The Kenyan government has ruled out adopting a new constitution within a year , which is contrary to an earlier promise made by the new coalition government.
Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Martha Karua said the process would take longer because it did not begin immediately after the Accord Act was passed by Parliament.
She said it was impractical to expect a new constitution within 12 months, since the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Billand the Constitution of Kenya Review Bill published last Friday have not yet been brought to parliament for discussion.
"It is not practical to have a constitution within 12 months since the period of 12 months was supposed to run from the time the accord was passed," Karua told parliament late Tuesday.
According to the two bills, Parliament will debate on them for 30 days and then the process should take one year after the bills are passed by Members.
The Bills will establish how the law review will be funded to amend sections 46, 47, 54 and 60 of the current Constitution for the purposes of making a new one and entrench the process in the current Constitution, among others.
Karua told lawmakers that there was no money allocated for the review since the government was not planning to spend huge amounts of money as in the previous processes.
She also said the government has only planned to spend money during the referendum, where the allocations would be catered for in the 2009/2010 Budget.
"There will be no referendum before the next budget. It is not practical to have a constitution within 12 months, since the period of 12 months was supposed to run from the time the Accord was passed."
The current re-evaluation will be handled by a team of experts that include three people selected by the Panel of Eminent African Personalities and four lawmakers chosen by the Parliamentary Select Committee.
President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minster Raila Odinga promised after signing the peace accord in February 2008 to deliver the new constitution in one year, but no resources were allocated for the process in this year's budget.
The government has since reiterated its commitment to the process with Karua clarifying that a referendum, which requires huge financial allocations, is expected to be held after June next year.
Source:Xinhua
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