Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja, Nandi’s Samson Cherargei, and Bungoma’s Moses Wetangula are among the Senate’s top performers, according to the scorecard.
In the new report which was released by Mzalendo Trust yesterday that focuses on 2020 amid Coronavirus pandemic, 175 MPs made less than 10 contributions in the plenary translating to 50 percent of the House, only 125 MPs spoke between 10-50 times equivalent to 37 per cent and 33 members contributed over 50 times amounting to 9 per cent.
“With the exclusion of the Senate House leadership 32 Senators spoke over 50 times, accounting for 48% of the numbers,” the report says.
Some of the MPs usually do not regularly attend the parliamentary sessions but are very vocal in public events.
Worst Performers
And in the list of the worst performers, or in this case, those who spoke least is Baringo Senator Gideon Moi, Kajiado’s Phillip Mpaayei and Nominated Victor Prengei.
“19 Senators spoke between 10-50 times, accounting for 28% Four Senators spoke less than 10 times, accounting for 6%,” the report adds.
MPs, however, have often criticized this assessment arguing the bulk of parliamentary work is done in committees, while last year Covid-19 pandemic disrupted operations of Parliament.
Despite earning millions of shillings in salary and allowances, 31 MPs did not speak in the National Assembly while three Senators never spoke in the Senate last year, this is according to an analysis of the Hansard report by Mzalendo Trust, an organization that tracks MPs’ performance.
Debating and no delivery
Mr. Sudi has been on record saying the electorate do not want leaders who are good at debating on the floor of the National Assembly but those who can deliver on their campaign pledges.
“There are some of my colleagues in the National Assembly who speak a lot of English but when you visit their Constituencies, you find that there are no development projects they have rolled out, electorate want projects which will elevate their lives not debating, therefore this law on degree requirement will not see the light of the day, I promise,”
~ Mr. Sudi
Best Performing
The report ranked Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wa as one of the best performing members in the House alongside Joseph Kirui Limo (Kipkelion East) and Millie Odhiambo Mabona (Suba North).
They made 203, 198 and 166 contributions, respectively.
Best Contributors
In the Senate, Johnson Sakaja (Nairobi), Samson Cherargei (Nandi) and Moses Wetangula (Bungoma) emerged as the best contributors having made 554, 248 and 244 contributions, respectively.
Most Active
Nominated Senators David Sankok, Godfrey Osotsi and Dennitah Ghati topped the list of the most active nominated MPs in the National Assembly, with Farhiya Ali Haji, Gertrude Musuruve and Milgo Alice Chepkorir leading nominated Senators.
Mzalendo Trust Executive Director Caroline Gaita said Ms. Odhiambo and Mr. Sankok have demonstrated consistency having also made it to the top in 2019.
“Mirroring the same trend is the number of speech counts. The drop is also evident from the average number of speech counts by top performers. In the National Assembly, the count, which stood at 227 in 2019, dropped significantly to 176 in 2020. In the Senate, it fell from 338 to 313 during the same period
~ Ms. Gaita
Best performing Women representatives
Sabina Chege (Murang’a), Gladys Atieno Nyasuna (Homa Bay) and Ruweida Mohammed Obo (Lamu) were named the best performing Women Representatives.
Best performing Women legislators and MP’s
Sabina Chege (Murang’a), Gladys Atieno Nyasuna (Homa Bay) and Ruweida Mohammed Obo (Lamu) were named the best performing Women Representatives.
The same scorecard ranks Suba North MP Millie Mabona, Muranga’s Sabina Chege and Homa Bay’s Gladys Wanga among best performing female legislators.
Governing challenges
“These challenges, including in performance, are not unique to Kenya but are consistent with the challenges that faced legislatures across the globe as they sought to adjust their sittings, operations and resources to respond to the pandemic,” said Ms. Gaita.
She also disclosed that despite the unprecedentedly disrupted environment, Parliament was able to demonstrate what she described as a degree of resilience judging by the number of bills, motions, petitions, and statements tabled.
What has been tabled
“In the Senate for instance, 16 bills, 9 motions, 30 petitions and 219 statements were tabled, yielding minor differences from 2019 figures when 18 bills, 15 motions, 34 petitions and 198 statements were tabled. Similar trend was reflected in the National Assembly, where 22 bills, 6 motions, 52 petitions and 363 statements were tabled in 2020, compared to 22 bills, 19 motions, 70 petitions and 236 statements in 2019,” she revealed.
She added: “Of the statements raised, 34 by the National Assembly and 18 by the Senate were in response to the Covid-19, touching on accountability, usage of funds by ministries and counties, country preparedness, stimulus packages and cushioning programs, mental health, education, security and safety of children.
The report also indicated that it recognizes the official role played by the leaders of Majority and Minority, whips as well as members of the Speaker’s Panel hence they are not rated.
Source: Mzalendo Trust, which operates the website www.mzalendo.com, is a parliamentary monitoring organization that has been releasing a scorecard highlighting the performance of MPs since 2014.
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