National Assembly lines up 13 BBI Bills

The National Assembly has lined up 13 Bills to aid the implementation of some of the recommendations of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report.

The Nation has also established that the House leadership has planned another meeting next week to firm up a number of issues on BBI to be prioritised for debate.

As the Senate leadership heads to Naivasha to plan on the journey ahead after the official launch of the BBI report last week, their counterparts in the National Assembly have scheduled a meeting next week to decide on the number of Bills that will be tabled as independent legislation and those that will be considered as miscellaneous amendment Bills.

Parliamentary technocrats have already been directed to fish out some of the Bills that will aid the implementation of the recommendations of the BBI report for processing when the House resumes sittings next week.

Minority Whip Junet Mohamed said the leadership had in its preliminary meeting this week identified some 13 Bills to be fast-tracked and passed before the referendum.

Referendum Bills

“We are prepared and have already had our preliminary meeting with a follow-up meeting expected next week to firm up positions of the first meeting,” Mr Junet told the Nation.

Some of the Bills lined up for consideration are Amendments to the Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) sponsored by nominated MP Gideon Keter, Judicial Service Bill which is currently before the Justice and Legal Affairs committee and seeks to kick start the recruitment of a new Chief Justice, referendum Bills and the Ward Development Fund Bill.

The amendments to the Helb Act seek to effect the recommendation of the BBI report which proposes that Helb loans start attracting interest when the beneficiary starts earning an income.

“The proposed amendments further exempt loanees without a source of income from paying interest on the loans advanced to them until such time that the loanees start earning an income,” the report reads.

Upon resuming sittings next week, MPs will embark on debating the referendum Bills.  This follows the publication of the draft Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill 2020 in the BBI report which was unveiled by President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga last week.

Official opposition leader.

The Bill seeks to amend the 2010 Constitution to alter the system of government from a purely presidential to a hybrid arrangement that will see the reintroduction of the post of official opposition leader. It also seeks to have Cabinet ministers appointed from among members of the National Assembly, as well as increase the allocation to counties from a basis of 15 to 35 per cent, among others.

Currently Article 257 of the Constitution provides for amendment of the Constitution through a popular initiative but it has gaps which the lawmakers want addressed through various amendments.

National Assembly Minority Leader John Mbadi said the National Assembly leadership had called for a meeting to agree on the implementation matrix of all the Bills. “We must however be careful as Parliament not to completely water down the Constitution while making changes through the amendments,” Mr Mbadi said.

Senate Majority Whip Irungu Kang’ata said their Sunday meeting would come up with a plan on the journey ahead.

He said there were legislative proposals in the BBI such as the ward development fund which were already in the parliamentary conveyor belt hence would not pose any challenge during consideration by Parliament. .

National Assembly Majority leader Amos Kimunya had said during the BBI report launch at the Bomas of Kenya that the lawmakers were ready to deal with issues that will require legislative issues. “We have a short time as Parliament but we are ready and prepared,” Mr Kimunya said.