This report seeks to provide an assessment of the record of
the 9th Parliament of the Republic of Kenya during the period
2003 - 2007.
At the outset it is our contention that the 9th Parliament has
acted dishonourably on many accounts, and indeed our assessment
results in a negative finding. Considering its legislative record,
the 9th Parliament disappointed many especially as it became
the most expensive Parliament in Kenya's history, its annual
budget now stands at around Ksh 4 billion (USD 57.14 million).
Much of this disappointment arises from the high hopes for change
following the humiliating 2002 election defeat of the second
President of Kenya, Daniel Arap Moi's chosen successor, Uhuru
Kenyatta, and the ending of 39 years of uninterrupted rule by
his political party KANU - a rule characterised by grand corruption,
gross human rights violations, and a ten-year period of de jure
one party rule.
The 9th Parliament, the third Parliament since the reintroduction
in 1992 of multi-party democracy in Kenya, was widely expected
to play a central role in the fight against corruption and to
facilitate economic recovery after the decades of misrule of
Moi and KANU. As Kenyans go to the polls to elect a 10th Parliament
in December 2007 many are of the view that the 9th Parliament
has abandoned the national interest and converted its legislative
authority and goodwill to the private interests of Members of
Parliament as a whole.
Since it first sat on January 9th 2003 for its Members swearing
in, the 9th Parliament has made several amendments to existing
legislation which cumulatively have increased its cost to the
public. This report chronicles the legislative record of the
9th Parliament with special focus on the fight against grand
corruption in Kenya.
Towards the end of this report there is brief examination of
the qualities of good Members of Parliament. These qualities
are suggested as criteria for voters as they elect 210 men and
women to serve as Members of the 10th Parliament of Kenya in
the forthcoming General Election.
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