In am move aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus among the Members of Parliament and Staff, the National Assembly has now been partially closed.
The directive by Speaker Justin Muturi will also allow for fumigation and decontamination of the entire Parliament building and MP’s offices.
The move comes at a time when politicians have been put on the spotlight for behaving in reckless behavior and disregarding measures placed by the government to curb the spread of Covid-19.
In a directive that has halted business operations in key parliamentary offices, Justin Muturi banned the House committees from holding physical meetings except for those that are urgent and sanctioned by his office and urged the MPs to embrace the use of technology to conduct their businesses.
“I hereby further direct that all committees’ sittings are suspended until Tuesday, July 28. Thereafter, committees will only operate virtually as per the guidance above,” the Speaker said in a communication dated July 15, 2020.
According to the Speaker, the directive is aimed at minimizing the chances of new infections among the Parliamentary fraternity. Muturi also urged the MPs and the staff to go for voluntary testing.
It is communication by National Assembly Clerk Michael Sialai on Friday asking all staff members of the Parliament to stay away from the building for at least seven days that raised eyebrows that the virus had hit the breadth and width of its workforce.
- Oscar Sudi Among MPs Who Have Made Zero Contribution In Parliament Since 2017
- Full list of MPs who haven’t talked in Parliament for years
- Luo MP who hate speaking in parliament never studied past class four
- ODM Woman Rep Gladys Wanga makes history in parliament
“Officers are advised to work from home as from today July 17, 2020, until July 28, except those in the office of the Clark and designated officers from the Sergent-At-Arm department,” the Clerk said in a memo.
Sources said the decision to down-size the Parliament’s operations and asked its staff to work from home was reached after tens of employees, MP’s Personal assistants including security officers and drivers testing positive of Covid-19.
