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{
    "id": 19558,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/19558/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 254,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Affey",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 381,
        "legal_name": "Mohammed Abdi Affey",
        "slug": "mohammed-affey"
    },
    "content": "I intend to move an amendment to remove this if you do not propose an amendment yourself. This is because the nature of the work they will do will need men and women who have the trust of the people, who have wisdom and who are respected in their communities or in the country, so that when I go before them, I know that I am going before a very serious group of honest, sincere Kenyans and not necessarily Kenyans with degrees. You can get people with degrees but they are criminals and they end up in this kind of a committee. So, it is important, therefore, that this is removed in order to give an opportunity to many Kenyans who may not necessarily be in possession of a degree, but who have the capacity to serve. This requirement is in Article 10. It says that you must have a degree. It is very strange. I do not know whom you have in mind because maybe the people whom you want to appoint are degree holders. Therefore, for them to be qualified, you want to lock out Kenyans who can serve in this committee. I am concerned myself because it is a practice in this country now where the so-called committee that will be appointed by the President and the Prime Minister to vet these people is a very--- There is a trend emerging in the country that the President and the Prime Minister appoint people who themselves have not been vetted and whose interests we do not know. They go to those committees with instructions. They know it is already predetermined who the appointees are. Today, the President and the Prime Minister, through their proxies, will know who these Kenyans will be. Then you end up appointing people through of lobbying and you leave out other qualified people. This is a very dangerous trend; It has shown in the way the current Government is negotiating for jobs between the two principals. You might end up discriminating against a huge majority of Kenyans. You have seen in most cases the people who get into these places. These are the older people who are members of a political party, or are friends of the principals. So, I think there is a culture of discrimination that we are trying to entrench through these appointments by using this trend. It worked for us for a time, but we seem to be making it a practice. That is why there is heat generated now by the team that is doing the recruitment of the commissioners who are going to manage our elections. That is because the panel itself is appointed by the President, the Prime Minister and other stakeholders. That is a panel of Kenyans who also have not undergone any vetting and yet, they are the ones who are vetting and determining those who are going to be members of the IEBC. Who has vetted them? In my view, that panel should come to Parliament for vetting. There are certain names that we would reject. If someone serves in one commission and then leaves to serve in another commission, therefore, the loyalty will be to the appointing authority and not the country. The loyalty will be to the principals and not the majority of Kenyans who want honest and sincere service. They take telephone instructions very easily. So, Mr. Assistant Minister, even as we welcome this Oversight Authority, the manner in which it is going to be established must be fool-proof and transparent. There must be an honest way of doing it."
}