MPs want 60 days to debate crucial Bills

MPs want 60 days to debate, amend and approve Bills that will bring land reforms in the country.

Addressing a news conference in Parliament Buildings Wednesday, the chairman of the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee Abdikadir Mohammed said that three House committees had met and agreed that there was need for more time if the House was to address the salient issues in the Bills.

The National Land Commission Bill, the Land Registration Bill and the Land Bill are all now before the House.

But even as the House sought more time to prosecute the Bills, Lands minister James Orengo pushed through the debate on the National Land Commission Bill, in which MPs proposed amendments to empower the commission. The MPs also asked the creation of offences to tame the staff and commissioners of the National Land Commission.

The MPs, within two hours, began and concluded debate (Second Reading) on the National Land Commission Bill. It is during the debate that the Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo said that he believed that the House had sufficient time “between now and Sunday” to read, debate and approve the Bills.

The constitutional deadline for the enactment of the Bills is February 26. If the MPs fail, any Kenyan can go to court and have the House sanctioned. First, the courts will give the House an ultimatum, which if they fail to enact, then the House will stand dissolved.

At the news conference, Mr Mohammed flanked by the acting chairman of the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee Njoroge Baiya and committee member Olago Aluoch said that there was need for more time because of the many “critical issues in the Bill”.

“In many countries, discussion on issues of land takes a lot of time. We believe that two months is sufficient time,” said Mr Mohammed.

The three insisted that they had lobbied enough MPs and were bullish that they’d get the 148 MPs required to extend the deadline. They added that the government whips –Jakoyo Midiwo (ODM) and Johnstone Muthama (PNU)—were working hard to marshal MPs to show up in the House Thursday to ensure the extension was granted.

“We believe we have the numbers. If we don’t get the numbers, then we may be forced to even sit on Saturday,” said Mr Aluoch as he joined his colleagues in petitioning President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to help rally MPs.

Mr Aluoch said the House had a duty to approve the Bills as quickly as possible.

Mr Baiya and Mr Mohammed said that those pushing for the Bills to be approved within the short time had a hidden agenda.

“My honest view is that if you see a person who wants a Bill to pass as quickly as possible, then they’re hiding something, which they fear that if there’s more time, the MPs will notice,” said Mr Baiya.

The MPs said the 60 days was “the outer limit” but the Bills “can be concluded within a month”. The MPs said they decided to cut the sought time by 30 days.

Mr Baiya said there was a discrepancy in clause 172 of the Land Bill, which had delegated the work of Parliament to write a law for maximum and minimum acreage to the Cabinet secretary.

“We need to debate and agree. These are not matters to be taken lightly. It is not possible to pass good quality laws by Saturday. If we do so, we’ll only be complying with the technical bits, but the details might have a problem,” said Mr Baiya.