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{
    "id": 851202,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/851202/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 121,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Speaker",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Hon. Savula was also on a point of order. This is why I emphasised that the Committees are a replica of the plenary. Even under the former system, if the Minister was absent, his or her assistant would always be available in the House to answer Questions. It is, therefore, not possible that the Cabinet Secretaries and others in the Ministry are not entirely available even when they are required. The information that seems to be coming up is that Committees do not want to deal with lesser beings other than the Cabinet Secretaries themselves. If you do that, you shoot yourselves in the foot. Every response must be signed by the Cabinet Secretary and not any other functionary. It must be signed by the Cabinet Secretary so that the House can act on it. Even if it is read by some other person – and the Member for Kiharu seems to be reading as he makes his way slowly into the House - it is still an answer from the Ministry. More importantly, the Committees must make sure that whatever answers they receive meet the standards. The Chair of the Departmental Committee on Labour and Social Welfare has drawn my attention to some issue. Hon. Ali Wario, I am in receipt of your letter. We will take action. If a person does not appear and the Committee determines that it is deliberate failing and/or neglecting to appear before it, the Committee should make the relevant decision and communicate the same so that we can issue summons under the Powers and Privileges Act. If they do not come, we will deal with them under that Act. Nobody is above the law. They must, therefore, know that they have an obligation to the House and Kenyans who are represented in the House. Hon. Savula, even before we complain, we must also ask ourselves whether we want to receive answers from any other person other than the Cabinet Secretary. We have just deferred a Question by Hon. Simba Arati because he is out on official parliamentary business. It is not unusual that even a Cabinet Secretary might be away on official duties or whatever reason. If the Cabinet Secretary is not there, there must be some other senior officer not below the level of Principal Secretary. Just look at the Standing Orders, you know who is not below the Principal Secretary. We tried as much as possible to capture what used to happen in the former system. If a Minister was not present, the Assistant Minister would appear and read the answer from the Minister and respond to other supplementary questions that Members may raise. If Members are not satisfied with the answer given by the Cabinet Secretary or those others, the Committee is at liberty to determine one way or another that, that is not satisfactory and request the person to go back and bring a satisfactory answer within seven days. This is what I am telling you. Committees are replicas of the House. You have the same powers. If you decide not to exercise those powers, do not blame any other person, blame yourselves, especially the Chairpersons. It is too early in this 12th Parliament for us to start complaining. We amended the Standing Orders, specifically, to give those powers to the Chairpersons of Committees. Let us see the Chairpersons also beginning to flex their muscles within the law. The exercise must be within the law. There is a way you can see what answer has been given and how it responds to the Question asked by the Member. It used to happen in the former system. If a Minister gave an unsatisfactory answer, the Member could rise and request the Speaker to direct that a more satisfactory answer be given. That used to happen. You can ask Hon. Duale and Hon. Jimmy Angwenyi. Both of them served as junior Ministers and they will tell you that it used to happen. If you brought an answer which was not satisfactory, you were sent back with it to bring a better answer. Chairmen of Committees, Hon. Pukose, Hon. Adan and Hon. Wario, flex your muscles. We do not want Members to say that when Cabinet Secretaries are called to appear before The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}