Parliament To Have Immense Powers

Parliament buildings. While the President will no longer sit in Parliament, he/she will be allowed to address the House only on specific occasions.

BY MERCY MWAI
SATURDAY, 23 MARCH, 2013

Major changes are expected to come into force in the Eleventh Parliament once new members are sworn in next Thursday, ushering in a new dispensation of a powerful National Assembly. Some of the changes include an independent legislature free of interference by the Executive as well as powerful House committees.

The Eleventh Parliament will share some of the powers formerly enjoyed by the President, as MPs will vet and approve or reject presidential appointees to constitutional commissions, judicial, administrative, security and other powerful State placements. Indeed, for a president to govern smoothly, they will need to have in their favour a friendly or majority parliament.

The Constitution requires that appointments of Cabinet secretaries, Attorney General, Principal Secretaries, High Commissioners and ambassadors by the president now be approved by MPs. Article 95 also requires that declarations of war and extensions of states of emergency by the President get the approval of the National Assembly. For the first time since independence, the President, Deputy President, Cabinet Secretaries and the Attorney General will not sit in either the National Assembly or the Senate.

While the President will no longer sit in Parliament, he/she will be allowed to address the House only on specific occasions. Article 132 (1) of the Constitution states: “The President shall (a) address the opening of each newly elected Parliament and (b) address a special sitting of Parliament once every year and may address Parliament at any other time.” Unlike in the past, the Attorney General (AG) will not be responsible for introducing Government Bills in the National Assembly (Lower House) or Senate (Upper House).

Kenyans will for the first time experience the workings of a bi-cameral legislature where the National Assembly’s role will be to legislate and the Senate to represent the counties and vet some action taken by the Lower House. The Senate would, for instance, have a say in impeachment of the President and the Deputy President. Article 96 (4) states: “The Senate participates in the oversight of State officers by considering and determining any resolution to remove the President or Deputy President from office in accordance with Article 145.”

The House committees, which will play a crucial role, will be formed once the Speaker of the National Assembly is elected and will take into account parties’ strength in their compilation. Powerful as they may be, the members of the Eleventh Parliament are not guaranteed uninterrupted fiveyear tenure as had been the case in the past. Article 104 of the Constitution prescribes that the public have the power to recall a non-performing MP. The Constitution, however, vests the responsibility of enacting legislation to provide the grounds on which an MP may be recalled and the procedure to be followed in doing so on the same Parliament.

Although the National Assembly will make most of the laws, the Senate will have the powers to scrutinise or originate Bills that affect the counties. The separation of powers between the Legislature and the Executive will remain. Another development is that Cabinet secretaries will not sit in the House. Because of habitual truancy, Cabinet ministers were often responsible for delay of business in previous Parliaments. In addition, this will also help in the passage of standard Bills as the envisaged process of enacting laws, both at national and county levels will be intricate, long and will involve public participation.

According to the new Standing Orders, for a Bill to pass in the National Assembly, there must be 50 MPs sitting while in the Senate there must be 15 members. Sources within Parliament disclosed that although some of the changes will not be experienced immediately, the most visible will be the separation of powers from the Executive and Legislature as well as having a strong and powerful House committees. House committees will have powers to summon Cabinet secretaries as well as help in oversight roles and help of scrutinising Bills before they are passed by the National Assembly.

In addition, the committees will also have powers to recommend the sacking of Cabinet secretaries should they deem it fit. Some of the powerful house committees that MPs are eyeing include the watchdogs such as Public Investment Committee (which appraises expenditure of public corporations), the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) (which audits public funds) and the Budget Committee among others. Already, there is intense lobbying by MPs for positions in the powerful committees. Said the source: “I can tell you, intense lobbying is going on.

These committees, especially the powerful ones, will practically run this House.” Once formed, the House committees will be the link between the Executive and Parliament in terms of transacting parliamentary business. There will be no Questions Time in Parliament or ministerial statements that used to cover various issues, as committees will handle a wide range of public interest issues.

The House committees will work hand in hand with independent officers and constitutional commissions which will enable them to ensure fair representation of the people as well as address issues raised by Kenyans. The house committee will be the link between the Executive and Legislature, mainly because the Cabinet secretaries will not sit in the house.