Cord scuttles bid to reorganise House committees

An attempt to reorganise the committees in the National Assembly was scuttled Tuesday evening after the Cord coalition protested saying the lists had been changed at the last minute to its disadvantage.

Minority Leader Francis Nyenze rose in protest shortly after his Majority counterpart Aden Duale and Jubilee whip Katoo ole Metito had proposed the adoption of the list by the House.

“The list the way I see it is not what we agreed,” said Mr Nyenze. “This is not the truth. It is good to be frank, fair and shame the devil.”

He said whips from both sides had worked on the lists as well as MPs Mille Odhiambo-Mabona (Mbita, ODM), Peter Kaluma (Homa Bay, ODM) and Rose Museo (Makueni County, Wiper).

The changes were sneaked in at the printing stage, he said.

But he suggested that someone in the Cord leadership was responsible for the alterations to the list transferring MPs from committees to achieve balance.

CONFUSION

Mr Duale seized on the apparent confusion to criticise Cord.

“There is a huge problem with my colleagues. Parliament is in possession of a list signed by the Minority Whip. Please allow the Jubilee Coalition to table our list and move on. We don’t want to get caught up in their problems,” he said.

Mrs Mabona was also critical of her Cord counterparts, who she accused of holding the rest of the House at ransom.

“We have brought this House to a standstill because of a very minor issue. The entire House has been held at ransom because of the leadership. Please let us put our House in order and let us move on,” she told her Cord colleagues.

The list on the Order Paper was also inconsistent as James Lusweti (Kabuchai, Ford-Kenya) had been moved from the Transport to the Agriculture committees and then again to Budget committee.

Because there are 349 MPs, 127 more than in past Parliaments, the House leadership has struggled to ensure that each MP is a member of at least two committees.

ESSENTIAL

Under the presidential system, committees are considered essential because they have the power to deal directly with Cabinet Secretaries- the heads of ministries- who are not MPs like before.

But nearly six months after the Eleventh Parliament was formed, some MPs have not yet been allocated membership in the committees.

On Tuesday, Jubilee Chief Whip Katoo Ole Metito said he would ask for permission to present its coalition’s list of MPs if Cord is unable to agree.

He said the confusion within the National Assembly had affected the Senate as two committees- that on broadcasting and another on cohesion and equal opportunity-whose membership is joint have never held a single meeting.

Deputy Speaker Dr Joyce Laboso said the House leadership would have two days to sort out the problem and the list would be brought back to the House on Thursday for approval.