{"count":1608389,"next":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=152721","previous":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=152719","results":[{"id":1545392,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1545392/?format=json","text_counter":177,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Kathuri","speaker_title":"The Deputy Speaker","speaker":{"id":13590,"legal_name":"Murungi Kathuri","slug":"murungi-kathuri"},"content":" Sen. Abdul Haji, kindly approach the Chair."},{"id":1545393,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1545393/?format=json","text_counter":178,"type":"scene","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"[The Deputy Speaker (Sen. Kathuri) left the Chair]"},{"id":1545394,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1545394/?format=json","text_counter":179,"type":"scene","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"[The Temporary Speaker (Sen. Abdul Haji) in the Chair]"},{"id":1545395,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1545395/?format=json","text_counter":180,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Abdul Haji","speaker_title":"The Temporary Speaker","speaker":null,"content":" Let us move on to the next Order."},{"id":1545396,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1545396/?format=json","text_counter":181,"type":"heading","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"MOTION"},{"id":1545397,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1545397/?format=json","text_counter":182,"type":"heading","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"NOTING OF REPORTS OF THE 63RD AND 64TH OACPS PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY AND THE 43RD AND 1ST ACP-EU JOINT PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY"},{"id":1545398,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1545398/?format=json","text_counter":183,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Kathuri","speaker_title":"","speaker":{"id":13590,"legal_name":"Murungi Kathuri","slug":"murungi-kathuri"},"content":"Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to move- THAT, the Senate notes the Reports of the- (i) 63rd Session of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) Parliamentary Assembly and the 43rd Session of the African, Caribbean and Pacific-European Union (ACP-EU) Joint Parliamentary Assembly meetings in held in Brussels, Belgium from 19th to 28th June 2023; and (ii) 64th Session of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) Parliamentary Assembly and the 1st Session of the The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."},{"id":1545399,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1545399/?format=json","text_counter":184,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Kathuri","speaker_title":"","speaker":{"id":13590,"legal_name":"Murungi Kathuri","slug":"murungi-kathuri"},"content":"African, Caribbean and Pacific-European Union (ACP-EU) Joint Parliamentary Assembly meetings in held in Luanda, Angola from 17th to 21st February 2024. Laid on the Table of the Senate on Wednesday, 6th December 2023 and Wednesday, 2nd October 2024, respectively. The OACPS was created by the Georgetown Agreement in 1975. It was established as an African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP). During the same year, 1975, a cooperation agreement was established between the ACP and the EU, then referred to as the European Economic Community (EEC). The Cooperation Agreement was signed in Delorme, Togo and thus adopted the name the Lomé Convention. The Lomé Convention guided the cooperation between the ACP and EU, which is Lomé 1, Lomé 2, Lomé 3, and Lomé 4 up to 2000 when the Cotonou Partnership Agreement was signed between 78 ACP countries and 28 EU countries. The Cotonou Partnership Agreement was signed to govern cooperation between the ACP and the EU for 20 years, up to 2020. The ACP-Georgetown Agreement provides for an ACP Summit as the highest governing organ, with the Council of Ministers as the policy-making organ and a committee of ambassadors as the policy implementer. Kenya hosted the 9th ACP Summit in Nairobi in December 2019. During the Summit, a revised version of the Georgetown Agreement was adopted. It was during the revision of the Georgetown Agreement that the new name for the ACP, that is OACPS, was adopted. The Samoa Agreement is a framework for EU relations with African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries. It is the new partnership agreement between the EU and 79 countries from Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific, which totals to 49 African countries, 16 Caribbean, and 15 Pacific countries. The agreement includes a common foundation for all OACPS levels combined with the three regional protocols for Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific, with a focus on the regions’ specific needs. The new agreement was officially signed on 15th November, 2023, by the EU and its member states and OACPS members in Samoa. Its provisional application was to start on the first day of the second month after their signature, that is, 1st January, 2024. The Samoa Agreement is based on six key priorities- (1) Human rights, democracy, and governance; (2) Peace and security; (3) Human and social development; (4) Inclusive, sustainable economic growth and development; (5) Environmental sustainability and economic change; and, (6) Migration and mobility. The OACPS-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly was the first session since coming to force of the Samoa Agreement the new partnership agreement between OACPS and the EU on 1st January, 2024. The first constitutive session of the OACPS-EU Joint Partnership Agreement was held on 21st February, 2024. The session was formally opened by His Excellency Esperança Maria Eduardo Francisco da Costa, Vice President of Angola; Carolina Cerqueira, President of the National Assembly of Angola; as well as The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."},{"id":1545400,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1545400/?format=json","text_counter":185,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Kathuri","speaker_title":"","speaker":{"id":13590,"legal_name":"Murungi Kathuri","slug":"murungi-kathuri"},"content":"JPA Co-President Carlos Zorino from the European Parliament; and, Ana Rita Sithole from OACPS Parliament. During the opening session, His Excellency Hon. William Samoei Ruto, PhD, CGH, President of the Republic of Kenya, and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces delivered a recorded video keynote speech as the outgoing President of OACPS and member of the OACPS, Kenya Troika handover the Presidency of OACPS to Angola during the 10th OACPS Summit in December, 2022. Kenya will remain in the Troika until December, 2025. The President highlighted the limited capacity of the JPA due to its lack of legislative power and reiterated the need to overcome this challenge for the effective functioning of the JPA. He concluded by restating Kenya’s commitment towards rule- based international order, multilateralism, and peaceful resolution to conflicts. After the opening ceremony, two delegates ensued, featuring input from the EU Commissioner for International Partnership, Jutta Urpilainen and Prof. Fabrizio Cardone, a Political Science Professor at the University of Glasgow. The United Kingdom was represented in the opening ceremony by Commissioner Urpilainen, who in her address to the Assembly, delineated the various partnership packages tailored to ACP regions through the Global Gateway Africa with OACPS to ensure that people and communities remain central in efforts to address the inequality. The debate topics revolved around the renewed vigour of the partnership between OACPS and the EU. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, as you are aware, we attend OACPS sessions as Members of the Senate and also the National Assembly. If you recall, we have attended several sessions with you. I think twice in Brussels, Belgium. All the issues that have been recorded here are facts on what our deliberations have always been. I want to make a summary of the remaining bit. The Samoa Agreement provides for creation of regional parliamentary assemblies that comprise countries from Africa, the Pacific, the Caribbean, and the EU. This is a replica of what our colleague, Sen. Mungatana, is doing in the Pan-African Parliament (PAP). The Samoa Agreement requests that we should have these regional parliamentary assemblies so that we can discuss our issues. We should have these Regional Parliamentary Assemblies so that we can discuss our issues since we are affected by similar problems and challenges. Thus, when we have Parliamentary Assemblies in the regions we can canvass our issues in a better way. The Regional Parliamentary Assemblies are co-chaired by a Member of the European Parliament on one hand and a Member of Parliament from the respective African, Caribbean or Pacific Parties nominated as Chair on the other hand. The African region elected a Member of Parliament from Mozambique, Hon. Ana Rita Sithole while the European Parliament elected Mr. Carlos Zorrinho to represent the parties as Co- Chairs. The first plenary session took place on Sunday, 18th February, 2024 to elect the bureau members consisting of two co-presidents of the European Union (EU) and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the members of the respective regional assemblies. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."},{"id":1545401,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1545401/?format=json","text_counter":186,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Kathuri","speaker_title":"","speaker":{"id":13590,"legal_name":"Murungi Kathuri","slug":"murungi-kathuri"},"content":"Uganda's Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Thomas Tayebwa was elected as the President of the East African Bureau, which represents Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Seychelles, Mauritius, Djibouti, Rwanda and Burundi. The bureau consists of one representatives from each region, that Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific and EU who are executive bodies of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA). The main bureau consists of two co-presidents, one each from the EU and OACPS. Twenty two Members are drawn from the respective Regional Parliamentary Assemblies. The representation in the co-presidency of the African, Caribbean and Pacific were elected from Benin, Jamaica and Somali respectively. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, if you can recall, just two months ago, my colleague, the Deputy Speaker of the Ugandan Parliament was elected as the president of the African Parliament. We have a new leadership under Hon. Thomas Tayebwa. I congratulate him and wish him well as he leads our region. The JPA adopted the rules of procedure which guides the operations of the assemblies. This report is a summary of the issues discussed at the recently concluded session of the OACPS-EU-JPA, many of which are very relevant to our existing situations. It is hoped that the subjects covered will generate rich and meaningful debate and inspire ideas that will help resolve issues of international and national concern such as climate change, adaptation and mitigation for Kenyans from a local context. The new session of the OACPS and joint OACPS-EU Parliamentary Assemblies will be held in 2025 on a date to be announced. The Regional Assemblies will be held virtually in 2025 on a date to be communicated. At least this was held one month ago. As I mentioned, we have two Members who represent the Senate, Sen. Abdul Haji and I. From the National Assembly, our delegation is led by the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Gladys Shollei and three other Members. Therefore, on behalf of my fellow Members of the delegation that represented the Parliament of Kenya in Rwanda and Angola, I beg to move that the Senate notes this report as presented. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, you were to second this report because you are my colleague in the OACPS. However, since the Pan-African Parliament is also a regional Parliament and some of the issues I am discussing here are also discussed by the Pan- African Parliament, I will honourably request my colleague, Senior Sen. Mungatana to second this report. I thank you."}]}