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{
"id": 974514,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/974514/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Speaker",
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"content": "(b) Submit to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and publish by notice in the Gazette information specified under sub-paragraph (a). (6) The Speakers of the Houses of Parliament shall not receive any draft Bill and certificate where the Bill was considered by the county assembly after the expiry of the period specified under Article 257(6) of the Constitution. Hon. Members, in furtherance to requirements of Paragraph 5 of the said guidelines in respect of the draft Punguza Mizigo (Constitution Amendment) Bill 2019, I reported to the House the statistics of the submissions which had been formally delivered by the respective Speakers of the county assemblies as at 5th December 2019. In that Communication, I informed the House that: (a) Twenty six county assemblies had delivered the draft Bill with a certificate indicating their respective decisions on the Bill. (b) Out of the 26, three county assemblies, that is, Machakos, Turkana and Uasin Gishu, had approved the Bill. (c) Out of the same number, 23 county assemblies had rejected the draft Bill. These were Kwale, Kilifi, Tana River, Wajir, Mandera, Marsabit, Isiolo, Meru, Tharaka Nithi, Kitui, Makueni, Nyeri, Murang’a, Samburu, Trans Nzoia, Nandi, Laikipia, Narok, Kajiado, Kericho, Bomet, Bungoma and Busia. (d) Twenty one other county assemblies were yet to deliver decisions of the draft Bill to the Speakers of the Houses of Parliament with a certificate indicating either their approval or rejection of the Bill. These were the county assemblies of Mombasa, Lamu, Taita Taveta, Garissa, Embu, Nyandarua, Kirinyaga, Kiambu, West Pokot, Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo, Nakuru, Kakamega, Vihiga, Siaya, Kisumu, Homa Bay, Migori, Kisii, Nyamira and Nairobi. The Speaker of the Senate and I published this information in the Kenya Gazette under Gazette Notice No.11013 dated 22nd November 2019 for the information of the general public. The County Assembly of Machakos initially submitted their certificate on 24th October 2019. Whereas the certificate indicated the County Assembly had rejected the draft Bill, the forwarding letter indicated the opposite. We have since received clarification to the effect that the County Assembly of Machakos did not actually approve the Punguza Mizigo (Constitution Amendment) Bill 2019. In addition, we have also received a certificate indicating the rejection of the said Bill by the County Assembly of Vihiga. This was one of the 21 county assemblies which had not submitted their certificates to the two Speakers of Parliament. Given the fact that there is no timeline within which a county assembly has to submit its feedback to Parliament after having considered the draft Bill under Article 257 of the Constitution within the stipulated 90 days, the Speaker of the Senate and I found it difficult to disallow the submission by the said county assembly even though it was submitted more than two months after the county assembly had considered and made its decision on the draft Bill. This lacuna is one of the several gaps that have been identified with respect to the process of amending the Constitution through popular initiative under Article 257 of our Constitution which, in our view, may require to be addressed in law or through other legislative instruments. As Speakers of the two Houses of Parliament, the experience of the Punguza Mizigo (Constitution Amendment) Bill 2019 has caused us to reflect on a number of questions. For instance, since the Constitution obligates only the county assemblies which have approved such a Bill to send their certificates to the Speakers of the Houses of Parliament, are we to assume that 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."
}