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| Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich when he appeared before the Budget Committee of Parliament last week. President Uhuru wants Cabinet secretaries to spend less time on such meetings. [Photo: Boniface Okendo/Standard] |
Nairobi, Kenya: Parliament has disagreed with
the Executive and insisted that Cabinet secretaries must appear before
House committees when required.
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday protested over the frequency
of Cabinet secretaries’ meetings with parliamentarians. He complained
that his Cabinet was not able to work effectively as Cabinet secretaries
spent most of their time appearing before House committees.
Uhuru urged Parliament to undertake its oversight role in a manner that will allow the Executive to also execute its duties.
“We have to also recognise that we have a new system of
government and I say this with all due respect… and I want to appeal to
the Members of Parliament to recognise this. I’m also a former
legislator,” he said.
But the National Assembly and Senate have said Cabinet
secretaries are required by law to appear before Parliament to enable it
perform its oversight role.
Parliament also accused Cabinet secretaries of being slow in responding to MPs’ queries.
“Major challenge”
National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi and his Senate
counterpart Ekwee Ethuro said it was a “major challenge” for House
committees to deal with emerging issues that needed immediate response
from the Executive without having ministers in the House.
The Speakers complained that the slow feedback process was making
it difficult for the country to deal with problems raised in the House
by the MPs, when, they were still ‘live’.
Muturi said the new system, in which committees have to wait for
the Cabinet secretaries to appear before the House committees and then
sit to file a report, had crippled the effectiveness of lawmakers.
Ethuro hinted that constitutional amendments may be necessary in the future, especially, if the problem persists.
“It is however too soon to call for amendments of the
Constitution to allow the ministers to be members of the National
Assembly. We just need to try for even two years and reach a logical
conclusion that it can or cannot work,” said the Senate Speaker.
Insecurity
Muturi noted that it was “an exciting experience” for the two
Houses, as they transited from the regime where the Executive was
represented in the legislature, to one where the legislature did not
have any member of the Executive.
The slow response to MPs’ concerns was manifested in the case where
parents of an MP were killed more than two months after he raised
concerns about his safety and the insecurity in his constituency.
Muturi said Nyakach MP Owuor Aduma had raised the insecurity
issue and called for quick action but the bureaucracy of committee
investigations and the push to get answers from the Executive had
delayed adequate response.
“He raised the issue several times in the House” Muturi said.
The two were speaking at the University of Nairobi on Friday
evening during a public lecture on the role of Parliament in the
implementation of the new Constitution.
And yesterday, Deputy Senate Speaker Kembi Gitura said although
he appreciated the President’s concerns, the Constitution required
Cabinet Secretaries to appear before House committees.
“I appreciate what the President has said, but certain questions
have to be answered by Cabinet secretaries. The executive has to
appreciate that unlike the old Constitution, Cabinet secretaries are not
members of the legislature and thus have to appear when required.”
Gitura said the Senate cannot summon ministers for the sake of it.
“It becomes imperative that the senate committee has to summon
the CSs (Cabinet secretaries) to come and explain or make some
clarifications. The constitution is such that it cannot be otherwise, we
are left with no alternative but they have to appear. It is unlikely
that we shall summon a CS for the sake of it.”
Curtail Parliament
National Assembly chairman of the Delegated Legislation William
Cheptumo added: “I want to believe that the President does not mean he
seeks to curtail Parliament. The supremacy of Parliament, as the
people’s representative, in oversight is not in question. I only hope
that the President was appealing to Parliament in terms of timing but it
will be sad if the President meant that the House should not exercise
this oversight role by summoning the CSs.”
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