James Orengo

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 3531 to 3540 of 4273.

• 31 May 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Chairman, Sir, I think what Prof. Anyang-Nyong’o is proposing is acceptable. However, there is some debate we heard on this because of the manner in which the old Commission had managed the affairs of the elections. For example, there was a proposal that the Chair of the Commission should be the spokesperson for the Commission. We have found problems with that in the sense that imagine an election where there are going to be other electoral officers like presiding officers and returning officers--- If you look at the electoral law, all of them have got functions which are clearly ... view
• 31 May 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Chairman, Sir, I was in the discussions that brought about what is in the Bill and fully support them. However, I now realize the very first responsibility of the Commission must have a full house. Some of these issues, which may include the issue of boundaries, if they will be dealt with a Commission which consists of about four out of nine commissioners, then some areas may feel not represented. To the extent that the business of this Commission is so critical to everybody, we should have a full house, when it is appointed. view
• 31 May 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Chairman, Sir, I feel that the word “shall” used in that proposed amendment is not quite mandatory because of the way it is; it says “subject to the provisions of this Constitution, this Act or any other relevant law”. This means it creates a basis upon which any officer can transit from the old Commission to the new Commission. There is a threshold on the part of the recruitment agency; if you just say “may” and you do not give a basis upon which a decision can be made or do not make it subject to the provisions in ... view
• 31 May 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Chairman, Sir, the amendment by hon. Karua, in my view, is just a comfort clause. Really, saying “may be eligible”, first of all, the word “eligible” does not mean that you necessarily qualify. If you look at Clause 10, which sets out who are going to be the staff of the Commission, there are no disqualifications for the members of the former Commission. So, if it is just a comfort clause, I have no problem, but essentially, it is not changing anything. view
• 31 May 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Chairman, Sir, I am very happy with this amendment because the current law that is in existence under the Election Offences Act, the procedure for prosecuting anybody found to have committed election offences is so cumbersome and without the consent of the Attorney-General, you cannot initiate any prosecution. In fact, in the last 20 years, I do not think there has been a prosecution by the Attorney-General. There has not been a single prosecution by the office of the Attorney- General under the Election Offences Act. So, I am very happy that within this Act which is not caveated ... view
• 31 May 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Chairman, Sir, in fact, in parliaments of yore, the Chair would not have just warned the hon. Member. The Chair would have used the mace on him. But he is lucky that the mace is no longer an instant weapon, but a sign of dignity. view
• 31 May 2011 in National Assembly: Yes, Mr. Chairman. view
• 31 May 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Chairman, Sir, I am not in agreement that the Public Service Commission is necessarily a better organ than the Judicial Service Commission. It has not been appointed or vetted in accordance with this Constitution. We cannot run away from political responsibility. We are stakeholders in the process. At the end of the day, whatever we do, we must realize that in as much as we want to take the President and the Prime Minister away from this process, they are major stakeholders because if, really, we can talk about the persons who are given some form of mandate nationally, ... view
• 31 May 2011 in National Assembly: This is not something new. The template that is used here is the template that was used with the Judicial Service Commission. We may not agree with the appointees, but I think this is the correct way to move. view
• 31 May 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Chairman, Sir, I was supporting hon. Abdikadir’s amendment. view