Mandera County Senator Billlow Kerow addressing the press at National
Assembly Buildings on February 25, 2014 after Members of Parliament and
Senators held an Informal meeting. PHOTO | BILLY MUTAI
MPs Tuesday resolved to go ahead with plans to tame governors
and judges despite an early morning meeting between Chief Justice Willy
Mutunga and the two Speakers of Parliament.
During the
informal talks at Parliament Buildings, the legislators resolved not to
send lawyers to cases filed by the governors at the High Court. The move
was meant to avoid making themselves subject to the decision of the
court.
Governors have asked High Court to determine
whether they should heed the Senate’s summons and another challenging
the ouster of Mr Martin Wambora who was impeached by the Embu County
Assembly and the Senate before he was granted a stay order by the
courts.
The joint Senate and National Assembly meeting,
which was presided over by Speakers Justin Muturi (National Assembly)
and Ekwee Ethuro (Senate), also resolved to speed up the passing of laws
stripping governors of most of their ceremonial roles and capping
allocation to counties to 15 per cent of the national Budget.
They
however backed down on a proposal to reduce the allocation of funds to
the Judiciary, agreeing that the decision lies with the committees and
cannot be made collectively.
The National Treasury had
proposed that counties be given Sh242.4 billion — or 32.4 per cent of
the Sh682.1 billion latest audited revenue.
If MPs
pass the laws they agreed on Tuesday, this will see the amount divided
in two with one half being managed by governors and the other by County
Development Boards, which will be set up once the County Government
(Amendment) Bill is passed.
The talks had discussed reducing the Judiciary’s allocation by Sh500 million. However, members dropped the proposal.
The
leadership of the two Houses declined to reveal what had been
agreed on, but the resolutions will become evident in the business that
will be put on the Order Paper in the Senate and the National Assembly
this week.
Majority Leader Aden Duale had told the
National Assembly last week that the Bills passed by the Senate would be
handled this week.
A member who attended the meeting
said that Mr Muturi and Mr Ethuro told MPs that they had met Dr Mutunga
for breakfast and had presented to him the issues that MPs have raised
against the Judiciary.
ENGAGING CHIEF JUSTICE
They
informed the gathering they would continue engaging the Chief Justice,
but maintained the position adopted over the past week that the
Judiciary cannot stop Parliament from doing its work. Later in the day,
when the Senate was in session, members said they would not allow the
courts to stop them from discharging their mandate.
During
the meeting, also called as the 'Speaker’s Kamukunji', members from
both Houses criticised the Judiciary over a court order barring nine
governors from heeding summons to appear before parliamentary committees
to answer questions on how they were spending money in counties.
Another
court had stayed the reinstatement of Mr Wambora pending conclusion of a
petition he filed after he was kicked out by the Embu MCAs and the
Senate. (READ: Wambora not reinstated, after all )
Those
who spoke said that in the eyes of Parliament, Mr Wambora remains
impeached, meaning, he cannot meet the committees and would not be asked
to explain matters relating to Embu County.
It was
not clear if the suggestion to have MPs discuss individual judges was
discussed. However, some MPs said the National Flag, Emblems and Names
(Amendment) Bill and the County Governments (Amendment) Bill would be
speeded up in the National Assembly.
Both are designed
to “tame” governors. The first will legally strip governors of the
titles they took up on assuming office, while the second will set up
boards to be chaired by senators to guide development in counties.
Under the National Flag, Emblems and Names (Amendment) Bill, the governors will be stripped of the title “Your Excellency”.
They
will also be placed eighth in the pecking order at public functions and
barred from flying the national flag on their official vehicles outside
their counties.
At the Senate, Mandera Senator
Billow Kerrow said the Finance, Commerce and Economic Affairs committee
would press on with its bid to have them explain their spending.
“Our
committee is going ahead with the invitations to the governors. That we
have agreed should go on,” Mr Kerrow, who said each county boss would
be invited individually in addition to the Council of Governors.
“It is becoming apparent that the constitutional requirement for oversight for members of Parliament is not in doubt.”
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