COMMITTEE REPORTS (TRAINING BY CPST IN KENYA

rEPORT ON THE TRAINING OF the senate WHIPS AND committees’ CHAIRPERSONS oN LEGISLATIVE leadership AND GOVERNANCE

          

Hosted by: The Centre for Parliamentary Studies and Training (CPST)

Parliament of the Republic of Kenya

INTRODUCTION

A delegation of the Senate Whips and Chairpersons of Committees left the Moshoeshoe I International Airport on Sunday, the 23rd February, 2025 to attend training on Legislative Leadership and Governance at the Centre for Parliamentary Studies and Training (CPST), at the Parliament of the Republic of Kenya. As a result of the newly introduced Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), the delegation was delayed at the OR Tambo International Airport, and only arrived in Nairobi on Monday, the 24th February 2025. The delegation comprised of the following Members and staff:

  1. Honourable Senator Khoabane Theko- Chief Whip and Leader of the Delegation
  2. Honourable Senator Dr. Thabiso Lebese – Chair of Chairs  and Chairperson of the Committee on Government Assurances
  3. Hon. Senator Tumane Matela – Deputy Chief Whip
  4. Hon. Senator  ‘Mamolapo Majara – Chairperson of the Amenities Committee
  5. Hon. Senator ‘Makholu Moshoeshoe-Chairperson of the Committee on Health, Nutrition and Gender
  6. Hon. Senator ‘Mawinnie Kanetsi – Chairperson of the Petitions Committee
  7. Hon. Senator  Seabata Motsamai-Chairperson of the Legislation Committee
  8. Advocate Tsěliso Molise- Clerk to the Senate
  9.  Mr. Maduma Tsepane- Clerk Assistant and Secretary to the delegation.

Tuesday, the 25th February, 2025

  1. REGISTRATIONS AND INTRODUCTIONS

The training was launched by the CPST Programme Coordinator, Mr Peter Muchira who welcomed the delegation and sincerely apologised for their late arrival due to communication breakdown caused by the newly introduced mandatory Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) for all incoming visitors to Kenya. Mr Peter proceeded to present the training programme for the week and promised Senators that all topics would be covered during the week. The Clerk to the Senate introduced the delegation shortly afterwards.

SESSION I: HISTORY OF THE PARLIAMENT OF KENYA

  1. PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURES AND BEST PRACTICES

In his presentation, Mr Zakayo Mogere, Deputy Director of Legislative and Procedural Services in Kenyan Senate, encouraged the Lesotho delegation to have an interactive session rather than a lecture in order to have a lively discussion where each group could learn from the experiences of others.

  1. The historical background to the parliament of Kenya

The inception of the Legislative Assembly in Kenya dates back to the colonial era when the Legislative Council (LegCo) was constituted through the issuance of the East African Order-in-Council in 1906. The main purpose of setting up the Legislative Council was to safeguard the interests of the white settlers and formulate laws of local application. Later, the Legislative Council served as a legislature for the East Africa Protectorate.

  1. Lancaster Parliament

The framework of Lancaster Constitution (1962) consisted by Bicameral Parliament; the Senate and the House of Representatives (incomplete sentence). There are 41 Senators representing 40 Administrative Districts in Nairobi, 117 House of Representatives Constituency Members; 12 specially elected Members and the Attorney General as an ex officio Member.

  1. Other Important dates
Year (s) 
1966The Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Act No. 19 of 1966 effectively disbanded Senate converting the 41 Senators into Members of the House of Representatives and creating new constituencies to accommodate them. This altered membership of the National Assembly
1999The Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) was created in 1999 through a constitutional amendment that sought to strengthen the independence of the Kenyan Parliament by creating its own service separate from the executive bureaucracy.
2010A new constitutional dispensation was created in August when the Legislature was reconfigured as a bicameral parliament. It re-established the Senate and increased the size of the National Assembly.
  

SESSION II: ADMINISTRATION OF THE KENYAN PARLIAMENT

  • The Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC)

2.1 Structure of the Parliamentary Service Commission

          The Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) is a constitutional body           responsible for the overall policy development and administration of           Parliament in Kenya. It consists of the Speaker of the National Assembly as the           chairperson, seven (7) members appointed by Parliament among its          Members (of whom one is elected by the Commission as the vice- chairperson), and two (2) non parliamentary members, one (1) man and one (1) woman       appointed by Parliament based on their experiences in public affairs. The Clerk of the Senate is the Secretary to the Commission.

  • Parliamentary Joint Service (PJS)

According to Deputy Director of Legislative and Procedural Services, name them, the Joint Service functions as a centralized administrative body of the Kenyan Parliament that provides shared services to both Houses of Parliament by supporting and assisting them in the operations. The body is led by the following:

  1. a Director-General and the Directorate of Human Capital and Administration Services,
  2. Directorate of Finance & Accounting Services,
  3. Directorate of Safety & Security Services,
  4. Directorate of Library & ICT Services,
  5. Directorate of Research Services,
  6. Directorate of Litigation & Compliance Services and lastly
  7. the Directorate of Engineering & Maintenance Services.

Each House has its own staff which perform core functions of parliament such as Hansard, Committees and Procedure staff. Both the National Assembly and Senate of Kenya are led by the Clerk.

Session III: Houses of Parliament

  • The Senate

The Senate consists of sixty eight (68) members, (forty seven (47) elected Senators representing each of the forty seven (47) countries, sixteen (16) nominated female members and four (4) members representing youth, women and persons with disabilities and the Speaker who is an ex officio member.

  • The National Assembly

The National Assembly of Kenya is composed of three hundred and fifty (350) seats. Of these seats, two hundred and ninety seats (290) are occupied by members representing constituencies while forty seven seats (47) are reserved for women, and twelve (12) are for both the nominated members and the speaker who is an ex officio member.         

3. Mandate of both Houses of Parliament

3.1 The Senate

The Senate as a representative body of Counties only enacts legislation concerned with Counties and other interests including finances of those counties.  This means that the Senate can initiate bills but only if they affect Counties.

3.2 The National Assembly

The National Assembly as the representative of constituencies is empowered to consider bills that are of national interest by nature. I doubt if the functions of the Assembly are limited to considering bills.

3.3 Mediation When there is disagreement between the two Houses

Whenever there are disagreements between the two Houses, for instance, rejection of a bill from the National Assembly by the Senate, mediation is called by Presiding Officers to look into reasons behind the rejection. The mediation team comprises equal numbers from each House and, after consultations, each team reports back to the House. The rejected Bill is brought back through a motion covering the mediation results. However, despite mediation efforts, some bills are never resuscitated as a result of failed mediation efforts.

3.5. Petitions in Parliament

In the case of the Kenyan Parliament, petitions can only be addressed by the National Assembly. Additionally, petitions are not delegated to one committee but could be handled by different committees depending on the thematic area. The checklist for petitions is very stringent and need to be signed by at least twenty (20) petitioners.

3.6. Public Participation

Public participation is enshrined in the Constitution of Kenya and all bills require inputs from the general public. As a result of Kenya’s active civil society organisations, Parliament is engaged on local and national issues in a transparent manner. Proceedings of each House are aired live on parliament, television and social media platforms which are used to publicise the work of Parliament.

Public views on any issue can be delivered by hand, via mail and other platforms. Publicity of the parliament’s public participation endeavours are also done through newspapers and traditional leadership. However, Kenyan courts have thrown-out some legislation pieces arguing that they did not meet the public participation threshold.

3.7. Joint Sittings

Joint sittings are only held when the President is present to make a speech.

3.8. Ministers

In the case of Kenya, the President can select ministers from outside parliament and candidates are vetted by the National Assembly. In the past when ministers could only be selected outside parliament, they did not answer questions in parliament.  That has, however, changed after the introduction of new standing orders. As ministers are still considered strangers, a podium is erected outside the well (stranger’s gallery) where they answer questions from. Lastly, the Constitution of Kenya limits the cabinet size between fourteen (14) and twenty two (22) members.

Session IV

4. Visit to the Senate of Kenya Chambers

The Lesotho Senate delegation was welcomed and introduced to the Kenyan Senate Members by the President of the Kenya Senate, Honourable Amason Kingi followed by both the majority and minority leaders short speeches.

DAY 2: Wednesday 26th February, 2025

  • Prayer

As it is the tradition of the Kenyan Parliament, the session commenced with a prayer led by Honourable Senator M.M.Q. Majara.

Session V

  • Self-Review Exercise

The delegation was divided into three (3) groups and were given the task to gauge the performance of the Senate through the following questions:

  1. What was the overall performance of the Senate over the last legislative period?
  2. Legislation
  3. Oversight
  4. Representation
  5. Committee Performance
  6. Key factors that led to the performance?
  7. What are the three (3) current targets for the Senate over the next three (3) years and what must be done to achieve them?
    1. Experiences of the Parliament of Kenya

The experience of the Kenyan parliament were shared by the days’ presenter, Mr. Peter Muchira who said the following:

  • The Parliament of Kenya had a challenge with Ministers who were reluctant to answer questions asked by members even though it has the power to summon them through the police.
  • The Parliament of Kenya has the “Parliament Broadcasting Department” that enables it to cover parliament proceedings live via WhatsApp channel.
  • There isa quarterly reporting by Chairpersons of Committees to the House on the business covered by each committee. Each committee is allotted two (2) hours to report to the House.
  •   Experiences on best practices necessitated Chairpersons of Committees having only one (1) additional committee membership.
  • The Parliament of Kenya had an international desk and the institution was focused on African parliaments for benchmarking as there was something to learn from other Africans.
  • How has Kenya Parliament managed its independence

The following were presented as best practises that guaranteed the independence of the Parliament of Kenya:

  • The existence of a Parliamentary Service Commission which was advocated for by members of parliament.
  • PSC budget proposals are sent directly to Parliament and salaries of staff and MPs are determined by the Commission.
  • Each MP has the benefit of seven (7) parliamentary staff who include driver, researcher, personal assistant and others and ten (10) other constituency staff in the case of members of the National Assembly.
  • At the beginning of each parliament, MPs were allocated a car grant of sixty thousand $60,000.

Session VI

  • Meeting with the Executive Director of the Centre for Parliamentary Studies and Training (CPST)
    • Presentation by Professor Nyokabi Kamau

In her presentation, the Executive Director of CPST informed the meeting that the Centre was established in 2008 as a department of Parliament that was tasked with the training of both MPs and staff. The CPST was further mandated to develop linkages and collaborations with other institutions and to assist parliament to execute its mandate effectively and efficiently.

  • Organisational Structure of CPST

The CPST board is structured in the following manner;

  • The Vice Chair of the Parliamentary Service Commission as the Chair;
  • Four other Commissioners of the PSC;
  • The Clerk to the Senate of Kenya;
  • The Clerk of the Kenyan National Assembly;
  • One Member from an academic institution; and
  • The CPST Director as the secretary.
  • Collaborations with other institutions

In execution of its mandate, the CPST has formed partnerships with other institutions across the globe including McGill University in Canada. Through this collaboration, programmes tailored for parliament have been developed. Other partners include the University of Nairobi and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).

  • Future focus area of CPST

It was learnt that the centre was working towards achieving the following:

  • Transformational change of parliament
  • Identification of knowledge gaps and skills
  • Direct feedback from target audience
  • Completion of the institution’s new training centre which was being constructed.

Session VII

  •  Tour of the Bunge Building

Executive Director of the CPST, Professor Nyokabi Kamau, took the Lesotho Senate delegation on a tour of Bunge Tower which is a twenty eight (28) story state-of-the-art building developed for the parliament of Kenya by the Parliamentary Service Commission. She narrated that the building was developed to offer support services to MPs and to provide other amenities for their convenience and comfort.

8.1 Tour of the library

During the tour of Bunge Tower, the delegation visited the library in which the Senior Librarian, Mr. Shadrack Kabena, stated that:

  • The Library was established in 1906 during the colonial period of the Legislative Council and that there were three (3) library facilities in the parliamentary precinct. The digital library could be accessed from anywhere by the public.
  • The main focus of the library was to provide services to MPs and staff and that it was domiciled in the PSC.
  • Since 2022 the library had embarked on a digitisation drive in which it had digitised twenty two thousand (22,000) documents which comprised of reports, journals, Hansards and others. The library had eight hundred and fifty four thousand (854,000) digital heads and had one of the largest repositories in Kenya with the aim to be fully digital in 5-10 years.
  • Lastly, that information was classified and access restricted to some documents.
    •  Tour of Committee Rooms and Members Wellness Centre

The building has twenty six (26) committee rooms which are equipped with recording microphones and had public gallery and witness stands. The delegation continued with a tour of the Members Wellness Centre which had a barbershop, a gym, aerobics room (hosts taibo & spinning), a massage and manicure room.

Day 3: Thursday 27th February, 2025

  • Prayer

Honourable Senator M.M. Moshoeshoe led the day’s session in prayer.

Session VIII

  1. Effective Communication: Mr. Joseph Muthomi: The Deputy Director in the Speaker’s Office

He commenced his presentation by articulating this quote by S. G. Richards, 1978)

“Politics exists because people disagree about the aims and objects of human endeavor and probably even more so, about the methods to be used in achieving them.”

Through this quote, he emphasised that human beings had individual differences by nature.

  1. Ways of Building Consensus in Leadership
“Consensus building is the future of multi-party democracy”(Paul Kariuki & Adebimpe Esther Ofusori)

Consensus was described as ‘attaining overwhelming agreement amongst all relevant stakeholders’.

  1. Prior Lobbying

The speaker alluded that sibling rivalry amongst sister organisations was common and not unique to the Lesotho parliament. However, he made the following recommendations;

  •  Each system should respond to each country’s unique situation as there is no perfect system. Solutions should be based on dynamic situation of each country or institution.
  • Discussions should be facilitated whenever there is conflicting views.  House Committees (Business Committees) of the National Assembly and Senate should meet whenever there are disagreements between the two Houses and consensus should be reached using this approach.
  • In-house mechanisms should be developed to resolve conflicts within an organisation or institution and discussions between contesting groups would help in soothing tensions. The speaker viewed differing opinions as a catalyst for opening up discussions and a way towards reconciling two parties.
  • Misunderstandings arose whenever there was failure to communicate and as such communication was central towards avoiding conflict. I am not sure if this can be considered a recommendation. It sounds like a statement.
  1. Enhancing Inter-Governmental Relations

The Deputy Director in the Speaker’s Office emphasised the need for independence of each branch of parliament but not autonomy as there was a need for checks and balances. An example was put forward in which the courts of law could rescind laws passed by parliament and that parliament could exercises oversight over the executive. Country common values were identified as pillars that could strengthen inter-governmental relations.

Session VIIII

  1. Visit to the National Assembly of Kenya Chambers

The Lesotho Senate delegation was welcomed and introduced to the House by the Speaker of the Kenya National Assembly, Honourable Moses Wetang’ula. The delegation was honored by being seated in the Speaker’s gallery where seats for important guests of the Speaker are reserved.

Day 4: Friday 28th February, 2025

  1. Prayer

Honourable Senator M.M. Moshoeshoe opened the session with a prayer.

Session X

12.1 Presentation by Peter Muchira- Programme Coordinator

The presenter started his presentation by informing the session that legislation on ethics in Kenya was passed in 2012 through the “Leadership and Integrity Act.” Through the legislation, a code of ethical conduct for public officials was adopted.

12.2 Concept of Ethics, Integrity and Governance

(a) Concept of Ethics

The regulations that govern human behavior.

(b) Integrity

A quality that enables one to do right.

(c) Governance

UNESCO describes “Governance” as structures and processes that are designed to ensure accountability.

“You’re looking for three things, generally, in a person,” says Buffett. “Intelligence, energy, and integrity. And if they don’t have the last one, don’t even bother with the first two. I tell them, ‘Everyone here has the intelligence and energy—you wouldn’t be here otherwise. But the integrity is up to you. You weren’t born with it, you can’t learn it in school.”

He concluded by presenting the following quote by Warren Buffet;

12.3 Best practices by Kenya which could be adopted by Lesotho

The following best practices were presented for adoption by Lesotho:

  • Kenya enacted the “Freedom of Information Act 2016” which guaranteed citizens the right to have access to information held by Government agencies. Through the Act, any Kenyan can request information to check the attendance record of any Member of Parliament.
  •  The Leadership and Integrity Act of 2012 operationalizes chapter 6 of the Constitution of Kenya.
  • The Ethics Committee of the Parliament of Kenya was empowered to deal with any transgression committed outside parliament.
  • Both MPs and government officials have to declare their assets and liabilities.
  • No Kenyan MP is allowed to have a bank account outside Kenya except with the permission of the Central Bank of Kenya.
  • No MP can be a citizen of another country.
  • MPs are not allowed to take loans of more than a third (3rd) of their salaries to avoid conflict of interest.
  • Parliament had a sexual policy which outlawed relationships between MPs and staff.

Session XI

  1. Official Closure

The leader of the Senate delegation, Honourable Senator K.L.K Theo nominated the Clerk to the Senate, Adv. Tsěliso Molise and the Chair of Chairs, Honourable Senator Dr. Thabiso Lebese, to deliver closing remarks on behalf of the delegation.

13.1 Remarks by the Clerk

In his remarks, the Clerk to the Senate applauded the CPST for delivering on what was requested by the Lesotho Senate.  He revealed that his interest in CPST came about after a conversation with the Director during a conference held in Tanzania. He further indicated that there was a need to bring other departments of the Senate including researchers, committee clerks and legal officers for learning at the Institution. Lastly, the Clerk to the Senate alluded to the need for different Senate Committees to visit the Kenyan parliament for benchmarking.

  1. Remarks by the Chair of Chairs

The Chair of Chairs,Honourable Senator Dr. Thabiso Lebese, conveyed the gratitude of the delegation on the training received. He further stated that even though the training started shaky as a result of flight logistics, the delegation acquired knowledge which would be taken home to enrich the Senate. He expressed his appreciation on the new information gained and applauded the good relations between the two sister countries and their respective parliaments. In conclusion, he, once again, applauded the Parliament of Kenya and indicated his desire for Lesotho to aspire to be like Kenya.

  1. Closing Remarks by the Director of CPST

Dr. George Wakah, the Director of Administrative, Finance and Corporate Affairs closed the training on behalf of the Director of CPST, Professor Nyokabi Kamau who was away on urgent business. He expressed his appreciation for being amongst Chiefs and indicated that travelling affords one an opportunity to experience the culture and cuisine of other countries. Moreover, he applauded Basotho for maintaining their identity through keeping their traditional names unlike Kenyans who, he said, had adopted English names.

He further touched on the issue of Kenya having shifted away from the Westminster parliamentary model and having adopted the American parliamentary model. In advancing the importance of Committees in parliament, Dr. George Wakah stated that in order to kill parliament, one has to start by killing committees first. He underpinned this point by stressing the need for continuous capacitation of both MPs and Committees’ secretariat as committees are, he put, as good as both their staff and members.

In his conclusion remarks, he revealed that there were eight (8) staff members serving each committee and that parliament staff were repositories of knowledge hence Kenya parliament staff were the ones lecturing at CPST after having gone through training of trainers courses.

  1. Award of Certificates

At the end of the training, the delegation was awarded certificates of attendance by Dr. George Wakah, the Director of Administrative, Finance and Corporate Affairs.

  1.  Lessons Learnt

The following lessons have been drawn from challenges faced by both the Kenyan Parliament and Lesotho Parliament and similarities between the two institutions;

  • Development of the Code of Conduct and Ethics is vital for the Lesotho Senate. The Code of Ethics for the Kenyan Parliament, primarily outlined in the Public Officer Ethics Act, 2003, and the Parliamentary Service Code of Conduct and Ethics, mandates adherence to the Constitution, transparency, accountability, and the efficient and honest performance of duties
  • In the case of the parliament of Lesotho, there is inadequate enforcement of standing orders especially on conduct of MPs in parliament.
  • Poor attendance is common to both countries and a sustainable solution is yet to be found. Poor attendance delays decision making as attaining quorum is a constant headache.
  •  Public participation although key for democracy often delays progress and is too broad and has to be defined within certain parameters otherwise it may defeat the purpose. 
  • The detailed Kenyan constitution is great but maybe too cumbersome while the Lesotho constitution is multifaceted e.g. it is a combination of monarchy and democracy and that often brings challenges on how the country is run. 
  • The Lesotho parliament needs to develop a mechanism of resolve disagreements between both Houses. In the case of the Kenyan Parliament, Business Committees of the National Assembly and Senate meet whenever there are disagreements to reach consensus.
  1. Conclusion

During the four day period, the delegation was able to learn and benchmark against best practices by the Parliament of Kenya. The delegation appreciates the insights into how the parliament of Kenya operates independently under the Parliamentary Service Commission. The centrality of Committees in parliament was underscored together with the importance of consistent capacitation of both MPs and staff.

  1. Recommendations

The following recommendations were drawn from the training:

  • The Lesotho parliament should strive for its autonomy.
  • There has to be the establishment of the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC).
  • Composition of the Senate needs to be reviewed to include marginalized groups of society.
  • Review of standing orders to address attendance challenges and enforcement.
  • The ongoing reforms should define public participation within the context of Lesotho.