Reform Bills top MPs’ agenda as House resumes

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.

But crucially, the MPs faulted the nominations because they did not meet the constitutional requirement on the composition of the team.

The Constitution provided that at least one person nominated for the position of chairperson or member of the commission should be qualified to be appointed as a judge of the High Court of Kenya as provided for in Article 246(2)(a)(i).

Police reforms

President Kibaki had nominated Amina Masoud to head the commission that will oversee recruitment, promotion and advise on remuneration of police officers.

The members proposed were Esther Chui Colombini, Ronald L Musengi, James A Atema, Shadrack Muia, and Mary Owuor. None of the nominees on the list presented to the committee had met the requirement for legal academic background.

But the PM also protested that Amina, Musengi, and Atema had not been on the list his office had agreed on with acting Head of Public Service Francis Kimemia.

In the initial list, Johnston Kavuludi had been proposed as chairperson, while Lawrence Nyalle and Bernard Mbai were among the recommended members.

With the controversy raging, the committee chaired by Mt Elgon MP Fred Kapondi conducted fresh interviews of all the shortlisted candidates for the chairperson’s position. Consequently, the MPs suggested the two principals consider Kavuludi, former Fida Executive Director Jean Njeri Kamau and former Interim Independent Boundaries Review Commission official Murshid Mohamed for nomination to head the team.

Selection process

In the report, the committee explained the fresh inquiry into the 10 short listed candidates for the post of chairperson was to establish “whether there was credibility and objectivity in the selection process.”

But the committee upheld President Kibaki’s nomination of Chui-Colombini, Ronal Musengi, Atema, Muia and Auma as commissioners.

Earlier during the committee hearings, MPs asked the Office of Prime Minister’s Legal Advisor why it took so long for the PM to inform OP that the list forwarded to Parliament did not have the names mutually agreed upon.

The Advisor informed the committee there were on-going consultations between the two offices although he was not privy to what had transpired.

“However, the committee noted that there was no letter written from the Prime Minister to the Office of the President objecting to the names sent to Parliament,” the report stated in part.

Most urgent

According to the official, the Prime Minister wrote to Parliament objecting to the list “as this was deemed to be the most urgent thing to do.”

On Tuesday, the Government will also formally introduce in the floor of the House the Finance Bill, Value Added Tax Bill and the Central Bank (amendment) Bill.

Some MPs have threatened to revisit the clamour to amend the Finance Bill to regulate interest rates due to high cost of loans burdening bank borrowers.

The House abandoned such measure last session after the Treasury dangled a hefty Sh3.7 million for each of the 222 MPs as gratuity at the end of their terms. Thereafter councillors, too, demanded more than Sh3 billion in gratuity pay as they exit office at the end of their terms.

The Association of Local Government Authorities of Kenya (Algak) has pressed for each of the 3,300 councillors to take home Sh1 million at the expiry of their terms.

Algak chairman Tarayia Kores said the proposal had been forwarded to Local Government Minister Fred Gumo, who was expected to present it to Cabinet.