House business bound to suffer as NASA, Jubilee flex muscles

The habitual showdown in the National Assembly between legislators from the Jubilee Party and the Opposition National Super Alliance (NASA) is bound to get extreme and intense in coming weeks if events in the past week are anything to go by.

NASA has started by throwing down the gauntlet by stating that its members will not take part in the vetting of Cabinet Secretaries because the Opposition alliance does not recognise the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta on October 26.

Although their actions will be of little consequence with Jubilee’s large majority in the National Assembly and its penchant for voting as a bloc, an opportunity to have a broad dispassionate discourse about nominees for cabinet positions will have been lost.

Of greater concern will be NASA’s refusal to take up seats in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and Public Investment Committee (PIC) since these bodies serve as crucial watchdogs for the general citizenry and offer checks to Executive excesses if and when they arise.

Under parliamentary standing orders, these two committees cannot be constituted without members of the Opposition. Without these committees, the legislative agenda of the National Assembly could run into severe headwinds.

For one, there would be no parliamentary committees — and therefore lack of public scrutiny of financial transactions that involves the Government and other stakeholders. The need for due diligence in these types of transactions cannot be understated.

But one cannot help but notice some double standard on the part of NASA; while their legislators have been quick to secure prestigious positions in the House — positions such as Leader of Minority in both the National Assembly and the Senate that come with hefty perks — they have turned their nose on other positions that have little influence.

Which is why the Opposition’s agenda to choose brinkmanship over engagement may prove unpopular. This is quite unfortunate because, ultimately it is Kenyans who will be the losers.