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{
    "id": 1477947,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1477947/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 292,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Omogeni",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13219,
        "legal_name": "Erick Okong'o Mogeni",
        "slug": "erick-okongo-mogeni"
    },
    "content": "My contribution before this House this afternoon is that we should give equal opportunity to a Kenyan who has the requisite experience and has expressed interest to serve in the public service or in any parastatal. It is not about us trying to profile anybody. If the unfairness was regarding an Embu, I would have the same sentiments. If the discrimination is towards a Mkamba, I would have the same sentiments. If it is towards somebody from Coast, Sen. Faki's county or Garissa County, I would take the same stand because there are many Kenyans who cannot drop names so that they get jobs. The only weapon they have is good education, integrity and good experience which should be our standard in this House. If you are from the Kalenjin nation and you qualify, that is okay. However, this idea of us being told that in this particular position, there could have been some underhand dealings, as a House, if that comes to our attention, we should always question it. Two, I know that the adverts, the long-list that was published by the Public Service Commission (PSC), the shortlist and the final interview--- I want to join what the previous Senator said. In the spirit of transparency, I have looked at the report. I do not know whether some annexures were excluded. I looked at the report and I have not seen an annexure of the long list which should tell us all the names of Kenyans who applied. The shortlist should show us the people who made it to the shortlist and the criteria that was used. We will be able to see whether the criteria was only academic or whether they also took into account regional balance. We also need to see whether there was affirmative action that was taken to give opportunity to the youth, Persons with Disability (PWDs) or to give those from marginalized areas. That is why we are Senators to ensure that there is fairness in a process like what we are trying to approve this afternoon. There is nothing wrong in us seeking more transparency and accountability from the Public Service Commission. Why should the Public Service Commission fail to give us a list? Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we also need to see from the commissioners within the Public Service Commission (PSC) how they are scoring candidates because; the only way you can bring in an accusation of nepotism or tribalism is to see how the commissioners are scoring each candidate. We must live true to the spirit of Article 73(3) of the Constitution of Kenya. If you read Article 73, it says that anybody who is seeking an appointive office should get it based on objectivity and impartiality in decision-making by the person making that decision. It should be free and not be influenced by nepotism or favoritism. The people who should ensure that the Constitution of Kenya is followed and that the law is followed are us, Senators. I do not know whether the best recommendation to make is maybe to amend our Standing Orders so that next time we get a name forwarded to us - In this particular case, the law is only giving the PSC an obligation to forward one name to Parliament. We demand that they give us a detailed report, including the score chart so that we see how they picked the candidates. Thirdly, we are a country of, I believe now, 45 tribes. We used to be 42 or around 47 tribes. I want to have a sense of pride as a Kenyan, but with that cultural heritage of coming from the Omogusii Community, the same way I am sure Sen. Munyi Mundigi is The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}