Desperate situations call for desperate measures.
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, various institutions are having to come up with tough measures to ensure that the key services they provide are not derailed.
The National Assembly and the Senate cannot shut down now because they have some very important work to do. However, MPs and senators are human and must strictly follow the safety guidelines, including social distancing.
During Wednesday’s crucial sitting of Parliament to endorse President Uhuru Kenyatta’s stimulus package to cushion Kenyans against the effects of the deadly disease, only 53 MPs were allowed into the chamber.
This was in line with the Health ministry’s guideline on social distancing. Each wore a face mask and they sat 1.5 metres apart, with sanitisers placed on each row. These guidelines make it increasingly difficult for MPs to carry out their duties in the House.
It would not have come at a worse time, as this is the crucial season for the budget-making process in the run-up to the reading of the financial statement in June.
Selecting the 58 members to sit in the chamber will be some kind of lottery. However, the challenge is how MPs work within the restrictions to continue the job they were chosen by fellow Kenyans to do.
It will be a huge betrayal of voters if MPs take advantage of this to skive off, derailing the legislative agenda.
As the Judiciary has shown, it is possible to resort to technology to avoid a situation where everything stalls.
Just the same way courts have been delivering judgments online, Parliament should explore the possibility of having virtual sessions alongside the limited presence inside the chamber.
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