Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa caused a stir in a committee meeting after rejecting attempts to have Chief Administrative Secretary respond to his questions.
Barasa who was appearing before the National Assembly’s Health Committee chaired by Sabina Chege on Tuesday said the CAS position is not recognised in law.
The lawmaker insisted that only the Health Cabinet Secretary or in his absence Principal Secretary are mandated by law to appear before House committees to respond to questions from members.
“There is a good reason why we said that the person to appear before a committee must be either a policymaker or an accounting officer,” Barasa told the committee.
“The National Assembly is the apex of people’s sovereignty, I can’t allow the person who holds a position not defined in the Constitution. I am convinced 100 per cent of the Speaker’s ruling that whoever appears before the Committee should not be lower than the PS.”
Attempts by Committee members to prevail upon the lawmaker to give CAS a chance to read the CS’s signed response was futile.
CAS Rashid Aman was representing CS at the Health Committee.
Barasa had asked the CS to state statistics of cancer patients who have travelled outside the country in the last five years to seek treatment.
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