The National Assembly is holding a four-day Post Election Seminar (PES) for its members.
The seminar is being held in conjunction with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA).
President William Ruto is set to officially open the event and make a keynote address.
The event which as per practice within the Commonwealth fraternity takes place at the beginning of the term of every Parliament.
It comes hot on the heels of a week-long House Committees’ Induction workshop which ended on Sunday in Mombasa.
The main purpose of the workshop was to give Members of various Committees the tools that they need to discharge their Constitutional mandate of representation, oversight, and legislation.
“The PES will be key in enhancing the capacity of Members of the National Assembly to efficiently and effectively perform their constitutional mandate; strengthening Members’ understanding of parliamentary practices, procedures and processes while developing a better understanding of the legislative system and democratic processes” said a statement from the National Assembly.
Seminar to Build Capacity of Members
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula noted that the seminar is aimed at building capacity for the legislators in all aspects of good parliamentary practice, as well as promoting national values and ideals of parliamentary democracy.
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi is expected to make a presentation on ‘The Linkage between the National Assembly and the Executive’.
“Given the nexus between the functions of the newly established office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary and Parliament, this subject will shed light on the approaches for the marshalling of legislative business in the National Assembly” the statement reads.
The Hon. Stephen Twigg, Secretary-General, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) is expected to share a presentation on ‘The Legislature in the 21st Century: The Role of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’.
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The session will also provide an opportunity for discussing mechanisms for mutual performance of constitutional duties including the coordination of the ‘Question Time’ in the National Assembly as part of oversight by Parliament, and accountability of State organs by the Executive.
Other thematic areas set to be covered include: Legislature in the 21st Century: The Role of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA); the Doctrine of Separation of Powers, Checks, and Balances; Parliamentary Procedures and Practices in the Commonwealth: Emerging issues; Leadership: Behaviour, Ethics, and Standards and Powers, Privileges, and Immunities of Members of Parliament.
The Members will also be taken through The Role of the Legislature in Budget-making; Role of Select Committees in Parliamentary oversight; Parliamentary Diplomacy, Networking and Parliamentary Assistance; Protocol and Etiquette; Marshalling Business in a Bicameral System, and Effective Media Engagement.
