On 9th December 2022, His Excellency William Ruto wrote a memo to Parliament requesting it to consider all policy measures necessary and sufficient to fully actualise the promise of our Constitution. The matters which he requested this intervention were as follows:
- Implementation of the two-thirds gender rule.
- Constituency Development, Senate Oversight and National Government Affirmative Action Funds.
- The position of the leader of the official opposition.
- Parliamentary oversight of the Executive.
On the implementation of the two-thirds gender rule, the President proposed a Constitutional amendment to be enacted establishing a formula to guide the computation of the gender ration in the National Assembly based only on the numbers of those members elected from constituencies and counties per Article 97(1)(a) and 98 (1)(a) respectively. The proposed amendment can be set out under Article 97(3).
On the second issue, the President proposed an insertion of an Article 204A to establish the National Government Constituency Development , Senate Oversight and the National Government Affirmative Action Funds to be drawn out of the National Government shareable revenue. This will be a sufficient way of conforming with the directives of the Constitutional court.
On the third issue, the President proposed that Parliament considers an amendment to Chapter nine, Part IV of the Constitution to establish the office of the leader of the Official Opposition, with its operational dimensions to be provided for in consequential legislation.
On Parliamentary Oversight of the Executive, the President recommended that Parliament consider formulating a mechanism within its Standing Orders to facilitate the participation of Cabinet Secretaries/ Chief Administrative Secretaries in Parliamentary proceedings particularly by responding to questions raised by Members of Parliament.
The memo proposes a number of constitutional amendments in order to achieve the said proposals. See the memo here.