National Assembly Leader of Majority Aden Duale yesterday said the House will debate the crucial sugar report in which Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero has been adversely mentioned over his alleged role in the collapse of the Mumias Sugar Company.
He said the House will deliberate on the report once debate on a motion seeking an extension period of legislation of crucial bills with constitutional timelines of August 27 is passed despite reservations from Cord MPs.
Duale denied claims a deal had been struck between Jubilee and Cord to withdraw the report by Agriculture Committee. He was categorical that the Speaker’s Kamukunji (informal session) to be held this morning has nothing to do with the purported deal, but will deliberate on the period of extension, adding that MPs across the political divide are in agreement that there is need for such extension.
The report on the crisis facing the sugar industry in Kenya has been lined up in today’s order paper for debate. “We are going to debate the report in the House even if our colleagues in Cord are against it,” he said.
Some Cord MPs are said to have prepared amendments to the report, one of them being to remove Kidero’s name from it. According to sources, the MPs are determined to have the amendments passed with intense lobbying underway.
Once drafted, all amendments have to be approved by Speaker Justin Muturi before they are tabled in the House for debate. By end of last week, only two amendments had been approved by the Speaker, one from Mumias East MP Benjamin Washiali and another from his Ugunja counterpart Opiyo Wandayi.
Washiali’s amendments seeks to have Kidero declared unfit to hold a public office for his role in running down Mumias Sugar and to have Sh577 million recovered from him, which the struggling sugar firm reportedly lost in revenue during the period he was the chief executive.
Wandayi’s amendments on the other hand seek to have stiff legal action taken against all the MDs, transport managers, commercial and finance directors, sales managers and procurement heads who served in Mumias between 2011 and last year.
Both Cord and Jubilee reportedly agreed on a deal last week to have debate on the report dropped from the order paper to allow Cord MPs prepare amendments in exchange for them to support the extension motion.
But speaking separately, Kiminini MP and Cord deputy Whip Chris Wamalwa denied any deal between Jubilee and Cord on the report saying the allegations are being pushed by Jubilee “propagandist”.
Cord has said it will only support the motion seeking an extension period of legislation of crucial bills if their plight is heeded to.
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