The National Assembly has reignited a debate on whether the country is over-represented by the duplication of roles of the bicameral parliament and county assemblies.
The National Assembly Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs, in its report on the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2024, says it is high time the sustainability of the two houses was examined.
The committee, chaired by Tharaka MP George Murugara, noted that after 14 years of devolution, it was time to examine whether there was duplication of roles between the two houses and the county assemblies.
"Looking at Kenya's constitutional history, the Senate was created to protect devolution. However, fourteen years down the line, devolution is very much entrenched, hence the need to reconsider the sustainability of the two houses of parliament and whether there is duplication of roles between the Senate and the National Assembly and the Senate and County Assemblies," the report says.
Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo, who is a member of the committee, told the Nation that the report is only a proposal that will be debated in Parliament and ultimately by Kenyans.
"It is a proposal that Kenyans should now have on whether there is a need to have two houses," Dr Amollo said.
Another MP on the committee, who did not want to be named, said the plan was to abolish the Senate because most of its functions can now be done by the National Assembly.
"The Senate is actually a fraud on the people, there is nothing it does that the National Assembly cannot do now," the MP said.
He said the Senate was only brought on board to safeguard devolution because, in the early years of the implementation of the 2010 Constitution, there were fears that the national government might scrap devolution, but 14 years later, there is a feeling that devolution has taken root, hence the role of the Senate has diminished.
Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi described the National Assembly's proposal as a threat to devolution, pointing out that MPs were trying to bite back after the courts declared the Constituency Development Fund illegal.
"If you are questioning the existence of the Senate, you are questioning devolution. This is a weighty matter that cannot be decided by a mere committee. The National Assembly is losing focus on matters it should be dealing with," said Mr Osotsi.
"The National Assembly is posing an existential threat to devolution. They have better things to do that affect Kenyans," Mr Osotsi added.
Governance consultant Charles Munyui said the timing of such a discussion is wrong and distracting as Kenyans have a lot of immediate problems that need solutions from lawmakers.
He said such a proposal would require the country to go for a referendum, an exercise he described as expensive and one the country cannot afford amid economic challenges.
"There are a lot of things that MPs should be focusing on instead of focusing on long winding amendments that have no impact on Kenyans," Dr Munyui said.
The discussion on reducing Kenyans' representatives was sparked by Thirdway Alliance party leader Ekuru Aukot in 2019 through his party's Punguza Mizigo Bill, which failed after it was not passed in 24 counties as required by the Constitution.
Among the proposals contained in the defeated bill were the abolition of the 290 constituencies, the adoption and use of each of the 47 counties as a single constituency for the purposes of parliamentary elections to the Senate and National Assembly, the election of one man and one woman to the National Assembly and the nomination of only six MPs from special interest groups.
The group to be nominated to Parliament was to consider gender equality, so that of the special interest groups, one man and one woman would have to be nominated for each category to cure the elusive third gender rule in Parliament, and eventually 47 senators would be elected using the county as a single constituency.
"A country like Kenya, which is still developing and has many needs, cannot afford the luxury of over-representation," Dr Aukot argued in the Bill.
Dr Aukot argued in his Bill that there was no need to send more representatives from counties to the national level as county executives serving in the county government were another level of representation.
The Thirdway Alliance leader further pointed out that since each county in Kenya represents the most dominant and populous ethnic group of that county, counties have eliminated the historical marginalisation of tribes in leadership.
Kenya currently has 418 members of parliament, including ex-officio and nominated members. The National Assembly has a total of 350 members, while the Senate has 68 members.
As a result of devolution brought about by the 2010 Constitution, there are county governments with1,450 members of the County Assembly.
If the nominated MCAs are included, Kenya has more than 2,000 legislators. MPs currently earn Sh710,000 a month, which includes a basic salary of Sh426,000, a house allowance of Sh150,000, and a salary market adjustment of Sh134,000.
The lawmakers also enjoy committee meeting allowances of Sh7,500 capped at a maximum of Sh120,000 per month, a car maintenance allowance of Sh356,526, and a mileage allowance of Sh116.63 per kilometre capped at a maximum of Sh353,778 per month.
Legislators are also entitled to an airtime allowance of Sh15,000. Article 95 of the Constitution stipulates that the National Assembly, which consists of 290 members elected from single-member constituencies, has 47 women representatives elected to represent the 47 counties.
The House of Representatives also has 12 members nominated by the parliamentary political parties in proportion to their representation in the National Assembly under Article 90 to represent special interests, including youth, persons with disabilities and workers, and the Speaker, who is an ex-officio member.
The Senate has 67 members, 47 elected and 20 appointed.The Senate represents the counties and serves to protect the interests of the counties and their governments.
It also determines the distribution of national revenues among the counties, as provided for in Article 217, and exercises oversight over national revenues allocated to county governments.
The Senate participates in the oversight of State Officers by considering and deciding on any resolution to remove the President or Deputy President from office in terms of Article 145.
