National Assembly Deputy Majority Leader Owen Baya has asked Parliament to give priority to bills sponsored by Members of Parliament.
Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, Baya, who is also the Kilifi North MP, lamented that Senate bills are given priority in the chamber.
“Members here, including myself, have always prepared bills tediously. We send them to legal teams and take a lot of time to ensure they are well-drafted. But, Honorable Speaker, those bills hardly find their way to the floor of the House,” said Baya.
He noted that Parliament gives more preference to Senate bills, which are also private members’ bills.
Baya said that in the 12th Parliament, he prepared many bills, but only one reached the floor—and it was never completed.
He added that there is a long list of over 200 bills prepared by members that never made it to the chamber, while Senate bills often do—and some are even withdrawn after being introduced.
“Honorable Speaker, we need to give Members of the National Assembly a chance to have a bill in their name passed in this chamber. If we continue like this, members will feel discouraged. They will stop legislating and focus only on oversight and other matters,” Baya added.
He called on the Speaker of the National Assembly, Moses Wetang’ula, to make a fundamental ruling on which private members’ bills should be given priority.