MPs 'ready' to work together despite tensions

By ALPHONCE SHIUNDU
Posted Tuesday, August 10 2010 at 16:13

The political jitters in the run-up to the formation of a Parliamentary Select Committee to implement the new Constitution began simmering as MPs trooped back to Parliament on Tuesday.

But with the tensions, the MPs insisted that they were ready to work together to implement the new Constitution as per the schedule in the document.

Addressing journalists in Parliament Buildings, assistant minister Richard Onyonka and Mosop MP David Koech, in two separate news conferences, said the priority should be on delivering a new dispensation and not on party politics.

“I hope that MPs will stop unnecessary wrangling and make sure we work together as a team. Public has already made their point,” said Mr Onyonka. “The expectation is that the two principals will get their troops working together and ensure we pass all the Bills to make sure laws are in place by the time we go for elections in 2012.”

Mr Koech, the erstwhile chief agent of ‘No’ camp, said that as Parliament sits to select members to the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee, all MPs ought to be given a chance.

“Whoever becomes a member of that committee will have to be an MP. It can either be all who said ‘Yes’ or all who said ‘No’ at the referendum, or a mixture. All MPs should be treated equally irrespective of the positions they held at the referendum,” said Mr Koech.

ODM whip Jakoyo Midiwo, he who will play a key role in choosing the committee members from his party, held a personal view that all those who opposed the new law, will not be eligible to the committee. To that, Mr Koech accused Mr Midiwo of “playing to the gallery.”

“Such questions can only be raised by Kenyans who do not understand how Parliament operates…when the ‘ayes’ have it, the ‘nays’ automatically join the ‘ayes’ to implement a Bill,” said Mr Koech.

“When you are the whip, you are the whip of all party members. Unless you want to admit that you are not the whip to all MPs,” he added.

Mr Onyonka said the ‘No’ side has to be taken on board: “My honest observation is that there’s a necessity to accommodate all the teams, even those who may have had dissenting views. No need to sack them. Democracy demands that you agree with your colleagues who hold different views.”

After that, Mr Koech went into a chest-thumping saying that it is the ‘No’ camp that “the international community is able to look at Kenyans differently.”

“We were able to highlight fundamental issues so that when the time comes for amendment as suggested by the President, we’ll just pick from the basket,” said Mr Koech.