MPs propose term extension for Nyachae team

The life of the Commission for Implementation of the Constitution (CIC) will be extended by one year if the National Assembly accepts recommendations of a key parliamentary committee.

The National Assembly’s Constitution Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC) resolved at a meeting Tuesday to extend the Charles Nyachae-led commission’s term beyond December 11.

The CIC was sworn into office on December 11, 2012 to oversee the implementation of the Constitution promulgated in 2010 for a period of five years.

The CIOC, chaired by Githunguri MP Njoroge Baiya made the recommendations to the National Assembly despite the commission indicating unwillingness to extend its term.

“The life of CIC be extended by a further one year to accomplish pending work,” the committee said in its report to the House.

The Treasury allocated the CIC hefty personal allowances for the six months to December, signalling a tight work schedule.

The commission was allocated Sh315 million for personal allowances, meaning each commissioner will earn Sh35 million in the six-month period, representing a 290 per cent jump from the current financial year.

The committee met Tuesday to consider pending constitutional Bills that ought to be enacted before the end of the CIC’s term in December.

There are 28 Bills that Parliament ought to approve before the expiry of the five year deadline. “The committee recommends that all pending legislation required by the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution should be given priority and consideration by the House,” the committee said.

The CIOC wants the office of Attorney General Githu Muigai in consultations with the CIC, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, the Kenya Law Reforms Commission and other relevant stakeholders to develop a legislative proposal on a referendum law to govern any potential amendments to the supreme law.