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{
    "id": 151701,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/151701/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 513,
    "type": "other",
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    "content": "Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, the institution of the Cabinet has a historical foundation to it. It would help us to understand where it all began. Many years ago, in the early 15th Century, there was a council that used to exist to advise the King of England. As part of that council, there was an inner council called the Privy Council. This Privy Council was composed of the King's most reliable and trusted advisors. They would meet within the privy or the royal chamber or what was then called the cabinet, to advise the King on important matters of State. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, this is where we came up with the name the “Cabinet”. History shows that in the beginning, this Privy Council or the Cabinet did not have any special legal powers. There was no special legal standing. In fact, it was operating like a junta or what was called a cabal of Ministers. In the 18th Century, however, when the power of centre of Government shifted from the monarch to the British Parliament, the Cabinet assumed a very critical role in the running of the affairs of the State. In fact, the Cabinet became the most important advisory council and was legally recognised. The most important Minister within the Cabinet was the Prime Minister. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, this tradition has been maintained not only in the United Kingdom (UK), as it was then but also borrowed by the United States of America (USA). The first American President, Mr. George Washington, appointed his first Cabinet, which was composed of only four Members. These were the Secretary of State who was Thomas Jefferson, the Secretary of Treasury who was Alexander Hamilton, the Secretary of War who was Henry Nox and the Attorney-General, Edmund Randolph. Again, the main function of the Cabinet in the USA was to assist the President in discharging the duties of the Office of the President. I am bringing this historical perspective in to bear because it is critical for us to realise that the Cabinet is and has been historically a very critical organ of Government. It is therefore, a very big disappointment in Kenya today to realise that since Independence, since the formation of the first Cabinet under the late President, His Excellency Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, there has not been a clear attempt to reform the institution of Cabinet. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, the same Ministers who form the Cabinet have been out there on the campaign trail, talking about reforms in the Judiciary, the police force and Parliament. However, they have been weak in reformation within the same Cabinet in which they serve. Today if you open the Kenya Cabinet website, you will be surprised to find only a one-pager within the whole system talking about a very simple mission. It talks about a vision, which is “A Competent Public Service for a Competitive and Prosperous Kenya”. Very simple! Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, it is a disappointment because it tells you there is no serious input that has gone towards the reformation of the way the Cabinet should operate. If you look at the Mission Statement, it talks of, “To Provide Overall Strategic Policy Leadership and Direction and Effective Public Service and Delivery for the Prosperity of Kenya”. Again, it is very brief and does not capture what Kenyans expect from a Cabinet that advises the President of the Republic of Kenya. If you look at the services that it is supposed to offer and its mandate, you will find another big disappointment awaits any person who looks at it. It talks about facilitating the appointment of Ministers, Assistant Ministers, Commissioners, Ambassadors, Judges and state corporation boards. It also"
}