- Commonwealth Parliamentary Association secretary general Stephen Twigg said democracy requires tolerance to diverging opinions.
- He was responding to Mukurwe-ini MP John Kagucia who sought to know how British MPs dealt with negative opposition politics.
Image: JOHN CHESOLI
The Commonwealth has urged Kenyan politicians to engage in healthy debate that will prosper the country as opposed to verbal wars that threaten peace and security.
Speaking during the ongoing Post Election Seminar 2023 for the Kenyan MPs in Mombasa, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association secretary general Stephen Twigg said democracy requires tolerance to diverging opinions.
He said it is important for legislators, as representatives of the people, to have a sense of responsibility when they speak in public.
“It is important for balance to be struck in public discourse,” Twigg said.
He was responding to Mukurwe-ini MP John Kagucia who sought to know how British MPs dealt with negative opposition politics.
Kagucia said negative opposition has been a challenge in Kenya and has always threatened the peace and tranquility in the country.
“We need to have as a doctrine of good governance, a well-structured opposition that will add value to the government and not the other way round,” Kagucia said.
Twigg, a former British MP, said free speech is part of democracy but it also carries a lot of responsibility.
“Healthy debate in the House is crucial. There is no need to be personal,” the Briton noted.
He, however, said the advent of social media means there is an opportunity for members to engage with their constituents freely but it also has a downside when misused.
“The House is a place where we work together to encourage debate that is respectful rather than inciting. We have a responsibility to protect democracy and free speech is part of that,” Twigg said.
The former British MP also hailed Kenya’s NG-CDF as a unique concept that should be nurtured further to help the country develop equitably.
He said the turbulence that the fund has experienced should be a wake-up call that it needs proper and tighter regulation anchored in law.
However, Twigg said it is a matter for Kenyan legislators to address.
“I learned of it the first time I came to Kenya in 2016 and it pricked my mind. But it is something for you to work out,” Twigg said.
He was responding to a question by Nyeri Town MP Duncan Mathenge who sought his opinion on the doctrine of separation of power, which he said has raised confusion and saw some apparent opposition to the fund.
At one time, the court declared the fund illegal.
The two spoke at the ongoing Post Election Seminar 2023 in Mombasa.
The seminar is sponsored by the more than 100-year-old CPA, which supports at least 18,000 legislators and more than 2.5 billion people across 56 governments in the Commonwealth.
“Administration of the fund requires openness, transparency and constitutionalism. Access to these funds should be guided by certain criteria,” Twigg said.
His comments came following a week in which Kenyan MPs walked out of their committees’ induction seminar at PrideInn Paradise Hotel protesting the delayed disbursement of the funds.
The MPs were demanding at least Sh50 million each for bursaries in their constituencies. The government had only disbursed Sh5 million to each of the 290 constituencies.
The MPs said they could not disburse the amount because it was not enough.
The delay caused havoc in constituencies with needy parents unable to take their children to school because there were no bursaries, which they are dependent on.
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, however, intervened and some Sh4 billion was last week disbursed with a promise that another Sh6 billion would be disbursed this week.
On Monday, Wetang’ula said the NG-CDF is here to stay and that there is a clear roadmap from the Executive on how to disburse CDF timely so that members can deal with situations that require the use of those resources
However, he urged the legislators to ensure it is anchored in law noting that some Kenyans run to court to challenge issues that border on constitutionalism.
“It is incumbent upon you as Members of Parliament to engage meaningfully and effectively to ensure that the irritations you keep getting from vexatious litigants going to court on each and every issue and every twist and turn to frustrate the management of public resources that help ordinary people must be put to rest by ring-fencing these funds in the constitution,” Wetang’ula said.
He said the bogey boy of the litigations is always the constitutionality of the fund.
“Make them constitutional beyond any reasonable doubt and the vexatious litigants will run out of business very quickly,” the former Bungoma senator said.
President William Ruto also on Monday, while opening the seminar, said he does not need any convincing on the importance of the NG-CDF because he has seen the difference it has made having been an MP both before the fund was introduced and after.
He said the difference is ‘like day and night.’
Ruto asked the legislators to be more understanding and to work with what is available.
“I am also aware that the National Treasury has communicated its commitment to a disbursement schedule that is really aligned to revenue projection and apt collection,” Ruto said.
The President said he does not want to overpromise and underdeliver.
Image: JOHN CHESOLI