President Kibaki has banned Cabinet Ministers and their Assistants from travelling abroad to enable them participate in the Constitution debate in Parliament.
The President said it was vital for their presence in Parliament to ensure a new Constitution is delivered on time.
Any amendment to provisions in the proposed Constitution requires a two thirds majority - which is 148 MPs – to sail through.
Cabinet Ministers and MPs usually have to seek clearance to travel abroad from the Office of the President.
Parliament has on several occasions been hit by quorum hitches which paralyse the business of the House.
According to the Standing Orders, quorum requires a minimum of 30 Members of Parliament to be present during debates.
If not, any MP can alert the Speaker and if the quorum is not raised, Parliament ends its business for the session.
The Cabinet comprises of about 90 Ministers and Assistant Ministers who form close to half of MPs in Parliament.
On many occasions, questions and debates have been postponed due to the absence of Ministers and Assistant Ministers who have travelled out of the country on government business.
The Draft Constitution was tabled in Parliament last week and MPs have 30 days of debate once it comes up for the second reading.
Already, a retreat for MPs is planned for this week in Naivasha to seek consensus on pending issues.
The retreat will kick off on Thursday and end on Saturday.
In an effort to fight graft ,the President also directed all government offices to amend to open plan spaces and workstations with an exception of officers on Job group S and above.
ReplyDeleteHe further reiterated his directive banning all public offices from purchasing furniture abroad.
In the circular, Kibaki said " public officials are encouraged to buy high quality furniture and other locally made items, directly from Jua Kali artisans, manufacturers and shops and to avoid using middlemen who inflate the cost of the items.
He warned procurement officers who undertake purchases that rip off the Government and tax payers' money that they will be held accountable.
The government has pumped half a billion shillings into the local economy with an aim of boosting the country's local manufacturers.
Dr Mutua said the directives take effect immediately.