- Sialai heads to Namibia as Kenya's Head of Mission in Windhoek.
- Warns of a crisis in the event the speaker is not elected.
Image: COURTESY/PARLIAMENT
Outgoing National Assembly Clerk Michael Sialai has lifted the lid on what he terms “the tough task awaiting his successor in the transition to the new Parliament”.
The incoming Clerk would have to ensure the House sits within 30 days after the August 9 general election—at least by September 9.
While reliving the times of his 27-year-long career in Parliament where he started as a Clerk Assistant after leaving a teaching job, Sialai said presiding over the election of a speaker is not an easy task.
He said the knowledge and tenacity of the National Assembly CEO will be tested by how he or she steers the formation of a new Parliament.
“The tenacity and knowledge of clerk will be tested when you swear in a new government. I want to see a new clerk holding the country in electing the speaker,” Sialai said at the weekend.
Borrowing from his predecessor Justin Bundi (deceased), the incoming Head of Kenya’s Mission in Namibia added that there are still grey areas that need to be addressed.
“Like we should ask, should there be nominations?” he said in tell-it-all remarks to parliamentary journalists.
After the election, the President summons the first sitting of Parliament, a time when MPs are sworn in to pave the way for the election of a speaker.
Ideally, the House should not sit if there is no speaker. Sialai said in the event the speaker is not elected by midnight of the deadline, there could be a crisis.
“Some of the things we need to look at include, Will the clerk then perform the deeds of the speaker? Can the clerk adjourn the House? Can you go beyond midnight? Does clerk have powers to adjourn the House?” he said.
He cited the 2007 event where Parliament was hailed as “the heartbeat of the Nation”, adding that Parliament held the country together at the height of the poll disputes.
“That night was difficult. Parliament had an upper hand in the stability,” Sialai explained, saying the incoming personnel would appreciate it once they swear in a new House.
The clerk says the day of the passage of the Security Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2015 was the lowest in his decades-long career.
“One of my lowest times was December 2015 during the passage of the Security Laws. My profession as a clerk was tested, more so on security,” he said, adding that the House “cannot be without sideshows”.
“I did not sleep that day. It was my lowest. A senator was left with torn trousers. There was still an element of negotiations. We talked to members and agreed on order for business,” he said.
He said that much as the law was politicised, “security improved after the Bill was assented to and terrorist attacks went down.”
Sialai is heading to Windhoek as head of Kenya’s Mission in Namibia. He will be vetted for the role on Tuesday by the House Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations.
Even as he heads out of Nairobi, the Clerk says as it stands now, Parliament cannot effectively hold the Executive accountable.
He said there is need for improvement for better oversight of ministries.
“Ministers were accountable to Parliament in the old parliament…now they are accountable to President. If we can bring ministers to Parliament, we can improve accountability,” he said.
He said the current situation was not the best as committees' chairpersons whom the questions are channelled through, struggle to get answers.
“Ministers used to come to respond when the matters had been resolved. We need to either amend the constitution to appoint ministers from the House and others from outside,” Sialai said.
He revealed a petitioner has introduced a proposal for a general oversight committee for ministers to address the House on key issues.
“It will address some of the issues we have faced as a House in respect to accountability of ministers,” the outgoing clerk said.
On the ugly scenes common with legislatures, Sialai says he remembers vividly the 1988 fight between now Kirinyaga West’s James Njiru and Gichugu’s Nahason Njuno.
Also in his memory is the 1999 brawl pitting David Murathe and Ndichu and later in 2000 between David Mwenje and Otieno Kajwang.
Sialai would also witness the 2001 fight between Shem Ochuodho and Ochillo Ayako which resulted in the admission of Ochuodho to hospital.
He vouched for negotiations whenever there is a matter where the Senate and National Assembly have differed and not the situation where, say, a House delays a legislative piece from another.
“You cannot regulate politics. It is about negotiations. There must be the haves. I advise the two houses to remove bureaucracies and look at the common good of Parliament.”
“We can get more by consultation, negotiations between the two Houses. Each House will try to create room for themselves but the focus should be on the deliverables.”
He also disclosed a plan to review the structure of House committees – reduce the number to 15 and create more as relevant.
Edited by Sarah Kanyara