Wednesday, January 9, 2013

House approves Public Service Commission nominees



SHARE
 BOOKMARKPRINTRATING
Parliament in session. Parliament has approved the controversial list of the nominees to the Public Service Commission January 9, 2013. FILE
Parliament in session. Parliament has approved the controversial list of the nominees to the Public Service Commission January 9, 2013. FILE   NATION MEDIA GROUP
By ALPHONCE SHIUNDU ashiundu@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Wednesday, January 9  2013 at  13:07
SHARE THIS STORY
 
 
 
0
Share
RELATED

Parliament has approved the controversial list of the nominees to the Public Service Commission.
This came after the Prime Minister Raila Odinga dropped his opposition to the earlier list presented to the House.
Fred Kapondi (Mt Elgon), who chairs the House committee on Administration and National Security, told the House that Mr Odinga had written to the House on Monday dropping his opposition to the list.
“The Prime Minister confirmed that consultations on the nominations had been finalised, and that the proposed names of the chairperson, vice-chairperson and members of the Public Service Commission, as contained in the list of names sent to Parliament by the Head of the Civil Service, had been agreed on,” the committee’s report to the House noted.
With the House approval, the nine nominees will now await their official appointment by President Kibaki, any time now.
They are:  Prof Margaret Kobia,  Mr  Peter O. Ole Nkuraiya,  Prof Michael N. Lokuruka, Mr  Patrick G. Gichohi,  Mr  Lawrence Nyalle,  Ms Veronica Chematia Birgen , Ms Catherine Raini Omweno , Dr. Judith Emboyi Bwonya and Mr  Titus Ndambuki.
The approval almost turned acrimonious with two MPs questioning why the retired Clerk of the National Assembly, Patrick Gichohi, had been nominated to “serve in the public service, yet he had already retired from Parliament”.
“When someone has served in the civil service for 40 years, he should rest. Societies that have thought that some people are indispensable have gone wrong…If he was not there, would there be no parliament,” said Mr Nicolas Gumbo (Rarieda).
He added that it was wrong for his colleagues to use Mr Gichohi’s work in Parliament as a basis of backing his appointment.
“To include someone who has served in the civil service and has gone on retirement to come and serve at the PSC is wrong,” said Mr Gumbo as he opposed the list.
Adan Keynan (Wajir West) also said the list was discriminatory, against the youth  and it did not meet the constitutional threshold of regional balance.
“If at any time we’re going to recycle some of the people that have retired, what happens to the youth of the country. What will I tell my daughter who has finished university and she wants to be a commissioner in the PSC? That she should wait until the retiree retires again?” Mr Keynan, who is also the vice chairman of the Parliamentary Service Commission, said.
Mr Keynan added: “You’re bringing in those individuals who have retired and who should be on holiday somewhere attending to their grandchildren to serve this country. Where will the youth go? . If we pass this list, it will dent our image. It is unconstitutional. It does not represent the face of Kenya.”
But Jakoyo Midiwo (Gem), Ekwee Ethuro (Turkana Central), and Walter Nyambati (Kitutu Masaba) backed the list. They singled Mr Gichohi from among the nominees saying he had “done a good job in Parliament” and should be allowed to enrich the Public Service Commission.
Mr Ethuro said the nominees came from some of the marginalised regions of the country. He cited Prof Lokuruka from Turkana County as an example.
“It is a mix. We need some people who have experience in the Public Service Commission so that it can give flavour and justice to this country,” added Mr Nyambati.

No comments:

Post a Comment