New bill likely to stir conflict between MPs, senators

The National Assembly has revived a bill whose enactment could stir the perpetual conflict between the two Houses of Parliament.

The Parliamentary Service Bill has gone through the First Reading and is now under consideration by the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee before debate on it starts at the Second Reading.

The proposals to have all MPs and their spouses entitled to diplomatic passports and the creation of a special police unit to guard Parliament and MPs have been the more eye-catching parts of the bill.

But the proposed law also contains provisions that could alter the balance of power in Parliament.

APPROVAL

Speaker Justin Muturi indicated when the Parliamentary Service Commission was sworn in on February 28 that the bill would be one of the priorities.

Mr Muturi said the previous commission had gone through the proposed Bill and he had approved the current version for publication.

“We have passed very many other legislations to align existing and new institutions to the provision of the Constitution, but we stand indicted that we have not aligned our own act to the Constitution,” Mr Muturi said.

He said the first task for the new team would be to ensure that the bill is passed by both Houses, although the new bill retains the provision that it doesn’t concern counties, which means it should not go to the Senate.

“It must be passed by both Houses because the commission serves both Houses, members and staff,” he said as he invited the new members of the PSC to scrutinise it and prepare to give their input.

SHARED SERVICES
The Speaker played an instrumental part in stopping progress on the bill in the last Parliament to allow it to be processed during the term of the MPs it would affect.

Still, the bill retains certain provisions that caused a furore and a furious exchange of long letters between its sponsor, Majority Leader Aden Duale, Mr Muturi and other members of the last Senate.

The ill provides for the creation of an office of joint services, which would be responsible for the services that are shared between the National Assembly and the Senate.

Apart from the chambers in which they meet and the offices they occupy, almost everything else in Parliament is shared by the Members of the National Assembly and the Senators.

The Clerk of the Senate, as the Secretary of the PSC, oversees the shared services as the director general reports to him.

POWER
The Senate Clerk, Jeremiah Nyegenye, is currently the accounting officer of the PSC while the Clerk of the National Assembly, Michael Sialai, is the accounting officer of the National Assembly.

There was a furore in the last Parliament when the National Assembly changed the law to create a separate vote for the National Assembly and make its Clerk the accounting officer.

The move was seen as taking responsibility, and therefore power, from the Clerk of the Senate.

But Mr Nyegenye remained the accounting officer for the commission, meaning that he presided over the development expenditure. 

The creation of an office of joint services would thus create a third centre of power within the technocrats in Parliament.

The current director general in charge of joint services is Clement Nyandiere.

MEMBERS
The bill also sets out the work of the secretary of the PSC: organising committee meetings, keeping records, communicating the decisions of the commission to the clerks for execution, being custodian of the PSC’s seal as well as any other duty they may be assigned.

Still, the commission would have the power to delegate any power or assign a duty to its members, the clerks or an officer, body or authority.

Last year, this was seen as giving unfettered powers to the PSC and creating the opportunity for it to take work away from the Secretary, who reports to it.

The bill also retains a provision for it to co-opt any person it deems fit into any of its committees.