IIEC in crisis despite credit for referendum

By John Oywa

The Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) is walking a tight rope, with rivalry between commissioners and the secretariat threatening its credibility days after it won praise for successfully conducting the just-ended referendum and three by-elections.

Investigations by the Standard On Sunday indicate that boardroom wars over control of multi-million shilling procurement deals and jostling by the commissioners to keep their jobs in the looming merger of national commissions have worsened relations between senior staff and commissioners.

While the officials are putting brave faces in public, all is not well at the commission, which was this week voted the most trusted public institution in a Synovate opinion poll.

With four by-elections on the cards and the 2012 General Election only 48 months away, observers fear the commission could veer off its path and become a replica of the defunct Samuel Kivuitu-led Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK), unless the warring groups are reconciled.

Besides procurement wars, senior commission staff are complaining that the commissioners are taking up their jobs and hogging credit for the institution’s successes.

Reduced To Bystanders

"They have reduced us to bystanders. They see us as rivals and want to tell the country that they are the ones running the commission," a senior manager complained.

The more than 300 employees, including directors and the 210 constituency election co-co-ordinators, and 17 regional co-co-ordinators are also unhappy they have not been confirmed on their jobs, more than ten months after they were hired.

Those still on probation include 100 managers and directors.

"It is true some categories of staff have not received confirmation letters but this was due to a number of factors. The human resources department was still being established and the human resource manual being developed," the commission’s Corporate Affairs Manager Tabitha Mutemi, told the Standard On Sunday, speaking for the commission.

Section 41A of the Constitution of Kenya mandates the interim reform commission to establish and "effective secretariat". With hundreds of staff in panic, the secretariat is yet to be effective; months before the interim officers leave office, with the new Constitution.

Documents seen by the Standard On Sunday, including a report by election observer group – the Institute For Education in Democracy (IED), paints a picture of a crisis.

A section of staff interviewed spoke of tension and rivalry between a clique of three commissioners and senior managers over tendering procedures and an alleged plot by some influential politicians to infiltrate and weaken the commission’s secretariat, ahead of the 2012 General Election.

"It is true there is a problem because a clique of commissioners with business and political interests are intimidating us," said a commission official, who did not want to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the Press.

The Public Procurement Oversight Authority (PPOA) had to intervene three months ago to protect senior managers at the commission as the procurement wars raged.

On May 12, the Commission’s Chief Executive Officer, James Oswago, wrote to PPOA seeking guidance after some of the commissioners tried to take control of the tender committee.

In a reply dated May 24, a Mrs J W Njoroge on behalf of PPOA Acting Director General Maurice Juma, directed that only the commission’s procurement unit be allowed to handle the procurement processes.

Sources at the commission told the Standard On Sunday Mr Oswago even threatened to resign two months ago after he realised two of the commissioners were using one of his juniors to undermine him.