Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee vice chairperson Millie Odhiambo. The team has agreed to merge two Bills as it plots to beat the looming August 26 deadline August 09, 2011. FILE
By ALPHONCE SHIUNDU, ashiundu@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Tuesday, August 9 2011 at 15:05
Posted Tuesday, August 9 2011 at 15:05
Parliament’s Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee has agreed to merge two Bills as it plots to beat the looming August 26 deadline.
At a meeting in Nairobi’s County Hall Tuesday, the CIOC said the Commission on Administrative Justice Bill and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights Bill should be merged. The committee then agreed to tackle the National Gender and Equality Commission Bill.
The three Bills had been scheduled for debate last week, but were withdrawn at the eleventh hour to allow MPs to understand the rationale of having all the three Bills passed separately.
On Tuesday, the committee said that after the Mombasa meeting held over the weekend, there was an “emerging consensus” to have the two Bills merged, because “there was a strong case put for a gender commission”.
CIOC vice chairperson Millie Odhiambo chaired the meeting which tasked a subcommittee led by Ms Amina Abdalla (nominated, Kanu) to oversee the amalgamation of the two Bills scheduled for the Second Reading Tuesday afternoon.
Another sub-committee chaired by Ms Odhiambo was tasked to look at the Political Parties Bill and present all the relevant amendments in readiness for the Third Reading scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
The Oversight Committee then agreed to lobby the all-powerful government-led House Business Committee to ensure that the Bills are debated, amended and approved “either within this week or latest by Tuesday next week".
“We only have thirteen working days to pass these Bills,” said Ms Odhiambo, as she urged her colleagues to come up with a mechanism to ensure the Bills are approved and assented to on time.
Apart from the three Bills, the House has the Political Parties Bill and the Ratification of Treaties Bill in its in-tray; the former has already been debated, while the latter, though published, has not been formally introduced into Parliament.
The MPs urged Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo, who was not in the meeting, to liaise with the House Business Committee and introduce the published Bill into the House and also consider coming up with the procedural motion to increase the sitting time of the House until after all the Bills are approved.
Ms Odhiambo then kicked journalists out of the meeting as MPs convened to plot how to punish the government in relation to the delayed Bills.
“We cannot sit to plot against the Cabinet in the presence of the media,” said Mr Charles Kilonzo (Yatta, ODM-K).
The CIOC has already agreed to sanction the Minister of Justice and any other organ which delays the Bills that are required to roll out Kenya’s 11-month-old Constitution. The minister was on Thursday last week asked to table all the Bills –14—that are yet to be published, for the committee to take over the process. He was given until Tuesday to do so.
The Office of the President was also picked out for failing to submit names of the three foreigners to sit in the board that will vet the suitability of the judges as Kenya focuses on reforming the Judiciary.
Under the recently passed Vetting of Judges and Magistrates Act, the “President, in consultation with the Prime Minister and subject to the approval of the National Assembly shall…appoint three distinguished non-citizen serving or retired judges, each of whom has served as a Chief Justice or judge of a superior court in the Commonwealth, to be members of the Board.”
The CIOC already has the names of nominees to the board namely: Sharad Rao, Justus Maithya, Roseline Odede, Ngotho wa Kariuki, Meuludi Iseme and Abdirashid Abdullahi, whose vetting has been scheduled beginning Monday next week.
Fireworks are expected on the Commission on Revenue Allocation Bill, especially following the quiet power tussle between the CRA and the Treasury over the mandate of the commission in the new devolution structure.
Ms Martha Karua (Gichugu, Narc-Kenya) said the “real quarrel” was about whether the CRA commissioners should have part-time or full-time commissioners.
“We must be conscious whether we reduced ministries in the Constitution, only to increase government through commissions. It is a view which may not be popular, but we have to bear it in mind,” the MP told her colleagues.
But MPs Lucas Chepkitony and Dr Eseli Simiyu said that because the issue of full-time or part-time was not discussed, it wasn’t appropriate for the House to vary the terms to the disadvantage of the commissioners at this stage.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment