House extends deadline of Bills, proposes sanctions
Last updated on 13 Jun 2012 00:00
By Steve Mkawale
Parliament has unanimously voted to extend the constitutional deadline of two crucial devolution Bills that had stalled before the House.
Members agreed to extend the timeline for the County Government Bill and the Public Finance Management Bill by five months.
Earlier, the legislators proposed serious sanctions against Cabinet ministers who fail to publish Bills with constitutional deadlines on time.
The sanctions came even as the legislators considered that it was the second time they were being asked to extend the timelines for Bills whose deadlines had either expired or were about to.
Early this year, MPs extended the timelines for the publication of three key land Bills for 60 days following a delay blamed on the Executive.
Parliament was forced to sit for long hours to pass the National Land Commission Bill, the Land Bill and the Land Registration Bill.
On Tuesday, during an informal meeting known as a Kamukunji, legislators reprimanded ministers.
oversight
They claimed the Executive was trying to frustrate the oversight role of Parliament by delaying the publication of the Bills.