By Alex Ndegwa
The House reopens on Tuesday, as the clock runs down to the last five and a half months of the life of the Tenth Parliament.
MPs will be confronted by at least nine reform Bills, which the Constitution stipulates should be passed by the end of next month.
The highlight is the Leadership and Integrity Bill, already causing ripples, with the civil society and MPs at odds as to the proper threshold of integrity.
Three draft laws touching on the security sector are also on Parliament’s in-tray. These are National Intelligence Service Bill, National Security Council Bill, and the Kenya Defence Forces Bill.
Another is the Assumption of office of President, establishing a committee of top civil servants, and security chiefs to oversee the transition to the fourth President.
Hand-over
The Bill is designed to address the chaotic handover ceremony in 2002 at Uhuru Park, Nairobi, when Narc’s Mwai Kibaki took over power from then President Moi.
It is also influenced by the dusk swearing-in of President Kibaki in 2007 at State House following his controversial re-election for a second term.
Other Bills include the right to petition Parliament, the National Government, Parliamentary Service Commission, and Public Service Management Bills.
But the first business for MPs on Tuesday, according to the order paper, is the resumption of confirmation hearings for nominees to the National Police Service Commission. It is an agenda that sparked a storm before the House broke for recess.
MPs will resume debate on the report of the Departmental Committee on Administration and National Security. Prime Minister Raila Odinga had objected to the list submitted to Parliament by the Office of the President, saying he had not been consulted.
