Tuesday, 14th February 2023

Can the Serjeant-at-Arms ring the Quorum Bell?

Hon. Members, we now have quorum to transact business. Let us proceed, Clerk-at-the-Table.

Where are the Members escorting the Hon. Members-elect?

Order, Hon. Members! A solemn act is taking place now. The Oath of Office was administered to:

Congratulations! You may proceed and sign the Oath of Office. Next Order.

Hon. Members, I have a few short communications to make. The first one is on business that lapsed at the end of the First Session and reconstitution of Sessional Committees.

I take this opportunity to welcome you back for commencement of the Second Session of the 13th Parliament. It is my hope that, after the well-deserved break, you are now fully rejuvenated and ready for the heavy duty and legislative agenda that lies ahead of us in this first part of the Session. It is my hope that the induction workshops and the post-election seminars recently undertaken have been useful in enriching your parliamentary knowledge and

understanding of the workings of committees and the House, thereby making you more effective legislators.

Although the just concluded First Session was short, I am impressed that the House jelled, put in place structures and laid the foundation necessary for seamless discharge of its constitutional mandate. Indeed, over that brief period, the House transacted various business, among them the consideration of various appointments to state offices, introduction and processing of Bills, petitions and individual Members' Motions, among other key business.

Hon. Members, my next Communication relates to guidance on the consideration of the Special Motion on the appointment of a Parliamentary Service Commissioner who is not a Member of Parliament.

This guidance relates to the Paper that will be laid by a Member of the Parliamentary Service Commission, Hon. Faith Gitau, who is not here, but I have directed the Leader of the Majority Party to lay the Paper and the subsequent Notice of Motion, on her behalf. The Paper and the Notice of Motion relates to the proposed appointment of Hon. Johnston Muthama as a Member of the Parliamentary Service Commission. Hon. Members, Article 127(2)(d) of the Constitution provides for the appointment of two persons, being one man and one woman, from amongst persons who have experience in public affairs but are not Members of Parliament, to the Parliamentary Service Commission. The position of male non-Member of the Parliamentary Service Commission fell vacant following the resignation of Commissioner Hon. Samuel Chepkonga for purposes of contesting an elective position in the general elections that took place on 9thAugust, 2022. Hon. Chepkonga won and is now a Member of this House. Consequently, and in accordance with the provisions of Article 127 of the Constitution and Section 9 of the Parliamentary Service Act, 2019, Parliament is required to appoint a person of the male gender to fill the now vacant position. It is worth noting that unlike the usual procedure for consideration of nominees to serve in other statutory and constitutional bodies where Parliamentary Committees participate in the appointment processes by way of vetting and approval of appointments, in the case of the Parliamentary Service Commission, the appointment is by Parliament itself. Moreover, the Houses of Parliament have now established a practice that, save for the Chairperson, all other Members of the Commission are appointed by the Houses of Parliament. This implies that the recruitment process undertaken by the Commission serves the purpose of vetting the proposed nominee and the person stands appointed once both Houses approve the nomination. Hon. Members, the House will, therefore, consider the Special Motion on the basis of the Report that will be laid on the Table of the House by the Leader of the Majority Party, on behalf of the Commission, and the attendant Notice of Motion. I call upon the House Business Committee to schedule the Motion at the earliest opportunity for expeditious consideration by the House – acknowledging that the Senate will also consider the nominee – so as to ensure that the Commission is fully constituted. The House is accordingly guided.

The Serjeant-at-Arms, Safety and Security Department of Parliament, the Officer Commanding Parliament Police Station and other security agencies are instructed to enforce the security arrangements and measures at all times.

I thank you. Hon. Members, this will cause you some discomfort but it is better to be uncomfortable than unsafe. I urge us to be able to co-operate with the agencies so that our presence in the precincts of Parliament, our duty, work and everything is safe in accordance with the established procedures.

Thank you. Hon. Members at the back, take your seats. Hon. Mulyungi, take the nearest seat.

Hon. Members, I have three short Messages. Standing Order 42 (2) states that if a Message is received from the President at a time when the House is not in Session, the Speaker shall forthwith cause the Message to be transmitted to every Member and shall report the Message to the House on the day of the House’s next Sitting. In this regard, Hon. Members, I wish to report to the House that on 9th December 2022, I received a Message from His Excellency the President regarding various proposals, including proposals to amend the Constitution and the Standing Orders to ensure gender inclusivity and affirmative action, establishment of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) , the Senate Oversight Fund, the National Government Affirmative Action Fund, and establishment of the Office of the Leader of the Official Opposition and strengthening of Parliamentary oversight of the Executive.

In the Message, His Excellency the President notes the legislative endeavours to facilitate greater political participation by women as well as sustained increase in the number of elected women leaders in the current political formation. The situation, however, falls short of the minimum constitutional requirement and, therefore, necessitating deliberate action from all stakeholders. This will, for example, include amendment of the Constitution to provide for a formula to guide the computation of the gender ratio based on the number of Members elected from the constituencies in the case of the National Assembly, the counties and the Senate, in line with Articles 97 (1) (a) and 98 (1) (a) of the Constitution.

The Message also conveys proposals to institutionalise the Constituency Development Fund, the Senate Oversight Fund and the National Government Affirmative Action Fund, noting the great impact that such Funds have had to the general good of the of public.

In order to ensure greater political inclusivity and promote effective checks and balances, and promote sound institutional practices, His Excellency the President has proposed the establishment of the Office of the Leader of Official Opposition noting that this will inculcate bipartisan symmetry between the majority and minority sides to its full logical extent.

Hon Members, the Message from the President also conveys a proposal for increased parliamentary oversight of the Executive through the facilitating avenues for accountability through parliamentary business. Specifically, it is proposed that the rules of the House be reviewed to allow Cabinet Secretaries to respond to Questions raised by Members on the Floor of the House. This will enhance transparency and close the information gap between citizens and the Government, thereby enhancing public trust.

Hon. Members, in line with the Resolution of the House of Wednesday, 12th October 2022 relating to the consideration of certain business received during the recess periods, I did transmit this Message to all Members vide my Notification Number 004 of 9th December 2022. I also referred the Message to respective Committees as follows:

Hon. Members, the Committees are required to consider the Message from the President, undertake necessary public participation as required under Article 118 of the Constitution, and submit their respective reports to the House for consideration.

Noting the weighty nature of the proposal contained in the Message from the President, I urge the respective Committees to hasten the consideration of the specified matters and report back to the House as soon as it is practicable.

Additionally, pursuant to Standing Oder 114(7)(a), I shall facilitate general debate on the Message from His Excellency the President on the matters relating to amendment of the Constitution as part of the collection of views on the proposed changes.

Indeed, Hon. Members, you will notice from the Order Paper that the general debate on these three matters is scheduled to commence on Wednesday, 15th January 2023, subject to approval by the House Business Committee (HBC). Members who may have similar or related proposals are encouraged to make submissions at the appropriate time.

I thank you.

Hon. Members, Standing Order 42 (1) relating to Messages from the President provides that the Speaker shall read to the House any Message from the President delivered to the Speaker for communication to the House.In this regard, I wish to report to the House that I have received a Message from His Excellency the President regarding nomination of persons for appointment as Members of the National Climate Change Council. In the Message, His Excellency the President conveys that, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 7 of the Climate Change Act 2016, he has nominated the following persons for appointment as Members of the National Climate Change Council from the entities listed in sub-section (2) , paragraphs (f) , (g) (h) and (i) of the Act, respectively:

Hon. Members, having guided the House, I now refer the Message, together with the resume of each nominee and letters of recommendation from the relevant bodies, to the Departmental Committee on Environment, Forestry and Mining of the National Assembly sitting jointly with the Senate Standing Committee on Land, Environment and Natural Resources, or such other appropriate committee of the Senate, for consideration. I also further instruct the Clerk to coordinate with the Clerk of the Senate so as to immediately facilitate the process of the statutory notifications to the general public ahead of the first sitting of the Joint Committee.

I thank you.

Hon. Members, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 42, I wish to report to the House that I have received a Message from His Excellency the President regarding the nomination of a person for appointment as the Solicitor-General of the Government of Kenya.

In the Message, His Excellency the President conveys that, in exercise of powers conferred by Section 9 (1) of the Office of the Attorney-General Act, 2012, as read together with Sections 3 and 5 of the Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Act, 2012, the President has nominated Hon. Shadrack John Mose for appointment as the Solicitor-General, having received the Report of the Public Service Commission on the recruitment of the Solicitor-General. The President now seeks the approval of the Nominee by the House.

Hon. Members, in accordance with the provisions of Standing Order 45, I hereby refer the Message from His Excellency the President, together with the Curriculum Vitae and the Report of the Public Service Commission, to the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs for consideration.

Hon. Members, Section 8 of the Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Act, 2012 provides that unless otherwise provided in law, the Committee to which such nomination is referred shall consider the matter and table a report in the House within 28 days. In this regard, the Committee is expected to immediately commence the approval process, notify the nominee and the general public of the time and place for holding approval hearings, and, thereafter, upon conclusion of the hearings, table its report on or before Thursday, 9th March 2023, to enable the House to consider the matter within the statutory timelines.

Next Order!

Hon. Speaker, as you alluded to earlier, I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table:

Next Order!

Hon. Leader of the Majority Party.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to give notice of the following Motion, on behalf of the Parliamentary Service Commission.

THAT, taking onto consideration the recommendation of the Parliamentary Service Commission in its Report on the recruitment of the Parliamentary Service Commissioner who is not a Member of Parliament, laid on

the Table of the House today Tuesday, 14th February 2023; and pursuant to the provisions of Article 127(2)(d) of the Constitution, this House appoints Hon. Johnstone Muthama as a member of the Parliamentary Service Commission. I thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Thank you. Next Order!

THAT, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 171 (1) (f) , this House approves the appointment of the following Members to the House Business Committee, in addition to those specified under paragraphs (a) , (b) , (c) , (d) and

accommodate these two Members into Committees of the House and to engage in the business of legislation, oversight and representing the great people of Kandara and those of Garissa Township.

With those remarks, I beg to move and ask Hon. Robert Mbui to second the Motion.

Thank you, Hon Speaker. I rise to second the

Motion on appointment of Members to the House Business Committee. This Committee is

Order, Hon. Members.

I see my screen has about 10 people.

Put the Question.

Hon. Wandayi.

I can read the mood of the House quite correctly, but allow me to just say one or two things.

This is, indeed, a Sessional Committee that we are duty-bound to constitute every time we start a new Session such as this one. As you might have noted, the two sides of the House have essentially retained the old membership of this very important Committee. Just as Hon. Ichung’wah has indicated, I hope we shall soon convene the Committee on Selection to not only address the interests of the new Members who have joined us today, but also to do some re-organisation so that we can have the House running more robustly during this very important Session.

The Second Session of the House is very different from the First Session. The First Session essentially deals with housekeeping issues. But this Session is so critical that we must put to rest the issue of Committees and their placements. Hon. Ichung’wah, we shall seek to have that Committee convened as soon as possible – if possible this week – so that we can dispense with this matter.

Hon. Speaker, let me also add my voice to what Hon. Mbui has said. We need to take it upon ourselves, as a House in this Session, to address those very critical issues that are a constant to the ordinary Kenyan. One of the issues is that on Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC). As we speak, there is total chaos, confusion and, in fact, madness in our schools. It is as if there is no Government in place. As a House, we need to assert ourselves, if not on anything else, on this matter because playing around with our children’s future is committing communal suicide. This Session must start on the right footing.

Thank you and God bless.

Is it the mood of the House that we put the Question?

Yes.

Hon. Members, you have now just passed the House Business Committee (HBC) that has to go and programme the business of the House starting tomorrow morning. I, therefore, order all Members who have been approved as Members of the HBC to proceed to the meeting room immediately at the rise of the House.

I now request you to be upstanding.

Hon. Members, there being no further business on the Order Paper, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow, Wednesday, 15th February 2023, at 9.30 a.m.

The House rose at 3.16 p.m.

Published by Clerk of the National Assembly Parliament Buildings Nairobi