Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta was expected to cater for the team when
he tabled his supplementary budget but he did not. Justice minister
Mutula Kilonzo on Wednesday admitted that the government had failed to
supply the committee with the necessary resources, hindering their
operations.
Furnish offices
He ordered officers from his ministry to furnish the new offices the
committee will use within the next 10 days. The offices are located in
Westlands, Nairobi. There is Sh87 million for the committee's use in
the ministry but even this is completely inadequate, Mr Kilonzo told
journalists.
For the last two months, the experts have been temporarily based at the
Kenyatta International Conference Centre, where the lease expired at
the end of April. Mr Kilonzo said it was still unclear why the ministry
had not prepared the new offices yet it was obvious that the lease at
KICC was expiring.
Mr Kilonzo took over as Justice ministry this week following the
resignation of Gichugu MP Martha Karua. The director of the team, Dr
Ekuru Aukot, said their interaction with the public was hampered by
lack of resources. Vice chair Tsango Chesoni told the Nation that they
were unable to publicise their activities in the media. She said they
had only made one press advert inviting submissions from the public on
the review process.
The experts are supposed to come up with a harmonised constitution
before the end of March next year but Mr Kilonzo wants the date to be
brought forward to December 1. Mr Kilonzo has directed that one of the
vehicles assigned to him in the ministry be transferred to the experts
to ease travel.
For the first time since the sex strike began, two Cabinet ministers
have conceded that it played a part in pushing President Kibaki and
Prime Minister Raila Odinga to meet. Energy minister Kiraitu Murungi
and his Gender, Children and Social Development counterpart Esther
Murugi said the leaders had heard the message and are acting on it.
Mr Murungi said following the meeting, held on Tuesday, it was agreed
that the constitutional review process and reforms in the Judiciary and
police force should be fast-tracked. These are the three main issues
the women lobbyists, calling themselves Gender 10, had put forward as
items the top leaders had failed to decisively address.
The bedroom strike, which ended on Wednesday, received a lot of criticism, with a number of people dismissing it as impractical.
Daily Nation
Post published in: Zimbabwe News