MPs: Public views should not dictate policy

Parliament during a past session. [File, Standard]

Parliament has welcomed the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on public participation, asserting that it positions the country for more effective legislative processes without disruptions.

National Assembly Majority and Minority Leaders, Kimani Ichung’wah and Junet Mohamed, Thursday stated that the Supreme Court as an advisory court has now set the pace for Parliament to enact substantive legislation to guide public participation exercises in the legislative processes of the Parliament and County Assemblies.

Reflecting on the past 10 years since the promulgation of the Constitution, Mohamed noted that many legislative efforts faced hurdles due to challenges in court. He explained that several laws passed by Parliament were struck down as unconstitutional by the High Court, which derailed their legislative agenda.

Now, with the Supreme Court’s ruling, Ichung’wah and Mohamed believe the time is right to introduce the Public Participation Bill, which would streamline this process. “Our primary role is legislation,” Mohamed stated. “One of the biggest challenges we’ve faced in this regard is public participation. I want the House to take note of the recent Supreme Court ruling on the Finance Bill, where the court did an outstanding job in setting guidelines for public input.”

Mohamed emphasised that while public awareness is crucial, Parliament’s role is to represent the people’s interests directly. “We don’t need to convince the public but to inform them,” he explained. “We are here to legislate on behalf of Kenyans, exercising delegated sovereign power. The Supreme Court, in its wisdom, stated that we only need to inform the public—they do not have to agree because legislation is not being done in the public, but in the floor of the House,” he stated.

Ichung’wah highlighted the importance of structured laws to facilitate Parliament’s and County Assemblies’ legislative work, urging House committees to approach public participation with a balanced perspective.

“The Attorney General is finalising Public Participation Bill, a substantive Bill that  will guide our public participation exercise so that we do no find many of the statutes being rendered unconstitutional on the basis of public participation,” said Ichung’wah.

He made reference to the Finance Bill 2024, saying National Treasury Cabinet Secretary, John Mbadi has brought a number of proposals that were good and put into the Bill.

He said the National Assembly, collected views of the public through an exercise led by Finance Committee chairperson, Kuria Kimani. The committee’s final report, which opposed taxes on essential items like bread and motor vehicles, was shaped by public feedback and then adopted by Parliament. However, Ichung’wah noted that misconceptions about taxes on imported goods created unnecessary public opposition.

“Players in the industry brought proposals that would protect local manufacturing industry. Proposals were made  to levy exercise duty on finished products being imported from China, the Far East, including diapers and sanitary towels, but the public were incited to believe that this House was levying tax on all diapers and sanitary towels,” Ichung’wah regretted.

Article 2 of the Constitution mandates Parliament to represent the people. However, Ichung’wah lamented that certain judges have misconstrued public participation as a referendum, which disrupts effective legislative action.

According to him, public participation entails  going out and collating the views of the public, but it is  still up to MPs to consider the views of the public, which may not be necessarily be the right views.