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{
"id": 1559982,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1559982/?format=api",
"text_counter": 973,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Tharaka, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. George Murugara",
"speaker": null,
"content": "The new section 5A(2) states that the relevant Cabinet Secretary shall notify the National Assembly of any changes to information relating to the negotiation of a treaty within seven days of such change. That means once we begin negotiating a treaty, the information must be brought to the House. This applies to economic treaties, and not every treaty. As the process continues, there are possible changes that will be made to the provisions of the treaty. Within seven days of the occurrence of those changes, the House must be informed."
},
{
"id": 1559983,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1559983/?format=api",
"text_counter": 974,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Tharaka, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. George Murugara",
"speaker": null,
"content": "The new section 5A(3) states that the relevant Committee of the National Assembly, in so far as is practically possible, shall confer with the Cabinet Secretary once the treaty is brought to the House. This is similar to pre-publication scrutiny, where we look at proposed laws or by-laws before they are published, so that any input from the House is included."
},
{
"id": 1559984,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1559984/?format=api",
"text_counter": 975,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Tharaka, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. George Murugara",
"speaker": null,
"content": "The new section 5A(4) is very important. It provides that the relevant Cabinet Secretary shall table an annual report to the National Assembly on the status of the ongoing negotiation of treaties. All the treaties that have to be brought to this House will have a record or register so that every year, the Cabinet Secretary will give us a report on the status of each of the treaties being negotiated. Hon. Temporary Speaker, Clause 5 of the Bill proposes to amend Section 6 of the Principal Act to compel the National Executive or the relevant State Department, while negotiating an economic treaty, to ensure that the terms of the treaty do not adversely affect"
},
{
"id": 1559985,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1559985/?format=api",
"text_counter": 976,
"type": "heading",
"speaker_name": "",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "–"
},
{
"id": 1559986,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1559986/?format=api",
"text_counter": 977,
"type": "other",
"speaker_name": "",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "(a) The ability of the country to mobilize domestic revenue. The treaty should not curtail our ability to raise money internally through taxes. (b) The food security of the country. Nobody should force us into agreements where the food situation in the country is compromised. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
},
{
"id": 1559987,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1559987/?format=api",
"text_counter": 978,
"type": "other",
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"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "(c) The establishment and growth of local industries. We are looking into this to develop and industrialise the country. We will not allow any treaties that try to curtail this from coming into being. (d) The ability of the Government to regulate an industry in the public interest. If the treaty brings in a new industry or economic sector, the Government will have residual powers to regulate it purely because of public interest. Clause 6 of the Bill proposes to amend Section 6 of the Principal Act and introduce New Section 6A, which provides as follows– ‘6A. (1) The relevant Cabinet Secretary shall, prior to signing an economic treaty, prepare a regulatory impact statement. It will put down the impact of that agreement. (2) A regulatory impact statement shall contain information in respect to the proposed economic treaty in clear and precise language, including the various areas that are set out in New Clause 6A(2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e). This will establish the economic effect of an agreement to the country and how it will benefit.’ There is also a proposal to introduce New Clause 6B, which provides that the notification of the regulatory impact statement will be gazetted. That means the public will be informed on what we are negotiating on, and the impact the treaty will have in the country. This is taken to be information that will be accessible to every Kenyan regarding to a particular treaty. We go on with what is required in the regulations, including the consultations that are necessary to bring into effect a particular treaty. Clause 7 of the Bill proposes to amend Section 8 of the Principal Act. The provision here is that the National Assembly may introduce any reservation as a proviso into a treaty. This opens up the process of negotiating treaties to the National Assembly. It means our hands will not be as tied as they are today. When this Bill comes into force, where we feel that there is need for us to make reservations to protect the interests of the country, we will be allowed to do so. Clause 8 of the Bill proposes to amend Section 9 of the Principal Act by introducing a procedure during the ratification process in the National Assembly. Once a treaty is introduced in the National Assembly, it is supposed to be committed to the relevant Committee for consideration. In addition to the information required to be submitted to the National Assembly under written law, the Committee may require the relevant Cabinet Secretary to submit further information relating to what the treaty is all about, specifically what is set out in Sections 9A(3)(a) and (b). Once that is done, a report is prepared and brought to the House, which will adopt the report, in which case the treaty will come into force."
},
{
"id": 1559988,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1559988/?format=api",
"text_counter": 979,
"type": "other",
"speaker_name": "",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Clause 9 seeks to make a provision for amending Section 10 of the principal Act. This is a new provision we intend to introduce so that the relevant Cabinet Secretary may, at the point of ratifying a treaty under this Act, be accompanied by the Leader of the Majority Party or the Leader of the Minority Party of the party forming the government or a representative. That is purely formal as the treaty heads towards ratification. That is what the Bill is all about. Hon. Temporary Speaker, the National Assembly is charged with all the economic matters of the country right from budgeting and taxation to appropriation. All those factors need to be involved in the making of treaties. This is purely because of public interest and the sovereignty of the State to ensure that the laws that we make and those that we domesticate from outside are all in conformity with our Constitution, statutes and regulations. With those very many remarks, I beg to move and invite the Chief Whip of the Minority Party, the gracious lady, Hon. Millie Odhiambo, a seasoned lawyer who is now doing her PhD in something serious and relevant to what we do and say in the House, to second the Bill."
},
{
"id": 1559989,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1559989/?format=api",
"text_counter": 980,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Omboko Milemba",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": {
"id": 13328,
"legal_name": "Jeremiah Omboko Milemba",
"slug": "jeremiah-omboko-milemba"
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"content": " Hon. Millie. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
},
{
"id": 1559990,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1559990/?format=api",
"text_counter": 981,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Suba North, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Millie Odhiambo-Mabona",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I rise to second the Bill. I thank the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs for tabling it at this time. I know that Hon. Kaluma had brought similar amendments. I hope his proposed amendments have been consolidated into the Bill. I am honoured because I came up with the Treaty-Making and Ratification Act that is now being amended. It is said that the proof of the pudding is in the eating. There has been a lot of “eating” of this Act. It is time we amended it because as you “eat”, you discover gaps. I am glad that the Ministry has seen several gaps that require amendment. I am also happy that the amendment Bill will be coming up shortly after we adopt Kenya’s foreign policy, which touches on fairly similar issues. I know I have previously talked about how I came up with the Act, but I will just repeat what I said on the Floor of the House. I sat in the Select Committee on Constitutional Review – a process which culminated in the promulgation of the current Constitution. Hon. Temporary Speaker, the religious sector, especially the representatives of churches, came out very strongly against Articles 2(6) and (7) of the Constitution, which provide that treaties that are ratified by Kenya shall become part of the laws of Kenya. They were opposed to the idea of giving an individual power to enact laws without involving Members of Parliament, who are the elected representatives of the people. One of the things that I promised the church then was to bring a law that would bring that authority back to Parliament. By introducing the Treaty-Making and Ratification Act, we did exactly that. We sought to give that power back to Parliament. However, one thing became very clear. When you are dealing with international law, once a country ratifies a treaty, it becomes law. During the negotiations between countries, Parliament is not involved. So, when they come to tell us that they are about to ratify, Parliament can only put reservations. It has been a problem whether to reject a treaty entirely or recommend reservations. However, this Bill seeks to get Parliament to be involved in the positions prior to ratification so that when it comes to Parliament, we do not find ourselves in a dilemma. At the same time, it still gives the power to negotiate treaties primarily to the Executive, as it should be. That is the role of the Executive. But since treaties eventually become law, the voice of Parliament must be seen to be heard. I support most of the provisions in this Bill. There were a few gaps because my mind was focused on areas where I have expertise, such as human rights and social justice. My mind was focused on treaties like the Conventions on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and the Conventions on the Rights of the Child, among others. However, this proposal comes in with economic treaties, which is not my forte, and because of that, we did not put a lot of emphasis. This proposal now brings in the aspect of economic treaties. What I like about the issues included is that they align with what we are talking about in foreign policy and putting the interest of Kenyans first. Hon. Temporary Speaker, the Mover has also mentioned something that is very dear to me on negotiating treaties that may compromise the country’s food security. I would like to request the technocrats that are working in the Ministries not to only look out for words like ‘food security’. Sometimes, the things that compromise food security come in very interesting ways that you might not see. For instance, when I was studying at the University of Nairobi a long time ago, some of the treaties that we got involved in at that time compromised our ability as a country to replant our traditional food varieties. We needed to get authorization from other countries to use our own traditional varieties. There are areas where you cannot easily get the new varieties. Therefore, by doing that, you end up making our country slaves in terms of food varieties. I used to visit my grandmother when I was a little girl, and she had a little mud-walled and grass-thatched kitchen. She always had maize hanging on the roof, and I had no clue why. I was told that was how they stocked seed varieties. If you visit any homestead nowadays, there The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
},
{
"id": 1559991,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1559991/?format=api",
"text_counter": 982,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Suba North, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Millie Odhiambo-Mabona",
"speaker": null,
"content": "may no longer be any mud-walled kitchens or granaries. That is because of the treaties that we passed that compromised our food security. I am happy that you have brought this proposal that puts Kenyans first. I commend you on the notification of regulatory impact statements in the proposed New Clause (b), which states that the preparation of a regulatory impact statement for an economic treaty shall be notified in the gazette and in a newspaper likely to be read by people who may be particularly affected by the proposed treaty. We are going beyond making this a business of Parliament by also making it a business of Kenyans. When we make a treaty, Kenyans must know and must be involved. What a tragedy that in implementing projects, we do not do the same. I will propose a Bill, and in it, we will force the Government – I am still looking for an appropriate name for that Bill – to ensure that if the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) has implemented projects, it must be published in the Gazette. For example, if Suba North Constituency NG-CDF has completed a specific number of projects in a particular financial year, it must be published. If a county has done projects in a financial year, by village, by ward, by sub-county and by county, they should be known. There is a lot of pilferage because we do not have that step of accountability. Kenya is not a poor country. What we have is poverty of commitment and poverty of integrity. What we need to do is to enhance accountability so that when we have monies from NG-CDF, from the counties, from NGOs and from any other source, we account for it. How do we account for monies that go to the ground? Kenyans should be made aware, but not by information that I voluntarily give as a Member of Parliament, telling them that our NG-CDF has done a certain number of building or blocks. I may choose what to show appropriately or I may show but leave out the core issues that the public needs to know. Therefore, I laud the Mover very much because this regulatory impact statement will empower Kenyans so that when we get into an economic treaty, Kenyans will know. Similarly, let us have, as part of our oversight role; as part of the Senate’s oversight role and as part of oversight role in the counties – a way that Kenyans must know exactly what has been done in the country. I see that my time is up. With those few remarks, I beg to second."
}
]
}