Wakoli Bifwoli

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 1101 to 1110 of 1331.

• 15 Aug 2007 in National Assembly: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Read the Constitution carefully. Mr. Speaker, Sir, let me just repeat that the increase in the number of constituencies is long overdue and very, very urgent. In fact, it is extremely urgent in view of the fact that, our five-year period is about to end. Mr. Speaker, Sir, coming now to the issue of the affirmative action--- view
• 15 Aug 2007 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, this Bill is to give space to implement those recommendations. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the issue of affirmative action has been debated in this country for a very long time. This august House may recall that under the Constitutional Review, the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission recommended affirmative action. Likewise, the Bomas Draft and Wako Draft recommended affirmative action. view
• 15 Aug 2007 in National Assembly: Regarding the rejection of the Wako Draft, I would like to remind the House that when the multi-sectoral forum that was set up by this House was recommending the way forward, its co-chair, when he was saying what had been agreed on those issues, he said: "The provisions of the Wako Draft will form the basis of the way forward." Mr. Speaker, Sir, the affirmative action has been debated for a long time in this House. Kenya, as we all know, has done very well economically in producing the manpower for the region and issues of democracy in the region. ... view
• 15 Aug 2007 in National Assembly: Yes, I think also Sudan. In fact, in Sudan, representation of women is 14.7 per cent, which is double the representation that we have in this House. All these countries have a higher representation in their national assemblies--- view
• 15 Aug 2007 in National Assembly: In fact, Mr. Speaker, Sir, I was going to come to that. It is just that he was thinking too fast ahead of me. I am developing my point and coming to that very point, to show that a constitutional amendment is required to give effect to this affirmative action. Let us start, for example, with Tanzania, our neighbouring country. In Tanzania, a constitutional amendment was passed in 2000 to give effect to the Beijing Platform for Action. It required a constitutional amendment, which reserved seats for women, so that currently out of the 319 hon. Members in Tanzania, 97 ... view
• 15 Aug 2007 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, I think I have made the point, that ideally this should have come more than a year ago, but we are now in this situation and that is why it is extremely urgent that the amendment be passed. view
• 15 Aug 2007 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, the constitutional amendment that has been brought to this House is in itself constitutional. I know that some hon. Members have referred to Section 82 of the Constitution, which states that subject to Subsections (4), (5) and (6), no law shall be made to make any provision that is discriminatory. Therefore, they have used that particular Section to say that this amendment, in so far as it focuses on women, is discriminatory against men. view
• 15 Aug 2007 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, they say that this amendment, in so far as it deletes the existing Section 33, which provides for nominated hon. Members, is discriminatory against men. However, I want to say that this Section 82 cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, be taken as an argument to say that this constitutional provision, that we are bringing in, is unconstitutional. It is like saying that one section of the Constitution can be used to declare another section of the Constitution unconstitutional. If this amendment is passed, it will be part of the Constitution and, therefore, will itself be ... view
• 15 Aug 2007 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, if you examine the constitutional provision regarding the Office of the Attorney-General of the Republic of Kenya, it was deliberately made gender-blind. It does not state that the Attorney-General should be a man. So, anybody can be appointed to be the Attorney-General of Kenya. There is nothing in the Constitution to stop the President from appointing a lady the Attorney-General of Kenya. Constitutional offices are gender-blind. Secondly, as the Minister stated, "man" includes woman. view
• 15 Aug 2007 in National Assembly: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I take your advice. Actually, I should have ignored him a long time ago, but we come from the same district. So, I am sure that, somehow, I can answer him back. Mr. Speaker, Sir, in conclusion, I would like to urge this House to rise up to its constitutional responsibility and vote for this important Bill, affirmatively. With those remarks, I beg to second. view