Wednesday, 30th March 2022

Ring the Quorum Bell.

Very well. The Leader of the Majority Party.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table of the House:

The County Governments Budget Implementation Review Report for the first half of the FY 2021/2022 from the Office of the Controller of Budget.

The Fourteenth Edition of Bi-Annual Report on the Status of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Control in Kenya for the period from January to June 2021, from the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse.

Reports of the Auditor-General and Financial Statements in respect of the following institutions for the year ended 30th June 2021, and the certificates therein:

Next Order.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I rise to ask Question No.090/2022 to the Cabinet Secretary of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing, Urban Development and Public Works:

Hon. Martin Owino, you are always in the chamber; but pay attention when the Leader of the Majority Party will be reading out Questions that will be responded to every coming week so as to ensure you appear before the Committee. It is not the business of the Committee to call Members, but they have a responsibility to themselves and their constituents to always be here in the chamber and make follow-ups. More importantly, to know when the Leader of the Majority Party is indicating a particular Question or when a cabinet secretary will be appearing before a particular committee to respond to whatever number of Questions and Statements.

Hon. Speaker, I agree, but talking to the Chair, the meeting never took place.

Now you have answered the Question. That is water under the bridge, and it must have been in the other session.

I think so.

That is finished, hiyo ya ule wakati mwingine yaliisha, sasa tugange yajayo. There is somebody who did not get tugange yajayo, and thought it is something different; yaliyopita si ndwele. The Member for Kangundo seems to enjoy that because he knows who the culprit was. The Question will be replied before the Departmental Committee on Transport, Public Works and Housing and the Chair is in the House.

The next Question is by the Member for Kuria East, Hon Marwa Maisori, who has written to me requesting that the Question be deferred so that it can be redrafted. His request has been acceded to. So the Question is deferred.

Question No.091/2022

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I rise to ask Question No.092/2022:

The Question will be replied to before the Departmental Committee on Transport, Public Works and Housing. The next segment is on Statements, but there are no requests. Hon Sankok what is your intervention about?

Hon Speaker, I want to seek your guidance because yesterday we had the Supplementary Budget. As a House, we adopted the Report of the Parliamentary Committee on Broadcasting and Library on the Formulation of Parliamentary Broadcasting Channel last year, but I did not see it reflecting in the budget. We really need to implement this so that Parliament can tell its own story. The story of Parliament is being told by bloggers and the mainstream media, and they choose what to air and what not to air.

The work we do in our committees has never been told, yet there is a lot that we do during our committee meetings. We had passed that Report and adopted it, but it seems that Parliament is not ready to implement it. There is a social media platform that Parliament is doing called ‘The Lawmaker’ by Hiram Omondi and Macharia. I urge the Members of Parliament to contact them so that our stories can be told by us rather than waiting for them to tell our stories.

Hon. Speaker, I wanted your guidance on when this Report will be implemented and how we will have our broadcasting channel rather than depending on the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) , yet we do not even have an employee or staff of Parliament there.

Hon. Speaker, your story would have been told to an extent that we would not be referring to you as Hon. Speaker, but Your Excellency, the incoming President. We do not have a channel to tell what we do or how you sit on that Chair up to midnight. If there is a channel to tell the country what you do before you come to the chamber, it would create a different perception out there. So, I just wanted your guidance.

First of all, do you sit in the Parliamentary Broadcasting and Library Committee?

No, I am just keen in following, but I do not sit in that Committee.

That is very good and being very proactive. Indeed, it is true that the Report was adopted, and I must thank the Committee on Implementation, chaired by Hon. ole Kenta because they have also moved with speed to find out about the implementation status. I know they have written to the Secretary, Parliamentary Service Commission, on the issue of funding for purposes of implementing that Resolution. Hon. ole Kenta, is that correct?

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. In fact, we have been pursuing that matter, and even insisted that some money be put in the budget for this particular purpose. I would like to assure the Member that it shall be done, definitely.

Yeah. Indeed, I like the action taken by the Committee on Implementation in that regard. That should just tell you that I follow up on what is happening.

What is it again?

Hon. Speaker, how do you have all this information on your fingertips? All of it! I am shocked!

That is the job you gave me. I am happy that the Committee on Implementation is really following up on this matter. I am in receipt of the Report by this Committee, and the action taken by demanding the Secretary to the Parliamentary Service Commission to appear and explain why there is delay in the implementation of this Resolution of the House.

One of the legacies I hope this House will remember is that you agreed to create the Committee on Implementation, which ensures that the Resolutions of the House are implemented by whomsoever they may be directed to. This is a very good thing.

Member for Murang’a, you had indicated you have a Statement?

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

The Chair of the Departmental Committee on Health and not the Member for Murang’a.

Hon. Speaker Sir, I rise pursuant to Standing Order 44 (2) (c) to give a Statement to this House on a matter regarding a Statement sought by Hon. Moses Kuria, concerning medical products and devices being promoted and sold in the country by M/s Ceragem (Kenya) Limited.

In the Statement, Hon. Moses Kuria sought to know the following:

(ii) If the said products are approved by both the Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB), and the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS). (iii) If there are any outlets of Ceragem in Kenya. (iv) If the Ministry of Health is aware of the ban issued on Ceragem products in the United States of America.

Hon. Speaker, the Departmental Committee on Health took up the matter and engaged the Ministry of Health and the Pharmacy and Poisons Board. The Ministry of Health tasked the Pharmacy and Poisons Board to undertake an investigation on the matter. The Pharmacy and Poisons Board, which is the national drug regulatory authority in the Ministry of Health, gave us a few findings. Ceragem is a health science company with its origin in South Korea. It started in South Korea in 1998 as an alternative treatment method, and has spread to over 80 countries worldwide. Ceragem discovered that most health issues and lifestyle diseases have their origin in the spine (central nervous system), and came up with a solution to this through research and development of Ceragem thermal acupressure devices.

In Kenya, Total Ceragem Africa Limited was registered in February, 2018, and the Ceragem head office is located in Comet House, 1st Floor, Room 14b, on Monrovia Street. Their basic products range include automatic spinal thermal massager (Ceratonic master V3), internal waste and fats remover (slim belt), Ceratonic belt (ceramic B1), thermal therapeutic ceratonic mat (ceraball S1), and many other products. The alternative medicine principles applied by Ceragem are massage, thermal and sound therapy.

During the investigation, the Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) visited all the 11 Ceragem Africa Limited branches in the country, which are:

headquarters.

During the investigation, the Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) made the following findings:

Hon. Speaker, Ceragem Thermal Massagers are the major supplies that are imported. All products stocked had their labels and package inserts written in English. No signs of tampering were reported or witnessed. On reference materials, there were books.

After conducting the investigations, the PPB observed as follows:

limited was duly registered by the Registrar of Companies and

products were not registered by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board.

healthcare consultation card was a tool used to capture new client

(Experience Ceragem at Home) is a customer home trial agreement of

Poisons Board held on Thursday, 21st October 2021, the Committee considered the Ministry’s and the Board’s investigative report regarding medical products and devices being promoted and sold in the country by Ceragem Kenya Ltd, and agreed to the following proposed recommendations.

was to cease distribution and operations with immediate

before reopening.

to the clients, and evidence that clients will receive training on the use of the devices before the company could resume operations.

I beg to table.

Does the person who sought the Statement have the capacity to attend the sittings? Very well. Just table it for the benefit of the House.

Next Order.

Is that the Member for Nyaribari Chache? I may not know that other Hon. Member.

Hon. Members, debate on this Bill at the Committee of the whole House was concluded, but the Question could not be put for agreement. I, therefore, proceed to put the Question for agreement.

Let us have the Mover.

Hon Speaker, I beg to move that the Radiographers Bill (National Assembly Bill No.47 of 2019) , be now read a Third Time.

I also request Hon. Owino to second.

Hon. Owino.

Hon. Speaker, I second.

Put the Question!

Having confirmed that the House has Quorum, I will put the Question.

Order, Hon. Members! We are now in the Committee of the whole House to consider the Health Laws (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No.2 of 2021) .

Hon. Chair?

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended —

expertise in matters related to the pharmacy profession. It also seeks to include the Attorney- General in the membership of the board in line with the provisions of Section 6(1)(d) of the State Corporations Act, Cap 446.

The amendment further includes the Director-General for Health in the board as this inclusion is necessary for the purposes of provision of the sector-specific technical knowledge and expertise. It also introduces the provision providing for the corporate status of the board so as to enable it to perform its functions independently as a legal entity.

I move. (Question of the amendment proposed) (Question, that the words to be left out be left out, put and agreed to) (Question, that the words to be inserted in place thereof be inserted, put and agreed to (Section 3 as amended agreed to)

I have noticed that Hon. Didmus Barasa has an amendment on this one, but since the Chair’s amendment has been carried, his amendments fall. So, we can proceed.

Section 4

Hon. Chair.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended —

Can I go on to put the Question?

On a point of order, Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady.

Yes, Hon. Sankok?

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, we have been given today’s Order Paper, but most of us are really lost and we would like to know where we are. Hon Shamalla, who is a law maker and a very competent lawyer, is also lost.

Hon. Sankok, you are also a law maker, and you cannot also purport to speak for everybody.

Yes, Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady.

It is fair enough to say that you are lost. Speak for yourself.

Go to Page 336 of your Order Paper. Hon. Sankok, are you okay? Page 336 (b) .

Hon. Chair, we have a bit of regularisation to do to the Schedule before us here. So, you can finalise your consultations. Yes, Hon. Wandayi?

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I am just seeking your indulgence in view of the mix-up we are facing with the Schedule. Therefore, would it be right for us to take some time off as the regularisation continues, or if we cannot, we could take this chance to deliberate on other pertinent issues that concern the nation.

Do not worry, Hon. Wandayi. We are on course and just need to synchronise the Order Paper.

This is especially on the lies being peddled by my friend, Hon. Sankok.

Order, Hon. Wandayi! You are now out of order. Take the microphone away from him. We should give the Chair a few seconds to finalise her consultations, and then we move on.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I think we are fine and should move to Section 3B.

Yes, so we will just go back a little.

It is on Page 336, and then we go to (c) and (d) , as per the Order Paper.

Hon. Members, check Page 336 on the Order Paper. Section 3B

I call upon the Chairlady.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended —

The amendment seeks to ensure that the Pharmacy and Poisons Board shall perform its functions relating to the regulation of medicinal substance in consultation with the Board of Management of the National Quality Control Laboratory.

I beg to move. (Question of the amendment proposed) (Question, that the words to be inserted be inserted, put and agreed to) (Section 3 as amended agreed to) Section 4

We are on the same page, Hon. Sankok. Look at (c) , which is on Section 4.

Chair?

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to that move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended —

Member for Nyando?

Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady. I am in support of this because we have seen situations where we have even numbers and during voting, there has been a gridlock. So, when it is odd numbers as it is being proposed by the Chairlady, it helps to settle any other impasses that may emanate from a voting pattern.

Hon. Sankok?

I am okay because an even number for voting purposes is not tenable. Again, as far as we have 11 members according to Mwongozo, and half of them, which is five members, is quorum, then I support.

(Question, that the words to be left out be left out, put and agreed to) (Section 4 as amended agreed to) New Section 5

(New Section 5 agreed to)

The new Section 5 is on page 7 of the Bill and we have no amendments to it. Section 35C

Chair.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended —

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended —

Chair.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended —

Chair.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended —

Hon. Sankok.

The way this Board is being proposed, I see Members like the Principal Secretary and Director-General for Health. Both the Principal Secretary and the Director General for Health come from the Government side. I think the need to have State corporations on such boards is to bring the corporate world into Government management. We should have more professionals than people within the Government quarters.

Hon. Chair, do you want to clarify?

Yes, Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady. This is a very sensitive Board and there have been struggles before. It has a history because if was first under the Pharmacy and Poisons Board and that is why we are making it an independent Board.

On (g) , we have one pharmacist who is not a public officer with knowledge and experience in drug analysis, pharmaceutical manufacturing and regulatory affairs of health products and technology. We also have one person from the healthcare profession having knowledge and experience in quality management services. So, we already have outsiders voice within the Board and a non-executive chair. The concerns of Hon. Sankok are already well taken care of.

Hon. Ndindi Nyoro.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady. As we talk about the executive chair, we need to debunk the issue of 10 years’ experience because we are dealing with gadgets and devices in terms of diagnostics. Technology keeps changing. Experience may actually mean inexperience because every other year and every other time, you are dealing with new things because technology is very dynamic. I, therefore, oppose the proposal of a 10 years’ experience. If we have presidents around the world who are even barely 30 years managing a country, what is a board to need 10 years’ experience?

Hon. Chair, do you want to say something before we put the Question?

Yes. This is just a point of information to my colleague and friend Hon. Ndindi. We are talking about the National Quality Control Laboratory, where the drugs that we consume in this country are approved and tested. This is not about gadgets. It is mainly about the medicines that we take and that is why we are talking about a non-executive chair who is a registered pharmacist of good standing with a degree in Pharmacy and at least has experience in the pharmaceutical sector which is a huge sector. On this one, we cannot take a chance. Experience is key.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move.

Hon. Martin Owino.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady. I just want to support our Chair on this because it has been a struggle between the Pharmacy and Poisons Board and the National Quality Control to an extent that these two sectors were not

functioning. The 10 years’ experience is needed because of the sensitivity of these actions needed by the QFC.

Hon. Ndindi Nyoro, you will never beat experience even if you are so qualified with a Doctorate. I think that is totally in place.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady.

Leader of the Majority Party.

I think the need for these amendments came from request on the Floor of this House to harmonise all these regulatory bodies with those where the House had already passed similar rules and laws. If you look across, about all of them have a requirement of a 10 years’ experience for the Chairman. It would be unfair to go to the Quality Control Board and tell them to provide for less years while the other chairmen are required to have a 10 years’ experience. You will realise that all the amendments coming from the regulatory bodies and ones that were passed in the Health Laws Bill of 2019 were proposing 10 years. There is need for harmony within other institutions.

We can now move on. Can I put the Question?

(Section 35F as amended agreed to)

Section 35G

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended by deleting the proposed amendment to section 35G. This amendment seeks to retain the function of the National Quality Control Laboratory Board

(NQCLB)

as an independent entity and body corporate. The same is true of the subsequent amendments. We have retained the functions of the Board. I move.

(Question, that the words to be left

(Section 35G as amended agreed to)

out be left out, put and agreed to) Section 35H

Chairperson.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

(Section 35H as amended agreed to)

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended by deleting the proposed amendment to section 35H. This is a consequential amendment on the NQCLB. I move

Section 35I

Chairperson.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

(Section 35I as amended agreed to)

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended by deleting the proposed amendment to section 35I. This is to harmonise powers relating to the Director of the NQCLB.

Section 35J

Chairperson.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

(Section 35J as amended agreed to)

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended by deleting the proposed amendment to section 35J. This amendment seeks to retain the financial provisions relating to the NQCLB. I move.

Section 35K

Chairperson.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended by deleting the proposed amendment to section 35K. This is to retain the requirement of issuance of certificates of analyses by the NQCLB. I move.

(Question, that the words to be left

(Section 35K as amended agreed to)

out be left out, put and agreed to)

Chairperson.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended by deleting the proposed amendments to section 3A and substituting therefor the following new amendments− Delete and substitute therefor the following new section− Composition of the Council. 3A. (1) The Council shall consist of—

Chair.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended —

Commission”.

This amendment seeks to make express reference to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) as the body which is constitutionally mandated to review and determine the salaries of public officers.

(Question of the amendment proposed) (Question, that the words to be left out be left out, put and agreed to) (Question, that the words to be inserted in place thereof be inserted, put and agreed to) (New Section 4E as amended agreed to) (Section 15(10)(A) agreed to) (Provisions relating to the Medical Practitioners and Dentists Act, Cap. 253 as amended agreed to)

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended —

management; and

if—

This amendment introduces the qualifications for one to be appointed as the Chairperson of the Council. It also seeks to ensure that the Council shall comprise of persons who have knowledge and expertise in nursing profession. It also seeks to include the Principal Secretary for Health in the membership to be in charge of finances in compliance with the provision of Section 6(1) of the State Corporations.

The amendment further provides with certainty the institution which shall nominate representatives in the Council. This is an improvement of the Bill which only provided that the Cabinet Secretary shall appoint the persons who are not public officers.

(Question of the amendment proposed) Question, that the words to be left out be left out, put and agreed to) (Question, that the words to be inserted in place thereof be inserted, put and agreed to)

(Section 4 as amended agreed to)

Chair, you should not disappear. You need to seek leave to consult.

Sorry, Hon. Temporary Deputy

Chair.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move….

Chair, wait a minute.

Did you put the global Question for what you have finished?

Yes, we did. We have now moved to the next section.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended —

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Chair. I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended — by deleting the proposed amendments to the National Hospital Insurance Fund Act, No. 9 of 1998−

The deletion of the proposed amendments in totality to the National Hospital Insurance Fund Act No. 8 of 1998 is necessary since the matters proposed to be amended were already contained in the National Hospital Insurance Fund

(Amendment)

Bill, 2021 which was passed by this House on 21st December, 2021 and therefore, they were overtaken by events. So, the entire proposed amendments collapses.

(Question, that the words to be left out be left out,

put and agreed to) (Proposed amendments relating to the National Hospital Insurance Fund Act, No. 9 of 1998 deleted)

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chair, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended — in the proposed amendments to the Kenya Medical Laboratory Technicians and Technologists Act, No. 10 of 1999− by deleting the proposed amendment to section 2;

This is a deletion. The Amendment in the Bill seeks to ensure that the Association of the Kenya Medical Laboratory Scientific Officers is retained as defined in the Act since there shall be a representative of the association to be included in the composition of the board. I beg to move.

(Question, that the words to be left out be left out,

(Section 2 as amended agreed to)

put and agreed to) Section 6

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chair, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended —

Hon. Ndindi.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Chair. Going through the composition of the board, you notice that other than the Government officers, the other four remaining are actually drawn from one sector. The services that are being offered especially this being a Government entity should also include the real clients who are the normal citizens of Kenya. Now this looks like a club because every other person in the board is from strictly one field. Therefore, this would have been opened up even for normal people because those are the actual clients of the medical sector.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chair, do you want to say something? Hon. Ndindi, there are no normal and abnormal people. Maybe you should have made specific recommendation. Hon. Chair, you could say something about that?

Exactly. All people are normal. Secondly, this is a laboratory board which requires high tech skills, so you may want to invite other people but they may not add a lot of value to this board. I hear Hon. Ndindi and his concern, but at this point for the medical laboratory, for this board to function, we really need high expertise on this board. So, thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Chair.

Member for Ndhiwa.

I just want to add that these are regulatory boards. If there is a management board, that would be a different scenario to include others who are consumers or partakers in other ways.

(Question, that the words to be left out be left out,

put and agreed to) (Question, that the words to be inserted in place thereof be inserted, put and agreed to) (Section 6 as amended agreed to) (New Section 10 A, Section 23 (2), Section 24 (4), Section 25 (2) and Section 25 (3) agreed to) Section 26(1)(a)

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended —

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended —

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended —

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended —

(Question, that the words to be inserted in place thereof be inserted, put and agreed to) (Section 5 as amended agreed to) (New Section 5A agreed to) (Provisions relating to the Tobacco Control Act, Act No.4 of 2007 as amended agreed to)

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended —

Member for Ndhiwa.

I do not know whether we will do further amendment. They seem to be only eight members. It could be odd. An odd number would be better. Right? Did I count right? They seem to be only eight.

Three plus four is seven. Then, see who is an ex officio. I think they are seven because we have the three plus four. The CEO is ex officio and the chair is non-executive. So, seven is an odd number. They are nine if we add the CEO and the non-executive chair, who will not be voting. So, we are okay. We are fine.

(Question, that the words to be left out be left out, put and agreed to) (Question, that the words to be inserted be inserted, put and agreed to) (Section 5 as amended agreed to) Section 9

I beg to move: THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended—

I beg to move: THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended—

(Question, that the word to be inserted in place thereof be inserted, put and agreed to)

I beg to move: THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended—

I beg to move: THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended—

(Section 3(4) and New Section 3A agreed to) Section 6

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move: THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended—

Chair, you need to mobilise voices for the sake of your own.

(Question, that the words to be left

out be left out, put and agreed to)

Paragraph 1 of the Schedule

Thank you Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended—

Thank you Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended—

quality of such drugs and medical supplies of the highest standard and that they are not compromised for the safety of Kenyans.

(Question of the amendment proposed) (Question, that the words to be inserted be inserted, put and agreed to) (New Subsection 3 as amended agreed to) New Subsection 4

Thank you Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move: THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended—

Thank you Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move: THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended—

in the Board for the purpose of technical expertise and specify with certainty the institutions which will nominate representatives into the membership of the Board.

(Question of the amendment proposed) (Question, that the words to be left out be left out, put and agreed to) (Question, that the words to be inserted be inserted, put and agreed to) (Section 5(5) as amended agreed to) (Provisions relating to the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority Act, No. 20 of 2013 as amended agreed to)

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended—

be inserted, put and agreed to) (Section 4(4) as amended agreed to) (Provisions relating to Counsellors and Psychologists Act, No. 14 of 2014 as amended agreed to)

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended—

(iv) one shall be a person with knowledge and experience in matters relating to accounting, business management, public health, economics, law or any other relevant field; and

by the Cabinet Secretary from among members nominated by their relevant professional associations or institutions, each of which shall nominate two candidates in each category taking into consideration gender, ethnicity and regional balance.

This amendment introduces the qualification for one to be appointed the Chairperson of the Board. This is Physiotherapists Board. It also seeks to ensure that the Board is comprised of Members who are having the relevant knowledge and expertise in physiotherapy. It also includes the Director General for Health in the Council and specifies the institutions which shall nominate the five representatives who shall not be public officers.

(Question of the amendment proposed) Question, that the words to be left out be left out, put and agreed to) (Question, that the words to be inserted inserted, put and agreed to) (Section 6(6) as amended agreed to) (Section (6(10)(3)(a) and New Section 10A agreed to) (Provisions relating to Physiotherapists Act, No. 20 of 2014 as amended agreed to)

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended—

Section 7

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended—

Act, No. 15 of 2016 as amended agreed to)

Hon. Chairlady.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady. I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended–

Hon. Chairlady.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady. I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended—

Hon. Chairlady.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady. I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended in the proposed amendment to the First Schedule, by deleting the words “two-thirds” and substituting therefor the word “five”. This amendment seeks to set the quorum for conduct of meetings of the Council at five members since it will comprise of nine members. I move.

(Question, that the words to be left

out be left out, put and agreed to)

Section 30(1)(e)

Hon. Chairlady.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended—

Hon. Chairlady.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended—

Hon. Chairlady.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended—

Hon. Chairlady.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended—

I now call upon the Mover to move the new clause.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, the Bill be amended by inserting the following new clause immediately after Clause 2─ Transition.

Do you want to give an explanation?

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, this new clause introduces the transition provisions. This will ensure that there will be seamless transition from the former Boards and Councils to the new ones as they will be re-constituted as proposed in the Bill.

(Title agreed to)

I now call upon the Mover to report to the House. Leader of the Majority Party.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairlady, I beg to move that the Committee doth report to the House its consideration of the Health Laws (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 2 of 2021) , and its approval thereof with amendments.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I beg to report that a Committee of the whole House has considered the Health Laws (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 2 of 2021) , and approved the same with amendments.

The Temporary Deputy Speaker

: Very well. The Mover!

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I beg to move that the House agrees with the Committee in the said Report. I request the Chair of the Departmental Committee on Health, Hon. Sabina Chege, to second.

The Temporary Deputy Speaker

: Hon. Sabina Chege.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I second. I want to really thank the Members who are here who have helped us to move this Bill. I also want to thank the Temporary Deputy Chairlady and her team. We had many clauses. However, they took us through well. I thank my Vice-Chair, the Members of my Committee who are here and the Members of this House who, despite the busy schedule, got time to come and move these amendments that are very important in the medical field and health sector.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I second. The Temporary Deputy Speaker

: I could not have put it better than that.

Put the Question. The Temporary Deputy Speaker

: Hon. Angwenyi, I would have really loved to do that. However, for a good reason, I will defer it until that business is set down on the Order Paper again. I direct that we move on to the next business on the Order Paper.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I beg to that the Elections (Amendment) Bill, (National Assembly Bill No. 3 of 2022) , be now read a Second Time.

The principal objective of this Bill is to amend the Elections Act, No. 24 of 2011 to meet a number of ends. It seeks to align the provisions of the Elections Act of 2011 with the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 56 of 2021) , which was passed recently in this House. It brought a couple of changes in the way the political parties relate with one another, the way members relate with the political parties and the reporting of political parties to the Registrar. It also defined the role of the Registrar of Political Parties vis-à-vis the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) . This means that we need to bring some amendments. The Political Parties Act also introduced a coalition political party for the first time. Having introduced what is now a coalition political party, the existing electoral laws in the Election

Act do not recognise that. So, we need to change the definition in the election law now to also include this new creation - the coalition political parties, and also to provide for how that coalition political party will submit its nomination rules. The current requirements for nomination rules apply to the generic party and not to the coalition political parties.

The Bill also seeks an amendment to bar what would be called clientism and gerrymandering voter transfers. I know the Committee has a different view on that but one of the amendments in this Bill is to require that for you to transfer to a new constituency, or to register in a different area from one you are in, you need to show you have a stake in that area so that we end this situation where, close to elections, I will go to my neighbouring constituency and pick all the people from my clan and transport them to my constituency so that they can vote for me. Immediately after that, they move back to their constituency. They will be going there asking for bursaries and all that from somebody they never voted for. They have no interest in Kipipiri, but they will come specifically to vote for me but, eventually, go back to Nakuru and other places where I transported them from. This denies the rightful people of Kipipiri their representation because their representative was actually voted for by outsiders.

About two weeks ago, this House pronounced itself in terms of the other amendments. For a nominee to be nominated into the county assemblies, you must show you have an interest in that county assembly. Going by the same logic, I would hope that the House will also look at stopping this issue of voter mass movement around the voter transfers. I know the Committee has something to do with Article 38 and they will tell us on that.

It also seeks to align the electoral law like I said, Elections Act No. 24, with the judgment of the Supreme Court in the Presidential Election Petition No. 1 of 2017 and also in the High Court decision in the Katiba Institute and Others versus the Attorney General of 2018. The court made some certain pronouncements that challenged the validity of some of the provisions within the Act and declared some of them constitutionally invalid. So, they exist in books on electoral law and yet, they have been invalidated by the courts and this Bill intends to remove them so that anyone downloading the Act from the Kenya Law Reports Website does not refer to those Acts that have been invalidated. It is unfair keeping those things in the Act and yet, they have been nullified already by the courts. So, this is basically a clean-up exercise.

Most importantly, this Bill also requires the electoral commission to establish a complementary mechanism for transmission of election results whose details will be provided in the regulations. If I go into each of this and more systematically, there are various amendments that seek to align with the provisions of the Political Parties Act. They include Clauses 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18 and 19, which are basically about alignment of the responsibilities of the Registrar of Political Parties vis-à-vis the IEBC because of the distinction in their various roles. One sorts out the political parties to the time they get their candidates. The candidates then get to IEBC, and IEBC takes over. So, even some nomenclature is changing between what a nomination is, who does a nomination and who does registration of candidates. So, a number of that is purely to clean up the Act so that we make the right references to it.

Clause 2 proposes to amend Section 2, again, to provide for the updated definition. I said earlier that a political party should include a coalition political party. Clauses 7, 8 and 9 make amendments with the provision of elections that refer to the nomination of candidates to the positions of the president, member of parliament, governor and member of county assemblies to align with the Political Parties Act that refers to registration of candidates by the Commission. So, the nomination will be by the political parties which will be within the preserve of the Registrar of Political Parties and then the Commission will register the candidates to contest elections. There

will be no nomination by the IEBC for people to vie and register as candidates. That distinction is important so that when you are talking nominations, you are talking of party primaries, and when you are now talking of registration of candidates, you are talking of eligibility to vie in the election having been passed on by the political parties to IEBC.

I mentioned the issue of voter movement and I do not want to go through that again. I know it is a point having read the Committee Report. I know there are issues about Article 38 and giving a person the right to vie and a voter the right to choose a person of their choice. However, I think we also need to look at the bigger public interest - why people are being elected in to Parliament to represent the rights of people within those defined constituencies. Like I said, my worry which I think is the worry of IEBC and other stakeholders is: If half of the voters were to migrate just before the election into a constituency for purposes of voting a specific person and then go back to their constituency, it denies the rightful ordinary residents of that constituency their fair representation. I am sure the lawyers in the House will guide us. The fact that we will have rights should not interfere with the rights of others. So, it is important, much as you look at the individual rights of a person to elect a person of their choice, let this House also look at how we can protect the rights of the ordinary residents in a constituency from being interfered with by people who have just come in for purposes of voting a person and then they move out.

For the next five years, it will be the residents to suffer the problems associated with the wrong choice, and not the people who came in to vote. It is something that we need to look into. It cuts both ways and it is something we need to carefully look through.

I remember this provision used to be there in law. How it got out, I am not quite sure. In the past, when you wanted to register youth, you would be required to show proof that you actually had an interest in the area where you wanted to register. So, the Bill is saying that a voter must demonstrate that they are ordinary residents; that they are carrying on a business or they are employed or possess other properties in the electoral units. It basically means that they have an interest to protect by getting there to vote, and to get a representative vote for those interests. We represent the interests of the people. The senators represent the interests of the counties. So, if half of the people who come to vote for the Senator of Nyandarua County have no interest in Nyandarua County, when a person is brought to Senate, whose interest will they be representing? It will not be for the people of Nyandarua, but of the people who voted them in. So, it is something that I urge this House to address and look into with an open mind.

In terms of the alignment with court judgments, again, this Bill intends to delete provisions especially in Section 39 of the Act. The ones for deletion are 1(d), 1(e), 1(f) and 1(g). They were declared unconstitutional hence they have no business staying in the statute books. That is for clean-up purposes only.

If you look at the current Section 39(1)(c) which, perhaps, was also the subject of the….

On a point of order, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker.

The Temporary Deputy Speaker

: Leader of the Majority Party, just hold on for a second. The Hon. Member for Suba North, what is out of order?

Thank you Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me the opportunity. (Technical hitch) The electronic system is seeking to frustrate me.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, if you actually read the title of the Bill, it is Elections (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No.3 of 2022) . We realise that we are going to go

through elections. This is a very critical Bill. We cannot discuss when we are less than 20 Members in the House. There is no quorum in the House.

Thank you. (Hon. (Ms.) Odhiambo-Mabona spoke off record) The Temporary Deputy Speaker (Hon. Christopher Omulele): The Hon. Odhiambo, just relax. You are on record and clear and the rules are there. This Temporary Deputy Speaker is scrupulous as far as the rules are concerned.

Having drawn the Temporary Deputy Speaker’s “eye” to the question of quorum, it is incumbent upon me now to direct that the Quorum Bell be rung for 10 minutes.