HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 875076,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/875076/?format=api",
"text_counter": 262,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Speaker",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Hon. Members, I think I need to say this. When you look at the schedule, the Departmental Committee on Administration and National Security… Of course, I do know even most of the Questions are still directed to that Committee, but I think they have to devise a mechanism of dealing with all the issues, including legislative proposals from the Members. I see a list of eight Bills and I know these are not the only ones pending before that committee. Surely, it should be an indictment. Of course, you as a House are the creators of the committee. You are also the owners of the Standing Orders. It is your own Standing Orders that have given the committees an opportunity to do prepublication scrutiny within a period of 21 days. So, what this Motion is saying is that we do away with the prepublication scrutiny because the Bills have been with the committees for inordinately too long. Since June and August last year up to now, there is no report. They have been cleared for money Bill effect, but they are still there. They are being scrutinised. I do not know, this scrutiny must be very interesting. I am sure the Member for Ruaraka could easily tell us how they scrutinise for so many months. It is very interesting. Therefore, what this Motion is asking the House is: “Please, do away with this.” The Speaker cannot vacate that and the Motion is styled “notwithstanding”, so that we are not doing away with the provisions of Standing Order No.114. We are just saying that in respect to this, the House resolves that we do away with that. If you pass this Motion, these 30 Bills will proceed to publication because in any event, after the First Reading, the Standing Orders require that they will now be referred to the same committees to undertake public hearings and participation. We hope the committees from now, the scrutinising… It looks like sometimes it gets dark and you are not able to scrutinise. So, we now want to bring you enough light so that when it gets dark, the House has resolved that small problem for you. So, you can deal with the rest. This is all that this Motion is seeking to ask the House to do. However, of course, chairs should not feel that any powers are taken away from them. Remember you were also given that power by the same House. The House can temporarily take away that which it had given you. So, do not feel like you are being unnecessarily denied a job that is given to you by the Standing Orders. The people who gave you the job are now saying you have sat on your job for some time and we think we want to make progress. There are points made by the Leader of the Majority Party about what happens. Lack of business on Wednesday mornings is also a matter of concern. So, even as I propose the Question, Hon. Members, I want you to be alive to what, indeed, has been stated by both the Mover and the Seconder as the reason why this is being done. However, of course, it is a wakeup call to committees because there are several other legislative proposals that we have forwarded to the departmental committees for prepublication scrutiny after being cleared by the Budget and Appropriations Committee. So, please, now that we are removing these ones, if the House passes this Motion, you better embark on those others and act within the Standing Orders. 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."
}