Presidential Assent Of Six New Bills Into Law

On Thursday 9th July 2020, President Uhuru Kenyatta signed six Bills into law. The Bills had been passed by the National Assembly and the Senate and were forwarded to the President for assent into law as required by Article 115 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010. The following six Bills were signed into law:

1. The Public Finance Management (Amendment) Bill, 2020
2. The National Drought Management (Amendment) Bill, 2019
3. The County Governments (Amendment) Bill, 2017
4. The County Attorneys Bill, 2018
5. Petition to County Assemblies (Procedure) Bill, 2020
6. The County Governments (Amendment) Bill No. 2 of 2017

The National Assembly had passed the Public Finance Management (Amendment) Bill, 2020, the National Drought Management (Amendment) Bill, 2019 and the County Attorneys Bill, 2018 while the Senate passed the County Governments (Amendment) Bill No. 2 of 2017, the Petition to County Assemblies (Procedure) Bill, 2020 and the County Governments (Amendment) Bill No. 2 of 2017. The Public Finance Management (Amendment) Bill of 2020, henceforth referred to as the Public Finance Management (Amendment) Act, limits the amount the Government may borrow in order to reduce the country’s external and internal debt. The National Drought Management Authority (Amendment) Act, 2019 establishes the National Drought Emergency Fund. The County Governments (Amendment) Act of 2017 provides for qualifications required for persons seeking to be appointed to the position of County Secretary. The new law also provides for the filling of the position of Deputy Governor where a vacancy arises, providing that a Governor shall henceforth nominate a candidate for Deputy Governor within 14 days of a vacancy in the office.  A vacancy may arise as a result of death, resignation, conviction or mental incapacity. The County Attorneys Act of 2018 establishes the office of the County Attorney for all the 47 counties and provides that the County Attorney shall be appointed by the governor. The new law also creates the office of the County Solicitor for all the 47 counties. The Petition to County Assemblies (Procedure) Act of 2018 seeks to give effect to Article 37 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 on the right to petition a county assembly and also provides for the procedure for petitioning a county assembly. The County Governments (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 2017 outlines the procedure for the suspension of a county government under Article 192 (4) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010. The new law provides for a timeline of 14 days within which the President will be required to communicate a decision on such a petition after receiving report of a commission of inquiry formed to hear such a plea.