Lack of quorum hits Mandera county assembly

No legislative business has been conducted at the Mandera County Assembly for the past two weeks because there has been no quorum.

Out of the 48 ward representatives, only less than ten have been showing up since August 3.

“We are shocked that two weeks after resuming business most of our colleagues are out of Mandera,” Wargadud MCA Alinoor Derrow Abdullahi said.

Mr Abdullahi claimed most of the absent MCAs are engaged in early campaigns.

“We have a lot to do at the assembly but our colleagues are away campaigning instead of serving their electorate,” he said.

He claimed that some Mandera MCAs have been away for more than three months violating standing orders.

“Some MCAs have been away for three months, skipping more than eight sittings and nothing has happened,” he said.

The assembly's standing orders state that an MCA's seat should be declared vacant if the member misses eight consecutive sittings.

Leader of Minority Jimale Abdi Hassan admitted that most members are away attending to private matters.

“We are all parents and we have been taking our children back to school before we come to Mandera for the normal county assembly business,” he said.

The Leader of Majority Abdi Adan Ali said members of two committees were in Nairobi busy compiling reports to be tabled at the assembly soon.

“We have two committees working from Nairobi on final reports that will be tabled at the assembly but most members will be arriving back from this weekend,” he said on phone from Nairobi.

Mr Ali said some members had personal commitments that might have delayed their return to Mandera.

Speaker Mohamed Adan Khalif could not be reached for comment.