Why our MPs must rise beyond selfish interests

This was an interesting week in Parliament. It was a week when MPs sat for long hours to ensure they completed ‘urgent’ House business before taking a Christmas break.

As the members of the Tenth Parliament were concluding House business for this year, a survey released on Thursday by Infotrak Chief Executive Officer, Angela Ambitho, showed most voters would not re-elect their MPs. The report indicated 56 per cent of Kenyans would not re-elect their MPs if polls are called today and only 28 would. Sixteen per cent were undecided.

The findings do not surprise Kenyans. It is no secret that some MPs do not take House business seriously. And when they do so, they have vested interests in some of the debates. This week’s happenings in Parliament showed they can sit for many hours to pass Motions that they have an interest in.

In a thinly veiled move to ‘protect’ the prime suspects in the 2007 post-election violence, the MPs on Wednesday evening passed a Motion seeking to withdraw Kenya from the Rome Statute. The previous day, the MPs adopted findings of the now defunct Interim Independent Boundaries Commission (IIBRC). This would mean that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission would base its work on the contentious IIBRC findings.

Since the Coalition Government was formed in 2008, MPs have on several occasions disagreed on matters they feel do no favour their side of the coalition. In other instances, they have passed Motions they have vested interests in.

This is no doubt a worrying trend that must stop if the House wants to earn its respect. Our legislators must now rise above selfish interest. Voters are watching them, and they have spoken through Infotrak opinion survey.