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{
    "id": 877276,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/877276/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 188,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kikuyu, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1835,
        "legal_name": "Anthony Kimani Ichung'Wah",
        "slug": "anthony-kimani-ichungwah"
    },
    "content": "“A Member shall not vote on any question in which the Member has a pecuniary interest.” That is further expounded by Standing Order No.90 on declaration of interest. It clearly states that: “(1) A Member who wishes to speak on any matter in which the Member has personal interest shall first declare that interest.” It goes further to say that: “(2) Personal interests will include pecuniary interests, proprietary interests, personal relationships and business relations.” This is also as spelt out in Article 122(3) of the Constitution. I rise because of the particular amendment that was proposed by my good friend, the Member for Mathioya. In as much as you have guided that he is at liberty to bring it as a substantive Bill in the future, I want to challenge him and probably ask whether this amendment was rightly before the House even to have been published in the Order Paper. In view of whether the Member for Mathioya had conformed to the Constitution and our own Standing Orders as stipulated in Standing Order No.90 to declare interests, to the best of my knowledge, the Member for Mathioya is in the business of insurance brokerage. When we are called, as you communicated last year and as stipulated in the Standing Orders and the prayer you open the House with every single day, we are called to the performance of important trusts and we should always act in the best interests of the people whom we have been called to represent. We cannot, and should never, if we are to hold this House with the honour that has been bestowed on us by the people of Kenya, use the Floor of this House to advance personal business and business interests. It is not only immoral and unethical, but it falls flat on the face of the provisions of the Standings Orders and the performance of those important tasks that we have been called upon to advance on behalf of our people. Therefore, I beg you to guide the House as to whether the Member for Mathioya, first, had declared interest. Secondly, I will challenge him because he is seated right behind me, to go on record and state whether he had declared his interests in this matter. Even as he advances this particular amendment - because you have given him the leeway to introduce a Bill in future - it will be important for Kenyans and particularly the people of Mathioya to know whether their Member is advancing his personal business using the Floor of this House or whether he is advancing the interests of the people of Mathioya and Kenya under whose charge he has been called to represent in this House. In as much as you stated, we are at liberty to bring these substantive Bills, but it is important that even as we bring legislative proposals to the House, we should do so in good faith and advance the interests of those people whom we have been charged to represent and not bring our business interests or our relationships with people out there. Therefore, I beg that you offer guidance and ask the Member for Mathioya to, indeed, tell us whether he was advancing personal business interests or it was in the interests of the people of the great republic. I am happy I was also going to stand on Article 114 of the Constitution and Standing Order No.114 as the Chair of the Budget and Appropriations Committee because this particular amendment had not been considered by the Committee. The import of this amendment would have been great in terms of the money Bill effect because it had not been considered by the Budget and Appropriations Committee. 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."
}