House committees 'sleeping on the job'

Kisumu County Assembly has accused House committees of not taking their duties seriously.

This follows withdrawal of two reports after Members of the County Assembly said they were poorly written.

Assembly Speaker Elijah Omondi said withdrawal of Motions and reports at the last minute was becoming common and could not be tolerated.

"Any committee whose motions will be withdrawn after tabling in the House shall be suspended for six months. Some committees withdraw the Motions even before consulting the clerks of the House Business Committee, something that contravenes standing orders," said Omondi.

He added: "We have to help the House Business Committee run its activities. We should allow them plan earlier and even postpone their tabling."

The Vice-Chairman of the House Business Committee, Samuel Ong'ou, cautioned against the withdrawals, saying it had slowed down business of the House.

"If some of these matters are not taken seriously, we will soon have no house business and the blame will be on the House Business Committee. Some committees are not taking their work seriously and we should put their houses in order before matters gets out of hand," said Ong'ou.

Vice Chairperson of the Tourism and Heritage Committee Pamela Oyoo withdrew a report she had tabled in the House, saying it needed some input. The committee was to report on relocation of a cemetery situated next to the lake.

"We still have to consult with the executive on some issues before we can finally compile the report and table it before the house," said Pamela.

The Agriculture and Environment Committee also withdrew its report on relocation of dumpsites in Kisumu that had been attributed to insecurity in the town because the Chair of Administration and Security committee was not in the House.

The Speaker demanded a report from the Liaison Committee indicating the input of all the committees since inception.

"We want to know motions and bills that have been produced by all the committees," said the Speaker.

Kisumu City is currently grappling with a waste management crisis, with area Governor Jack Ranguma attributing it to difficulties in getting land for relocation of dumpsites.

GARBAGE DEAL

Recently the Kisumu County government signed a Sh4.5 billion garbage collection agreement with two foreign companies.

The deal signed with the American-based Global Waste 2 Energy and the Integrated Basic Infrastructure System of the Netherlands is also expected to help the county recycle its waste for energy.

Kisumu collects more than 473,000 metric tonnes of waste per day.