Parliament adjourned a record 66 times for lack of quorum amid concerns that the MPs are increasingly becoming ‘insensitive and unresponsive’ to the plight of Kenyans.
In the latest scorecard report by Mzalendo Trust, a parliamentary watchdog, the National Assembly adjourned 40 times while the Senate business aborted 26 times for lack of required numbers.
The development cast a spotlight on the commitment of the highly paid lawmakers to pass laws and policies and safeguard the electorate's interest.
“In the National Assembly, since August 2023, 40 sittings out of 158 were adjourned due to lack of quorum, which translates to 25 per cent of the total sittings,” the report states.
Further, two sittings didn’t happen at all, one of them being the morning after a vote on the impeachment of the former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua took place.
“Noteworthy, some of the instances where there was a lack of quorum were on days when there were critical issues,” Mzalendo said.
The Senate was no different, as 26 sittings out of a total of 177 sittings were adjourned due to lack of quorum, translating to 15 per cent of the total sittings.
Of the 26, six failed to happen for failure to achieve attendance of at least 15 Senators.
“Also in the Senate, as it was in the National Assembly, critical issues had been scheduled on the order paper in the instances where quorum could not be achieved,” the report says.
They include the debate on a motion on the adoption of a report on the inquiry into the high cost of electricity in the country and an adjournment motion on heavy rains and flooding in parts of the country.
According to the report, MPs have disregarded Kenyans’ input in the passage of crucial bills and motions, triggering a disconnect between Kenyans’ needs and MPs’.
“Whilst there has been an increase in legislative output this year in the form of bills, Kenyans’ sentiments and needs continue to be pushed to the periphery, especially in key legislations,” the report states.
Mzalendo noted the high number of instances of the passage of bills that disregard citizen inputs, voting patterns that do not represent the wishes of citizens and attempts to weaken constitutional provisions through introductions of bills and amendments to existing legislations.
“In a year that has seen Kenyans persistently voice their aspirations and concerns, especially in the legislative process, demanding accountability from Parliament and other arms of government, the failure by Parliament to address these needs should be of concern to the citizens,” the report states.
However, despite the growing concern, citizens’ voices remain muted in legislative priorities, with Parliament incessantly failing to align its work with electorates’ needs and aspirations.
“The report notes that public participation remains a challenge, due to the lack of a clear framework on what constitutes meaningful participation,” it says.
For example, the report notes discrepancies between the period provided for citizen inputs for different bills, ranging between three days and 20 days in the National Assembly, and three days and 24 days in the Senate.
Worryingly, the bills that have elicited high citizen interest seem to attract the lowest participation timelines.
They include the Digital Health Bill, for example, which had a public participation window of three days in the Senate, and the Social Health Insurance Bill had a public participation window of seven days in the National Assembly.
