Cord leader Raila Odinga has revisited his preference for a parliamentary system, that would pave the way for re-introduction of the position of prime minister as head of government. Raila, who held the premier’s post in the Grand Coalition Government he shared with retired President Kibaki told Kenyans to decide on whether to adopt a parliamentary or presidential system.
Raila, who spoke at a press conference hours after returning from Mozambique to observe elections, brought up the subject when he addressed the issues of whether Cabinet Secretaries should be summoned to answer questions in Parliament.
He said he sided with the government that had opposed the new rule by MPs to stand in the floor of the House, noting that under the current system that was not constitutional. However, the former Prime Minister said CSs can only appear before Members of the National Assembly under a Parliamentary system which he said was better suited for the country.
Re-introducing such a system would see the return of a PM and Raila’s statement could be read to mean he would root for it in the referendum he is pushing for. Raila, supported President Uhuru Kenyatta’s decision to stand firm against the move by MPs to summon MPs to appear before the House, saying it was impractical under the current system.
He said the current stand-off between the Executive and Parliament calls for the need for Kenyans to decide on the system of governance the country should adopt, either parliamentary or presidential.
He also said the country could have the option of borrowing a leaf from other countries such as Uganda and adopt a hybrid system, where half of the Cabinet secretaries are picked from Members of Parliament and others are from technocrat brackets.
But even as he opposed the summoning of CS’s to Parliament, Raila said the country needs to make a decision on the kind of system to adopt, saying there was no point in re-inventing the wheel. His sentiments come a week after Parliament bowed down to pressure from the Executive to suspend Cabinet Secretaries appearances to respond to questions.
Lands CS Charity Ngilu had already appeared before MPs last week, but her Education and Interior counterparts Jacob Kaimenyi and Joseph ole Lenku failed to appear. “We must choose the kind of governing system we want…the Executive can only appear before a Parliamentary Committee because they are not MPs. Members should not invite them to the floor of the House,” said Raila.
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