National Assembly · Afternoon Sitting

Hon. Members, I wish to introduce to you a delegation from the East Africa Women’s League, who are seated in the Speaker’s Gallery. Do I see them? Oh, they are there. The East Africa Women’s League was established in 1917, initially to press for voting rights for women and women’s participation in legislation affecting women and girls, which was granted in 1919. The League now has a membership of…

[(Applause)]

The second Communication is on the manner of processing of Questions for response by Cabinet Secretaries before the House.

Hon. Members at the back, take your seats. Those whispering to each other, I have given you an opportunity to take you seats.

Hon. Speaker I wish to give notice of the following Motion: THAT, this House adopts the Report of the Departmental Committee on Labour on the Inquiry regarding Sexual Harassment of Female Workers in Tea Estates in Kericho County, laid on the Table of the House on Thursday 23rd March, 2023.

Thank you Chairman. Next Order.

Question No. 1 by the Member for Machakos County, Hon. Joyce Kamene. Question 018/2023

Hon. Speaker, pursuant to the provision of Standing Order 42A (5) I wish to ask Question No.018/2023 to the Cabinet Secretary for Roads and Transport: What measures has the Ministry put in place to provide for pedestrian footbridges along an approximately two kilometres stretch of Mombasa Road, especially the crossing at Hilton Garden Inn and Syokimau Railways Station/Nairobi SGR Terminus and the…

Hon. Members you will note that Questions being asked today are the first batch that will be asked when we resume after the short recess. Question No. 069, Member for Elgeyo Marakwet, Hon. Caroline Ng’elechei. Question 069/2023

Hon. Speaker, I rise to ask Question No. 069/2023 to the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Forestry. Could the Cabinet Secretary:

Thank you, Hon. Member. Your Question will be answered after recess by the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Forestry and Mining. I thought Mining, Leader of the Majority Party, is with the Blue Economy. Is it with Environment and Forestry? The Leader of the Majority Party, is mining under Blue Economy or under Forestry? Next is Question 070/2023 by the Member for Lunga Lunga, Hon. Chiforomodo Ma…

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 42A (5) , I rise to ask the Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Gender and Affirmative Action the following Question: Could the Cabinet Secretary expound on the status of approval of payment of hardship allowances to public servants in Lunga Lunga Sub-County given the extreme working conditions in the area?

Thank you. That Question will be answered by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection. The next Question is by the Member of Parliament for Kaiti, Hon. Joshua Kimilu Question 071/2023

Thank you, Hon. Speaker for this opportunity. I rise to ask Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communications and Digital Economy:

Thank you, Hon. Kimilu. The Question will be answered by the Minister for Communication, Information and Innovation. The next Question is by the Member of Parliament for Rongo, Hon. Paul Abuor. The next Question 073/2023 is by the Member of Parliament for Teso South, Hon. Mary Emasse. Since there is no information about her presence, the Question is hereby dropped. The next Question is by the M…

[(Question 072/2023 withdrawn)]

[(Question 073/2023 dropped)]

Thank you Hon. Speaker. I rise to ask Question 074/2023 to the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and Co-ordination of National Government:

Thank you, Hon. Wangari. Sorry Hon. Members. The Clerk informs me the Member of Parliament for Rongo had actually sent an apology that he is unable to attend the House today. I, therefore, rescind the dropping of his Question and schedule it to the first sitting day when the House resumes.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I rise to ask the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission the following Question:

The Question will be forwarded to the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee for answering. Hon. Members, that brings us to the end of Questions. Next Order.

The usual Thursday’s Statement by the Hon. Leader of the Majority Party is not included in the Order Paper.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I rise under Standing Order 44 (2) (a) to make a Statement on behalf of the House Business Committee which met on Tuesday, 21st March 2023 to prioritise the business for consideration during the week. Allow me to commend the leadership of both sides of the House and Members for the dedication and cooperation exhibited in the Session so far. Indeed, we have certainly set a…

Hon. Speaker, upon resumption, the House will continue with debate on the Reports of the 144th and 145th Assemblies of the Inter Parliamentary Union, the general debate on proposals to amend the Constitution under Standing Orders, and the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2022 should they not be concluded today. Further, the House is also expected to begin debate on the ratification of …

Thank you, Leader of the Majority Party. Next Order.

On a point of order, Hon Speaker.

Yes, Leader of the Majority Party.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I rise under Standing Order 85 on anticipation of debates. We are a House of procedure and rules. There are two minor issues that I have noted that are good to apprise Members on for the good of housekeeping. One is on anticipation of debate. I noted yesterday – as much as I am yet to get the Privatisation Bill – that the Leader of the Minority Party and a number of Member…

to come before the House, we have an opportunity as Members of Parliament to interrogate whatever proposals that come to us from the Executive in form of Bills. We have an opportunity on this Floor to challenge, support, oppose and decide on what to do with whatever proposal that comes to the House. I, therefore, found it out of order for the House leadership to be leading other Members to anticip…

Yes, Hon. John Mbadi.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. For clarity, I am not speaking for the Leader of the Minority Party but as a senior Member of the Minority side. I want to make quick comments on the point of order raised by the Leader of the Majority Party. I agree with him entirely on the second point, on the mode of dressing, because our committees are extensions of plenary. We must dress appropriately. There is alread…

[(An Hon. Member Spoke off-record)]

Privatisation that has been published. I guess the comments that came from those political leaders was as a result of what was reported to have come out of a Cabinet sitting. We expect Kenyans to comment when there is a report coming from a Cabinet meeting. It is our Cabinet. As a matter of fact, the people of Kenya have to hold their Cabinet accountable. So, anything that comes from the Cabinet m…

Hon. Chepkong’a.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Hon. John Mbadi has spoken very well. He has, in fact, admitted that he has commented on the Standing Orders as a layman and not a lawyer. The only exception is that he is a lawmaker. He cannot say that the Standing Order that has been referred to by the Leader of the Majority Party is not applicable and neither is it outdated. The Standing Orders have been amended from ti…

Thank you, Hon. Members. As Hon. Chepkong’a has rightly said in buttressing what the Leader of the Majority Party and Hon. Mbadi have said, wherever committees sit, even if they are sitting on the moon, they are an extension of this Chamber. Rules of etiquette, dress code and conduct expected of Members under the Standing Orders extend to committees. Chairpersons of Committees, you have a duty to …

Chairperson, Departmental

Hon. Temporary Speaker, I beg to move the following Procedural Motion: THAT, pursuant to the provisions of Section 13 of the Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Act, 2011 relating to extension of period of consideration of nominees for appointment to a public office, this House resolves to extend the period for consideration of the nominee submitted by His Excellency the President for ap…

The reason is that the House will be on a recess, and even if we would have finished vetting, we would not be able to table the report. That is why we have asked for an extension of time. I call upon Hon. Kawanjiku from Kiambaa Constituency to second the Motion. Thank you.

Member for Kiambaa.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. Considering that we are going on recess, it is paramount that we be considerate of time. I second. Hon. Members, is it the mood of the House that I put the Question?

[(Question proposed)]

Yes! Next Order.

[(Question put and agreed to)]

Chairperson, please proceed.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, I beg to move the following Motion: THAT, this House adopts the Report of the National Government Constituencies Development Fund on two Constituency Committees, laid on the Table of the House on Tuesday, 21st March 2023 and, pursuant to the provisions of Section 43 (4) of the National Government Constituency Development Fund Act, 2015 and Paragraphs 5 (2) and (10) of the …

On a point of order, Hon. Temporary Speaker.

Leader of the Majority Party, what is out of order?

Hon. Temporary Speaker, I am sorry to interrupt the Chair of the NG-CDF Committee, who was doing a very good job. However, when I look around the House, I do not see the Members for Samburu East and Kandara constituencies. From the 11th and 12th Parliament, the two Houses I have been a Member, it has been a tradition that when we are approving the names of NG-CDF Committee Members, the Members of…

the House. They include: Hon. (Dr) James Nyikal, Seme Constituency; Hon. Peter Kaluma, Homa Bay Town Constituency; Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo, Funyula Constituency; Hon. Agnes Mantaine, Narok South Constituency; Hon. Memusi Kanchory, Kajiado Central; Hon. Alice Ng’ang’a, Thika Town Constituency; Hon. Kassim Tandaza, Matuga Constituency; Hon. Catherine Omanyo, Busia County and, of course, the Member f…

[(Loud consultations)]

Leader of the Majority Party, you have made your point.

I will send Mr. Odinga and the people he was with at that Press conference to my three-year-old daughter to just inform him where I was on that particular Tuesday and see his hallucinations.

[(Laughter)]

On a point of order, Hon. Temporary Speaker.

Leader of the Majority Party. Hon. Members, there are so many points of order but, there is a very important matter that has been raised by the Leader of the Majority Party on this subject. Hon. Nyikal on my left.

Thank you Hon. Temporary Speaker. First of all, my point of order is…

What is out of order first of all Hon. Nyikal?

What is out of order is this: He is mentioning people’s names who are not in the House and in a negative way. Yesterday, your counterpart, Hon. Temporary Speaker Farah said that is out of order. I think he mentioned Standing Order No. 87. You can exactly say what they did, but you cannot go on to say somebody is having hallucinations. That is not a fact. You can say he said this and he said that, …

Very well Member for Seme. Hon. Members I would like you to desist from mentioning individuals negatively in your debate. Leader of the Majority Party, I would like to give you a chance to clarify on that matter

and if you did not mean it, then you may wish to withdraw especially on the part of hallucinations.

You know Hon. Temporary Speaker, Hon. Nyikal knows because he has been in the Government that Standing Order No. 87 (3) , says: “It shall be out of order to use offensive or insulting language, whether in respect of Members of the House or other persons”. It does not even say other persons who are not in the House. It is any other person. That is why I am very cautious with what I say and how I …

[(Loud consultations)]

On a point of order, Hon. Temporary Speaker.

Hon. Members, if you say point of order and I cannot see your name on the intervention, what do I do? Hon. Kaluma, Member for Homa Bay Town.

I thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. You know when you make a ruling as the Speaker, we should be led in respecting it, beginning by the Leader of the Majority Party. I think our good friend is forgetting himself at times. Leader of the Majority Party, you are the leader of this entire House and, by the way, you are the fourth in Government ranking. So, when a side of the House requests you to sh…

Hon. Members, I do not wish to continue with these points of order. We will not be able to transact the business that we were transacting, and I would like to request you Hon. Members to be led by our Standing Order No. 87 (3) which says: “It shall be out of order to use offensive or insulting language, whether in respect of Members of the House or other persons.” Hon. Members, the guidance that …

we can discuss the matter of NG-CDF when Hon. Members of the concerned constituencies are not in the House. Hon. Members, I order that, that business is dropped. (Motion No.10 dropped) It will be scheduled again by the House Business Committee. Let us proceed. Next Order. Thank you very much. Hon. Tonkei, you may proceed.