A new structure under a new Consititution
Kenya’s central government is structured through the constitution with administrative and policy making powers being distributed to its three arms namely Executive, Legislature and Judiciary. However, the current structuring is being replaced by a revamped new governance system following the recent adoption of the new constitution.
Here is a comprehensive covering of the Kenya government structure under the new constitution.
Executive
Being by far one of the most crucial arms, it consists of the following primary members:
. President
. Deputy President
. Cabinet Secretaries
. Attorney General
. Director of public prosecutions
Headed by the president of the republic, the executive is guided by an underlying framework of laws. The laws require the president to appoint between 14 and 22 cabinet secretaries reflecting ethnic and regional diversity.
Appointments of cabinet secretaries and other key positions such as that of the attorney general, secretary to the cabinet, high commissioners, consular representatives and ambassadors are vested in the president subject to approval by parliament.
Did you know?
. In as much as the president must garner the majority votes, he or she needs to get support from more than 50 percent of the voters.
. With the adaption of the new constitution, the president alongside cabinet secretaries will no longer have a seat in the August house.
The Legislature
According to the new constitution, the Legislature is held responsible for advocating for the people’s interest in law making. In addition to that, it is vested in two houses - the national assembly and the senate. The adoption of the new constitution adds an interesting twist to law making. This is because
the old constitution exclusively placed the law making process in the hands of parliament.
National Assembly
The specific roles of the national assembly are:
. Members of the national assembly are obligated to represent their constituents and all the special interests within their respective constituencies
. Enactment of legislation for both county and national government
. Approval or disapproval of revenue allocation presented by the senate, determining the national distribution across the counties.
. Check the conduct of the executive and other state officers and if necessary initiate the process of removal of president, deputy president and other state officers.
. Exercise oversight over state organs and approve the state of emergency and declaration of war.
The Senate
The roles of the Kenya Senate under the new constitution are:
. Debate and approve county bills
. Determine the allocation of national revenue to be distributed according to the counties
. Represent the interests of the counties at the national level
. Consider and determine the resolution of impeachment of the president or his/her deputy
