Aden Duale criticises MPs for bringing few Bills to House
What you need to know:
- Mr Duale said only 10 Bills were published by members during the first session of Parliament that ended last week
- Mr Duale said the National Assembly handled 41 Bills in the first session, some of which will roll over to next year.
National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale has criticised MPs for not bringing enough Bills to the House and focusing on unenforceable motions.
Mr Duale said only 10 Bills were published by members during the first session of Parliament that ended last week although some MPs had filed motions, which did not call the Executive to action.
“This is a very low number of Bills coming from MPs, considering our numbers in the House. MPs are now in charge of legislation,” Mr Duale said.
The Constitution now bestows on Parliament the mandate of drafting Bills unlike in the past when the Executive performed the role, only presenting them to Parliament for approval.
However, MPs cannot publish Bills that have a financial implication on the Exchequer without the Cabinet’s approval. The nine Bills that were published by MPs are pending action by the House.
FREE OF CHARGE
Mr Duale said publication of Bills by members is free of charge because Parliament meets the cost of printing at the Government Printer.
“I don’t know why MPs prefer filing time consuming motions instead of coming up with new laws or publishing amendments to existing Acts of Parliament. Motions only urge government to act, but Bills compel it to do what an MP wants,” Mr Duale, who is also the Garissa Town MP, said.
Mr Duale said the National Assembly handled 41 Bills in the first session, some of which will roll over to next year.
He said 35 of the published Bills were generated by his office and warned that motions will not be entertained in the second session that starts on February 10.
“The Leader of Majority is the floor manager and I was at the centre of all business that we transacted. I go home for Christmas and New Year festivities a proud man because government agenda was passed,” he told the Business Daily in an interview at Parliament buildings in Nairobi.
However, most Bills are now published under the hand of the Leader of Majority, on behalf of the government, while individual MPs publish Bills after departmental committees approve them.
Mr Duale said his office, the Speaker’s office, the Clerk’s office and the legal department were ready to assist MPs and print their Bills. He said it takes less than seven days to get the Bills out of the Government Printer.
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