National Assembly · Afternoon Sitting

Hon. Speaker, I beg to give notice of the following Motion: THAT, this House adopts the Report of the Public Investments Committee on Social Services, Administration and Agriculture on its consideration of the reports of the Auditor-General on financial Statements of the Kenya Medical

University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital for Financial Year 2019/2020, the Kenya Medical Research Institute for Financial Year 2012/2013 and 2013/2014, the Kenya Medical Laboratory Technicians and Technologists Board for Financial Year 2014/2015 to 2020/2021, and the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council for Financial Year 2017/2018 to 2020/2021, laid on the Table of the Hous…

Thank you. Chairperson of the Select Committee on Regional Integration Committee, Hon. Wanjiku Muhia.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to give notice of the following Motion: THAT, this House adopts the Report of the Committee on Regional Integration on its inspection visit to the semi-autonomous institutions of the East African Community in Uganda, laid on the Table of the House on Wednesday, 29th November 2023.

Thank you. Next Order.

Hon. Speaker, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 44 (2) (a) , I rise to give the following Statement on behalf of the House Business Committee, which met on Tuesday, 20th February 2024 to prioritise business for consideration during the coming week. As Members are aware, this week, the House concluded various business, including the passage of the Affordable Housing Bill, 2023. Notably,…

Thank you, Leader of the Majority Party. Member for Nairobi City County, Hon. Esther Passaris.

Hon. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 44 (2) (c) , I wish to request a statement from the Chairperson, Departmental

Hon. Pukose, how much time do you need to bring a response?

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I want to thank the County Member of Parliament for Nairobi, Hon. Esther Passaris, for asking for the statement. I would want to ask for two weeks to be able to get a substantial response to your questions.

Two weeks. It is so ordered. Member for Embakasi Central, Hon. Benjamin Gathiru.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Pursuant to Standing Order 44 (2) (c) , I wish to request a statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Social Protection regarding the lack of transparency and equity in the recruitment of National Youth Service (NYS) volunteers. The Government, through NYS, recruits about 30,000 youth annually who are thereafter trained in various skills, including p…

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I would like to appreciate the Member for Embakasi Central and comment on his request for statement. Nairobi has 17 constituencies. I would like to get an explanation of how possible it is to conduct the recruitment exercise at the same place for all the 17 constituencies in one day. Is it possible for the Chair to bring the list and show us the number of young people who …

constituency in Nairobi benefits? Thank you. Hon. Mwenje.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I support my colleague from Embakasi Central. In Nairobi, our constituencies are quite close to one another. Conducting recruitment in one venue creates a disadvantage because it is impossible to determine the wards that candidates come from. It is important that we follow the criteria that were given by the Cabinet Secretary (CS) . It is a very good criterion. However, it…

[(Hon. Opiyo Wandayi spoke off the record)]

Hon. Speaker, I was asking for permission indirectly. The issues being raised by Hon. Mejjadonk and Hon. Mwenje are very weighty. For instance, Nairobi, Kisumu and Mombasa counties belong to everybody. When you find yourself staying in Kisumu City, it does not matter where you were born or where you got your ID card from. Likewise, when you live in Embakasi East, West or Central, it does not matte…

Your time is over.

I have made my point. Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Hon. Anthony Oluoch, you have one minute.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I join my colleagues in supporting this request for statement. As this Committee looks at this issue, I hope it will broaden it to cover recruitment in the armed forces. They should not just look at the NYS. The manner in which the recruitment has been centralised in one place is intended to create choreographed chaos where we disenfranchise the 17 constituencies in Nairo…

other things. Devolution has also been put in place to ensure we devolve services. Why would we centralise the recruitment for all the 17 constituencies to happen at Nyayo Stadium? People will have to come all the way from Mathare and Dagoretti. This issue must be looked into so that the young people of Nairobi are given their fair share of recruitment.

Mhe. Mandazi.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. In my constituency, I have two regions. Unlike the cities and the towns, Chepalungu Constituency has two regions. Politically, some regions are in Chepalungu and, administratively, some are in Bomet Central and Bomet East. Subsequently, in any recruitment of any kind of discipline, some are disadvantaged. They are normally told to go back to Bomet Central. And when they go…

[(Loud consultations)]

I thank you, Hon. Speaker. I also thank the Member for Embakasi Central for bringing this matter to the Floor so that it is discussed as a national issue. When we devolved with the new Constitution, we ended up with a suspended system. The system of devolution only devolves up to the ward level. There is a gap between the ward level and what is happening in mashinani. What happens is that with the…

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I take this opportunity to welcome all the schools in the Public and Speaker's galleries to this august House. I do not want to miss a point. Kirimunge Day Secondary School from Kirinyaga Central is performing very well. We started it with the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) money. In the last Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education national e…

Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker. I beg to lay the following Paper on the Table: Report of the Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock on the Budget Implementation for the Financial Year 2022/2023 for:

Hon. Speaker, I beg to give notice of the following Motion: THAT, this House adopts the Report of the Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock on its examination of the Budget Implementation Monitoring for the Financial Year 2022/2023 for the following votes: 1162 State Department for Livestock Development and 1169 for State Department for Crops Development, laid on the Table of the Ho…

Committee, laid on the Table of the House on Thursday, 7th December 2023.

On a point of order, Hon. Speaker. Hon. Elachi, what is out of order?

Hon, Speaker, nothing is out of order. I rise pursuant to Standing Order 1. With a lot of humility, I want to request that the two-thirds gender rule matter becomes part of the National Dialogue Committee Report. The President gave us a memorandum in December, 2022, in this House. We debated it and it was explicit. The memorandum can be carried forward to become the resolution that we really want…

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for that guidance. As you have rightly said, it is true that we did not conclusively give a way forward in NADCO on the two-thirds gender rule because principally, there was no broad agreement between the various stakeholders on the issue of the two-thirds gender rule. That is the reason it became impossible for us to build consensus within the NADCO. There were too many p…

the Cabinet Secretary says… When they complete their report, they will table it here and in the Senate. I believe we will also generate legislative proposals from whatever they would have come up with and push them as part of the package of the NADCO legislative proposals. We will support them. I want to advice our good ladies that the proposal that came with the memorandum from the President had…

Yes, Hon. Speaker. Let me weigh in a bit. I agree entirely with what Hon. Ichung’wah has said. I am also happy that you have decided that you will give us direction once the task force hands in their report. It is a fact that the NADCO deferred the matter to the multisectoral working group. I hope Hon. Lady Members will listen to me. NADCO deferred to the multisectoral working group for the reason…

It is not in the Motion but it is implied in the Report. There is a danger here. If we treat the report of the working group separately from the NADCO Report, it may face headwinds. My coalition, the Azimio Coalition, has taken a strong position to support the achievement of the two-thirds gender principle in the House. We will do whatever it takes to make that realisation. I want to thank you pr…

[(Hon. Opiyo Wandayi spoke off record)]

Hon. Pukose.

Hon. Speaker, the Departmental

Hon. Pukose.

Can I have the Order Paper?

You are a veteran Member. I expect you to do the right thing.

Apologies, Hon. Temporary Speaker.

Go ahead.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, I beg to move the following Motion: THAT, this House adopts the Report of the Departmental Committee on Health on its consideration of the Agreement on the Establishment of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) , laid on the Table of the House on Tuesday, 5th December 2023, and pursuant to the provisions of Section 8 (4) of the Treaty Making and Ratification Act, 2012,…

Trustees’ approval to become a party to the IVI Agreement on 24th November 2022. The IVI Agreement was submitted to Hon. Speaker of the National Assembly on 21st August 2023, upon its approval by the Cabinet on 6th December 2022. It was subsequently tabled before the House on Wednesday, 23rd August 2023, for consideration and approval of its ratification. It was committed to the Departmental Comm…

Hon. Wanyonyi, go ahead.

Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I take this opportunity to thank the Departmental Committee on Health for their

I can see Hon. Victor Koech. Hon. Ruku.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. March 2020 taught us great lessons on how life is very fragile and that we are interdependent. This is because the COVID-19 calamity, disaster or pandemic was a serious disruption to humanity. Also, business activities and governments were seriously disrupted across the globe. The successful fight against COVID-19 was as a result of different measures taken by ma…

Thank you. Member for Saku.

Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker. From the onset, let me thank the Member for Endebess and Chairperson of the Departmental

Today, scientific institutes are intended to extend frontiers of science and medicine. After the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and slightly later the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw the importance of having vaccine institutes. Countries that are advanced in medicine and research were able to consolidate and mobilise scientists across the world to save humanity. For that reason, we have seen how much Ken…

Thank you. Member for Samburu East.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I want to support that vaccine centre. Sometimes, there is shortage of vaccines in our country but once that research centre is established and becomes functional, vaccines will be available. When this country develops a research centre, the vaccines, which sometimes are not affordable to Kenyans, will become available. Sometimes, the prices of some of the vaccin…

Member for Funyula, do you want to Speak on this? Okay. Member for Gilgil.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I also rise to congratulate the Chairperson of the Committee on Health, Dr. Robert Pukose, on this Report for Ratification, Acceptance and Accession of the Agreement on the Establishment of the International Vaccine Institute. The importance of vaccines in any country cannot be gain- said and cannot be over-emphasized. If anything, COVID-19 taught not just Kenya,…

get closer to becoming a producer and not just a consumer of vaccines. Hon. Temporary Speaker, what we have seen in this country is that the moment you give birth to a baby, you start vaccination from that point. Not many parents or even mothers are aware of it, especially the ones who give birth in the homes and those who give birth in areas that are far flung. They are not able to access vaccin…

Well said, thank you so much. Hon. Members, I note that there is no further interest to speak on this particular Motion. I accordingly call upon the Mover to reply.

[(Hon. Emmanuel Wangwe consulted loudly)]

Order, Member for Navakholo. Go ahead, Hon. Pukose.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. On 18th of this month, which was last Sunday, His Excellency President William Ruto led a high-level delegation at a breakfast meeting in Addis Ababa on sustainable vaccine manufacturing through end-to-end vaccine research and development projects in Africa. In the meeting, issues about vaccine especially in support of the Institute of Vaccine Initiative were hig…

Members for supporting this very important ratification treaty. As Members have put it, COVID-19 taught us a lesson. We must be in the forefront in having our own institute, Biovax, that can manufacture for us our own vaccines, not just for outbreaks, but also for the infectious diseases and, more so, among the children. Hon. Temporary Speaker, I thank my Committee on Health for the efforts they …

Thank you. Hon. Ruku Order, Hon. Oundo. Come on! Go on, Hon. Ruku

[(Hon. Wilberforce Oundo spoke off the record)]

Hon. Temporary Speaker, I rise pursuant to Standing Order No. 53 (3) which says, “Despite paragraph (2) , the Speaker may, on the request of a Member, defer the putting of the question to the following day in which case the Speaker shall thereupon nominate a time at which the question shall be put.” Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker.

Thank you so much Hon. Ruku. Members, I note the point of order raised by Hon. Ruku. I direct that decision on this Motion will be made in the next sitting, which is Tuesday next week. Before I call for the next Order, I wish to welcome to the House students from Miathene Boys Secondary School, Tigania West Constituency, Meru County. They are seated in the Public Gallery and they are welcome to f…

[(Putting of the Question deferred)]

Hon. John Mbadi. You have been itching to move this Motion since yesterday, but I cannot see Members of your Committee in the House.

Thank you, Hon Temporary Speaker. Members have disappeared in the Budget Policy Statement (BPS) .

Go ahead.

future consideration. (Bill deferred) Next Order.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, I beg to move the following Motion: THAT, this House adopts the Report of the Public Investments Committee on Social Services, Administration and Agriculture on its consideration of the

Hon. Temporary Speaker, immediately after our Committee was constituted, we were handed over a list of 109 parastatals to consider and examine the accounts and financial statements for the various years to synthesise and see how compliant the various parastatals were. We came across 23 parastatals which did not comply with the statutes as it is supposed to be. Hon. Temporary Speaker, as a lawyer,…