Bid to have deadline for land laws moved
Seven laws for regulating land and prescribing how devolution will be undertaken may have to wait a bit longer.
Two parliamentary committees have recommended that the February 26 deadline be extended by 90 days, a move which pushes it to May. (Read: House races against time over new laws)
The MPs request for more time means that the implementation of devolved units, which involves setting up of county governments, will delay. It also means that there will be a delay in rolling out land reforms in the country.
Given that MPs are used to last-minute rush in legislation, the delay might be more than three months, and there’s the looming danger that the country might go into the December elections before it’s ready for the county representatives and staff at the grassroots.
Later, Parliament voted to hold extra sitting starting tomorrow, to enable the House deal with the key Bills.
Consequently, Parliament will now sit today morning as well as Tuesday and Thursday next week. Parliament only sits on Wednesday mornings, a day set for members business.
The motion was moved by Leader of Government Business Kalonzo Musyoka and seconded by Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi.
The lawmakers had earlier approached Speaker Kenneth Marende seeking his permission to allow a motion that, if passed, will result into the shift of the deadline to May 26, 2012.
The decision to seek the three-month extension was arrived at after a joint meeting of the Justice and Legal Affairs committee and the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee.
“The view is that six days are not enough for us to discuss, debate and approve Bills dealing with devolution and land. We think that the most appropriate action under the Constitution is to seek an extension of time,” said Mr Abdikadir Mohammed, the chairman of the CIOC, the committee of Parliament in charge of implementation.
He said the House had “done everything within its powers to rush these two gentlemen (President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga)” to expedite the publication of the Bills, but the Executive had delayed.
“We’ll legislate first and point fingers later. This was a very difficult decision,” the CIOC chairman said regarding the extension.
Under the law, MPs have the authority to shift the Constitutional deadline if they pass a resolution supported by 148 MPs.
Article 261(2)
“The National Assembly may, by resolution supported by the votes of at least two-thirds of all the members of the National Assembly, extend the period prescribed in respect of any particular matter, by a period not exceeding one year,” reads Article 261(2), which is specific to the laws listed in the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution.
But before that, the MPs must convince the Speaker that the extension is necessary because of “exceptional circumstances”.
That extension, according to the law, can only be done once in respect of any particular matter.
“It is not the fault of the legislature that we’re seeking an extension and executive consultations,” said Mr Njoroge Baiya (Githunguri), the Acting chairman of the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee.
