This was arrived at following the government’s need to cut key expenditures across the board, including those of Parliament.
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula on Tuesday, November 19, announced that Members of Parliament(MPs) will travel to Mombasa via Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) trains ahead of the East Africa Legislative(EALA) games that will be held from December 6.
Wetangula’s directive is a notable shift from the usual practice by MPs of using faster and more luxurious means of transport such as air transport, with Wetangula revealing that the House Business Committee had settled on SGR after extensive deliberations.
Per the Speaker’s directive, this was arrived at following the government’s need to cut key expenditures across the board, including those of Parliament.
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula speaking at the National Assembly Leadership Retreat in Naivasha on October 29, 2024. /MOSES WETANGULA
“I did direct and I want to repeat…as much as we possibly can on cost-cutting measures…you will, including myself, travel to Mombasa by SGR,” he said. Â
“So you will organise with the clerk’s office and table office…who will assist you to indicate when you want to travel. You will all go by SGR, including myself, to cut down on costs so that we can be able to facilitate as many of you as possible to come to Mombasa and participate in the games.”
Worth Noting: A trip from Nairobi to Mombasa via SGR can take up to five hours, depending on the timing of the trip, with some having multiple stops at SGR stations along the way and others an express journey. Comparatively, a flight from Nairobi to Mombasa and vice versa can take up to one hour.
Wetangula similarly urged Mombasa leaders to plan ahead accordingly and make sure everything is in place to ensure the smooth running of the upcoming event.
“We encourage our colleagues from Mombasa to lay out a good welcome for our colleagues both in Kenya and from the region,” he said.Â
The games, scheduled for December 6 to December 18, 2024, were first established by a resolution of the 4th East African Community (EAC) Bureau of Speakers held in 2009.
The meeting resolved to hold the Inter-Parliamentary Games for East Africa Community partner states on an annual, rotational basis intending to foster relations between the East African Community Legislative Assembly (EALA) and the parliaments of the East African Community region.
Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, Wetangula highlighted that the Parliaments of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, DR Congo, the Republic of South Sudan and the Republic of Somalia will all be in attendance.
According to Article 49 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community, “the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) shall, among other things, liaise with the Parliaments of the Partner States on matters relating to the Community.” This includes the Inter-Parliamentary Games (IPG), the annual sports event coordinated by the EALA.
The sports disciplines include football, netball, athletics, tug-of-war, volleyball, walk race, golf, basketball, and darts.
Adjusted Sittings
Meanwhile, Wetangula announced that the House Business Committee proposed additional days for National Assembly Sittings ahead of the festivities, explaining that this would enable the House to deliberate on various legislative matters and debate the scheduled State of Nation Address by President William Ruto set for Thursday, November 21 at 2.30 pm
Following the passing of the motion, the MPs will sit on additional days including Mondays and Fridays. The additional sittings are as follows:Â
- on Monday, 25th November 2024, commencing at 2.30 pm for the afternoon sitting and 6.45 pm for the evening sitting;
- on Tuesday, 26th November 2024, commencing at 9.30am for the morning sitting;
- on Thursday, 28th November 2024, commencing at 9.30am for the morning sitting;Â
- on Friday, 29th November 2024, commencing at 9.30am for the morning sitting;
- on Monday, 2nd December 2024, commencing at 2.30pm for the morning sitting;
- on Tuesday, 3rd December 2024, commencing at 9.30am for the morning sitting; and
- on Thursday, 5th December 2024, commencing at 9.30am for the morning sitting.
