Private Members' Bills sidelined in Parliament, Njeri Maina says

Speaking during an interview on Spice FM, she said it took four years for her Health Amendment Bill 2024 to progress through the National Assembly, admitting that she nearly abandoned the legislative initiative because of delays. [File,Standard]

Kirinyaga Woman Representative Njeri Maina has criticised Parliament for what she says is the tendency to prioritise government-sponsored legislation at the expense of Bills introduced by individual lawmakers.

Maina said Private Members' Bills often struggle to secure time for debate in the National Assembly, with individual legislators having little control over when their proposals are brought before the House.

Speaking during an interview on Spice FM, she said it took four years for her Health Amendment Bill 2024 to progress through the National Assembly, admitting that she nearly abandoned the legislative initiative because of delays.

"Parliament is a very strange place because it suppresses Private Members' Bills and prioritises government agenda and yet some of the Bills that private members bring to the floor are very critical," she said.

Maina said the House Business Committee determines which matters are scheduled for debate, leaving individual lawmakers unable to independently secure time for their Bills.

She said she had no power to place her Bill on the Order Paper or compel the House to debate it, despite the importance of the proposed changes to healthcare laws.

"I had nearly given up, but I'm very persistent. I felt that this was something that speaks to my heart because I have done pro bono work around these issues. So for me, I just kept going," she said.

The legislator said she had to repeatedly lobby colleagues and seek support to keep the Bill alive, at one point having to reinitiate it after its progress stalled.

She called for changes that would allow members of Parliament to have a say in determining whether Private Members' Bills should proceed to debate, arguing that some proposals address critical issues affecting Kenyans.

Maina said her experience demonstrated the difficulties individual legislators face in advancing legislation, even when the proposals address issues that cut across political and regional divisions.

Her Health Amendment Bill 2024, which seeks to prevent hospitals from denying emergency treatment or detaining patients and bodies over unpaid bills, has since been passed by the National Assembly and awaits consideration by the Senate.