Nasa asks Speaker for more time in PSC row
National Assembly Minority Leader John Mbadi, joined by other Nasa MPs, addresses the media at Parliament on February 7, 2018. The coalition has not resolved the approval of nominees to the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC). PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Borabu MP Momanyi dismissed arguments fronted by other Nasa MPs that the PSC slot was reserved for ODM.
The Nasa Parliamentary leadership has now written to the Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi requesting for more time to settle a row over nominees to the powerful Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC).
National Assembly Minority Leader John Mbadi has asked the Speaker to give the coalition until Monday to resolve the impasse that has threatened to break the opposition.
The letter comes just a day after MPs drawn from three Nasa affiliate parties told the Kalonzo Musyoka led Wiper Party to quit the coalition if they cannot back down on their demand to have a slot in the PSC.
SLOT
The MPs who were drawn from ODM, Amani National Congress (ANC) and Ford Kenya protested the move by Wiper to write to the Speaker demanding for a slot in the PSC.
“I have written to the Speaker to give us until Monday to solve the impasse. Any name to the commission, whether of Ford Kenya, ANC, ODM or Wiper can only come from the office of the minority and the occupant of that office is me,” Mr Mbadi said.
The buying of time by Nasa to solve their internal woes may however not solve the situation as Borabu MP Benson Momanyi, who has been nominated by Wiper to take up the slot, on Wednesday insisted that he will not back down on his quest to join the PSC.
INFIGHTING
Mr Momanyi dismissed arguments fronted by other Nasa MPs that the PSC slot was reserved for ODM, saying there was no such agreement and challenged his colleagues to produce evidence of the agreement.
“Constitutionally, Wiper has one slot in the PSC and ODM has two while the ruling party Jubilee has four slots and therefore Wiper has just nominated its nominee as per the Constitution,” Mr Momanyi told the Nation.
But Alego Usonga MP Samuel Atandi however maintained that Wiper should just leave the coalition as they have shown all indications that they are no longer in it.
“We are just done with Wiper. First they absconded the "swearing-in" of our leader Raila Odinga as the "people’s president" and now they have written to the Speaker unilaterally without following coalition structures,” Mr Atandi said.
