Ndaragwa MP Jeremiah Kioni on Tuesday, October 22, introduced a bill to the floor of the August House which he claimed was intended to curb corruption.
In the bill, Kioni seeks to have any elected MP barred from participating in fundraisers (harambees).
The Public Fundraising Appeals Bill also directs that anyone wishing to conduct a harambee would have to apply for a licence at their respective county at least 21 days before the fundraiser.
The proposed legislation states that any leaders found to have contravened the law by attending and contributing in the harambees would face a fine of not less than Ksh 800,000.
“An elected or nominated Member of Parliament or of a County Assembly shall not participate in a fundraising function or conduct a fundraising appeal during his or her term as a Member of Parliament. A person who contravenes the provisions of this section shall be liable to a fine not exceeding eight hundred thousand shillings” read part of the bill.
The legislator explained that the move was necessitated by the push by his colleagues who demanded salary increments, citing pressure from constituents who run to them for harambee contributions.
Some leaders have already criticised the bill, claiming its author didn't want to contribute to community projects and was hiding behind the proposed law.
The bill comes at a time where debates have been enraging about the topic, and some leaders have raised concerns about what they termed as 'generous contributions' made by their colleagues.
Kioni stated that the proposed law would repeal the Public Collections Act of 1960, that lacked robust legal architecture to guard against the use of harambees to cleanse proceeds of corruption.
