CIC asks President not to assent to Mining Bill before Senate input
CIC Chairman Charles Nyachae. Mr Nyachae has urged President Kenyatta to refer the Mining Bill 2014 back to Parliament after concerns were raised that the Senate was not involved. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- CIC urged the President to refer the Bill back to Parliament after concerns were raised that the Senate was not involved.
- Mr Nyachae said the Bill should be referred back to Parliament for both houses to resolve issues that have arisen in accordance with 112 and 113 of the Constitution.
- The Senate has raised concerns that its input on several Bills has been ignored by the National Assembly.
- Majority and minority leaders Aden Duale and Francis Nyenze talked tough on Tuesday, calling the Senate a cry baby.
The Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution (CIC) has urged President Uhuru Kenyatta not to sign into law the Mining Bill 2014, which was passed by the National Assembly on October 28, 2014.
In a letter to the President which was signed by Chairman Charles Nyachae, CIC urged the President to refer the Bill back to Parliament after concerns were raised that the Senate was not involved.
“The CIC has learned from media reports that the Senate has expressed concern that the National Assembly neither shared nor forwarded the Bill to them.
"This is in contravention of the Constitution of Kenya and in particular Article 110 thereof,” said Mr Nyachae.
Mr Nyachae said the Bill should be referred back to Parliament for both houses to resolve issues that have arisen in accordance with 112 and 113 of the Constitution.
CIC is mandated to monitor and facilitate the development of legislation and administrative procedures required for the implementation of the Constitution which was promulgated in 2010.
The Senate has raised concerns that its input on several Bills has been ignored by the National Assembly.
TWO-WEEK ULTIMATUM
On Monday, Senate majority and minority leaders Kithure Kindiki and Moses Wetang’ula issued a two-week ultimatum to the National Assembly to present to Senate several Bills for input, among them the Mining Bill, failure to which they said they would move to court.
National Assembly members had risen against senators’ demands to scrutinise the Mining Bill.
Majority and minority leaders Aden Duale and Francis Nyenze talked tough on Tuesday, calling the Senate a cry baby.
Mr Nyenze termed the Senate a waste of taxpayers’ money, arguing that it was duplicating the work of the National Assembly.
Mr Nyenze even proposed a national referendum to determine whether the Senate was still relevant.
“Time has come for us to ask; do we really need the Senate?
"We have to do some soul-searching even if it will mean a referendum, because it is a burden,” Mr Nyenze said.
