HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 19272,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/19272/?format=api",
"text_counter": 348,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Affey",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 381,
"legal_name": "Mohammed Abdi Affey",
"slug": "mohammed-affey"
},
"content": "Thank you Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to second this very important Motion. At the outset, allow me to thank Mr. Chachu Ganya, the Member of Parliament for North Horr for the manner in which he moved this Motion. We participated in the deliberations and I am happy that he is the one who moved it. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, this is a very important Motion. Unfortunately, you can see the “very good attention” this House is giving to this Report. The mere fact that “the House is full” is an indication that this Report should have been taken more seriously than the Members have done. We are talking about a very important institution; the KEBS. This is a critical institution in the lives of the Kenyan people. The role they play is of security nature. They play a protective role. They guard against dangers that can find their way into this country so that Kenyans either consume or deal with things that have the potential to hurt them. For that matter, this particular institution has been politicized. This is one institution in this country where the operations are not as they should be today. This is because up to now, we have an acting MD. For the last three years or so, this institution has not had a substantive head. It is obvious, therefore, why there is so much interest in this particular institution. The Minister advertised, established a Board and there is a trend that is emerging in this country; a Minister appoints a Board and the President appoints the chair. In about three or four institution Boards that I know, there has been no harmony between the chair and the Board. This is particularly the case where the President and the Minister come from two different political parties. In this case, the chair is appointed by the President, who is from one party, while the Minister, just as the Prime Minister, is from another political party. In a case like the one in the National Water Corporation (NWC), the President appoints the chair and the Minister appoints the members of the Board. They transfer their political problems into these Boards to an extent that some of the Boards are dysfunctional as I speak, yet the Act gives them sufficient mandate to function. They have brought in the politics, patronage and difficulties into the Board. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, my colleague moved and gave the observations of the Committee. After we tabled this Report, the Minister sacked the acting MD. This was an MD who had been working for close to one year without a contract. Perhaps he was doing a good job. It is said that he did a good job and reformed things but he was not on talking terms with his Permanent Secretary. He could only reach the Minister. He was not on talking terms with the chairman of the Board. Therefore, we have this kind of a chaotic situation that existed in this place. The Board decided to recruit an MD for the KEBS and, do you know what? This Board utilized a whooping Kshs16 million to do this recruitment. Then what happens? Even after they recruited, definitely there was interference and the process stalled and they recommended two sets of minutes and recommendations to the Minister. We looked at the process itself and it was very clear who was supposed to be the MD. In my view, if you look at the points and grading, the obvious MD who should have been appointed automatically and immediately by the Minister was one Abdikadir Omar Adan who had 70 points. Maybe the Minister did not like the name or he chose not to like the name or where the fellow comes from because this is very evident in our country today, where Ministers choose who to appoint because of how closely related or politically connected they are. It is never about fair play in this country. Even if that was the case, there is a lady called Eva Oduor. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, even on the principle of gender, this lady has served in the institution. She knew the institution. Even if he did not like Omar, what was wrong with Oduor? What was wrong with Mutua Murutu? We ended up with Joseph Kosgey, who, in my view, is good material. He is a good Kenyan, and I think he did a good job. However, we are talking about the process of the appointment, and not about the person. This Government continues to violate the law on a daily basis. Then what happened? The Minister exercised his authority and appointed Mr. Kosgey Managing Director. The Board, which is supposed to work in harmony with the management, was split. Now you do not have a Board. You do not have management. So, you have a chaotic situation. I gather that is why a lot of corruption might have happened. Maybe, in the confusion, a lot of people might have imported goods which are substandard because there was nobody who was confident enough to forestall the danger we were facing. We all sat in this House, thinking that all was well at KEBS. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we went on with our investigations. We called the Minister. We could not get him with his Permanent Secretary (PS). So, we had to call the Minister, and then call the PS separately. Essentially, we should have called the Minister together with the PS. Normal working relations of Government would demand so. The President and the Prime Minister knew this but they could not discipline either the Minister or the PS. Who is in charge? Everybody fears. There is fear in the country. Nobody has the capacity to discipline anybody. If one disciplines somebody, the matter is politicised. It turns chaotic. Then there was a national outcry and the media had a field day. We were made a laughing stock because we all went to our regional cocoons. Some people defended the PS, while others defended Mr. Kosgey because of ethnicity. That is why we were divided even as Parliament. The issue was never the process but rather, purely, ethnicity. In the process, what was happening at KEBS? Who knows what might have happened at KEBS? Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Board appeared before us. It was a very chaotic Board. Even as they appeared before a Committee of Parliament, there was no discipline amongst the Board members. They were calling each other names in the presence of Members of Parliament. They were questioning each others’ integrity. As Board members, they were supposed to supervise a very important institution. They were calling each other “corrupt” in our presence. We listened in disgust, dismay and with disappointment. They spent Kshs16 million but they did not recruit anybody. Out of the amount, Kshs15 million was on allowances for the Board members. So, we had a Board which was on a mission to steal from the organisation. What did the Minister do? The Minister who was initially there maintained them. The Minister who subsequently replaced him dissolved the Board. Nobody has been asked to account. How was this money utilised, and for what purpose? What was the result of the use of this money? Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as Parliament, we are supposed to protect public funds. I suspect that all other Boards could be behaving in this manner because there is no monitoring mechanism in this Government. It is shameful to spend Kshs15 million on allowances without appointing anybody. There is no surcharge. There is no disciplinary action taken against anybody. There is absolutely no action taken against anybody. All the Board members were happy, and they even had the audacity of going to court to challenge the Board’s dissolution. When the new Minister took office, she dissolved the Board because the recommendations say: “Dissolve this bloody Board because this is the centre of the problems of KEBS. Get mature, serious, sophisticated and educated Kenyans who can run this institution and work with the management .” It never happened. Members of the dissolved Board went to court. These days, if anybody goes to court, he gets a stay. So, you stay and continue to steal. Out of that national outcry, the Kibunja Commission came in, issued statements and equally investigated. They called the Board, the Minister and the PS. After listening to them, they recommended almost a similar thing. The Kibunjia Commission was kind. They said that the candidates who were shortlisted should be reconsidered. We said: “Dissolve this Board. Constitute a new Board. See whether you can begin from there or even appoint someone else the Managing Director.” Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, what is wrong in appointing Mr. Abdikadir to become the Managing Director? He is Kenyan. He got 70 points. He has a Masters Degree. He applied for the job, which was advertised. He was interviewed and graded. Why do you not appoint him? It did not happen. So, the Board should have started this process afresh. Our recommendations are that we must, first of all, investigate this matter. As Parliament, even as we tabled this Report, we could not allow public funds to be used in a manner that is not understandable; we should not allow investigations to take place. I suggest that we get to the bottom of this matter. We realised irredeemable disagreements. I am glad that there is now a new Minister. The disagreement that was there was irredeemable. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, you cannot have two people who do not talk to each other, or even greet each other, and who have no respect for each other, working in the same institution. The disagreement was irredeemable. You could not repair the damage that was there. They were speaking in tongues and, in most cases, they were seeking support from their communities and friends. The position should be re-advertised and the issue of gender considered. There was open bias. There was only one lady who did well but who was bypassed. I am told that she is now the Acting Managing Director. I do not know how effective she is but the ladies of this country deserve attention. It can be that we are struggling to help them yet when they have an opportunity to assume leadership roles, we stop them. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I can see that my good friend, the Joint Whip, has an urge to contribute to the Motion. I want to second the Motion moved by my friend, hon. Chachu, and say that this House---"
}