Teams crack the whip on new Kenya laws

The Cabinet will be required to meet at short notice in one of the latest attempts to ensure new laws key in the implementation of the Constitution are enacted on time.

This is one of the highlights in the new schedule of timelines that have been agreed on by various teams on the implementation of the new set of laws to beat the August deadline.

The timelines have been agreed on by the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution (CIC), the Kenya Law Reform Commission (KLRC), the Attorney-General’s office, ministries and Parliament to expedite preparation and passage of the Bills.

The schedule, obtained by the Nation on Monday, indicates the timelines by which parent ministries are required to have worked on original drafts, submitted them to the KLRC and AG, up to the date the Bills are supposed to have been passed by MPs.

Other steps involve a review of the draft Bills by the CIC; meeting of the commission, the AG’s office, the KLRC and line ministries; submission of the Bills to the Cabinet and publication dates.

“We have been assured by the Head of Civil Service that Cabinet will be convened when necessary to approve the Bills.

“At one or two meetings, the President has given us the assurance on this because he doesn’t want delays,” said CIC boss Charles Nyachae.

He said they had drafted the timelines, which they would publicise this week, to expose the organ that will delay the preparation of the Bills and the eventual enactment.

“The CIC is publishing the schedule herein to enable Kenyans to hold institutions listed in the schedule, including the CIC to account, and to enable the public to engage in the process of the development of legislation,” he said in an interview at his office in Westlands.

Mr Nyachae spoke at a time when Parliament, the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs and the three institutions tasked with preparation of the Bills for debate by MPs are involved in blame games.

Mr Abdikadir Mohamed, who chairs the parliamentary Oversight Committee on the Implementation of the Constitution, has blamed the CIC, KLRC and AG’s office for failing to prepare laws on time.

“Parliament cannot debate what is not before it. Those involved in the preparation of the Bills should do their work and we will play our role,” he said.

But Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo argued that MPs should be blamed for failing to prioritise Bills on the implementation of the Constitution.