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"speaker_name": "Mr. Kabando wa Kabando",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Youth and Sports",
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this Motion. Before I proceed, I would like to congratulate Mr. Oparanya for his very deserved appointed as the Minister for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030. I also realise that this is his first Motion in this House. It comes at the right time, and I believe his skills will produce success for the Ministry and, therefore, the country. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I noted that the Board members are 17. This is good because it has invited diversity. We see that there are four members, who have been appointed on consideration of regional balance. However, I would like to comment on this. The county is talking about \"lean and clean\". This is good. It is the mood of the nation. There are issues currently arising as a result of the vision that is not documented, but has pervaded the psyche of the Kenyan people. I think we need to contemplate over it. As per international practice on good corporate governance, the maximum number for a board to function should be 11. However, I think because of historical disadvantages, we are struggling to please everyone. I am talking about meritocracy. Even if we had five Kenyans in a committee and it is delivering that would be okay. But at the same time, we are struggling with numbers in order to appease. This is not diversity. We are even risking multiplying skills so that statistics appear good. In future, perhaps, for this kind of appointment, it may be prudent to consider an ideal number, like 11, and focus on the quality. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the second issue is on due diligence in appointments. Yes, it may be that the four members here represent regions that were not represented in the institutional nominations. However, it may be as well that these are members who could happen to reside in the City of Nairobi. They may not necessarily be highly qualified professionals, who reside and work in regions that are far from Nairobi. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, perhaps, in future it will also be important to do due diligence beyond the discretion of the Minister, the appointing authority. The appointment should be compelled to generate professional bodies and organised groups that are dominant in the regions. Some areas of this country are very far away from the Nairobi. We, therefore, may not be tapping the talent that is there. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, thirdly, is the question of people appointed to public offices. I think these groups have a culture, just as Members of Parliament may have a culture. We may become a club. We know each other. We become friendly. We may have institutions that are very reputable, but they also have clubs. They have inside practices. You may find one member appointed to so many public authorities. A member comes from a respected institutions, but he\\she is appointed to three or four other public bodies. Will he or she rarely have time to focus on an important Board like this? They, therefore, end up having administrative inertia. You even post a professional to this board, that other board and to another board, just because they have the right connections. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, fourthly, we applaud the Minister for putting quite a huge portion of young people into this Board. However, it may be advisable and strategic that it be, indeed, stipulated in the law that for any public appointment to a State corporation, or to any public-private partnership, a third of the appointees shall be below 35 years of age. We are talking about the youth; we are not talking about people 39 years of age. As per the definition in the National Youth Policy, youths are those aged under 35 years. That way, we are going to harvest from the very critical generation; the critical mind of very educated and wise young people. As I said yesterday, one of the Members of the Cabinet is 34 years old. We have hon. Members here who are in their early 20s. So, I think this is something that we need to focus on in order to ensure that there is an improvement. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, finally, among the things that this Board may be expected to do is 686 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES April 24, 2008 to develop a good criteria for financing. The Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) is devolved based on the poverty index. However, within the constituencies themselves, areas are not the same. The last two days, I was reading some independent data done on the 210 constituencies. There is a constituency that never utilised the CDF. There are constituencies that, otherwise, were said in some fora to have having been very good in using the CDF money. However, in reality, only 10 per cent of the geographical occupation of that constituency received the financing. Something needs to be done, so that there is accurate mapping of the poverty levels in constituencies, and the economic situation in terms of the basic needs, which are basic human rights. If one area is disadvantaged in supply of water, the Member of Parliament and the CDC committee that he or she appoints should be compelled by a nationally accepted survey of the situation within that constituency to actually prioritise water supply projects. This will enable us achieve the Millennium Development Goals, and ensure that the CDF is not a captive of the discretion of the Member of Parliament. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I think it is important for the Minister--- We know he is very fresh, and I congratulate him again. However, he should reflect, so that whatever he has put together is reviewed and certain amendments are brought on board. Intellectual skills should be better utilised by bringing some freshness to these appointments, and to other areas that require improvement, so that we work better for the nation. Thank you, Sir. I beg to support."
}