Kenyan MPs rush to make the law an ass

Kenyan parliamentarians, instead of getting serious about the implementation of the Constitution, are busy fighting for their political life. It does not matter to them that these laws are essential for the operationalisation of the new dispensation.

They are either rushing to pass Bills to beat the deadlines, or passing some with fatal errors. For instance, members of civil society have pointed out glaring inconsistencies between the three land Bills to be debated in parliament and the Constitution.

In some cases, proposed Bills have been changed at committee level for the sake of self-preservation and political expedience. The current haggle over the delineation of constituency boundaries is a case in point.

Instead of forcing unwilling Members of Parliament to debate and pass legislation that they are not giving full attention, to it would be better to decide that some of the less crucial Bills be put aside to be enacted by a more sober parliament after elections. 

As it is, parliament has the task of passing six pieces of legislation by February 27, key among them the laws on land and devolution and the Financial Management Bill. Yet less than 10 days to the deadline, there was no indication that parliament would meet the deadline.

The upshot is that parliament is likely to pass Bills that are faulty and not in conformity with the new Constitution. Sadly, the MPs are preoccupied with the formation of alliances for the forthcoming elections. There are more MPs attending these meetings than there are attending parliament to deliberate on the much-needed laws.