Duale: I’m spokesman of government

If you had told Mr Aden Duale in 2005 that he would one day hold one of the most powerful political offices in the country, the businessman would most probably have dismissed you as a lunatic.

The possibility had not entered his mind when he switched from business to politics that year and plunged into the campaign against the infamous Wako draft constitution that was presented to voters in a referendum.

It was during the “No” campaign that he first encountered Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto in the game of bare-knuckle politics. Little did he know that he would work closely with the President and Deputy President some eight years down the line.

When the Orange campaign against the draft constitution turned into a political party, Mr Duale joined the team led by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga. He ran successfully for Parliament in 2007 and was named Livestock assistant minister in the Grand Coalition government that was formed to settle the 2008 post-election violence and build reconciliation.

No democracy

But he was unaware of the fortunes and huge leadership responsibility that lay ahead.

“In 2009, Hon Ruto and I fell out with the party leadership because there was no democracy. I was part of the breakaway.

We were sacked in 2010, but that did not deter us. Until January this year, I had five court cases brought against me by ODM because of what they called indiscipline. We felt rejected and humiliated, but we soldiered on,” Mr Daule told the Sunday Nation.

The then Dujis MP was also part of the team marketing the United Democratic Movement (UDM), but the plan did not work and in January 2012, he helped to found the United Republican Party (URP) which is now one of the principal partners in the Jubilee Alliance with 75 MPs, 11 senators and 10 governors.

“We have walked a long way, but today we say God is great,” Mr Duale said.

And now, after serving just one term in Parliament, Mr Duale is the founding Majority Leader in the National Assembly, one of the most demanding jobs in the new constitutional dispensation.

As Majority Leader, the Garissa Township MP will represent the presidency and the Cabinet by presenting government business on the floor of the House. It is his responsibility to ensure that the government agenda goes through the committees of the House.

“The holder of this office has to be a loyalist and an ally of the presidency,” he said.

He will be in charge of the government agenda and will draw up daily, weekly, monthly and annual schedules of how government business will be conducted. He will also schedule government Bills and Motions and determine the order in which they will be presented on behalf of government.

The importance of the position took shape as a political carrot and was one of the key negotiating points as party leaders built pre-election coalitions ahead of the March 4 General Election.

Pre-polls deal

For instance, it had been agreed before the election that The National Alliance (TNA) would provide the presidential candidate and URP the deputy. In Parliament, TNA would nominate the Speaker and URP the deputy. Also, URP would nominate the Majority Leader while TNA would bring in the deputy.

Mr Duale will be deputised in his enormous role by fomer Cabinet minister and Taveta MP Naomi Shaaban.

The position of Majority Leader only recently appeared in the Kenyan political landscape because it is the first time Kenyans legislators are operating under this system.

Mr Duale explains the role: “I will be the spokesman of the government in Parliament and marshal support for the government. I will transmit government sentiments to MPs and transmit MPs’ sentiments to the government. In order of rank, the office of Majority Leader is second only to the Speaker.”

The Majority Leader and the Minority Leader will have priority and more time to speak in the House. He says he has already set out his priorities.

By Wednesday, he would like to ensure that all the House committees are in place and ready to begin work. His immediate priority, he said, is to ensure that all the committees are in place by Wednesday after which his next task will be to bring to the House the Bill on the division of revenue between the national and county governments.

Before the legal deadline of April 30, the Majority Leader must also receive the Budget Policy Paper from the Treasury Secretary.

The Garissa Township MP has no delusions about the magnitude of the task ahead and says he intends to establish a full-fledged offic with legal counsel, researchers, legal drafters, legislative policy advisers, budget experts and senior administrators to co-ordinate with cabinet secretaries and a communications expert.

“This is not for Hon Duale but as the founding majority leader, I would like to ensure that I set up structures that can ably serve future majority leaders,” he said. “I will do all within my powers to ensure that the government agenda in the House is fast-tracked and sails through within the confines of the Constitution and the law.”

Mr Duale has Mr Ruto and Mr Kenyatta to thank for his brand of politics.

“I’m a very good student of [Mr] William Ruto. Any mistakes I make will be Ruto’s mistakes. Any successes will be his success. He mentored me and counselled me even when I was very low and he would tell me that there was light at the end of the tunnel,” he offers.
“I have also been a very good friend of Uhuru’s since 2002 when I was not in politics.

From him I have learnt great lessons about modesty, honesty and putting the interests of the people first. I’m very optimistic about this administration.”

The Majority Leader says the Jubilee administration is keenly aware of the responsibilities of the Opposition and will only seek a bipartisan approach to issues in the House where they feel that it would be in the common good of the country.

“I think the President laid it out very well that he recognises the role of the Opposition. We will keep to that. If you look at the Standing Orders, for example, they do not require that the Opposition heads any particular committees but we have committed to let them lead the Public Accounts Committee and the Public Investments Committee,” Mr Duale says.

Check government

The two committees – PIC and PAC – are branded Parliament’s watchdog committees and are the ones expected to scrutinise government expenditure and the investment of public funds across government agencies.

Specifically, the Public Accounts Committee examines reports by the Controller and Auditor-General on central government expenditure and fund accounts while the Public Investments Committee examines reports by the Auditor-General on accounts of State corporations.

“We have decided to give the Opposition the chance to keep the government in check,” said Mr Duale.