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MPs fault Kenya Cabinet law committee

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 19 – Parliamentarians from the Coast and North Eastern Provinces are grumbling that ministers from their regions were not included in the recently named 16-member Cabinet Committee on the Implementation of the Constitution.

Coast Parliamentary Group Organising Secretary Ali Hassan Joho said on Thursday that the committee did not reflect regional balance.

“Regions must be represented adequately; it is very fundamental that there is representation that cuts across the face of the nation,” he said.

Garsen MP Danson Mungatana faulted the Cabinet for leaving out the two areas which are already considered the most marginalised in the country.

He said that President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga must act in accordance with the spirit of the new Constitution which calls for the inclusion of all groups in the management of national issues.

“They have started on a wrong footing. We believe that any of the Cabinet Ministers could have presented a perspective that will be representative of the coastal region,” he said.

Mr Mungatana accused the government of taking the two regions for granted and said that it would be imperative that the Government ensures that all the appointees to the proposed implementation bodies reflect a national outlook.

The Cabinet Committee will oversee the political aspects of implementation, forge cross-party consensus in situations of disagreements, and accord the new phase the face of Kenya. The Party of National Unity has nine members while the Orange Democratic Movement will be represented by six.

Attorney General Amos Wako is also a member.

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The committee is headed by the President, Prime Minister and the Vice President.

The members are Deputy Prime Ministers Uhuru Kenyatta and Musalia Mudavadi, Constitutional Affairs Minister Mutula Kilonzo and Attorney General Amos Wako.

Cabinet Ministers Sally Kosgei, Beth Mugo, Kiraitu Murungi, Prof Anyang Nyong’o, Esther Murugi, Charity Ngilu, James Orengo, Prof George Saitoti and Moses Wetangula are also on the team.

On Monday, a joint parliamentary meeting of the coalition partners agreed to have inclusivity in the committees to manage the Constitution implementation process, but William Ruto, Samuel Poghisio and Naomi Shaban who campaigned against the Constitution were surprisingly left out of the Cabinet Committee.

The Cabinet also adopted the proposed action plan on implementation of the new Constitution. It was agreed that the implementation dates set out in the Constitution should be strictly honoured and adhered to.

A technical committee was also established to review the budget implications and to facilitate approval by the relevant committee of the Cabinet.

The committee shall consist of the Head of the Civil Service, Solicitor General and PSs in the Ministries of Finance and Justice.

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