Members of Parliament were Thursday asked to pass laws that would pass the test of time or be damned. Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka challenged the more than 200 MPs attending an induction course in Nairobi to live up to their oath by passing laws that would benefit all Kenyans.
Said the VP, who is also the leader of Government Business in Parliament: “The prime task facing the Tenth Parliament is that of consolidating Parliaments’s role in strengthening political stability, national reconciliation and democracy. Kenyans look up to Parliament and yearn for a legacy they can be proud of in the wake of the crisis and subsequent enactment of the National Accord and Reconciliation Agreement.”
National pride
The VP called for selfless leaders who were above sectarian and individual pursuits in the conduct of their legislative duties.
Mr Musyoka reminded MPs that events following the General Election last December were “stark and sobering.”
The Mwingi North MP said that there was an urgent need to restore national pride and to repair the country’s dented image both locally and internationally.
Over 1,000 people were killed and over 300,000 were left homeless and displaced in the post-election unrest. The VP noted that the workshop came at a time when the country was at a crossroads.
He said the crisis that Kenyans had experienced after the polls could be addressed effectively using the constitutional mandate bestowed on Parliament.
Mr Musyoka also backed plans by Speaker Kenneth Marende to introduce live broadcasts of parliamentary business before the end of the year, saying it would make the House more transparent, vibrant and improve the standard of debate.
“The Tenth Parliament therefore finds itself in the thick of things to sort out legislative loopholes that could be exploited to derail peaceful coexistence and unity,” Mr Musyoka said.
The three-day workshop at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi, was also addressed by Foreign minister Moses Wetang’ula, who is an executive member of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Speaker Marende and the secretary general of the CPA, Dr William Shija.
Prime Minister-designate Raila Odinga and some of the 17 Cabinet ministers also attended.
The ministers included Mr Ali Mwakwere (Transport), Ms Martha Karua (Justice and Constitutional Affairs), Prof Sam Ongeri ( Education), Mr Mohamed Yusuf Haji (Defence) and Mr Kiraitu Murungi (Energy) .
New members
In his address, the Speaker noted that 70 per cent of members of the Tenth Parliament were new.
It was because of this, Mr Marende said, that Parliament had decided to invest time and resources in equipping members with the tools to discharge their duties.
“Much as politics might be local, in a fast globalising world, members ought to know how their counterparts from other lands manage the same challenges that confront us here in Kenya.”
The Speaker told the MPs that some of the challenges the country was going through were similar to those of other countries, despite the different geographical, cultural, racial or historical backgrounds.
Turning to the lack of an Official Opposition in Parliament, after PNU, ODM and ODM-K agreed to form a grand coalition, Mr Marende challenged backbenchers, both in their individual and collective capacities through parliamentary committee membership, to carry out their role effectively.
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DAILY NATION
Story by ODHIAMBO ORLALE
Publication Date: 3/28/2008
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