Speakers of the National Assembly and the Senate shall jointly 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."
}