Cabinet secretaries set to appear in Parliament for questioning

Cabinet secretaries may soon be required inside Parliament’s chambers to answer questions from Members of Parliament if President Uhuru Kenyatta signs to law a Bill adopted by the House on Thursday.

The Cabinet secretaries will be expected to appear in parliament on Tuesdays between 10am and 12.30pm, increasing parliamentary sessions since business on the day normally starts at 2.30pm.

This follows the amendment of the standing orders to allow members of the Executive and other arms of government a special sitting to answer questions.

Question Time was dropped after the passage of the Constitution that replaced the hybrid system of government where ministers sat in Parliament as elected members of the Legislature.

The presidential system now seeks to recognise the principle of separation of powers between the Executive and the Legislature. It excludes Cabinet secretaries and the Attorney General (who enjoyed ex-officio status under the previous system) from the Chamber.

The amendments, which were fronted by Kuresoi MP Moses Cheboi, went through the third reading and now await the assent of the President.

Most MPs have often complained that it has proved difficult for questions to be satisfactorily answered because chairpersons of House committees are the ones who usually deliver responses after interrogating Cabinet secretaries and cannot be held accountable.

Queries filed by various MPs or senators are compiled and forwarded to the relevant departmental House committee, which summones the respective Cabinet secretary to address the issues.

The MPs who file the questions are allowed to participate in the committee proceeding and seek further clarification.