LEGISLATIVE ARM OF THE GOVERNMENT QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

LEGISLATIVE ARM OF THE GOVERNMENT QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1. a) State three constitutional requirements that must be fulfilled by a person who wishes to be elected a president of Kenya.
   1. The person must be a Kenyan citizen. ii) Must have attained the age of

   35 years.

   iii) Must stand for parliamentary elections in a constituency (must be an elected MP) iv) Must be registered voter.

   v) Must be nominated by a registered political party. (Member of registered political party) vi) Must be proposed by one thousand registered voters.

   vii) Must be of a sound mind, viii) Must not have been declared bankrupt by a court of law.

 ix) Not jailed for over six months.

b) List five powers and duties of the president of Kenya.

1. Ye is head of state and symbol of national unity (Head of

   Government).

2. He is responsible for making and rectifying international treaties and agreements (if one unites 7 “elects”) iii) He president appoints the cabinet and Assistant Minister from among member of the National Assembly.
3. The president has the powers to summon, prologue and dissolve parliament.
4. The president has the power to appoint, discipline and remove senior public servants such as Permanent Secretaries, Ambassadors and judges. vi) He nominates twelve people to the National assembly to present special interests.

vii) He grants honours to deserving citizens, viii) He has power of clemency, ix) He presides over important states occasions,

 x) He represents the country in international conferences. He is chief diplomat.

1. Explain five ways through which the parliament exercises control over the

   Executive Arm of the government.

   1. Parliamentary has to approve sources of government revenue. The minister of finance presents a budget annually to parliament and it gives its approval to this budget.
   2. Ministers are accountable to parliament for their actions, they have to answer questions in parliament about the running of their respective ministries.
   3. The public accounts Committees scrutinizes government expenditure and censors individuals/institutions that have not followed the laid down procedures, iv) Only parliament has the powers to legislate the bills prepared by the cabinet and its decisions are binding,

   v) Parliament can pass a vote of no confidence in the government if it is not satisfied with performance; in that case the president and the minister have to resign, vi) Parliament can pass a vote of no confidence in the government expenditure before funds can be released to various government ministries. vii) Parliament can limit the powers of the expenditure through amendment of the constitutions.

1. Identify three situation that may lead to a by – election in Kenya.
   1. Death of a member of parliament.
   2. Nullification for elections results by court of law/when one is declared bankrupt.
   3. Imprisonment of a Member of parliament. iv) Resignation of a

   Member of Parliament

   1. When a member resigns/defect the party that elected him/her to parliament.
   2. Failure to attend parliament meetings eight (8) times.

4 a) Why are parliamentary elections held regularly in Kenya?

Parliamentary elections are held regularly in order:-

i) To give the citizens the chance to choose leaders whom they have confidence in ii) To inject new blood into parliament and government.

1. To enable sitting MPs to be responsive to the development needs of the electorate/be conscious and alert.
2. As stipulated by the constitution.

b) Describe the stages through which a bill is passed before it becomes a law in Kenya.

1. Draft stages by the Attorney General.
2. First reading – the Bill is presented to the National Assembly by the

Mover of he debate takes place during this stage.

1. Second reading – The Bill is discussed in details and amendments are made, iv) Report stage – Chairperson of the committee reports the amendment Bill to the whole house,
2. Third – Final debate on the Bill and voting is carried out if the Bill is supported by the majority then it is passed to the next stages.
3. The Bill is presented to the president for assent, it becomes an act of parliament and is gazetted and becomes law.

5. a) Describe the process of the electing the Speaker of the National Assembly.

1. A person qualifies to be elected speaker to the National Assembly if she/he is eligible to contest and vote in elections.
2. A date is set for the election of the speaker at the start of new parliament/after general elections, iii) The candidate is proposed and seconded by members of parliament, iv) If more than one name is presented, the members vote through the secret ballot, if one person name is proposed and seconded then the person is declared Speaker without elections,

v) A swearing – in – ceremony is then conducted for the elected

Speaker, vi) If the speaker is an elected Member of Parliament then his/her seat is declared vacant.

b) Explain six reasons why parliament is an important institution in

Kenya.

i) Parliament is the supreme law – making institution in the country.

Once it makes laws, they are binding to everybody, ii) Parliament is made up of elected representative who are elected by the people, therefore it represent the electorate, iii) It checks on the possible abuse of power by the executive and thus promotes good governance and accountability,

1. It is empowered to control revenue collection and government expenditure. For example annual budgets are discussed and approved by parliament,
2. Parliament ensures that government is spent properly. The controller and auditor general checks on the spending of all ministries and produces a comprehensive report for discussion by parliament, vi) Parliament is empowered to investigate the activities of any public servant if they feel that person is not doing the work well.
3. It can pass a vote of no confidence in the government of day.
4. It reviews the constitution.

1. a) Describe the process of preparing a bill before it is taken to

   parliament for debate.

   1. Preparation of bill starts with making suggestions/proposals about the need of the law.
   2. The proposal is taken to the Attorney genera’s chambers for drafting. iii) The Attorney general prepares a draft proposal of the intended law. iv) It is empowered to control revenue collection and government expenditure. For example annual budgets are discussed and approved by parliament.

      v) Parliament ensures that government money is spent properly. The controller and auditor general – checks on the spending of all ministries and produces a comprehensive report for discussion by parliament, vi) Parliament empowered to investigate the activities of nay public servant if they feel that person is not doing the work well.

   3. It can pass a vote of no confidence in the government of day.
   4. It reviews the constitution.
2. a) Describe the process of preparing a bill before it is taken to

   parliament for debate.

   1. Preparation of bill starts with making suggestions/proposals about the need of the law.
   2. The proposal is taken to the Attorney General’s chambers for drafting, iii) The Attorney General prepares a draft proposal of the intended law.
   3. The attorney General notifies the member of parliament and the public about the intended bills to enable them carry out research.
   4. The intended law is taken to parliament for debate.