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Members of the National Assembly have begun their month-long recess to give them time to scrutinise the Budget estimates as well as attend the bipartisan talks between Kenya Kwanza Alliance and Azimio la Umoja Coalition.

 The lawmakers adjourned their regular sittings on Thursday last week and will resume normal sittings on June 5 as per the House calendar.

 “Pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 28(3) relating to the Calendar of the Assembly, and the resolution of the House of Wednesday, February 15, 2023, the Speaker notifies that, upon the rise of the House at the appointed time , regular sittings will resume on Tuesday, June 6, 2023 at 2:30pm,” reads Thursday’s order papers.

Parliament via the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning has invited the public to submit comments on the Bill by May 20 before it is approved by Parliament and assented into law in June.

 It is expected that the public participation and the debate in Parliament will lead to some changes in the Bill prior to its adoption into law.

 The move comes at a time when the lawmakers are set to commence scrutinizing President William Sh3.6 trillion budget estimates that will see education and security sectors get the highest allocation.

 National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u is expected to table the budget in June once the lawmakers resume sittings.

 Education sector got Sh568.9 billion followed by the National Security sector Sh338 billion; the roads sector came third with Sh239.5 billion while the health sector was allocated Sh125.5 billion.

Prioritise considerations

 Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetang’ula last week told MPs to prioritise consideration of the estimates, as the budget process was an important task that lawmakers ought to deal with.

Wetang’ula said respective committees should engage with the relevant stakeholders to ensure the participation of all players in the process before making their recommendations to the Budget and Appropriations Committee within 21 days.

 Said Wetang’ula: “It should be noted that the Budget and Appropriations Committee is required to discuss and review the Budget Estimates and make recommendations to the House, taking into account, the recommendations of the departmental committees, the views of the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and the general public,” he said.

 He added: “Indeed, Members will note that the House is scheduled to proceed for recess this week to allow committees to embark on this activity. I, therefore, encourage members to actively participate in the exercise to ensure that their views and those of their electorate are incorporated in the final national budget.”

 Leader of Majority Kimani Ichung’wah also told committee chairpersons to prioritize scrutiny of the estimates during working recess. He urged the chairpersons of the Departmental Committees to suspend all foreign trips and be available during the long working recess to scrutinize the said estimates, which he said is the most crucial task for MPs.

Overseas trips curtailed

According to him, lawmakers should endeavor to meet with their respective Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) and engage with the Budget and Appropriation Committee in order to conclude with the estimates and pave the way for the tabling of a report in the house once the sittings resume.

He said: “We must make use of the long recess. It is a long recess, but usually it is the busiest working recess that we have, unlike the one in December, which is longer and for rest. This one is usually a working recess. I implore upon the membership of the House across the political divide to be available in committee meetings during the coming recess to process the budget estimates.”

Recess also comes at an opportune time for members as it will allow members of the committee set up to spearhead the bi-partsian talks to attend the said meetings.

 The 14-member bipartisan talks committee is expected to resume their meeting today to thrash out preliminaries in order to pave way for the discussions to commence. The committee is set to make a decision as to whether the talks will be purely parliamentary or will be expanded to include non-parliamentarians.

 Azimio side has demanded expansion of the panel outside parliament but Kenya Kwanza has insisted that the talks should be limited to parliament.

 Last week the Azimio la Umoja Coalition Council led by Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka gave the team 30 days to conclude the bipartisan talks.

 The council further stressed that it will not hesitate to take alternative actions at any slight indication of a lack of goodwill from the Kenya Kwanza side.