NASA to table committee members' names as Parliament resumes

PARLIAMENT
PARLIAMENT

The constitution of House Committees tops the agenda of the National Assembly as it resumes sittings on Tuesday.

The National Super Alliance is expected to table names of minority leader, deputy minority leader, opposition whip and deputy whip.

Members of President Uhuru Kenyatta's Jubilee party, which has majority seats in both houses, say they will proceed with the formation of committees even without NASA.

The committees are Administration and National Security; Agriculture, Livestock and Co-operatives; Defence and Foreign Relations; and Education.

Others are Energy, Communication, and Information; Environment and Natural Resources; Health; Justice and Legal Affairs as well as Labour and Social Welfare.

The committee on Lands; Transport, Public Works, and Housing are also supposed to be constituted.

The Public Accounts Committee and the Public Investment Committee, being oversight organs, are reserved for the Opposition.

Under the new Standing Orders, a new watchdog committee-the Special Funds Accounts Committee, which will be chaired by an independent MP.

The formation of the committees hit a snag after members of the opposition declared they will boycott the sittings in protest.

Speaker Justin Muturi is also expected to give direction on which parties among them ODM, Wiper, Ford Kenya, and Wiper qualifies to be the minority.

Last month, the speaker quashed the appointment of Suba South MP John Mbadi as minority leader saying procedures were flouted.

NASA had picked Lugari MP Ayub Savula as deputy minority leader, Kathiani's Robert Mbui as minority chief whip and Chris Wamalwa of Kiminini as deputy minority whip.

The speaker said the appointments fell short of the requirements spelled out in the assembly Standing Orders.

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There are eight select committees namely constitution implementation oversight; regional integration; implementation; delegated legislation; CDF, budget and appropriation; appropriations; appointments; and the committee on election will also be filled.

The House Business, Procedure and House Rules; Liaison; Privileges; Catering and Health Club and the Pension committees are also due to be constituted.

Both House Business Committee and the Committee on Selection have been formed albeit without MPs from the NASA coalition.

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