Thursday, August 23, 2012

House teams approve diluted Leadership and Integrity Bill


House teams approve diluted Leadership and Integrity Bill

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"When it comes to subjective issues, it is difficult to vet” Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee chairman Abdikadir Mohammed. Photo/FILE
"When it comes to subjective issues, it is difficult to vet” Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee chairman Abdikadir Mohammed. Photo/FILE  NATION MEDIA GROUP
By ALPHONCE SHIUNDU ashiundu@ke.nationmedia.com and NJERI RUGENE nrugene@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Wednesday, August 22  2012 at  23:30
IN SUMMARY
  • Committee says it's difficult to vet aspirants for elective posts based on a “subjective criteria”
  • No parameters against which to judge the suitability of candidates based on their morality and ethics
MPs have ignored the public appeal to shore up the integrity threshold in the leadership Bill and have instead said that all aspirants would be eligible to vie in the next elections unless barred by the Constitution.
The shocker to the civil society and the Commission for the Implementation (CIC) of the Constitution was announced on Wednesday when chairmen of two key House committees addressed a news conference at Nairobi’s Parliament Buildings.
Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee chairman Abdikadir Mohammed and Justice and Legal Affairs Committee chairman Njoroge Baiya told journalists that it was “very difficult” to vet aspirants for elective posts based on a “subjective criteria”.
Mr Mohammed said that because there were no parameters against which to judge the suitability of candidates based on their morality and ethics, there was room for abuse, especially if the vetting agencies were partisan.
“When it comes to subjective issues, it is difficult to vet. It is not done anywhere in the world. Let the voters decide, so that there’s as much transparency as possible,” said Mr Mohammed.
He said issues such as convictions for a period of more than six months and age limit were easy to ascertain but queries about morality or ethics were relative.
Mr Baiya said the two committees had agreed in principle that the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) would liaise with all other vetting bodies and publish a sort of list-of-shame for all candidates.
Vetting agencies
The vetting agencies that were envisaged in the Bill that came from the CIC are the Kenya Revenue Authorities, the EACC, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, the National Police Service, the Higher Education Loans Board and the National Intelligence Service.
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“All those with pending cases and issues will make a declaration to the IEBC. The IEBC will notify the EACC. If there are any issues, it is upon the public to decide whether to elect them or not,” said Mr Baiya.
The Leadership and Integrity Bill in Parliament that MPs seek to amend says the EACC “may request a State organ to assist it in ensuring compliance with and enforcing Chapter Six of the Constitution and this Act”.
Meanwhile, Parliament moved on Wednesday to try to beat the constitutional deadline to enact crucial Bills before August 26.
The MPs resolved to debate the government Bills Wednesday morning, a time reserved for private members motions to meet the deadline.
Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, who is also the Leader of Government Business in the House, moved a motion to have Parliament sit up to 10pm to complete the task.
They concluded debate on the contentious Leadership and Integrity Bill, which the Cabinet has been accused of watering down.
The House committees, the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee and the Justice and Legal Affairs committees have proposed amendments to the Bill to strengthen it.
The proposals will be presented later when the Bill is brought to Parliament for the final stage.
Also sailing through the debate stage was a Bill ensuring public participation in legislation making in Parliament and other related issues.

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