Parliament gains independence from Executive in line with new laws

By Martin Mutua

Parliament has now assumed total independence from the executive in line with the new Constitution, The Standard has learnt.

And although the pomp and funfare that used to go along with the State opening of Parliament will be maintained, the reconvening of the House will not be meant for a new session.

"It will be a situation where the President will deliver an address to the House outlining the agenda his Government seeks to achieve for the period the House will be on," added House Clerk Patrick Gichohi.

To begin with the President cannot prorogue or dissolve Parliament at will, as has been the case since the power has been taken away by the House.

What the President can now do as Head of Government is to request the Speaker to convene the House by appointing a day for the resumption of Parliament after having been adjourned.

The Speaker will then notify members through a notice in the Kenya Gazette of the appointed day.

And in the case when the Government is the one that has requested for the House to meet, the Standing Orders dictate that the business that shall be transacted subject to the publication of notice in the Order Paper be circulated on the day the House shall so meet.

House business

The business to be transacted will be as per what the Government will have directed otherwise the House shall transact its business as if it had been duly adjourned to the day on which it shall so meet.

The other alternative according to Standing Order number 7 is for majority of members to make such a request after which they will specify the business to be transacted on the appointed day.

The business the members will have specified will be the only business before the House during that sitting after which the House shall adjourn.

And the members making such a request will be required to sign a register, which shall be certified and kept by the clerk.

Following these new developments, President Kibaki on Monday convened a crisis meeting with the administration of Parliament and his top legal minds to consult on the way forward.

On the President’s side was Attorney General Amos Wako and Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Mutula Kilonzo while on Parliament’s side was House Speaker Kenneth Marende and Gichohi.

Paradigm shift

Sources disclosed that after the meeting it was resolved that the President would request the Speaker to reconvene Parliament next Tuesday.

The sources disclosed that Marende is expected to gazette the notice to reconvene Parliament tomorrow in the Kenya Gazette notifying members of the Tuesday meeting.

What also emerged from the meeting is that Parliament will no longer have different sessions as the case has been and the current fourth session will just continue until the 2012 General Election.

"This is a major paradigm shift in terms of how business in the House will from now henceforth be transacted since the new Constitution has altered that," added a source that attended the meeting.

In separate interviews, Wako, Mutula and Gichohi confirmed the new changes that are set to take place from next week.

Wako told The Standard there will be no prorogation of the fourth session to next as that power had been taken away during the constitutional review process. On his part Gichohi said the administration of Parliament was already organising for meetings and consultations to review the current Standing Orders to conform to the new Constitution.

"Since it is the Constitution that is supreme we have no choice but to review our Standing Orders in order for them to conform with the new Constitution and we have already begun that process," added Gichohi.

He further said for instance after the next General Election there will be two chambers, that is the Senate and the National Assembly, as provided for in the Constitution and that there is need to formulate the rules and procedures for both houses.

"The Constitution is clear on how the two houses will operate and, therefore, we are reviewing our Standing Orders to conform to these demands," he added.