Keynan calls on MPs to push for Kenyans' interests
Eldas MP Adan Keynan (right) at the National Assembly on September 8, 2022.
Eldas MP Adan Keynan says the 13th Parliament was ready to hit the road running to deliver the needs of Kenyans.
Speaking prior to the re-opening of the House on Thursday, swearing in of MPs and election of the National Assembly Speaker, Dr Keynan was upbeat the new legislators were up to the task.
Dr Keynan who is serving his sixth term in Parliament, vowed to prioritise the push for interests of northern Kenya residents and Kenyans at large.
“We are ready to hit the road running to address the needs of Kenyans,” Dr Keynan told Nation.Africa by phone.
Dr Keynan who is seniormost politician in northern Kenya and longest serving member of the Parliamentary Service Commission thanked Wajir West constituency, Eldas and Wajir County residents for electing him and having confidence in his leadership.
Young student
“This is one of things I dreamt to do when I was young student to be elected Member of Parliament and longest serving MP. I have achieved both,” Mr Keynan said.
He vowed to continued pushing for the improvement of infrastructure, water supply, education and health in northern Kenya for the region to be at par with other parts of the country.
Eldas MP Adan Keynan (right) and Dadaab MP Farah Maalim at Parliament Buildings in Nairobi on September 8, 2022.
Dr Keynan, a key figure in the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition also called on his colleagues in Parliament to focus on issues facing Kenyans.
The MPs take office amid rising cost of living, high food prices and unemployment among Kenyans.
Dr Keynan start serving his sixth term when the new Parliament opened Thursday, a major feat as nearly 70 percent of Kenya’s MPs are not re-elected.
The legislator, a focal figure in Northern Kenya politics, joined politics as MP for Wajir West in 1997.
He held the position for three consecutive terms before moving to Eldas, which was carved from the larger Wajir West in 2013.
National politics
For a leader instrumental in defending the interests of the Somali community in national politics, Mr Keynan remains a vibrant figure and was recognised as the best-performing MP by Mizani Africa.
He has been a member of the Liaison Committee and the Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations, and the chairperson of the Public Investments Committee since 2013.
From 2008 to 2013, he was on the Committee on Energy, Communications, and Information, and the Committee on Labour and Social Welfare. He was also a member of the House Business Committee, as well as chair of the Defence and Foreign Relations Committee.
From 1998 to 2002, he was on the Committee on Administration and National Security and a member of the Committee on Finance, Planning and Trade.
As an MP, Mr Keynan has sponsored several bills that were seen as controversial in Parliament.
