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{
    "id": 103942,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/103942/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 273,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Kabando wa Kabando",
    "speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 31,
        "legal_name": "Kabando wa Kabando",
        "slug": "kabando-kabando"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I rise to support this Bill because it is timely. I would like to congratulate the hon. Member who has moved it. It has been said by my colleague, Ambassador Affey that, commissions of inquiry have been constituted for various reasons. They are not formed for positive reasons but largely for political expediency. I recall in 1990 when Kenyans were gathering steam to shift ground to accommodate multi-party politics, a committee was constituted and was chaired by the then Vice-President hon. Saitoti. That Commission went round the country seeking views from Kenyans to usher in multi-party politics in order to conform to pluralism that was happening in the whole world. Though that was not a commission of inquiry by the Government - it was a small commission formed by the ruling party then. We had one party - it signifies the general formula that has been used whenever a commission of inquiry is formed. Also before then, reading through the HANSARD reports of this very august House--- I have gone through the deliberations regarding the assassination of J.M. Kariuki and the Elijah Mwangale Select Committee. The Committee’s work was comprehensive and it captivated the interests of the country. That Report, after consuming time, resources and the intellectual capacity of hon. Members - and even compelling the then Minister for Public Works Masinde Muliro to leave the Cabinet due to the contention of the Report - it was trashed. I remember reading through the HANSARD and the then Minister in charge of Defence and the Attorney-General saying that the Report should be noted but not adopted by the House. That means that there has been no respect by successive regimes for reports compiled by Select Committees and Commissions of Inquiry on matters of national importance, even if the matters are grave enough to threaten the stability of the country. We had a commission which investigated the activities of devil worshippers in this country. The Commission went round the country and ventilated even on forbidden grounds. The Report of that Commission has not been made public. We have been dealing with issues of public ethics. We presented in this House, in 2003, the Public Officer Ethics Act. Certain matters could have been dealt with if those commissions had their reports exposed, interrogated by the House and implemented by the Government through Cabinet approval. Therefore, it is important that this amendment be brought so that, in its own very wording, it brings accountability. “Transparency” and “accountability” are the key words which have been amplified time and again in the quest for better governance, improved governance, accountability, transparency and being in charge of a leadership that is accountable. The resources that can be accounted for in a system that is transparent. This amendment will stop what has been happening in the past. The appointments to those commissions of inquiry have largely depended on political patronage, who is connected to who, who is who in the political regime of the time. Sometimes, it has been a question of rewards for sycophants and surrogates. The reports have never been interrogated to ascertain their authenticity and relevance. There is a requirement that those reports must be brought to the Floor of this august House, which is the supreme law making body of this country. It will ensure that the work of those committees is diligent"
}