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{
    "id": 952605,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/952605/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 38,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Lusaka",
    "speaker_title": "The Speaker",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Hon. Senators, going back to the first issue that arose from the points of order, which is whether there was a report of the Mediation Committee on the Division of Revenue (No.2) Bill (National Assembly Bills No.59 of 2019), the record is clear that there was indeed a report of the Mediation Committee that was signed by both the Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson of the Mediation Committee and that was tabled in both Houses on the same day, 11th September, 2019. The Report as tabled in both Houses included a version of the Bill as agreed by the Mediation Committee. Hon. Senators, the second issue that arose from the points of order is: which is the report of the Mediation Committee; the one tabled in the National Assembly or that tabled in the Senate? The HANSARD record of the Senate indicates that on 11th September, 2019, while moving the Motion on the adoption of the Report of the Mediation Committee on the Bill, the Chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Budget and Finance stated that the Bill as adopted by the Mediation Committee would come into force upon publication in the Gazette . However, the Chairperson alluded to the fact there had been an attempt that morning from some quarters to provide for a retrospective commencement date in the Bill, so that it would commence on 1st July, 2019. On account of the urgency in the Division of Revenue process, the Senate proceeded to debate and adopt the Motion on the Report of the Mediation Committee on the same day. Hon. Senators, in the case of the National Assembly, the proceedings of the National Assembly of 12th September, 2019, which were later transmitted to the Senate, indicate that before adoption of the Mediation Committee Report, a Communication from the Chair was issued on the commencement date of the Division of Revenue (No.2) Bill (National Assembly Bills No.59 of 2019) as adopted by the Mediation Committee. The Communication indicated that the Bill as contained in the Report of the Mediation Committee tabled in both Houses had a slight variance concerning Clause 1 of the Bill as agreed upon by the Mediation Committee. The Communication stated that while Clause 1 of the Bill as tabled in both Houses provided that the Bill would come into force upon publication in the Gazette, the report had been altered and that the Chairperson of the Mediation Committee had, therefore, quashed the alteration in the Report tabled in the National Assembly by way of a handwritten text authenticated by his signature. The text of the Bill as adopted by the National Assembly, therefore, provided for a commencement date of 1st July, 2019. Hon. Senators, having heard the presentation by Sen. Mahamud and further having read the proceedings of the Report of the Mediation Committee, I found myself in an unprecedented situation where a Mediation Report is said to have been adopted by a Committee, signed by the Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson of the Committee, tabled in both Houses on the same day and in the same form, but eventually adopted in a different form in each House. I, therefore, took the extra-ordinary step of calling for the audio recording and transcription of the proceedings of the meeting of the Mediation Committee together with the extracts of the relevant minutes. Having listened carefully to the audio recording and read the transcription and minutes thereof, I found that the proceedings of the Committee The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}