Cord withdraws MPs from House committees

The Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord) has withdrawn its MPs from Parliamentary committees in a move likely to paralyse House business.

Cord demanded that Jubilee cedes ground on majority membership of two key committees- Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and Public Investments Committee (PIC).

The decision was reached during Cord's Parliamentary Group meeting Wednesday.

The meeting was chaired by Cord principals Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka and Moses Wetangula at the Panafric Hotel, Nairobi.

“Cord has today (Tuesday) removed it’s members from all committees of Parliament with immediate effect until this stalemate is resolved,” Kilifi North MP Gideon Mung’aro said.

He warned that Cord will not backtrack on its demand that Jubilee Coalition surrenders the leadership PAC and PIC to the opposition.  Cord also demanded that it forms the majority in the two committees.

“Cord is dissatisfied with the manner in which Jubilee is using unorthodox means by using its numerical strength to suppress the minority in the House,” Mr Mung’aro stated.

“We want to state here that it will not be business as usual any longer, Cord will not cede ground on the majority and chairmanship of PAC and PIC."

It means that Cord MPs will no longer sit on the House Business Committee, the Committee of Appointments, the Committee on Selection and the Procedure and House Rules Committee which had already been constituted.

Cord also announced that it will not forward its lists of MPs to sit in the parliamentary committees which are yet to be constituted including the two watchdog committees.

On Monday, Jubilee withdrew a compromise it had offered and threatened to go ahead and constitute parliamentary committees without the participation of the Opposition.

In escalation of the fight for the control of the committees, Majority Leader Aden Duale withdrew a list of 28 Jubilee MPs he presented on Thursday to Clerk of the National Assembly Justin Bundi.

Fourteen were to sit in the PAC and the other half on the PIC. Both teams have 29 members.

The opposition has demanded majority membership in both watchdog committees as well as the chairmanship.

In making the demand, Cord argued that this is the parliamentary tradition.

But, Jubilee insists the system has changed from the Westminster-type arrangement to a presidential one.