It was unfortunate that Members of Parliament allied to Azimio la Umoja chose to walk out of the National Assembly as the Cabinet Secretary for Treasury was reading the Budget statement.

Whereas it was the right of the MPs to stage the protest, the move will put them at risk of missing out on a key government pronouncement. And since the matter will be coming up for debate next week, this might disadvantage the Minority side if they fail to follow the government’s spending plan.

Since the modalities of preparing the Budget are clearly stipulated in law, it would have been more advisable for the Minority side to have been involved in the process from early on so that the input of its members could have been considered in the budgeting process.

Similarly, it would have been prudent for Azimio to send memoranda through its ordinary members when the relevant House committees were engaging citizens in public participation as required by law. Failure to take advantage of these opportunities has left the Opposition in a Catch-22 situation that could have been avoided.

However, it is still not too late. What needs to happen now, as Parliament prepares to debate both the Finance Bill during the third reading next week, and the Budget statement, the Opposition ought to have a more targeted and better coordinated approach so that it can get its way, at least on the most important clauses that have the potential to have a major negative impact on taxpayers.

This requires them to be present in the House when debate and voting happens, which is why there is need for Azimio legislators to reconsider their strategy given that their strength is in the House. When Parliament was voting during the second reading of the Finance Bill, many of the Opposition MPs were absent, leading the government side to easily carry the day with 176 Yes votes against 81 No votes, majority by Azimio.

This highlights the need for the Minority side to ensure it makes its presence felt in plenary in both debate and voting, not just make pronouncements at public fora and press conferences.

Similarly, there is need for review of past and present strategies to evaluate which worked or had impact and which failed to deliver the desired results.