Members of Parliament repeatedly interrupted and heckled Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga during his address over the role of parliament and constituency development funds.
During a meeting between the UDA and ODM MPs at the KCB Leadership Centre in Karen on Monday, August 18, Raila argued that parliament's constitutional mandate does not include implementing projects, drawing fierce opposition from the legislators present.
The former Prime Minister sought to clarify the constitutional functions of parliament, stating that the legislature's role is limited to three key areas.
"So the work of parliament is representation, legislation, and oversight. It is very clear. It is written there in the constitution. Parliament is not supposed to be implementing. Parliament is supposed to be oversighting," Raila explained amid constant interruptions from MPs.
He emphasized that only two levels of devolution are recognized in the constitution - national and county governments - disputing any suggestion that constituencies form part of the devolved structure.
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"Secondly, there are only two levels of devolution. There is national and one level, county. Constituency is not an element of devolution. Devolution remains at the county," he stated.
Disagreeing with the former Prime Minister, the MPs continued to heckle and interrupt his speech, forcing him to plead for a hearing.
"Listen to me. Let me say it. And then you will have a chance to come and respond," Raila appealed. "A very famous English politician said that I may disagree with what you have to say, but I shall defend your right until death. So listen to me.”
He provided historical context for establishing the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), explaining that it was introduced to address resource allocation challenges under the previous centralized system of government.
"I was there and we discussed with the Karuwe when he was moving around to bring the CDF. The CDF was brought because of prevailing circumstances at that time," Raila explained.
The ODM leader explained that during the era of centralized governance, limited resources reached grassroots levels, leading to heavy reliance on harambee fundraising efforts.
"In those days, the centralized government had very few resources that went down to the counties. That is why Harambee became a major waste of mobility resources. Sometimes, you will find nearly 100 cards on your desk for Harambee's here and there," he said.
The MPs were at the joint Parliamentary Group meeting at Karen, which brought together the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).
The rare gathering, jointly presided over by President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga, was designed to provide strategic direction on implementing the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two leaders in October last year.
