Monday, June 3, 2013

Senators fight dissolution plan


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PHOTO | BILLY MUTAI | FILE Kenyatta International Conference Centre’s amphitheatre on March 24, 2013 prior to the first sitting of the Senate.
PHOTO | BILLY MUTAI | FILE Kenyatta International Conference Centre’s amphitheatre on March 24, 2013 prior to the first sitting of the Senate.  NATION MEDIA GROUP
By NATION TEAM newsdesk@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Sunday, June 2  2013 at  23:30
IN SUMMARY
  • Kiharu MP plans to table Bill to outlaw the Senate as leaders claim that there is a plan to kill devolved system
Senators on Sunday came out fighting over a plot by MPs to disband the Senate, terming the plan impossible to achieve.
Siaya Senator James Orengo said MPs behind the plan were day-dreaming since the Senate was created by Kenyans in a referendum and it is not possible to do away with it.
The legislator told journalists after a requiem Mass for Mr Alex Patrick Radull, the father of radio and TV presenter Carol Radull in Bondo Catholic Parish, that the MPs planning to do away with the Senate were only against devolution.
“I do not think anybody wants to go back to the past where we had an imperial president and a unicameral parliamentary system,” he said.
He said the constitutional framework and structure of the Senate was well-entrenched in the Constitution and that to abolish it would mean the end of devolution.
The former Lands minister added that the system of devolution could not work without the Senate.
Bomet Senator Wilson Lesan said the plan was bound to fail. Speaking to the press in Kericho County, Mr Lesan warned that the scrapping of the Senate would mark the beginning of the collapse of the devolved system of government as the balance of checks and balances would end. None of the Houses can dissolve the other, he stated.
“As a matter of fact, the Standing Orders of both Houses do not allow them to discuss each other....The Senate is the cornerstone of devolution and its creation was one of the best decisions made by Kenyans during the agitation for a new Constitution,” he said.
Kiharu MP Kang’ata Irungu last week announced that he was in the process of crafting a Bill which, if passed by the National Assembly, would kick-start the process of disbanding the Senate.
According to Mr Irungu, the Constitution had only given two roles to the Senate; to come up with legislation on issues affecting the counties and impeach the president, adding that the amount spent on maintaining the Senate could be redirected to other needs.
“These two roles can easily be taken over by the National Assembly and the disbandment of the Senate can save the country up to Sh5 billion each month,” he claimed and suggested that the money saved be used to provide free lunch to all primary school pupils in the country for a year.
Mr Irungu strongly denied during an appearance on a local television station on Saturday evening that he was creating the way for the failure of devolution, insisting instead that his plan was to strengthen it by creating additional functions for governors.
“Once we have done away with the Senate, we will pass on its functions to the Committee of Governors, thereby strengthening the county government,” he said.
He added that when their first term in office expires in 2017, senators will most likely have nothing tangible to show their voters as evidence of their work.
Mrs Zipporah Kittony, a nominated Senator, has downplayed the proposed debate to disband the Senate, saying the motion is not proper since devolution cannot survive without the House.
“I do not see why we should fight over who is senior or junior. Somebody said the Senate is full of retirees. I want them to know this is not important,” she said.
By Godfrey Ombogo, Timothy Kemei and Philip Bwayo

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