By JACOB NG’ETICH jngetich@ke.nationmedia.com and JULIUS SIGEI jsigei@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Saturday, February 11 2012 at 21:12
Posted Saturday, February 11 2012 at 21:12
One of the first items on the agenda when Parliament resumes on Tuesday will be the approval or rejection of nominees to head the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
But Parliament’s central role in the vetting process has raised questions about conflict of interest because the anti-graft body is one of the agencies expected to vet the same MPs when they will be either defending their seats or vying for different positions in the next General Election.
The battle over the approval of the nominees, Mr Mumo Matemu for chairman, and the two directors Prof Jane Onsongo and Ms Irene Keino that divided MPs down the middle before they went on recess, is expected on the floor of the House immediately Parliament resumes.
Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Mutula Kilonzo told the Sunday Nation he would raise the issue of the EACC approval in the House on Tuesday so that they can put it on the order paper.
Mr Kilonzo said it would be in the interest of the country that the House endorses the names.
“When the House put to negative the vote on the recommendation by the Justice and Legal Affairs (Committee) on the three nominees, I thought that it meant that the names had been approved until the Speaker ruled otherwise.
“I am a perpetual student, and this was another opportunity for me to learn,” he said.
Approve or reject them
The Justice minister said since the names were not rejected, then the onus is still on Parliament to either approve or reject them.
However, Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee chairman Abdikadir Mohamed disagreed with Mr Kilonzo and said it was upon the Executive to bring forward the names again for the House to debate and approve or reject them.
KACC PR chief Nicholas Simani said the commission was ready to vet aspirants for public office.
“It is within our mandate to clear those who will be seeking elective positions, and we are alive to that fact,” Mr Simani said.
Analysts argue that this could be one of the reasons the issue is so emotive for the MPs.
Before Parliament went into recess last December, the Justice and Legal Affairs Parliamentary Committee made a recommendation to reject the nominees claiming that they did not demonstrate passion.
Like Caesar’s wife
Kisumu Town West Olago Aluoch said Mr Matemu was not fit for the key EACC job.
“Once you have put yourself up for a public job, you must be above reproach like Caesar’s wife, and therefore the allegations against him affect his candidature,” Mr Olago said.
Some MPs have also said Prof Onsongo and Ms Keino should be rejected because they lacked “passion”. (READ: House team rejects Kibaki graft names)
Gwassi MP John Mbadi said that those seeking such a tough job should be expected to have interest and passion in executing the job.
But, Chepalungu MP Isaac Ruto, a member of the Justice and Legal Affairs committee, questioned those arguing about passion.
He wondered what the word ‘passion’ exactly meant and whether the benchmark was constitutional.
“Somebody does not have to be a noisemaker, or a poet to show passion. All we need is to give the nominees the job, then ask them to deliver.
“How do you expect someone to deliver and even go ahead and say that they do not have passion before you give them the job? That is being subjective,” Mr Ruto said.
“The executive could still bring the names of the three nominees for approval in the House either through the Leader of Government Business, the Attorney-General or the minister of Justice, and I expect that the House will be guided by objectivity,” the Budalang’i MP said.
Repeat of the interview
Some MPs have questioned the role of parliamentary committees in vetting, claiming that some of the sessions were almost a repeat of the interview.
Mutito MP Kiema Kilonzo shares this view. “Whereas skills and other qualifications had been deduced through the interviews, passion was not something measurable,” Mr Kilonzo said.
An MP also questioned the trend of vilifying those who have served in the public service and “treating with kid gloves, those who have untried and untested time in the civil society.”
Garsen MP Danson Mungatana argued that those who worked hard in previous governments were being sacrificed despite serving the nation diligently.
“There seems to be a conspiracy hatched to fill most new posts with people from civil society and Kenyans living abroad at the expense of ‘local Kenyans’ who have risen within the civil service,” he said.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment