President Dr. William Ruto rooted for  constructive synergy among arms of government as a viable means of deploying the respective leadership capacities to address the issues that matter to Kenyans. He was speaking this morning when he opened the Post-Election Seminar for the Members of the National Assembly at the PrideInn Beach Resort, Convention Centre and Spa, in Mombasa County.

President Ruto noted that it is imperative that the three arms of government; the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary, establish a collaborative framework for effective coordination towards the realization of their diverse constitutional mandates. He further observed that this would enable them effectively address the challenges faced by the citizenry.

He explained that his desire to promote inter-governmental relations influenced his decision to assign the Prime Cabinet Secretary, Hon. Musalia Mudavadi, the role of coordinating and liaising with Parliament on the legislative agenda. He further revealed that it was for the same reason that he had assigned the  Attorney-General, Hon. Justin Muturi the liaison role with the Judiciary.

‘We must be capable of coordinating effectively towards the realisation of our shared aspiration: the well-being of every citizen and their socioeconomic uplift through a radical transformation of governance and the economy”, noted President Ruto.

He at the same time called on both Houses of Parliament to desist from deploying litigation as a means to resolving disputes amongst themselves. He called on the leadership of Parliament in both Houses and across the political divide to take a clear stand on this matter and decisively move to discourage the prosecution of parliamentary business in the courts.

 “I must respectfully observe that the emerging practice of litigating disagreements through the courts not only contradicts the essential purpose of parliamentary institutions, it demonstrates failure of Parliament at the level of the institution, and the member concerned. The people elected members of the National Assembly to perform their work through Parliament, not the Judiciary”, he maintained.

Recounting his experiences as a legislator, the Head of State underscored the importance of the on-going Seminar especially for first time legislators. He observed that the forum provided a structured platform for the exchange of insights, experiences, techniques and contemporary knowledge on the conduct of parliamentary affairs. 

Additionally, he observed that the seminar would cover critical matters such as parliamentary procedure, budgeting, and powers & privileges, which touch on the heart of Members’ role as parliamentarians and will simultaneously fulfill the functions of a new learning for debutant members and a timely refresher course for the veterans.

At the same time, President Ruto has reiterated his request to Parliament to create a mechanism to allow Cabinet Secretaries to appear before the House plenary. He urged Members to move with speed in effecting the appropriate amendments of the Standing Orders once the House resumes.

“In keeping with this commitment to enhancing government accountability, I have formally requested Parliament to formulate within its procedures a mechanism for cabinet secretaries to appear before the House and give account to the people’s representatives”, he urged.

On his part, the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Rt. Hon Moses Wetang’ula underscored the importance of the Seminar in enriching the Members’ capacity towards becoming effective legislators. He lauded Hon. Stephen Twigg, the Secretary General of the co-hosts of the forum; the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) as well as the International Republican Institute (IRI) for supporting the event, and the  the cordial relationship between Kenya, the CPA and the House of Commons whom Kenya shares a rich historical journey in Parliamentary diplomacy.

“Let me take this opportunity to welcome our esteemed presenters and facilitators, some of whom have travelled from very far. We are grateful to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and the International Republican Institute (IRI) for assisting us to identify a huge number of our resource persons and for partnering with us in facilitating them to travel to Kenya," the Speaker said.

 The Leader of the Majority Party Hon. Kimani Ichungw’a also emphasized on the importance of the seminar stating that it was a good opportunity for the members to interact, strengthen their capacity and share knowledge on core areas that will shape the discourse of the 13th Parliament.

He affirmed the correlation between the CPA and the Parliament of Kenya.

“As we are already aware, the CPA serves to connect, develop and support Parliamentarians and their staff in their advancement of the Parliamentary ideals by identifying benchmarks of good governance and people-centered legislators,” the Majority Leader said.

On his part the minority leader Hon. Opiyo Wandayi called on his fellow lawmakers to come up with solutions to the issues grappling the people they represent.

“Majority of us here are elected representatives of the people. The people are our business and we know they are suffering,” he held.

MOMBASA, Jan 30th:-President Ruto roots for a collaborative framework among arms of government;  urges MPs to embrace constructive synergy