Senate bans all physical committee meetings as COVID-19 cases rise in Parliament

Senate has banned physical committee meetings in a bid to stem the spread of coronavirus.

This means the senators will not set foot in Parliament for committee meetings.

National Assembly had earlier partially locked down its activities amid fears of rising cases of MPs and other parliamentary staff contracting the deadly virus.

Senate Speaker Kenneth Lusaka said that all physical committee meetings had been suspended for a month to check the spread of the virus.

“We had a liaison committee meeting, which has all the chairpersons of committees, and agreed that all meetings should be held virtually,” Lusaka said.

The directive comes after Council of Governors (CoG) wrote to Lusaka, urging the Senate to embrace virtual meetings to avoid exposing them to coronavirus infections.

“We call upon the Speaker of the Senate to emulate the National Assembly, which has since dispensed with physical appearance.

“I urge all the governors to appear virtually as their health comes first,” said CoG chairman and Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya.

Lusaka said the governors’ appeal had merit.