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"id": 177548,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "[Mr. Speaker]",
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"content": "Government. Since the Eighth Parliament, Committees have played crucial roles in providing a base for oversight of Parliament and also in strengthening the legislative process. About 80 per cent of parliamentary work is conducted through Committees. In the US Congress and the British House of Commons, substantial resources are set aside to build capacity for hon. Members as most of the business is executed in the Committees. Thus Committees cannot be active in their roles unless they are tuned in the necessary skills, which includes exposure on the running of Committees in other countries, especially in the Commonwealth countries. Hon. Members, given the mandate of Committees, there has been need to expose hon. Members through the working of Committees in other countries, particularly within the Commonwealth and other parliaments that operate effective parliamentary Committee systems. For instance, the US Congress, the Bundestag of Germany, House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons of UK and India. This is to enable hon. Members of Committees discharge their duties effectively. Indeed, as hon. Members are aware, we are in the process of increasing Committees in the proposed new Standing Orders and will include, among others, new Committees that will be designated: Budget Committee, Committee on Delegated Legislation; Committee on Equal Opportunity; Implementation Committee; and House Broadcasting Committee. Subsequently, Committees have been facilitated to undertake study tours abroad in order to sharpen their skills and enhance their knowledge on Parliamentary Committees. Similarly, the Committees have been encouraged to undertake inspection of local projects. For us to work effectively, we have engaged development partners such as the State University of New York (SUNY), USAID, Canadian Parliamentary Centre, Westminster Foundation for Democracy, House Democracy Assistance Commission of the US Congress, Friedrich Eibert Foundation, Swedish International Development Agency, Department of Finance for International Development of the UK and the Association of Western Parliamentarians for Africa (AWEPA) to help strengthen Parliament. Invariably, most trips that have been undertaken by Members of Parliament and staff in the recent past have been co-sponsored between Parliament and these organisations to ensure capacity building. We have also established close working relationships with a number of Parliaments that has resulted in the creation of friendship groups such the Kenya-Japan, Kenya-Korea, Kenya- Kuwait, Kenya-UK and Kenya-China. These groups have extended reciprocal invitation to our hon. Members and Committees to visit their countries. We have also received invitations to attend seminars on Parliamentary democracy, management of Parliament and promotion of human rights. This was the case with the recent Parliamentary delegations to China, Cuba, Sweden, Bulgaria, Switzerland and Greece. These seminars and exposures have come in handy as hon. Members have had first-hand experience with issues touching on promotion of human rights and the working of truth, justice and reconciliation commissions where they have been set up. 3676 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES November 27, 2008 Hon. Members may wish to note that we are shortly to deliberate on adoption of the proposed new Standing Orders and that we have embarked on reviewing the structural organisation of Parliament which has led to the establishment of new directorates and key departments such as Parliamentary Broadcasting Unit; Legal Department; Research, Information and Technology Department; and, Budget Office. The Parliamentary Service Commission has approved a strategic plan for Parliament for the year 2008 to 2018. One of the core aspects of the this strategic plan is to facilitate hon. Members in their work through capacity building. These changes will inevitably necessitate sensitisation of Members of Parliament on the proposed new Standing Orders and capacity building for staff in specialised areas. There will be exchange programmes and reciprocal study tours for both Members of Parliament and staff. More exposure and training will be required to attune Members of Parliament to their new role in the interrogation of the national Budget process as proposed in the new Standing Orders. Hon. Members, cognisant of the fact that most Members of Parliament are serving their first term in Parliament and would, therefore, require familiarisation and orientation tours to other Parliaments so as to gain experience and exposure, the Parliamentary Service Commission made provisions in the fiscal year 2008/2009 to cater for foreign travel and subsistence and other transportation costs. A further amount has been budgeted to cover contributions to international organisations such as IPU, CPA, Pan-African Parliament, and the East African Legislative Assembly. May I assure the House and the country as a whole that stringent financial controls are in place and that examination of the trend of expenditure of the Kenya National Assembly Budget indicate that about 32 per cent of the gross estimates as, indeed, approved by this House on behalf of the country has been spent, which is relatively satisfactory as that covers five months of the financial year. Further, I wish to inform you that the Kenya National Assembly is implementing its budget through the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) which is based on quarterly ceilings. Hon. Members, I wish, however, to underscore that Parliament is alive to the current economic difficulties being experienced in the country and the world in general. Parliament will ensure that money voted for the legislature will be used in the most prudent, accountable, and transparent manner and that expenditure levels will be monitored and contained by exercising austerity measures. Hon. Members, from the foregoing, it is noted that statements appearing in the Press, in the recent past, insinuating that Members of Parliament and Committees are undertaking trips which allegedly are not useful, are baseless and far-fetched. It does not help for a person or a media house to blow issues out of proportion without appreciating the core functions of Parliament. The legislature has undertaken an unprecedented step to champion reforms in this country and has been credited for spearheading the peace negotiations that were held at the Serena Hotel, which resulted in the signing of the peace accord. Only last week, Parliament took a decisive step to show the way forward on the implementation of the two Reports of the Krigeler and Waki Commissions of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence. If Parliament has to remain as a beacon of hope for the expected constitutional and institutional reforms, then Members of Parliament must be fully prepared to handle the challenges through effective capacity building. We shall not shy away from implementation programmes that will make the Legislature an effective and efficient institution. However, I do advise as follows: 1.Travel by Committees and Members of Parliament when the House is in session be minimised to absolutely essential meetings such as attendance of CPA, IPU, Pan-African Parliament, ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Session whose events are predetermined. 2. Committees whose Bills are pending before the House will be required to submit their reports before requests for travel are considered, which should be aligned with the Committees November 27, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3677 workplan and budget. 3. Committee workplans and programmes be synchronized with the budgetary provisions, in particular, the quarterly ceilings as set by the Treasury. Thank you."
}