African Press International (API)

Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka says Kenya will make far reaching Constitutional and Electoral reforms to ensure that democratic space is enshrined in the country for generations to come.

Mr. Musyoka said the country will also implement the Truth and Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) Act to help deal with historical injustices and bring about national cohesion.

The Vice President made the remarks on Monday at parliament buildings when he met a delegation of six British legislators of the House of Lords and Commons led by Mr. Nigel Evans of the Conservative Party.

He said the government understands the plight of the Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and every effort is being made to source for resources both locally and internationally to help complete the resettlement process.

On taxation of Members of Parliament, the Vice President said he was working with the MPs to come up to a consensus on how to handle the issue of taxation.

The Vice President acknowledged that MPs are currently being taxed on their basic salary of Ksh 200,000 at the rate of Ksh 53,000 per month and the bone of contention was on taxing their additional allowances.

Mr. Evans said the delegation which is in the country for a week visited the IDPs in Naivasha on Sunday.

He said the British Parliamentarians will continue to dialogue with their Kenyan counterparts to strengthen Democracy and Parliamentary reforms.

Speaking when the delegation visited Jikaze Self Help Group Satellite Camp in Maai-Mahiu, Evan said the UK government will continue to support the Kenyan government in ensuring that all IDPs in the country were resettled.

Evans said the British Parliament will continue to highlight the plight of Kenyan IDPs to the International community to ensure their needs are met.

The IDPs have come together and purchased 17 acres of land at Mai Mahiu using Ksh 35,000 given to them by the government.

Naivasha DC Birik Mohamed said the government in conjunction with other stakeholders was working round the clock to address various issues facing the satellite camps such as lack of water, health and other amenities.

The DC said the influx of IDPs from other parts of the country early this year had put a strain on various sectors including education, water and health in the district.

The IDPs through their spokeswoman Christine Ndinda appealed for more assistance to help them rebuild their lives.

Evans was accompanied by fellow parliamentarians Oanagh Sollivan, Mark Oater, Lord Dhalakia and John Sandwich.

Elsewhere, parliament may soon endorse a draft amendment clause in the standing orders of the house to allocate time for the Prime Minister to respond to member’s queries and issue government statements.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga said the bill which when entrenched into the constitution would compel the parliament to devote a 45 minute time frame for the premier make uninterrupted speech would be tabled on the floor of the house in two weeks time.

Odinga informed a press conference attended by a delegation of visiting Members of parliament from United Kingdom that the bill would entrench the premier’s position in the August house since the reintroduction of the post.

He said the grand coalition government was pursuing a reform agenda on institutional framework towards promotion of good governance and democracies to ensure that historical upheavals were addressed.

He assured the delegation led by conservative House of Commons member Nigel Evans that the long awaited new constitution would be realized next year since the constitution of Kenya Amendment Bill was ready for the exercise.

Odinga said the only hurdle dogging the ratification and subsequent implementation of the partly prepared document was the polarity arising over the choice of a parliamentary system and a presidential system of governance.

The premier said prime areas of concerns that needed consensus among the divergent political schools of thoughts were the devolution of power although the issue was partly resolved after the formation of the grand coalition system.

Odinga expressed confidence that the current administration had made remarkable strides in entrenching radical reforms in the land tenure systems adding that recommendations factored in the Kriegler and Waki reports would be fully implemented.

He said the government was “soon setting up a truth and reconciliation commission to address the historical discrepancies and injustices” that have bedeviled the nation to ensure that tenets of democracy and fairness were upheld.

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API/Source.kbc.ke