The Leadership of the National Assembly has hinted at the possibility of allowing lawmakers to hold a fifth sitting every week. The new proposal – subject to approval by members of the House – is meant to assist MPs in clearing a backlog of pending legislative proposals awaiting consideration. Currently, the House typically sits on Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday morning, and Thursday afternoon. Speaking during a session to debate the Value Added Tax (Electronic Internet and Digital Market Supply) Regulations, 2023, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Moses Wetang’ula, stated that the House Business Committee had noted a massive backlog of…
Author: Silas Apollo
The lender had advanced Sh45.2 million to entrepreneurs to set up information hubs across the country Revelations by the National Assembly Public Investments Committee on Commercial Affairs and Energy over failure to recover Sh45.2 million ‘Pasha Loans’ has placed the chief executive of Family Bank Rebecca Mbithi on the spot. The Committee led by Pokot South MP David Pkosing met the lender’s CEO, as part of an ongoing probe into circumstances leading to the onboarding of the lender by Information, Communication Technology Authority (ICTA) to advance the said loans on November 3, 2010. Controversies surrounding non-recovery of the loans are…
By Silas Apollo The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has defended its decision to pay Sh1.5 billion for the acquisition of the Integrity Centre Building in Nairobi, following concerns from the office of the Auditor-General that the transaction was done outside the law. EACC chief executive officer Twalib Mbarak says that the transaction was above board, despite questions by the Auditor-General’s office that payments for the buildings were made without documents from the seller. Mbarak, who appeared before the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee, further argued that no funds were lost during the transaction. The EACC CEO had appeared before…
The Senate Public Accounts Committee has ordered a forensic audit into the alleged loss of some Sh18 billion said to have been embezzled from the Nairobi city county government. The committee chaired by Homabay Senator Moses Kajwang called for the audit following revelations made by the office of the Auditor-General exposing what audit reports argued were widespread corruption and financial mismanagement in the city county. The committee made the recommendations after it met with Nairobi City governor Johnson Sakaja and a team from State House led by State House Comptroller Kato Ole Metito to address the audit queries for the…
Members of the National Assembly are this week set to debate a report on Kenya Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) with the government of Seychelles. The report from the Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations which is at the second reading stage, recommends that the House approves the DCA signed between the two governments on July, 18, 2022. Committee Vice Chair Major (Rtd.) Bashir Abdullah, who moved the motion on adoption of the report, said the DCA would help entrench the already existing cooperation between the two countries, and open a new frontier to enhance Kenya’s Defence capabilities especially…
The National Assembly Departmental Committee on Trade, Industry and Cooperatives in the National Assembly has begun investigations into the conduct of two companies said to have been behind the importation of contaminated sugar into the country. The committee chaired by Embakasi North MP James Gakuya last week held meetings with Vinepack Limited and Assets & Cargo, the two companies implicated in the investigation surrounding condemned sugar that posed a significant health risk to Kenyans. During the meeting, Peter Mwangi, the director of Vinepack Limited, attempted to shed light on the company’s involvement in the controversial sugar importation. According to Mwangi,…
The government has disbursed about Sh47 billion to the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF), paving way for accelerated development programs in constituencies across the Country. The disbursed money was the balance for the 2022/23 Financial Year that was yet to be released to the 290 CDF accounts at the close of the Financial Year on June 30. The release is contained in the report by the National Government Constituencies Development Fund Board on status of receipts of disbursement as at July 7th, 2023. The report indicates that the government has released 100% NGCDF cash to the Constituencies for the…
If framed carefully, County Boundaries Bill, 2023 can provide a workable framework for the resolution of the disputes and procedure for the altercation of county boundaries. A report by the Senate shows that the House is currently faced with about 15 cases involving boundary disputes among various counties in the country. At least 15 counties are currently embroiled in fierce boundary disputes that have left death and destruction in their wake. Lawmakers of the counties affected by the disputes had sought the intervention of the Senate in the hope that it would help bring to an end the long-standing disputes…
The Senate Ad hoc Committee on the Proliferation of Religious Organisations will starting today hold a public forum to get views of members of the public on its mandate. The session in Nairobi targets members of the public who were unable to attend meetings of the committee which is also investigating the Shakahola killings involving controversial pastor Paul Mackenzie. During the sessions, members of the public are expected to submit their views on the issue of registration and regulation of religious institutions. The committee is expected to table its report to the House by July 26, 2023. The 11-member committee,…
Passport applications to take a maximum of seven days to process, Immigration PS assures, The government has acquired new printers to help facilitate the printing of passports after previous machines at the department of immigration broke down leading to a backlog at the department. Immigration principal secretary Juliuk Bitok now says that the delays which have been witnessed at the department in the last couple of weeks, will be a thing of the past after it received funds from the National Treasury to purchase the new printers. The new printers are expected to arrive in the country in about two…