Parliament has moved to amend a Bill similar to what is contained in the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) proposal seeking to grant the President sweeping powers in the selection of the Cabinet.
The Constitution of Kenya Amendment Bill under the National Assembly Bill No 40 of 2020 seeks to amend the constitution to give the President powers to appoint Cabinet Secretaries from among the Members of Parliament.
The Bill is similar to BBI fronted by President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga that if passed will allow the MPs to be appointed Cabinet Secretaries.
The bill also seeks to allow the President to assign the Attorney General duties of a Cabinet Secretary.
It has already undergone its first reading in parliament and passed to the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee which has subjected it to the public participation process.
Bill will also allow county governors to appoint Members of the County Executive Committee from among the MCAs.
The notice on the Bill requires the public members to submit their opinions in written form about the Bill's content between August 13 to 21.
11 counties are scheduled to take part in the public participation exercise which includes, Uasin Gishu, Kakamega, Elgeyo Marakwet,
Kisumu, Mombasa, Nakuru, Machakos, Kilifi, Nyandarua, Makueni and Nairobi.
However, the Bill was tabled in the house in November 2019, before the BBI process was concluded but the content is similar.
This comes as the Court of Appeal is expected to deliver its judgement on August 20 determining the next fate of BBI after the High Court verdict termed it null and void.
Appellate Court President Daniel Musinga issued the orders giving the seven-judge-bench time to deliberate on the submissions made by different parties regarding the case.
