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House expands teams, allowance budget to increase
A section of the National Assembly. MPs have increased memberships of its 28 House committees by 10 each to allow the 349 lawmakers to sit in at least two teams, substantially raising the budget for sitting allowances. File
MPs have increased memberships of its 28 House committees by ten each to allow the 349 lawmakers to sit in at least two teams, substantially raising the budget for sitting allowances.
The House adopted the first report of the two day-old Procedure and House Rules Committee which amended Standing Orders to expand committee membership to allow each MP sit in two committees.
“The Committee therefore resolved to propose amendments of Standing Orders 177 (Composition of Select Committees), 205 (Public Accounts Committee) and 206 (Public Investment Committee), to increase the lower limit of membership of committees from 11 members to 17 members. The committee also agreed to increase the upper limit from 19 to 29 members,” said Kuresoi North MP Moses Cheboi who moved debate on the report on behalf of Speaker Justin Muturi.
MPs, who have been clamouring for higher pay, get Sh5,000 per sitting, which has now been capped at four sittings weekly or Sh80,000 monthly for each member by the Salaries and Remuneration Committee (SRC).
It will cost the taxpayer Sh1 million for the extra 127 MPs to secure a single sitting and Sh2.8 million for all the 349 members. The cost will now double to Sh5.6 million because each member will sit in two committees.
Cheboi, who is the first chairman of the Chairpersons Panel, said the membership of the Public Accounts and Public Investment Committees will rise from a maximum of 17 to a maximum of 27 members.
“The membership of the Committee on Implementation, Committee on Delegated Legislation, Committee on Regional Integration and the Constitutional Oversight Committee will rise from a maximum of 19 to 29 members,” the report states.
Mr Cheboi said similarly, the membership of the departmental committees which is 12 in number will rise from a maximum of 19 to 29 members.
The Committee on Procedure and House Rules agreed that the quorum of the said committees be reviewed to nine members, up from five members.
The House also approved amendments to the Standing Order 18 (Presiding in the House) to enable Members of the Chairpersons’ Panel to also president in the House, assisting the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker.
Mr Cheboi said the amendments were necessary to allow the Committee on Selection to place members in the 28 committees by Tuesday.
The amendments were necessitated by concerns that the committee was unable to place additional 127 members in the committees if each was to sit in one. The Tenth House had 222 while the current one has 349.
Contributing to the debate on the report, MPs supported the move to expand committee membership saying committees will be the centrepiece of governance in the House.
“There is no Executive in Parliament, the House is also expanded and majority of business of the House will be transacted in committees,” said Deputy Minority Whip Jakoyo Midowo.
The MPs asked the Selection Committee to ensure that MPs are placed in the various teams based on their professions.
They also defended the expanded House teams saying it will not contribute to increased wage bill saying MPs have a duty to scrutinise and oversight operations of government.
“If we increase number of membership we will not increase wage bill because we intend to reduce the number of commissioners in the constitutional commissions,” said Mustafa Idi the MP for Kilifi North.
