Speaker of the National Assembly, Rt. Hon. (Dr.) Moses Wetang'ula, on Wednesday, July 24, 2024 guided the House on the referral of the Finance Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 30 of 2024) by President Dr. William Ruto.

 In a Communication, Speaker Wetang'ula clarified that the President's decision to refer the Finance Bill, 2024 back to the House for reconsideration is within the constitutional provisions. 

 "In the Memorandum, H.E. the President expressed reservations on the contents of the Bill in its entirety and recommended the deletion of all clauses of the Bill. In making the recommendations, the President noted the widespread expression of dissatisfaction by the public on the contents of the Bill. Therefore, the proposed deletion of all the provisions of the Bill will accord with its general rejection by the public," Dr. Wetang'ula.

 The Speaker also added that Standing Order 42(2) provides that if a message is received from the President at a time when the House is not in session, the Speaker shall forthwith cause the message to be transmitted to every Member and report the message to the House on the day the House next sits. Consequently, in keeping with the provisions of Standing Order 42(2), on 27th June 2024, I notified all Members of the Message from the President and referred the Memorandum from the President to the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning for expeditious consideration.

 Speaker Wetang'ula also addressed concerns regarding the possibility of the Finance Bill, 2024 becoming law due to effluxion of time, stating that such concerns are unfounded and a misinterpretation of the Constitution. 

 For context, Article 115(1) of the Constitution provides that— 

“𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦 115. (1) 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘱𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘉𝘪𝘭𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭—

𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘭𝘭; 𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘭𝘭.”  

  He clarified that the 14-day period stipulated in Article 115 of the Constitution applies to the President's actions and not a deadline for the Bill to become law.

 "The Constitution should be interpreted broadly and liberally in accordance with the guiding principles provided under Article 259(1) of the Constitution. Bearing this in mind, it becomes evident that the fourteen-day period specified in Article 115 is a timeline for the President’s action and not a date when the Bill automatically becomes law," clarified the Speaker. 

 Members were informed that the Presidential Memorandum had already been referred to the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning for consideration on 27th June, 2024.

 "I have been briefed that the Committee is yet to conclude its consideration and shall table a Report to the House on or before Tuesday, 30th July, 2024, that is next week," said Hon. Wetang'ula. 

 The Speaker further outlined the process for the House to consider the President's reservations and amendments to the Finance Bill referencing previous guidelines issued during the 11^th  Parliament. 

 "As per the guidance, any Member who wishes to move the House to reinstate any Clause of the Finance Bill, 2024 shall be required to marshal the support of at least 233 Members of the House. This is in keeping with the provisions of Article 115(4) of the Constitution, which requires that such a proposal be supported by at least two-thirds of the Members of the National Assembly," stated Speaker Wetang'ula.

 The Speaker further outlined the process for the House to consider the President's reservations and amendments to the Finance Bill. He emphasized the requirement for a two-thirds majority to reinstate any clause of the Bill and a simple majority to agree with the President's reservations.

 "The agreement with the President’s reservations and the recommendation to delete all the Clauses of the Finance Bill shall only require the support of a simple majority of the Members present and voting. This is in line with the provisions of Article 115 (2) (a) of the Constitution as read with Article 122(1) of the Constitution," added Dr. Wetang'ula.

 During the session, Speaker Wetang'ula also underscored the need to address the fiscal deficit arising from the rejection of the Finance Bill and assured the House that necessary measures will be undertaken to bridge the gap.

 Following the referral of the Presidential memorandum, the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning is expected to table a report on or before Tuesday, July 30, 2024.