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{
    "id": 1461179,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1461179/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 337,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Omogeni",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13219,
        "legal_name": "Erick Okong'o Mogeni",
        "slug": "erick-okongo-mogeni"
    },
    "content": "practice do so and go to private practice. His nomination was rejected on the basis that he did not show commitment to serving in that office. This process is so critical and it is important that we, as a House, raise the bar. If we abuse this power of vetting and confirming nominees, the next time you will hear there is a constitutional review process, the way I heard a proposal that Kenya should have a convention to look at the 2010 Constitution. This power can easily be taken away from us. We need to do the right thing by making sure that we build public confidence on the process by making it meaningful, so that we retain this power as a House as it is very important. This power is one of the best concepts of a country that has adopted limited government. It means the Executive can propose a nominee but if that nominee does not meet the bill, they can be rejected. Thirdly, I do not think it serves this House and the country well for us to continue doing joint vetting by the Members of National Assembly. Health is a devolved function. We should look at the process of vetting, so that on positions such as this one of the Director General for Health, the vetting should be undertaken by the Senate. There are so many offices, including the office of the Cabinet Secretary, where the vetting is undertaken by the National Assembly without any reference to this House. As a House, we need to revisit this process, so that we demarcate the roles for the two Houses. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I was very impressed when I listened to this nominee. He is a person who has vast experience on health matters. He is a trained medic who graduated from the University of Nairobi (UoN). It is unfortunate, that we have subjected this Kenyan to be in an acting position for five years. I want to ask the Executive not to subject professionals to the anxiety of being in an acting position for more than five years. In fact, it is a bad Human Resource (HR) practice, to keep somebody in an acting capacity for five years. I hope this is the last we are seeing of a case like this, where we deny a very qualified Kenyan a chance of serving in full capacity in a position where he is well qualified. As he takes over, we hope he will ensure that Kenyans get access to quality health care services from our hospitals. Although, this is not directly under his docket, but he should be able to liaise with the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), so that the implementation of the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) that is meant to benefit our people at their counties can be realized. We went through the documentations and I do not want to belabour this point, I want to assure the country that this is a man of integrity. The ODPP confirmed to the committee that there are no pending prosecutions against this Kenyan. The EACC confirmed that they have no investigations that are ongoing against this particular nominee. It is important for all Kenyans to pay their taxes. The Constitution is very clear that if you are not a patriotic Kenyan who pays taxes, then you should not be given a chance to serve the country. The KRA confirmed to us that Dr. Patrick Amoth is up to date on his tax obligations. Mr. Speaker, Sir, there are people who went to school. They were assisted by the Government through HELB. Their fee was paid by the Government, but they have never paid back that loan to assist other Kenyans. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and Audio Services, Senate."
}