New Standing Orders haunt the Executive

This is the committee that spotted the Sh35 million allocation to spruce up the private home of the Prime Minister to create room for hosting delegations and visiting dignitaries. It struck off the expenditure.

The Budget Office is staffed with professionals who have expertise in financial issues to analyse the Budget for MPs. They include accountants, statisticians and researchers.

Mr Gichohi envisages a much more robust Parliament in the next five years and through the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) has developed a 10-year strategic plan, 2008-2018.

“Most work will be done through committees in the future instead of the plenary,” the Clerk told the Sunday Nation.

To assist MPs meet this demand, the legal department was set up with eight draft persons to generate private members Bills. And in the last three months, at least eight Bills have been generated including the one by Mr Ephraim Maina aimed at re-introducing price controls.

But while the Clerk downplays the obvious supremacy battles between the Executive and the Legislative arms, the Standing Orders now give power to MPs to summon Parliament as long as they can muster a majority and specify the business to be transacted.