Committees

The County Assembly Committees are established pursuant to Section 14 (1) (b) of the County Governments Act, 2012 and the Makueni County Assembly Standing Orders among other legislation. The Committees are units comprised of Honorable Members within the Legislative arm of the County Government mandated to carry out investigations, in-depth analysis and review of public policy and proposed Bills, among other matters, more closely than would be possible in Plenary Sessions.

Committees are broadly classified into Standing Committees, Sessional Committees, Departmental Committees and Ad Hoc Committees each with its own mandate as follows:

Standing Committees
These are Committees established by the Standing Orders and other Statute, for the duration of an Assembly term, that specialize in the consideration of specific matters. They continuously oversee defined subject matters, advise and create awareness to the Assembly on the legislative functions within their mandate. Standing Committees cease to operate at the end of an Assembly term.

Sectoral/Departmental Committees
These are Committees established by the Standing Orders or other Statute to oversee the functions of the County Executive Departments, and they serve for the duration of an Assembly. The Committees may consider matters referred to them by special order or, within the area of responsibility in the Standing Orders, and may also undertake studies on own initiative.

Sessional Committees
These are Committees established by the Standing Orders and by a resolution of the Assembly. These Committees are appointed at the beginning of every Session and their composition, terms of reference and powers are defined. They inquire into and report on sessional contemporary issues that need periodic review.

House Keeping Committees
These are Committees established by the Standing Orders and other Statute and are mandated to look after the domestic affairs of the Assembly. Some House Keeping Committees (like the Assembly Business Committee) also fall under the category of Sessional Committees.

Ad-Hoc Committees
These are Committees established by the County Assembly on need basis to undertake specific assignments that may include investigation, studying and making recommendations to the Assembly. The terms of reference and operating time frame of an Ad-hoc Committee are defined upon appointment. The life of an Ad-hoc Committee comes to an end upon presentation of their Report to the Assembly or upon the expiry of the time allocated, whichever is earlier.

Committee Of The Whole Assembly
A Committee of the Whole Assembly is a Sittings in which the Assembly considers a matter before it in a Committee comprised of all Members. This is usually done for the purposes of discussion and debate of the details of Bills and main Motions, making amendments where necessary. The Committee is chaired by the Deputy Speaker and the application of rules of procedure is relaxed to allow Members to speak more than once on a question before the Committee.