Parliament is set for yet another milestone this afternoon when national broadcaster KBC brings live pictures of parliamentary debates into homes and offices countrywide.

It is the culmination of what Kenyans have for years been promised and the initial fulfilment of promises that House Speaker Kenneth Marende made to taxpayers when he took office early this year.

Coming at a time when the national budget has just been read, live coverage of parliamentary business offers Kenyans unparalleled opportunity to assess the performance of their representatives and the only duty that MPs are by law supposed to perform - legislate.

With debate on the much contested taxation of MPs' allowances on the cards, the voter will be able to see first hand which of their representatives are against their fulfilment of what should ordinarily be every citizen's duty.

Introduction of live television coverage of Parliament is the culmination of a decade long journey that is aimed at making the House more accessible to the public and ultimately make parliamentarians more accountable to their constituents.

Last Thursday, Mr Marende told MPs he had made the historic decision in line with his pledge to reform the House during his tenure so as to make it more accountable to the public.

KBC, which started airing debates live on radio last week, will have the monopoly to broadcast the proceedings on TV on a pilot basis for the rest of the year as a technical committee, formed by Parliament, finalises arrangements to open Parliament to all media houses.

Mr Marende said live radio broadcasts of parliamentary business will be officially launched in August while the launch of live TV broadcast is scheduled for February next year. The Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), the telecoms regulator, is expected to grant a licence to Parliament to enable the House establish a Parliamentary Broadcast Unit as well as allocate it frequencies by February 2009.

This plan received Sh185 million from the budget that Finance minister Amos Kimunya presented to Parliament on June 12.

To date, Parliament has allowed electronic media limited opportunity for live coverage - mainly during the swearing in of MPs after a general election, during the State opening of the House, and during presentation of the annual budget.

The launch of live coverage puts Kenya on an equal footing with 60 other countries where House debates are broadcast live. In the UK, arguments for and against televising proceedings of the House of Commons began in the 1980s. While most political analysts and MPs are in agreement that live coverage adds a new feather to Kenya's democratic credentials, some have expressed reservations over the plan.

Critics worry about a possible concentration of the media on moments of heated exchange among MPs at the expense of sober discussion of issues of national importance. "The public has the right to know what we debate and how we debate it meaning we become more accountable to Kenyans," said Mr Marende.

In the UK, opponents of live coverage have argued that it may alter the traditional character of the Chamber as it may prompt some members to speak to the public rather than address the subject that is before the House.

"It will be unfortunate if the coverage concentrates on trivial issues rather than focusing on debate that helps shape public policy," said Tiberius Barasa, a political analyst with the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR) - a policy think-tank. The quest for live coverage in Kenya has been mired in controversy since it began nearly 10 years ago.

Former Cheranganyi MP Kipruto arap Kirwa successfully moved a private members motion in the Eighth Parliament. Former House speaker Francis ole Kaparo had promised Kenyans during the State opening of the Ninth Parliament that he would ensure that the motion was implemented, but this came to naught.

Later, Mr Kaparo blamed the delay on an ambitious plan to incorporate the live coverage component to a multi-million shilling renovation and expansion of Parliament Buildings. The project caused an uproar in and outside Parliament, forcing the Speaker to shelve it indefinitely.

In addition to fitting the chamber with state-of-the-art broadcasting equipment, the project would also involve complete redesign of the sitting arrangement from the Westminister style - where Government and Opposition MPs sit on benches facing each other with the Speaker in the middle, to a horseshoe design.