Odhiambo Orlale
9 July 2008
opinion
Nairobi — The 10th Parliament will leave a mark as one of the most assertive Houses, having hounded Mr Amos Kimunya out of his office at the Treasury.
If the MPs maintain the current tempo until the next polls, Kenyans should expect more heads to roll in the anti-corruption campaign and the entrenchment of democratic principles in and out of the supreme law-making body.
A week after passing a vote of no-confidence motion against the Finance minister, who finally stepped aside yesterday, the backbenchers lobbying for the creation of an Official Opposition have proved that they were right to demand that the grand coalition Government be put on its toes to ensure transparency and accountability.
So far, the MPs have shown they can unite for the good of the country by not allowing the august House to be used as a rubber stamp for misdeeds by the Executive as had been the case in the past.
Since they were elected and sworn in, the backbenchers have done more to make the Legislature more independent and transparent than their predecessors ever attempted to do.
Their passing of the censure motion was, indeed, a pointer to what they are capable of doing. Now, the fate of another motion on the controversial sale and which was to be moved by nominated MP Musikari Kombo hangs in the balance. The motion sought to have the deal cancelled and the hotel ownership reverted to the Central Bank of Kenya.
Learnt the ropes
Although over 80 per cent of the 222 MPs are new, the chairpersons of various parliamentary committees have learnt the ropes quite fast. The Parliamentary Accounts Committee and the Parliamentary Investments Committee are chaired by Ikolomani MP Bonny Khalwale and Igembe South's Mithika Linturi, respectively.
The Finance Committee, which grilled Mr Kimunya over the Grand Regency saga, is headed by Nambale MP Chris Okemo, himself a former Finance minister. The Committee on Energy and Communications is headed by Karachuonyo MP James Rege, who is a former Information permanent secretary.
The first time the MPs spoke with one voice and voted together was in mid-March, when they listened to the pleas of their party leaders, President Kibaki of PNU and Prime Minister Raila Odinga of ODM, to amend the Constitution and create the Office of the PM and his two deputies, and also to entrench the National Reconciliation Accord in the Constitution. This followed the signing of the peace accord after the post-election violence.
The election of former Emuhaya MP Kenneth Marende, to replace Mr Francis ole Kaparo, as Speaker of the National Assembly in January, has also given MPs more latitude to debate and flex their muscle. Mr Kaparo was Speaker for 15 years. In his acceptance speech, Mr Marende pledged to radically transform Parliament by making it more transparent and independent.
The Speaker, who is a former member of the parliamentary committee on administration of justice and legal affairs, also vowed to support the watchdog committees to be active and effective in keeping the Government on its toes.
So far, Mr Marende has used his discretion to allow live coverage of parliamentary proceedings, as the Standing Orders Committee, which he chairs, works on amendments to the rules before MPs formally debate and adopt them.
Right reasons
It was with this new found freedom and exposure, even to play to the gallery, that Dr Khalwale moved his censure motion and got the full support of his colleagues.
The MPs' new-found assertiveness may have also had a lot to do with their failure to make it to the 42-member grand coalition Cabinet, and 54 assistant ministers named by the President and the PM.
Last Wednesday must have been the worst day in Mr Kimunya's political life, coming a month after he had had his day in the sun on Budget Day, when all cameras were on him for all the right reasons.
The MPs also had a bone to pick with Mr Kimunya, who is the Kipipiri MP, for drawing a wedge between them and the public during the Budget speech, when he proposed a motion to have their allowances taxed.
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