National Assembly Majority Leader Amos Kimunya on Wednesday, July 15, sounded a warning to committee members abandoning their duties.
Speaking in Parliament after presenting the list of members in Parliamentary Committees, the Kipipiri MP noted that some of the legislators did not take their roles seriously and resulted to holding chairpersons at ransom with threats of being dewhipped to avoid being ejected.
He affirmed that, he would personally initiate the removal process of committee members who were not performing their duties.
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"A member who does not attend four seatings is supposed to be reported. I will take it up as the Majority leader. I have template ready where the only thing that will change is the name and the date," he told MPs.
His warning came as new appointments to the comittees were announced in Parliament after the members agreed on the harmonised list of the membership.
ODM bagged important seats in the committees including the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee. where ODM Minority Whip Junet Mohammed, Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo and Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma are now members.
The committees now have seven days to elect their chair and vice chair persons, in accordance with the Standing Orders.
In 2019, Kimunya's predecessor Aden Duale had moved to expose MPs who were not attending to their committee duties in a report on the status of committee attendance prepared by the National Assembly's Directorate of Committee Services
150 MPs were linked to earning allowances for meetings they did not attend with Speaker Justin Muturi warning of a possiblity of being de-whipped.
"Those who do not attend the meetings have no business being members of those committees. They should be removed," Muturi stated.
A committee chairman is paid Ksh15,000 for chairing a meeting. A vice-chairperson pockets Ksh12,000 while an ordinary member takes home Ksh8,000 for every sitting attended.
Committees consist of a group of members appointed by either or both houses to examine issues in more detail than is possible if the matter was considered in the plenary.
