The Speaker of the National Assembly Rt. Hon. (Dr) Moses Wetang’ula has urged Members to engage constructively and explore alternative solutions, to ensure that the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) does not stall.

This is in light of the the High Court declaring the NG-CDF Act unconstitutional last year, whereby the High Court held that the Fund and all its projects and programmes shall cease to operate next year.

“Hon. Members, as you are aware, the NGCDF has been instrumental in funding projects that improve education, infrastructure, and community development. This matter has certainly far-reaching implications for service delivery to our people,” Noted Hon. Wetang’ula.

“As the matter unfolds in the Court of Appeal, we must prepare to engage constructively and explore alternative solutions to ensure that development at the constituency level does not stall,” he added.

The Speaker made these remarks as he officially opened the 2025 Mid-Term Retreat for Members of the National Assembly in Naivasha, Nakuru County.

The retreat themed “Marshalling House Business: progress made this far and lessons learnt”, is scheduled to run through this week, during which Members will take stock of the progress made by the National Assembly for the first half of the 13th Parliament.

Hon. Wetang’ula further commended Members for their exemplary performance in addressing national priorities during the Third session, acknowledging that their unwavering commitment to fostering development and improving the lives of all Kenyans is a demonstration of National Assembly’s excellence and a shared vision of a better, inclusive, equitable and more prosperous nation.

As the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC), the Speaker reiterated the Commission’s commitment towards facilitating the Members to effectively discharge their functions in Representation, Legislation and Oversight.

The Leader of the Majority Party Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah (Kikuyu) took stock of the achievements made by the House, key amongst them enactment of key tax laws such as The Tax Procedures (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2024, The Business Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 and The Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which will provide tax relief to businesses, enhance the country's revenue collection, promote equity, and spur economic growth.

On the High Court's decision to issue interim conservatory orders suspending the National Assembly’s decision to remove County Governments as beneficiaries of the Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF), Hon. Ichung'wah apprised the Legislators that the National Assembly has so far opposed the petition, and filed an urgent application to lift the orders, set to be heard in February 2025.

"Hon. Members, these conservatory orders halted progress of the mediation process on the County Governments Additional Allocation Bill, 2024, as the Bill includes the RMLF allocation, causing delay on the mediation process," said Hon. Ichung'wah.

The Majority Party Leader further proposed a raft of measures to resolve the impasse.

"It is proposed that Parliament reverts to using the County Allocation of Revenue Bill for additional county allocations, the High Court petition be withdrawn, and all stakeholders commit to resolving disputes through alternative mechanisms under the Intergovernmental Relations Act, 2012."

In his remarks, the Leader of the Minority Party Hon. Junet Mohammed, (Suna East), noted that despite the achievements, the House faced a number of challenges during the Third Session, including litigation in regards to public participation on a number of Bills.

"In the Third Session, we witnessed filing of a raft of cases including Supreme Court Petition Numbers E031, E032 & E033 of 2024 relating to the legislative process leading to enactment of the Finance Bill 2023 into the Finance Act, 2024 and Petition E522 of 2024 (Rigathi Gachagua v Speaker of the National Assembly). Both cases faulted the credibility of and the manner in which the National Assembly conducted public participation," said Hon. Mohamed.

"We do intend, in the Fourth Session, to enact laws that will guide the manner in which we carry out public participation in our legislative processes. We should also ensure that the measures we put in place for considering the views received during public participation exercises are reasonable and that they do not invite unnecessary litigation," he added.

The Clerk of the National Assembly Mr. Samuel Njoroge observed that despite various challenges encountered, the National Assembly had 49 Bills introduced, out of which 17 were assented to; 19 Senate bills were processed; 11 National Assembly Bills were passed and forwarded to the Senate, 7 Bills (5 Senate & 2 National Assembly bills) were undergoing Mediation and the rest remaining at various stages of consideration.

Further, 161 motions were considered, with 38 still pending at the end of the Third Session; 312 statements were processed and requested or made on the floor by Members; 54 Committee Reports were considered and adopted; and 85 persons approved for appointment to various state and public offices.

The Clerk further briefed Members on key Legislative Business scheduled for the Fourth Session, that include re-constitution and approval of the Membership of eighteen (18) Committees of the House for the remainder of the 13th Parliament, and consideration of various reports.