Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 917099,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/917099/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 279,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Alego-Usonga, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Samuel Atandi",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13290,
        "legal_name": "Samuel Onunga Atandi",
        "slug": "samuel-onunga-atandi"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity to put my word on this Motion. From the word go, I support this Motion. If you want to know that the Senate is a mischievous organ of Parliament, you need to go through their website. They have profiled themselves as the upper house of Parliament. We know that is not the reality. As somebody who participated in the clamour for the new Constitution, in principle, I do not subscribe to the views that the Senate should be dissolved or disbanded. The Senate should play an important role as outlined under Article 96 of the Constitution on protecting devolution. Devolution is important and dear to some of us. It was meant to transfer resources from Nairobi to villages. The villages are the places where our people live. So, I would like to stand with any effort aimed at protecting devolution. However, I disagree with the Senate on one account; their interpretation of Article 95(5) (b) of the Constitution. This Article of the Constitution provides for the oversight functions of the National Assembly. We know that the oversight mandate is principally restored in the National Assembly. But the Senate has gone ahead to create parallel committees that appear to be doing the same roles that this House is supposed to do. I disagree with them because this action has created what I call a “dysfunctional executive” Today, you will find that Ministers alternate between the Senate and the National Assembly. No wonder Kenyans are saying that the Executive is not delivering. That is purely the reason. The Senate has gone outside its mandate. It needs to be called to order. To reiterate what my colleagues have said, there is no reason why the Senate should be summoning the Minister for Defense and Foreign Relations because in their functions, they have nothing to do with national Government. So, the Senate needs to be orderly in this respect. If you can remember, there was a matter to do with Ruaraka land where a committee of this House went through that Petition and made a decision. The Senate did the same and came up with their own parallel and different decision on the same matter. This House was portrayed as a House which is not effective or a House which does not know what it is doing. The Senate took this action in bad faith to malign and make this House dishonourable. The Senate has been mischievous. I think the Motion we are discussing today is timely. I want to say something about the Division of Revenue Bill. One of the functions of the National Assembly, according to Article 95(d), is to determine the allocation of national revenue between the levels of government as provided for in Part IV of Chapter 12 of the Constitution; appropriate funds for expenditure by the national Government and other State organs. This provision is very clear that the function of determining revenue between the levels of government is bestowed in the National Assembly. It goes further to say that the National Assembly shall make reference to Part IV of Chapter 12 of the Constitution. This is the part that creates the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA). I want to read for you what the part says. We know the CRA is overseen by the Departmental Committee on Finance and Planning of this House. The principal function of the Commission is to make recommendations concerning the 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."
}