Rt. Hon.(Eng) Raila Amolo Odinga

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 1081 to 1090 of 1732.

• 9 Sep 2009 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, first, I am not the President. Secondly, Ms. Karua has read the Act. I do not know whether the President consulted the Board before he made the appointment. So, those are some of the issues that need to be investigated. I assume that probably, the President had consultations with the Board before he made that appointment. view
• 9 Sep 2009 in National Assembly: Yes, Mr. Speaker, Sir, I can answer that. I said that I had not read that Act. I should withdraw the word “may”. I want to be very categorical that yes, the President did consult the Minister and the Board. view
• 26 Aug 2009 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, the hon. Member for Garsen has asked a Question regarding emoluments and duties of Assistant Ministers. He is particularly concerned about the lack of specific duties, tasks and assignments for Assistant Ministers especially in relation to the work of the Cabinet. I consider the issues raised too important to merit a Statement under Standing Order No.40 as opposed to providing a mere answer. Let me say from the outset that it is always safe to assume that whenever a Question is asked, the Questioner most likely knows the answer or expects a particular answer. The present case ... view
• 26 Aug 2009 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have not personalised the answer. I have only stated a fact that the hon. Member must remember his salary. That does not triviliase the matter. Nevertheless, I am pleased to answer the hon. Member on this issue amongst others. An Assistant Minister in the Grand Coalition Government is paid as follows:- (i) salary, Kshs200,000; (ii) Ministerial Allowance, Kshs100,000; (iii)House Allowance, Kshs80,000; (iv) Domestic Allowance, 15,000; and, (v) Other Allowances as specified in the National Assembly Remuneration (Amendment) Act, 2003. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the hon. Member for Garsen wishes to know why the Coalition Government has failed ... view
• 26 Aug 2009 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am grateful to Mr. Kiunjuri for the information because I also get the Kshs200,000 as a Member of Parliament. The questioner asked me to state the total salary. He did not ask about only the salary that is paid to Assistant Ministers. So, what I gave was the total package of the amount that an Assistant Minister earns. view
• 26 Aug 2009 in National Assembly: Mr. Mungatana has quoted extensively from the procedures of the Canadian jurisdiction and the regulations that empower Assistant Ministers to undertake certain duties. What I said did not imply that the practice in the Commonwealth countries is uniform. It differs from country to country. For example, in Nigeria, the Assistant Ministers are called Ministers of State and they do attend Cabinet meetings. They also act in the absence of their Ministers as substantive Ministers. view
• 26 Aug 2009 in National Assembly: That means that they also take the additional oath of secrecy of Cabinet matters which Assistant Ministers currently in our country do not take. That is the reason I said that we need to address this issue by way of amendments to the Constitution or by taking it up in the coming new Constitution. view
• 26 Aug 2009 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, personally, I see no reason Assistant Ministers should not attend Cabinet meetings in the absence of the Ministers. I fully support the idea. I also support the idea of Assistant Ministers acting in the absence of Ministers substantively. That is the reason I have allowed Assistant Ministers to attend Cabinet Committee meetings. Cabinet committee meetings are very important because that is where the Cabinet memoranda are discussed and approved before they are taken to the Cabinet. The Assistant Ministers do attend those meetings. It is a question of having to address the Constitution. view
• 26 Aug 2009 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, Mr. Nyamweya said that the President and the Prime Minister can actually give more roles to Assistant Ministers. I agree with him and that is the reason we have given more roles right now within the limitations of the law to Assistant Ministers. view
• 26 Aug 2009 in National Assembly: Mr. Imanyara should note that the Constitution only states “Attorney-General”. There is no provision in the Constitution for Assistant Minister or Assistant Attorney- General in that office. Again, that is an issue that can be taken up during constitutional review. view