House Business leader to be named soon

President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga are expected to announce their decision on the Leader of Government Business in Parliament very soon.

The Prime Minister yesterday said they had consulted widely and had reached a decision that would soon be communicated to the House.

The two are expected to write a joint letter to the Speaker of the National Assembly, who will then communicate their decision to the MPs.

The House hit a deadlock on who between the PM and Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka should chair the crucial committee at the start of the last session of Parliament.

The disagreement threatened to derail the start of the business of the House, leading Speaker Kenneth Marende to make a historic ruling.
Mr Marende appointed himself the chair of the committee on an interim basis and gave the government time to agree.

The HBC draws the calendar of the agenda that comes before the House, deciding on what questions, motions and Bills come before the House for deliberation.

It meets every Tuesday in camera.

According to the Standing Orders, the committee’s chairperson should be someone nominated by the government.
Approved

The committee should consist of not less than 15 and not more than 21 members nominated by each parliamentary party and approved by the House at the commencement of every session.

The membership should reflect the relative majorities of the seats held by each parliamentary party in Parliament, with the party forming government having the majority of members.

A majority of the membership is also drawn from the Cabinet, with just 30 per cent from the back bench.