Sometimes last year we asked and some people hurled abuses us: “Exactly how does Rongai MP Raymond Kipruto arap Moi spend his days as he is never seen on the ground”? Well it appears like he is never in parliament either so the questions still begs…in Absentee MPs To Lose Seats By David Mwere Monday, June 16, 2014 A number of MPs who have been absent from the House for more than eight sittings without the Speakers permission could lose their jobs. An MP, who does not want to be identified for now, is planning to file a petition to remove Dalmas Otieno (Rongo, ODM), Raymond Moi (Rongai, URP), Alex Kosgey (Emgwen, URP), Gideon Konchellah (Kilgoris, URP), Enoch Kibunguchy (Likuyani, ODM), Alfred Keter (Nandi Hills, URP), and Elijah Lagat (Chesumei). The installation of a biometric system in Parliament to record MPs attendance in the Chamber, replacing the traditional manual sign-ins, makes it easier to tell who the lazybones and no-shows are. The MP is planning to invoke Article 103 (1) (b) of the Constitution to push his case. It reads: The vacation of office of Member of Parliament, among others, shall be occasioned if, during any session of Parliament, the Member is absent from eight sittings of the relevant House without permission, in writing, from the Speaker, and is unable to offer a satisfactory explanation for the absence to the relevant committee. The MP told the Star: “Many would go home if this section is applied strictly, because they have missed more than enough. They are used to the old Standing Orders that provided for the eight consecutive sittings in a session until the Speaker brought the new rules to our attention on Tuesday last week during the afternoon proceedings.” He added: “As with the issue of Quorum, the Speaker feigns ignorance of MPs attendance until he is formally notified by a Member.” The matter was brought to the attention of the House after a committee chairperson who was scheduled to respond to a question failed to show up. Immediately after the Speaker’s direction, it is said that Moi and Kosgey, who had been watching the House proceedings from a private office, made a “familiarization” visit to the Speaker’s office. However, MPs apprehensive about the provision are now mulling amending the “offensive” article to replace it with eight consecutive sittings. A question by Laisamis MP Joseph Lekuton, directed to the Committee on the Environment on the measures the government is taking to mitigate the effects of climate change, triggered the following exchange, as captured in Hansard, the verbatim transcript of parliamentary debates in Kenya, Britain, and many other Commonwealth countries: Hon. Speaker: Hon. Amina Abdalla, the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. She is not present. What about the Vice-Chairperson? Who is the Vice-Chairperson? Hon. Members we have agreed. We have set rules. If any Member of a Committee wants to start giving undertakings, you put yourself in trouble. Is the Chairperson present? Hon. Members: No! Hon. Speaker: The Vice-Chairperson is also absent, not desiring to be present. Who is the Vice-Chairperson of that Committee? An Hon. Member: Hon. Kosgey. Hon. Speaker: Hon. Kosgey! Do we have a Member by that name here? I honestly cannot even place . . . His image is not anywhere in my reflection. [What] does he look like? Does that Member come to Parliament? Who has ever seen him here in the Chamber? It is even worse that you say that he is a Vice-Chairperson of a Committee. It would have to be a terrible accident that he is the only Vice-Chairperson of a Committee that I do not know. How did he become a Vice-Chairperson of a Committee? This speaks volumes about those who are Members of that Committee! The Members of that Committee should really . . . At this point, Majority Leader Aden Duale gave an undertaking to ensure the question is answered. “Hon. Speaker, Hon. Alexander Kosgey is a Member of this Coalition. He is also a member of my party, URP. I remember that I campaigned for him very vigorously. I will pass the message to him in the absence of Hon. Amina Abdalla. I can confirm, however, that he usually comes and sits at the back,” Duale is captured as saying in Hansard. Hon. Speaker: I think so. I think he must be among the very few that I have not seen. At least, I have seen Hon. Simba Arati very frequently in the Chamber.
Posted on: Mon, 16 Jun 2014 10:07:49 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015