National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula has defended MPs against accusations of bribery in Parliament, which paints a poor picture of the integrity of the House.
He said, however, the MPs have to work hard to remove the doubt that has been placed on their integrity.
“We are all aware of the recent public discussions and allegations about solicitation and receipt of monetary inducements to consider and pass legislations,” he said on Thursday.
“In my view, these remain allegations but must ignite serious soul searching on us and the nation as a whole.”
He spoke during the third National Assembly leadership retreat in Mombasa.
President William Ruto has twice reproached Parliament for what he claimed is extreme corruption, which he said is tainting the image of Parliament.
Speaking during the joint UDA/ODM parliamentary groups meeting on Monday, Ruto said some of the MPs have been extorting governors for as much as Sh150 million.
“Where does one get that money from?” h e posed.
On Thursday, Wetang’ula appealed to the MPs to remain bound by the responsibility and leadership principles, where integrity is paramount.
“Undoubtedly, without integrity, a man or a woman is nothing. Without integrity, leaders lose credibility among the people they lead. Without integrity, even the best executed roles are without impact and leadership fails,” he said.
He said integrity is not a choice of convenience but of what is right, urging the House leadership to lead from the front.
“We always tell our own children that to do good and to do right, you don’t have to do it because you are being watched. You do it because it is important to do it anyway,” he said.
He said his commitment is to ensure that the dignity of the House is upheld as envisaged in the law.
This includes issues of quorum in the House in which he called on the House leadership to attend all sessions and not those that involve their committees alone.
At the same time, Wetang’ula also defended the NG-CDF, saying it is money after vertical division of revenue.
This means, he said, the fund is not a share of shareable revenue between counties and the national government
“CDF is a share of shared revenue on the side of the national government. So, governors and the CoG have absolutely no issue and no interest in CDF. It is not their money,” the speaker said.
He said the national government’s unit of focus for development includes the constituency.
“We want to make everybody who has doubts about CDF understand that it is not an affront to devolution, it is not in competition with devolution, and it does not undermine devolution. It is a national government activity,” Wetang’ula said.
ODM leader Raila Odinga has recently been championing for the channelling of the NG-CDF and the NGAAF to the counties to be controlled by the governors instead of MPs.
He said this will enhance efficiency, strengthen devolution and improve services.
Raila said the NG-CDF was introduced at a time when Kenyans were seeking equitable resource distribution under an imperial presidency that starved many regions of development funds.
“Most of the work was basically left to harambees, when you needed to build a school, harambee; a dispensary, harambee,” Raila said at the Devolution Conference in Homa Bay last week.
On Thursday, Wetang’ula urged MPs to resist the temptation “to go to funerals and hand over CDF cheques for bursaries”.
He said instead, the MPs should be telling their constituents that they would make application to the NG-CDF to assist the needy people.
“So that you also delink yourself from showing wananchi that CDF is your money. It is not,” Wetang’ula said.
He said detractors should not be given a chance to continue assaulting the constituency fund.
“I can tell you without fear of contradiction that everywhere I go in constituencies in counties, I can county CDF projects more than I can county devolved counties projects.
“Even those who don’t like CDF know this,” he said.
by BRIAN OTIENO
