APRIL 14, 2020 NATIONAL ASSEMBLY DEBATES 1 PARLIAMENT OF KENYA THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY THE HANSARD Tuesday, 14th April 2020 SECOND SITTING The House met at 5.12 p.m. [The Speaker (Hon. Justin Muturi) in the Chair] PRAYERS Hon. Junet Nuh (Suna East, ODM): On a point of order, Hon. Speaker. Hon. Speaker: Hon. Junet, you will give your point of order later. Hon. Members, this is guidance on future sittings of the National Assembly. As you are aware, the House will need to modify the mode of conducting business as the country continues to grapple with the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. I wish to highlight that with regard to future sittings of the House, I have instructed the Clerk of the National Assembly to always register Members who express the desire to attend Chamber sittings. You will be allocated a seat in the order in which you register on the official phone number and email address provided. Hon. Members, additionally, the Parliamentary Service Commission requested the public health officials from the Ministry of Health to undertake an inspection of the parliamentary precincts so as to advise us, should the House continue to hold sittings. I am happy to report that all measures recommended to Parliament by the Ministry of Health Public Health officials through its advisory dated 30th March 2020 and other subsequent advisories are and continue to be adhered to fully. Hon. Members, part of the advisory was to the effect that it is advisable for, at least, four days to lapse before the next sitting of the House. This is to allow for disinfection and sanitation of the Chamber and other designated sitting areas to be fully effective. It is for this reason that the Leader of the Majority Party will be moving a Motion under Order No.8 to further alter the Calendar of the House to effect that advisory. Hon. Members, in conclusion, we are in unprecedented times and we have to be ready to conduct ourselves in new ways. We must continue to follow the Ministry of Health guidelines on social distancing, usage of face masks and observance of other hygiene measures. We, in the Parliamentary Service Commission, are also in advanced negotiations to enable the House find whether it can continue to do business by way of teleconferencing and other virtual means. The House will be informed accordingly. Hon. Junet, you had a point of order. Hon. Junet Nuh (Suna East, ODM): Hon. Speaker, there is an issue I wanted to seek your indulgence on. As you can see, this afternoon, we have passed legislation on the Fund but now we have more serious business of the tax laws and the Motion. The time now is 5.00 p.m. and normally APRIL 14, 2020 NATIONAL ASSEMBLY DEBATES 2 our business ends at 7.00 p.m. Do you not think that it was very important for Parliament to have been listed as one of the essential service providers in this country? This is because everything that the Government does requires legislation and legal backing. The only body that is constitutionally mandated to give legal backing to Government action is Parliament. We are constrained. All Members will want to contribute on that Motion as well as on the tax laws. There can be no taxation without Parliament. It is only the people who are seated here who can approve those taxation measures. Hon. Speaker, as the head of this institution, you should indulge the people who gazetted those regulations that this House must be put under essential service providers. There are times when we can sit here up to midnight to pass urgent and important laws that this country requires. That is what I wanted to bring to your attention; if we can extend our sitting time today up to 7.00 p.m. so that by 7.30 p.m. we can be at home. Hon. Speaker: Unfortunately, earlier in the day, some of those legal notices were tabled, which I referred to the Committee on Delegated Legislation. I have heard Hon. Gachagua say that some of those things... Hon. Peter Kaluma has expressed himself on it and I agree with him that some of them are in violation of Article 94(5) of the Constitution. Therefore, our Committee on Delegated Legislation will be dealing with some of these legal notices. I am sure that you can deal with that aspect without having to deal with it administratively. Let us deal with it as legislators and as the Legislature. It is a neater way. We do not want to go begging anybody. We just want to do our work as contained in the Constitution. It will be neater that way. The Hon. Gitonga Murugara and quite a number of the others have left. Hon. Gitonga, the Member for Makueni, together with those in the Committee on Delegated Legislation, you can get as many other Members as possible to come and sit with you and go through some of those legal notices with a toothcomb and bring appropriate recommendations into the House. Very well. Next Order! PAPERS LAID Hon. Aden Duale (Garissa Township, JP): Hon. Speaker, I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table of the House today in the second sitting: Supplementary Estimates II Programme Based Budget for the 2019/2020 Financial Year. Supplementary Estimates II Recurrent Estimates for the 2019/2010 Financial Year. Supplementary Estimates II Development Estimate Volumes I, II and III for the 2019/2020 Financial Year. Memorandum on the Supplementary Estimates II for the 2019/2020 Financial Year. Hon. Speaker: Very well, that is important. Next Order. REQUEST FOR STATEMENTS MEASURES TO FACILITATE HEALTH WORKERS ATTENDING TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC Hon. Speaker: There is a request for statements by Hon. Caleb Luyai. APRIL 14, 2020 NATIONAL ASSEMBLY DEBATES 3 Hon. Caleb Luyai (Saboti, ODM): Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Hon. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 44 (2c), I wish to request for a Statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Health on measures put in place to facilitate health workers attending to the Covid-19 pandemic. Hon. Speaker, the coronavirus that has caused the Covid-19 pandemic is a matter of global concern. It is on account of this concern that I seek a statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Health on the following: (i) Could the Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Health explain the measures put in place to ensure that our health and medical workers — who are attending the Covid- 19 affected persons — are provided with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, which include disposable gloves, non-sterile long-sleeve gowns to protect clothes, medical masks and goggles or face shields. This is owing to the fact that the large number of frontline health workers globally have succumbed to this pandemic in the line of duty. (ii) What measures is the Ministry undertaking to ensure Kenyans who are at the high risk of being infected or are in affected areas get tested for Covid-19 the soonest time possible? (iii) What form of motivation in terms of additional allowances, salary increases among others, is the ministry offering to the health workers during this difficult time of the pandemic? (iv) Could the CS for Health provide the number and the list of health facilities in the county that can handle Covid-19 cases and how well they are equipped? This is paramount, Hon. Speaker, Thank you. Hon. Speaker: Very well. The Chairperson will be able to respond on Wednesday, next week as well. Hon. Speaker: Very well. There is also a request by Hon. David Ochieng’. HANDLING OF THE BODY OF THE LATE JAMES OYUGI ONYANGO Hon. David Ochieng’ (Ugenya, MDG): Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker. I wish to request a Statement regarding the handling of the body of the late James Oyugi Onyango of Kamalunga Village, Simur Kondiek in Ugenya Sub-County. Pursuant to Standing Order No.44(2) (c), I wish to request for a Statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Health regarding the handling of the body of the late James Oyugi Onyango of Kamalunga in Ugenya, who allegedly passed on due to Coronavirus disease-related complications. Following the outbreak of the Coronavirus disease commonly referred to as COVID-19 worldwide, the declaration of the WHO of the outbreak as a pandemic and the continuous rising cases that have even affected the country… What efforts have been made by the Government to contain such situations? We need assurance to ensure that treatments in the case of infections deal with the inevitable isolation and self-quarantine. It is against this background that I seek a statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Health to clarify the manner of treatment and handling of COVID-19 patients, suspected patients and those who succumb to the virus by addressing the following issues; APRIL 14, 2020 NATIONAL ASSEMBLY DEBATES 4 (1) Whether the Government of Kenya and WHO guidelines on handling of persons who have died of COVID-19 were adhered to in the handling of the body of James Oyugi; (2) Why it was necessary to throw the body of the deceased into a shallow grave at 2 a.m. - barely 20 hours after his death - considering the treatment of such other situations where one was allowed more than two weeks and another allowed three days before burial; (3) Who made the decision on the manner of the disposal of the body and whether the family members of the deceased were involved in the decision and the manner of disposal of the body; (4) Whether an autopsy was conducted on the body of the deceased to ascertain the actual cause of death; (5) Whether the deceased travelled from Mombasa and an accident involving the deceased and his family in Awasi in Kisumu