Reports that the Treasury has rejected a demand by MPs to scrutinize contracts worth more than Sh1 billion have raised pertinent questions on the separation of duties between the Executive and the Legislature.
Treasury secretary Henry Rotich has raised important points that need legal interpretation before MPs are allowed to scrutinize such contracts.
According to the Treasury, the MPs’ demand to be allowed to approve the contracts contravene the principles of separation of power as envisaged in the Constitution.
The ministry also argued that the demand also lacks the backing of the Public Finance Management Act 2012.
We urge Parliament to keenly await the legal opinion so as to ensure that it does not violate the same laws that it is meant to defend.
And as the minister rightly put it, Parliament runs the risk of involving itself in procurement of government projects yet it is supposed to only offer oversight.
We aver that this is the critical role that Kenyans would like their lawmakers to be involved in instead of taking over the role of the another arm of government.
These roles are distinct and should remain so.
PAYE Tax Calculator
Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
