Church support Wednesday for Budget reading

Written By:Rufus Hunja,    Posted: Sun, Jun 05, 2011

Evangelical church leaders led by Bishop Joseph Methu are calling on Parliament to desist from cheap politics

The church has voiced its concern on how matters of national interests are being politicized by MPs out to settle personal scores.

Party wrangles have seen the Justice Committee fail to carry out its mandate while the reading of this year's Budget has elicited mixed reactions from a section of MPs some threatening to boycott the same.

Church leaders in the country now want Parliament to desist from cheap politics and instead focus on development.

This comes as House speaker Kenneth Marende holds the onus on whether Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta will read this year's budget on Wednesday as planned.

With Marende expected to make a ruling on the matter on Tuesday, the church has expressed its desire to see the budget read as planned.

Bishop Joseph Methu, chairman of Federation of Evangelical and Indigenous Churches, says it is unfortunate that MPs are politicizing every issue that affects the country depending on their political alignments.

Methu says budget reading is such an important matter and should not be affected by political differences.

The budget reading has been shrouded in controversy after it emerged that Uhuru's failure to table the executive's estimates in March was in breach of the constitution.

While some MPs have now softened their stand on the issue, fingers remain closed on Marende's ruling on Tuesday.

Methu has also urged Chief Justice nominee Dr. Willy Mutunga to listen to the voice of reason saying the debate on his outspoken ear ring heralds a lot of unanswered questions.

Top judicial nominees Mutunga, Nancy Baraza and Keriako Tobiko will be vetted by the Constitution Implementation Oversight committee due to leadership wrangles surrounding the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee.