Muturi wants Cabinet Secretaries to answer questions on the floor

Former National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi has urged the 13^th parliament to consider enacting legislation that will compel Cabinet Secretaries to appear in the house to answer questions from members.

Currently, responses to questions sought by MPs are read out in plenary by chairpersons of committees thereby limiting them from seeking more clarification.

The 13^th parliament is set to officially start business in two weeks and Kenyans will be keen to see how the MPs will oversight the new executive as well as conduct their representation duties.

In 2014 Speaker Muturi guided the house to create Committee on General Oversight that was composed of all MPs and headed by the Speaker with the sole purpose of meeting Cabinet Secretaries.

The idea which was borrowed from France, however, could not last long due to lack of goodwill from the executive.

Whenever an MP wants a pressing matter addressed, the query is taken up by the relevant departmental committee, which summons the Cabinet secretary to provide answers which the head of the committee then presents to the house.

As such, follow-up questions challenging the veracity of such answers are hardly responded to.

This, according to Muturi, curtails MPs’ fulfillment of their representation duties.