The National Assembly is set to commence the
Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) Bill debate on Thursday.
So far, the Bill has been approved by 43 County Assemblies while Elgeyo Marakwet, Nandi and Baringo County Assemblies have rejected it. Only Uasin Gishu county is yet to vote on the Bill.
On Tuesday, Speaker Justin Muturi told the House that his office had received certificates from the counties that approved the Bill.
The speaker also confirmed that the threshold of at least 24 county assemblies had been met for the Bill to be moved to the bicameral Parliament for debate.
Muturi said, “The constitution contemplates expeditious processing of a Bill to amend the constitution by popular initiative. Such a Bill shall be introduced in Parliament without undue delay.”
He added that publishing the Bill would be unnecessary noting that Bills originating in the Senate are not subjected to publication so as to conform with the 14 day maturity period before the Bill first reading. Nevertheless, he underscored the urgency of the debate.
"I am of the opinion therefore, that the House is under obligation to do everything necessary within its power to expedite the introduction of the Bill for consideration,” the speaker said.
Muturi directed that the Bill be presented before the House as it was presented to the County Assemblies by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), ruling against it being redrafted.
According to him, unnecessary delay confusion regarding the operative version of the Bill are likely to be caused by its re-publication.
“In order to protect the Bill as proposed by its promoters and presented to the county assemblies as well as the process contemplated under the Constitution, I am of the opinion that the republication of the Bill would serve no practical purpose,” Muturi said.
The speaker has, therefore, directed the Clerk of the National Assembly Michael Sialai to obtain sufficient copies for all the members before debate.
The Constitution stipulates that the outcome of the debate is non-consequential.
President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga allies will be keen to pass the document so as to solidify its validity.
Proponents of the Bill are confident that
if everything goes according to plan, there will be a referendum in June.
According to National Assembly Majority Leader Amos Kimunya, Parliament will adopt the Bill by March 31 to pave way for a referendum.
No comments:
Post a Comment