NARC Kenya Party leader Martha Karua on Tuesday, December 3, during an interview on Citizen TV's morning show Daybreak, claimed that the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report was a disappointment to Kenyans.
She further added that the committee tasked with the mandate to prepare it offered nothing new and that the majority of its recommendations were already public knowledge.
Karua stated that the handshake was something absolutely different from the BBI.
“There’s a difference between handshake and BBI. The handshake was necessary for calmness. The report is however underwhelming, it talks about things we already know, that have already been provided for in past reports such as the TJRC,” stated Karua.
The former presidential candidate poked holes at the suggestion of having Cabinet secretaries being appointed from Parliament, stating that it would blur the lines on the oversight role.
According to Karua, the Legislature and the Executive are two distinct organs that have separate powers which should not be interfered with.
“Bringing Cabinet ministers from Parliament violates the separation of power. Mixing government and Parliament takes away the effectiveness of oversight as that is asking the government that is already in Parliament to oversight itself,” she added.
The politician argued that the report did not provide any clear resolution and thus, there was no need for any constitutional change.
About the simmering tension over the implementation of the highly publicised document, Karua dismissed amendment of the constitution to accommodate the position of a prime minister.
"The report suggests that there needs to be a super minister who will be the prime minister who is also a Member of Parliament. It is the same scenario with the situation we have with CS Matiang'i, except the fact that he is not an MP," she argued.
