The Senate under the leadership of the Speaker appeals for continous coordination from the National Assembly and the Office of the Deputy President, Rigathi Gachagua, for enhanced service delivery and representation of the people that both the Senate and National Assembly represent.
Speaking during the Post-Election Seminar of the 4th Senate held at Serena Beach Resort, Mombasa, the Speaker of the Senate, Amason Kingi encouraged Members of both Houses, to hold regular discussions to share and exchange ideas on the differing issues they could have, in order to come to mutual resolutions that will enhance their service delivery to the citizens of Kenya.
The Speaker appealed to the Deputy President for a well-structured working relationship with his office, in order to coordinate the intergovernmental relationship between the National Government and the County Government which includes the Senate.
Kingi said that the key purpose of the workshop was to equip and enhance the capacity of the senators, especially the new incoming to efficiently and effectively perform their constitutional mandate.
Other objectives of the meeting were to develop a better understanding of the legislative system and democratic processes, manage seamless transition of the new members, to ensure they get accustomed to parliamentary life through the sharing of experiences and managing expectations and to strengthen the Senators’ understanding of parliamentary practices, procedures and processes.
The workshop was jointly convened with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA).
The CPA is an organization that comprises 53 countries established in 1911 with the overarching objective of bringing parliamentarians and parliamentary staff together, to exchange ideas among themselves and with experts in various fields, to identify new policies that can be adopted in the governance of the people and parliamentary diplomacy.
The Speaker applauded the tremendous work the Resource Persons did, at impacting very valuable knowledge to the senators before and during the workshop.
He also noted that there was great enthusiasm exhibited by the senators, to share and learn from the distinguished Resource Persons from diverse Parliamentary Jurisdictions, notably, Australia, Canada and South Africa.
Among the Resource Persons that attended the meeting were the Secretary General of the CPA, Stephen Twigg, who is a former Member of Parliament of the House of Commons in the United Kingdom and also served as a Minister in the Government of the United Kingdom and the Deputy Chair of National Council of Provinces in South Africa, which is similar to the senate in Kenya, Sylvia Lucas.
“The Senate is not the House of the elderly, but a House of maturity, we do have issues but strive to pursue better avenues and achieve the very same results,” Kingi said in relation to refining the work relations between the Senate and the National Assembly.
“The Senate is the protector of the county interests and once the Council of Governors (COG), the Senate and the Deputy President’s office work together to come up with a structured way of engagement, I believe quite a number of issues will find effective solutions,” he concluded.
By Fatuma Said and Hilda Mwende
