Boost for lawmakers with babies

Parliament will facilitate women MPs with babies to do their parliamentary duties while taking care of their little ones.

This follows a petition to Parliamentary Service Commission, which looks into the welfare of members and staff, by Jubilee’s Senator Martha Wangari.

The new look 11th Parliament is working to conform with the new constitutional order which has seen an unprecedented number of young women and men join the two Houses of Parliament. Five of the 18 women senators are aged between 24 and 33 years.

At 24, Senator Daisy Nyongesa and her ODM colleague in the Senate Halima Abdille Mohamud, 25, are the youngest members of the current Parliament.

MPs and senators with disabilities will also be facilitated to make it easy for them to carry out their duties both in Parliament and outside.

Women MPs and senators with babies have had to balance between their motherhood responsibilities and parliamentary duties. Some who are still breast-feeding have had to come with their babies and nannies to Parliament Buildings to attend House sessions. They have had to meet the costs of the two even when they travel out of Nairobi on official duty.

Senator Wangari (UDF) petitioned PSC to facilitate nursing women parliamentarians and members of staff when they travel outside Nairobi on official duty.

The lawmaker, who is the vice-chairperson of Senate’s Committee on Devolved Government, argued that women MPs with babies have had to choose between attending parliamentary meetings and other duties outside Nairobi or to remain at home to take care of their little ones.

“I petitioned PSC to consider facilitating both members of Parliament and staff who have babies to carry out their responsibility even as they take care of their young ones when out on assignment. Otherwise, failure to recognise those two responsibilities would appear discriminatory and even punitive,” said the 29-year old senator who has a six-month-old baby.

Parliament will also provide a creche for the nursing mothers at Parliament Buildings and at Kenyatta International Conference Centre, where the Senate sits, to enable the MPs feed and take care of their babies while attending to their House duties. The rooms will be located close to the chambers of the respective Houses.

The Nation has learnt that Parliament’s board of senior management has approved Senator Wangari’s petition and with this, indications are that the proposals will sail through the Parliamentary Service Commission chaired by National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi with nominated Senator Beth Mugo as its vice-chair.

Once approved by PSC, Parliament will meet the travel and accommodation expenses of the MPs’ babies (below the age of one year), and their nannies when on parliamentary duties outside Nairobi. The same will apply to women members of staff.

“If (the resolution) is passed by PSC, we will certainly have to oblige. It is the Constitution and we have to facilitate our members and staff to serve,” said Senate Clerk Jeremiah Nyegenye, who is the PSC secretary.

Members of both Houses who have disabilities that affect their ability to fully participate in parliamentary business will be facilitated to engage an additional member of staff. They will get an additional Sh65,000 to recruit additional staff to help them participate fully in their parliamentary duties when out of Nairobi.

Elected MPs and senators are paid a monthly Sh195,000 to employ staff such as a personal assistants and drivers while their nominated counterparts get Sh97,500.