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{
    "id": 965485,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/965485/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 406,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Orengo",
    "speaker_title": "The Senate Minority Leader",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 129,
        "legal_name": "Aggrey James Orengo",
        "slug": "james-orengo"
    },
    "content": "amendments, for example, deletion and insertion. They are detailed and substantive amendments. In our fight against corruption, the procurement sector has come into focus. We need to fully understand the tenor and effects of these proposed amendments. Therefore, I hope that as we debate this Bill, in future, the National Assembly where these kinds of Bills come from will see it fit to ensure that where there are substantive amendments in relation to any particular Bill, they are made through separate Bills. For example, if you look at the preamble to this Bill, it reads: “An Act of Parliament to make various amendments to statute law”. The purpose of the Bill is not reflected in the preamble of the Bill. Normally, by reading the preamble of a Bill, if it is a substantive Bill, one would look at the purpose and objects of those amendments. Some of these amendments from the National Assembly come to us without the memorandum of objects which is important because it informs the debate and discussions. The sponsor of the Bill would tell you in summary what it is that it desires to change. So, I emphasise that in the past, many legislators have lived to regret passing Bills which have been brought in this fashion. In fact, one of the cases that is very clear, is one in which the National Assembly, when we had a unicameral system, passed a substantive Bill by way of miscellaneous amendments affecting what was already in the Constitution. The Attorney General brought a Bill affecting the period for political parties for purposes of nomination. In the Constitution, the words were “not more than”. In the amendments that came before the National Assembly, the Attorney General proposed that the words “not more than” be deleted and replaced with “not less than”. That amendment brought a lot of chaos during the elections because political parties were required to nominate candidates within two weeks when the Constitution required that period to be more than three weeks. Luckily, Justice Mbaluto saw the mischief and ruled those amendments unconstitutional. I hope that this practice does not persist. Madam Temporary Speaker, looking at the Chapter that speaks to Betting, Lotteries and Gaming Act, when the Government was basically trying to take certain steps against betting firms and looking at what is in the BBI report in relations to betting; the Government took the position that it is morally unethical to allow betting in the country because it was a bad influence on society and so should be removed in its entirety. It looks like the intention of the proposed changes is to squeeze out betting. It looks like the intention is to allow betting amongst big people in society and denying the lesser people an opportunity. That is like saying that rich people can drink as much as they want while drinking is bad for poor people. So we ban drinking for poor people and allow the rich people to drink. Looking at the punitive provisions that Sen. Kihika went through, there is enhancement of penalties to an extent that it is difficult to understand. In one of the provisions, it is stated that the penalties should be increased from Kshs1,000 to Kshs50,000. What is the rationale that found it appropriate to raise the penalty to Kshs50,000. Consistently, certain actions attract punishment which previously was Kshs10,000 which have now been increased to as high as Kshs1 million or Kshs500,000. There should be a rationale behind what is being done. That explanation has not been 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."
}