HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 976262,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/976262/?format=api",
"text_counter": 24,
"type": "other",
"speaker_name": "",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Hon. Members, these words are not a mere cosmetic decoration of the Constitution, statutes or indeed the Standing Orders of the House. They speak to and epitomise the true spirit of statesmanship behoving of State and public officers and serve as a constant reminder that a State office is a high calling to serve the interests of the State and its people over and above individual or private interests. Hon. Members, as reported, the alleged visit was made by a group of legislators from this House. This may have created the impression that the said Members travelled as a delegation of this House. I wish to confirm that, parliamentary delegations to foreign nations must always meet certain parliamentary parameters. First, a parliamentary delegation is formally constituted and officially communicated to the foreign country which is scheduled to be visited through my office or that of the Clerk of the National Assembly. Secondly, parliamentary delegations are either fully or partially funded by the National Assembly. Further, in terms of composition, a parliamentary delegation is constituted in a manner that reflects the different shades of political parties in the House, gender and regional balance, among other considerations. In this regard, the alleged visit by the said group of Members of this House to the Republic of Somalia was not a parliamentary delegation. Hon. Members, I will now address the issue of whether it is mandatory for Members travelling out of the country to inform the Speaker of their intended travel and why. There has always been a requirement to this effect in Standing Order No.260, which reiterates this point by providing as follows – “(1) A Member intending to travel outside Kenya, whether in an official or private capacity, shall give to the Speaker a written notice to that effect, indicating – (a) the destination intended to be visited. (b) the dates of intended travel and period of absence from Kenya, and (c) the email, telephone contact, postal or physical address of the Member during the period of absence from Kenya. Hon. Members, as you have clearly heard, these provisions are couched in mandatory terms although they are not meant to punish or put in suspension any Member. The requirement to notify the Speaker of any intended travel outside Kenya is provided for in the Standing Orders as a matter of civility, good order and to ensure that the Office of the Speaker can, at all times, account for the whereabouts of any Member of this House who is out of the country. For avoidance of doubt, there is no requirement compelling Members of this House to seek consent to undertake private travels. Similarly, there is no requirement for official parliamentary delegations to obtain consent of other offices, save for that of the Speaker, to undertake official travels. Nonetheless, parliamentary diplomacy ought not be handled casually or in an uncoordinated manner. Indeed, this was one of the reasons that necessitated the 11th Parliament to insert new Standing Order 259A in the Rules of Procedure to provide for recognition of parliamentary caucuses and friendship groups. As a matter of fact, there are a number of instances where Members who have travelled out of Kenya in private capacities have found themselves in circumstances that required urgent official intervention or assistance from my office, the Office of the Clerk, our embassies in foreign countries or indeed the specialised intervention of more than one State Department of the Executive branch of the Government. I invite you, Hon. Members, to ponder, in the event that a Member or Members of this House who have travelled out of the country incognito require assistance of these offices, how would assistance be availed? I must acknowledge that majority of Members have always notified the Speaker of their intended travels outside Kenya, whether in their public or private capacities. 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."
}