Parliament - No Recess

Parliament Thursday shelved plans to go on recess pending the approval of the appropriations bill.
Deputy Speaker Farah Maalim Maalim said the financial cycle must be concluded before parliament takes a break.

On Wednesday parliament approved votes to all ministries and government department through the guiliotine process.

This is where votes whose debate is not feasible are lumped and approved at once.

Public ethics act

Meanwhile, Parliament rejected to compel the Prime Minister's office to explain why it was soliciting money from MPs through the ODM party.

Declining to rule on the matter, Maalim said the issue did not concern parliament and should be dealt with by the executive.

He ordered a letter addressed to Chepalungu MP Isaac Ruto urging him to contribute to the Shinyalu and Bomachoge by-elections and tabled in parliament last week expunged from parliament's records.

The Chepalungu MP had requested the speaker to decide whether it was ethical for the office of the Prime Minister through the Chief of Staff to write to MPs to demand shs50,000 towards the polls.

Maalim had undertaken to rule on Thursday only to clarify that the issue for the executive to decide whether the officer had flouted the public ethics act and not within parliament's purview.

Price control bill

Elsewhere, the house has passed the national youth policy bill.

The bill seeks to establish a youth council that will be tasked with registering all youth groups, promote and popularize the policy, mobilize resources to support and fund youth programmes, inspire and promote the spirit of unity, patriotism and volunteerism among the youth.

The government will soon move in to control the price of essential commodities. This is if the price control bill introduced in parliament Thursday is debated and passed.

The private members bill was introduced by Mathira MP Ephraim Maina. It seeks to protect the consumer from scrupulous businessmen.