Cabinet clears first Bill

By Martin Mutua

The Cabinet softened the ground for the new Constitution by approving and clearing for publication the implementation commission Bill.

The Bill, which is the first to be approved at this level in the set of 49, needed to implement the new laws, believably under the stipulated five-year-period, is now expected to be published by Saturday.

The Cabinet which last week formed its own sub-committee to ensure the implementation programme runs smoothly took the decisive step ahead of the Friday promulgation of the new constitution.

Though the Presidential Press Service in its dispatch captured the unanimity or resolutions of the meeting, sources in the meeting revealed there was a storm following a suggestion for expansion of the Cabinet sub-committee by Higher Education Minister William Ruto and Justice Minister Mutula Kilonzo.

Ruto, who led the team that campaigned against the new Constitution, wanted Information Minister Samuel Poghisio who was on his side in the campaign blitzes included in the committee. But Water Minister Charity Ngilu objected, saying he was among those who went around the country ‘telling lies’ on new laws.

Ngilu’s position contradicted the reconciliatory approach President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga propagated after the referendum. But Mutula suggested the committee be expanded to address complaints of Coast MPs they were not represented in the sub-committee whose task is reviewing and facilitating implementation Bills before they are taken to the House. After haggling over positions on the sub-committee the President gave a directive that effectively meant it has to be reconstituted.

A past Cabinet meeting: The Cabinet Tuesday set the ball rolling for the implementation of the new Constitution by approving the implementation commission Bill for publication. [PHOTO: FILE/STANDARD]



The Cabinet meets again today for a special session to discuss the Friday diary, which has been dubbed the birth of the Second Republic.

It was yet another signal from the Cabinet it is determined to conclude the implementation in one year, and not five set out as the upper limit in the Fifth Schedule.

The new Constitution assigns the Commission for Implementation of the Constitution the task of ensuring the execution of the new laws upholds its ‘spirit and letter’.

The ministers, under President Kibaki, met to scrutinise the Bill, which The Standard on Monday exclusively reported its drafting and journey to Cabinet.

The commission will sit for five years, and its members will be experts in human rights, government, and public administration. Members of the Committee of Experts, which drafted the new Constitution, are barred from sitting in it.

Main tasks

Once published and tabled in Parliament, the new Bill will pave way for appointment of a nine-member CIC. This is the team that will report to the successor of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Review, which has not been formed. It will, according to the Sixth Schedule, be called Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC).

CIC’s main tasks are four-fold:

— Monitoring and overseeing formulation of legislation and administrative procedures for executing the new laws.

— Co-ordination with the Attorney General and Law Reform Commission pending legislations for execution of new laws.

— Reporting to Parliament through CIOC progress of implementation and any impediments encountered, and,

—Working with each constitutional commission to make sure the letter and spirit of the new Constitution are upheld.

Mutula, sources who cannot be quoted because of Cabinet confidentiality protocol, had requested that Fisheries minister Amason Kingi — who is from Coast — be included in the 17-member sub-committee.

He argued Kingi, a lawyer, would be key to the committee and explained when he was at the Coast over the weekend leaders there complained to him their region had been excluded. "It is as if Mutula had opened a Pandoras Box because every minister who had been excluded wanted to be included," added our sources.

The sources revealed it was then that Ruto suggested the inclusion of Poghisio. Ngilu is said to have told the President Poghisio and his colleagues should not be incorporated.

At this point President Kibaki is said to have ruled the lawyers who were in the last similar sub-committee that came up with proposed Bill on the Local Special Tribunal on Post-Election Violence would be members. This meant the committee would be reconstituted.

The President’s position meant both his Party of National Unity, and Raila’s Orange Democratic Movement would share positions in the sub-committee.

Those already in sub-committee are ODM-allied Cabinet ministers James Orengo, Amason Kingi, and Otieno Kajwang’. PNU-allied ministers are Kiraitu Murungi, Robinson Githae, and Moses Wetang’ula.

Critical Bills

Attorney General Amos Wako, and Mutula would be the conveners. The team is scheduled to meet tomorrow ahead of the promulgation to look at the two other pending critical Bills. They include the Judicial Service Commission Bill and Vetting of Judges and Magistrates Bill.

Mutula is expected to publish the Bills on Saturday, when MPs are expected to take a new oath of office under the new laws.

Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka is expected to move a procedural Motion on Thursday, to allow Parliament sit at the weekend day for swearing-in. The new Bills are expected to be tabled in Parliament next week.

According to the new Constitution, the commission is supposed to be constituted within 90 days after which it is expected that the Bills will start being generated.

Wako has already expressed his wish that the commission be formed immediately after the promulgation arguing if not it would mean three months would have been wasted.

According to the proposed implementation Bill drafted by Justice and Constitutional Affairs Ministry, the President in consultation with the Prime Minister shall within seven days of the commencement of this Act through a gazette notice declare vacancies in the commission and request for applications. The Bill seeks to carry out the entire process of recruiting the commissioners and its establishment in about 70 days.

Those interested in the job will then forward their applications to the Public Service Commission within 14 days after advertisement of the vacancies.