Senators introduced a record 75 bills, only 17 assented to 

The outgoing Senate introduced a total of 75 bills, out of which 17 were passed and assented to by the President.

Senate Leader of Majority Senator Samuel Poghisio disclosed that The Mental Health (Amendment) Bill (Senate Bills No. 28 of 2020) and the County Allocation of Revenue Bill (Senate Bills No. 1 of 2022) have been submitted to the President for Assent.

 “Twenty-six (26) Bills were considered and referred to the National Assembly. These Bills are still under consideration by the National Assembly and yet to be referred back to the Senate,’ Poghisio said yesterday as he moved the motion for the House to break indefinitely.

Concerning Bills that are under consideration by the Senate, Poghisio, observed that there are 23 Bills pending conclusion, seven of which are at the Second Reading stage while 15 are at the Committee of the Whole stage.

“Of these Bills, five have been scheduled for Division at the Committee of the Whole Stage. I urge all Honourable Senators to take personal responsibility and ensure that you are in the Chamber this afternoon, to undertake these divisions, alongside Motions listed at Orders No. 18 and 19,” he said.

Undergoing concurrence

“There are twenty Bills which are undergoing concurrence process under Article 110 (3) of the Constitution. Looking at where we are today, it is unlikely that these Bills will be considered by the Senate in the life of the 12th Parliament,” he added.

During its life, the Senate received 145 petitions, out of which 114 have been finalised.  “This indicates that there are 31 petitions that are yet to be finalized by respective Standing Committees,” he held.

According to Poghisio, statements have been another avenue that the Senate has capitalised on, to address concerns by citizens. “There were 229 Statements made under Standing Order 47(1) of which 67 were referred to respective standing committees for further consideration. 53 of these were concluded and where necessary, reports thereon tabled,” he noted.

 “We hope that when the time comes to assess the third Senate, it will be written that we held to the aspirations of Kenyans, upheld the constitution and constitutionalism, protected devolution, and ensured that it thrives,” he held.

He stated that the third senate has made a positive impact in the lives of Kenyans as an institution of governance, that is what was required of us.

He asked the next Senate leadership to separate the politics of the day from their constitutional and cardinal mandate of protecting devolution by supporting good legislative proposals which strengthen devolution and the place of the Senate.

“The next Senate Leadership may isolate these Bills and consider republishing them as a matter of urgency, to have them passed in the first few months. In so doing, the next Senate will go a long way in entrenching constitutionalism, the rule of law, and protecting the integrity of the legislative process,” 

Speaker Kenneth Lusaka has landed the performance of the outgoing Senate as the House adjourned indefinitely. In a communication to the House, the speaker enumerated the House’s records but regretted the tough wars with the National Assembly derailed its performance.