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{
    "id": 875138,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/875138/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 324,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Tongaren, FORD-K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr.) Eseli Simiyu",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 141,
        "legal_name": "David Eseli Simiyu",
        "slug": "david-eseli"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I also wish to add my voice in thanking the House leadership for bringing this Motion so that we can speed up the time that Private Members’ Bills come to the House. All the same, I have two questions. The Chair of Budget and Appropriations Committee said that they had actually passed 41 Bills, but here we have 33 Bills, where are the other eight Bills? One of the major functions of a Member of Parliament is to legislate and that legislation does not restrict the Member of Parliament to just legislate on behalf of the Executive, the Members of Parliament must be able to bring their own Bills so that they can be properly legislating. Once we changed our governance system to a presidential system away from what we were before, then even this thing of having Motions in this House loses meaning. When we had Ministers coming in the House like in the 10th Parliament, when you brought a Motion, it influenced policy, in the sense that when you brought a Motion the Minister was obliged to respond to your Motion. Sometimes they went out of their way to try and amend a Motion that was calling for a resolution of the House to “urge”, so that it became weaker. That way, we were able to influence policy. I can give an example of myself. In that 10th Parliament I brought a Motion to ensure that the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), starts paying for middle level colleges. From that time, that influenced the policy of Government. I also brought a Motion on Control of Malaria insisting that instead of people hiding under the mosquito nets, they should also do in-house spraying of anti-malaria. That is a Motion which influenced Government policy because the Ministers were in the House. Right now without Ministers being in the House, the only way we can influence Government policy effectively is through Private Members’ Bill. This is very important. What we need to note is that it is not necessarily a delay by the committees. I have looked at what they have said about the Committee on Health and I know that the Kenya Food and Drug Authority 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."
}