Speaker Wetangula Spares Ruto CSs in Parliament Grilling
When the National Assembly reconvened on February 13th, Speaker Moses Wetangula announced that cabinet secretaries would not be required to address questions raised by parliament members before the holiday break.
Wetangula clarified that according to the standing orders, any unfinished business from the previous session was considered expired.
The Speaker of the National Assembly commented that the standing orders encompassed all motions, statements, questions, and certain bills that were brought before the House.
“I am aware that at the end of the second session, 281 questions were sent to Cabinet Secretaries, where 15 questions were responded to leaving 156 awaiting response from respective CSs,” Wetang’ula stated.
“All other questions that had not been transmitted to CSs, constitutional commissions and independent offices have lapsed.”
Although Cabinet Secretaries won’t address questions from MPs that weren’t submitted before the break, they will still be obligated to respond to the questions conveyed by National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah on the floor of the house prior to the break.
The Speaker encouraged MPs who had submitted questions to reach out to Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah to expedite the process of obtaining responses.
The initiative to grill Cabinet Secretaries was suggested by President Ruto as a means of ensuring accountability within the Executive.
Azimio legislators had objected to this proposal, but Justice Lawrence Mugambi ruled that both the Senate and National Assembly were justified in amending their Standing Orders to enable the questioning of cabinet secretaries.
Despite the supportive stance from the Presidency, there have been allegations that several Cabinet Secretaries have intentionally avoided appearing before Parliament when summoned.
Furthermore, Speaker Wetang’ula declared that the Equalisation Fund Bill (NA Bill No.47 of 2022), introduced by Tiaty MP William Kamket, would not progress in its current form following the break.
Consequently, Kamket has been instructed to reintroduce the Bill either in its original format or in a modified version.
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Speaker Wetangula Spares Ruto CSs in Parliament Grilling
