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No toilet paper in Parliament, MPs cry out – VIDEO


MPs on Wednesday complained of bad state of facilities in Parliament which they said do not befit their status.

It was a general consensus and rare show of unity among legislators from Nasa and Jubilee with the lawmakers calling for enhanced services and on catering department to improve on their culinary skills.

The debate came up when MPs were approving names of members of the committee on services and facilities formerly known as the catering committee.

National Assembly Minority Leader John Mbadi said not only is toilet paper missing in the MPs washrooms, but also water.

“You cannot tell me that a parliament where legislators of a country stay you cannot have toilet paper that at one point you go to the washroom and there are no toilet papers,” the legislators said.

BASIC HYGIENE

Mbadi added that the washroom issue was so severe that taps have no running water in some washrooms making it hard for the MPs to observe basic hygiene.

“In fact at Continental house you have to be very careful you have to check whether the taps are running because you may mess yourself…before you take any action you must find out whether there’s running water coz otherwise if you come to some civilization you really need that water after passing through some activity,” Mbadi added.

He even complained that the food is too expensive despite being of low quality. A buffet at Parliament main dining hall goes for Sh590.

“We actually pay for this food, it is not for free but the price does not match the quality. We are even made to queue like primary school children,” Mr Mbadi complained.

Minority Whip and Suna East MP Junet Mohamed accused the catering committee in the eleventh Parliament of doing very little to improve the welfare of MPs despite travelling to various countries including Uganda for bench marking.

LITTLE MILK

“Mr Speaker the type of tea that is offered here has very little milk and it looks like that offered during funerals,” he said in a comment that drew laughter from his colleagues.

Nambale MP Sakwa Bunyasi said Parliament needs not just cooks but chefs who can prepare proper meals.

“When you go out there to eat chicken, you get a better cooked meal than the one inside here,” Mr Bunyasi said.

Deputy majority leader Jimmy Angwenyi said there is need for the catering department to improve on their cooking.

“I believe we hired the right people and they should cook good food. I don’t need to queue for long before being served because I am old and I can collapse,” Mr Angwenyi said.

“Mr Speaker it’s not fair that some packing lots reserved for us have been taken away by other members. We cannot access the gym facilities whenever we need physiotherapy,” said Westlands MP Tim Wanyonyi who is physically challenged