• Speaker Mutura adjourned the house indefinitely on April 6, 2021, after it was revealed at least 50 MCAs had contracted the virus.
• Only the house leadership were to access the chambers during plenary with the rest of the MCAs following via zoom.
Image: FILE
MCAs from the Nairobi County Assembly are now split over the decision of conducting plenary sittings via zoom.
A section of MCAs have condemned the online meetings, saying it has decreased their morale and reducing business in the house.
Since the first Covid case was diagnosed in March last year, the assembly shifted to virtual sittings for the plenary, with only the leadership allowed in chambers.
Plenary sittings have been held twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons with Wednesday left for fumigation.
However, the MCAs now want physical sittings to resume with consideration of Covid-19 protocols.
Nairobi County Assembly Deputy Majority Whip Waithera Chege noted that zoom meetings have not been effective, have become ‘boring’ with MCAs unable to fully oversight online.
“The online way of conducting plenary has decreased the house business. Last week on Thursday, plenary session ended without any motion being debated because the mover was nowhere to be found either online or in the chambers. What are we really doing in the house as MCAs? She posed.
During the same sitting, temporary Speaker Emapet Kemunto warned the legislators to style up and dress appropriately when attending zoom.
This was after some of the legislators were reproached for dressing inappropriately during online meetings with some accused of exposing their “naked tummies” while logged in.
The Deputy Majority Whip also explained that technical hitches are experienced and despite being safe because of Covid-19 pandemic has also contributed to laziness, unprofessionalism
In February this year, she had raised complains over the same issue when an MCA’s goats ‘stormed the virtual plenary sittings
With less than an year left to the elections, Waithera is urging the County Assembly Speaker Benson Mutura to lift restrictions that he imposed in the house to bar physical plenary sittings
“I’m pleading with our Speaker to let us resume physical sittings with strict Covid-19 preventive measures just like the Senate and National Assembly,” she said.
Speaker Mutura adjourned the house indefinitely on April 6 after at least 50 MCAs had contracted the virus.
This was after President Uhuru Kenyatta had asked Parliament and county assemblies in five 'disease-infected 'counties of Nairobi, Kiambu, Kajiado, Machakos and Nakuru to go on recess until further notice.
The house resumed last month, where Speaker Mutura gave strict restrictions on assembly attendance amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.
Only the house leadership were to access the chambers during plenary with the rest of the MCAs following via zoom.
Nominated MCA Doris Kanario said National Assembly and the Senate have resumed physical sittings hence Nairobi should not be an exception.
"The speaker should allow back the physical sittings as long as the Covid 19 protocols are observed. It is working well with the Senators and MPs," she added.
Umoja One MCA Mark Mugambi noted that the Zoom meetings have made some members ‘lazy’ with many even failing to log in.
“We are being paid for nothing because very few MCAs actually follow up the proceedings via Zoom since one can easily log in and engage in other activities on the side,” he said.
“Both National, Senate and other county assemblies are doing physical sessions so it beats no logic as to why we are still on virtual. The speaker only needs to make a communication lifting the restrictions,” Mugambi added.
“Online plenary has really reduced morale and business. Participation of members has gone down since there are features like raising a point of orders which can’t be done via zoom. Its killing debates,” Kabiro Mbugua, MCA.
Dandora Four MCA Francis Ngesa recommended that the Speaker should allow physical sittings only to members who have been vaccinated.
Health is wealth
However, another section of MCAs supporting the online proceedings said it was the best way considering the Covid-19 pandemic.
Minority Whip Peter Imwatok emphasised that plenary sittings should remain as health of MCAs and assembly staff come first.
"Health is wealth and Zoom is the way to go in the digital world especially during this unprecedented times of Covid 19," he said.
Imwatok, who seats at the House Business Committee (HBC), defended it saying that they are encouraging members to bring in statements and give notices of motions.
Roysambu MCA Peter Warutere pointed out that the challenge facing the plenary sitting was the level of interaction acknowledging that physical sittings were more effective.
Nevertheless, Warutere, who chairs the Health committee, advised that Covid-19 was no factor to ignore noting prevention was better than cure.
"Unfortunately, we are not out of the woods yet. We are on the 4th wave of Covid-19 which is more deadly than the first 3 waves, so let's be careful least we get the numbers of infections that we hard shortly before we adjourned in March," he added.
Warutere was among at least 50 MCAs who had contracted the virus early this year, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the house indefinitely.