• The Covid-19 crisis and the BBI politics expected to be addressed when Uhuru speaks on Thursday.
• Of those to sit in the main chamber, 88 seats will be for the National Assembly members and the rest to senators on a first-come-first-served basis.
Image: JACK OWUOR
President Uhuru Kenyatta will on Thursday afternoon address a joint sitting of the Senate and the National Assembly to highlight the achievements of his administration.
The address normally takes place during the first quarter of the year but was scuttled by the Covid-19 crisis that forced restrictions on movement and public gatherings.
National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi and his Senate counterpart Ken Lusaka formally informed members of the joint sitting in a gazette notice last Friday.
Owing to the Covid-19 situation, only 114 lawmakers from both the Senate and the National Assembly will be allowed in the chamber for the address. The rest will follow proceedings from various designated areas.
“According to the health protocols, 114 members will be accommodated in the main chamber. The rest will sit in the Senate chamber and other designated areas,” National Assembly clerk Michael Sialai told the Star on Tuesday.
Of those to sit in the main chamber, 88 seats will be for the National Assembly members and the rest to senators on a first-come-first-served basis.
“There will be no reception after the address. However, the main restaurant will be open and meals will be served in the usual manner,” Muturi said.
Only a limited number of members will be allowed to receive the President. They will include the two speakers, deputy speakers, leaders of minority and majority parties and the clerks of both houses.
The President’s address is expected to delve into the Building Bridges Initiative amid mounting pressure to allow amendments to the report.
Uhuru is expected to address issues of national security and strategies his administration is putting in place to address the effects of Covid-19.
He is also expected to give an update on the milestones in the fight against corruption – for which he was issued a report on Monday by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
DPP Noordin Haji, in the report, said there were cases involving over Sh200 billion in various anti-corruption courts.
The law requires the President to report to Parliament the measures taken to achieve national values, progress in the fulfillment of international obligations, and state of security.
Parliamentary staffers spent a better part of Tuesday preparing for the address – which is expected to pan out differently following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Unlike previous occasions, MPs would not be allowed to invite guests to the event.
In his last address, Uhuru exuded confidence that the ‘State of the Nation is Strong’.
“We remain a country striving and ambitious, taking on our pressing challenges and not avoiding them,” he said last year.
He also put a strong case for devolution and the BBI which he hailed as his vehicle to attain his legacy of unity.
The President reiterated that there would be no turning back on devolution, his Big Four agenda and on reforms to improve public service.
Edited by P.O