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MPs seek extension of Aug 27 constitutional deadlines

This is after National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale said Parliament will not meet the August 27 timeline even with the Attorney General Githu Muigai sending nine bills to the House for publishing/FILE

This is after National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale said Parliament will not meet the August 27 timeline even with the Attorney General Githu Muigai sending nine bills to the House for publishing/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 6 – Members of Parliament now want the August 27 constitutional deadline within which 15 Bills have to be enacted, postponed.

This is after National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale said Parliament will not meet the August 27 timeline even with the Attorney General Githu Muigai sending nine bills to the House for publishing.

The decision to seek the three-month extension was arrived at after the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee wrote to the House leadership expressing concern that the Cabinet, Attorney General and Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution had delayed in transmitting the Bills.

“Submission of this and other bills with constitutional timelines will be very difficult to meet the set deadlines, as such the House Business Committee has agreed to prioritise a motion seeking the extension of the constitutional timelines of August 27, 2015,” he said.

Under the Constitution, MPs have the authority to shift the constitutional deadline if they pass a resolution supported by a two-thirds majority – or 233 MPs.

The Bills that MPs want time to debate are the Legal Aid Bill 2015, the Magistrates Courts Bill 2015, the Controller of Budget Bill 2015, the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill 2015, Organisation and Administration of the Court of Appeal 2015 and the Organisation and Administration of the High Court Bill 2015.

The Community Land Bill 2015, Physical Planning Bill 2015 and the Protection and Ownership of Indigenous Plants and Varieties Bill 2015 will also be eligible for the fresh deadline.

By extending the timelines, the House is seeking to avoid the last minute rush that characterised 2012 where MPs hurriedly passed over 30 legislations within a span of 18 days.

Speaker Justin Muturi ordered a socio-economic audit of the Constitution promulgated in 2010 saying it was necessary in light of expansion of institutions and services.

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