More than 200 Legislative proposals are pending before the National Assembly Departmental Committees, Clerk Samuel Njoroge has said.
Speaking at the start of the 2025 Mid-Term retreat by the National Assembly in Naivasha, Nakuru County, Njoroge said the large number of pending legislative proposals poses a worrying trend.
"I want to take this opportunity to urge chairpersons of the Committees to expedite the process of dealing with the legislative proposals drafted by Members and pending on their in trays," said Njoroge.
He added:
"All eyes are on the Committees in regards to clearing with the business that is pending before them."
The revelations were made during the opening session of the 2025 mid-term retreat that has brought together all the MPs of the 13th Parliament.
The retreat was officially opened by the Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetang'ula.
Njoroge noted that members who generated the legislative proposals were demoralised by the delayed handling of the legal documents.
Njoroge said it was encouraging to note that first-timer MPs have been able to push substantive numbers of Bills, Motions and statements in the House.
"First-timer MPs have performed beyond expectations. They have been able to generate the majority of the legislative proposals. The National Assembly has not experienced this from newcomer legislators before and I commend them for this exemplary performance," he said.
The Clerk encouraged long-serving MPs to be ready to share their experiences with the new ones to sharpen their legislative skills as he urged the newcomers to be ready to learn from their seniors.
On the achievements in the last Session, the Clerk told the meeting that 149 Bills were introduced in the House.
He explained that out the 149 Bills, 17 have been assented to by the President while seven others (five Senate and two National Assembly) were undergoing mediation.
He noted:
"Nineteen Senate Bills were processed and 11 National Assembly Bills were passed and forwarded to the Senate."
He further said 161 motions have also been tabled in the National Assembly during the same period and 38 are still pending at the end of the session.
"He pointed out that 312 statements have been processed and requested or made on the floor of the House by Members," he added.
He proudly mentioned that the House managed to approve 85 individuals to take over top State jobs in the Kenya Kwanza government including the Cabinet Secretaries, Attorney General, Inspector General of Police and various Diplomatic Officers among others.
Njoroge pointed out that the term of 18 Committees is coming to an end, noting that he was waiting for consent from the Speaker for authorisation to commence the process to reconstitute them.
This, he said, will facilitate the smooth continuity of the House Business.
"The session Committees that their lifespan comes to an end are Powers and Privileges, House Business and Members Welfare and Facilities alongside 15 Audit and Appropriation Committees,” said Njoroge.
"We have a constitutional proposal under consideration and likely to be considered in the Fourth Session, which seeks to entrench certain funds in the Constitution, one of them being the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF)."
He noted with concern that the role of this Fund has been grossly misunderstood over time adding that the House needs to demonstrate that this and other similar funds touch the lives of Kenyans at the local level, thus driving change in the community.
"The House needs to convey the difference that these social funds make in the lives of Kenyans, rather than allowing a focus on the role of the Members of Parliament in it. This will go a long way towards rebuilding the image of the institution of Parliament in the eyes of the public," he added.
The Clerk noted that this was the first time the National Assembly held a Mid-Term retreat for all Members.
"In the past, we have been holding retreats for Leadership of the National Assembly only but this year the Speaker instructed me to convene a meeting of all legislators," he added.
He noted that he was certain that the retreat would provide an opportunity for Members to share experiences and challenges faced chart the way forward and build synergy for the effective delivery of their mandate.
