Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 362665,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/362665/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 473,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "When I was in the Public Service, I was against subjecting officers to statements like “under investigation” when the material relevant to any investigation was not made available to the officer or anybody else. They have not even requested Mr. Kimemia to make a statement. They have not even interviewed him. That was not fair. In any case, the tender went to the Appeals Board and it was ruled that it should proceed. The matter came to the Cabinet and it was ruled that it should proceed. The file is still open, but Mr. Kimemia is under investigation. That is not the right way to manage public affairs, even if you are an investigator. The second issue was over the Tokyo Embassy property purchase, which the Members who were in the last Parliament were very well aware of. Again, Mr. Mwangi, who was the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was taken to court and he quickly moved within eight days to seek judicial review to stop his suspension. The Chief Executive of the EACC was telling us that Mr. Kimemia took eight days without acting, and so they thought that he was blocking the prosecution of Mr. Thuita Mwangi. I found this also not to be enough for somebody to write that Mr. Kimemia was being investigated for mega corruption and may be taken to court. The media flashed this out. It is not fair treatment of public officers by the EACC. I wish to add here also that as you rise in the Public Service, the higher you go, the higher the occupational risk, in the sense that you get blamed for what others do and not for what you do as a person. So, other complaints that may have arisen or what anybody might have felt about this particular career officer stemed from the fact that he was holding a certain position. Even if you miss a promotion, you can even blame that very officer. Even if you fail in a tender and you try to lobby here and there, you can end up blaming that particular officer. So, we did not find any material complaint. Considering the service of 33 years by this particular officer, we do not have many who are so have been so clean for so long; he has observed integrity and performance with due diligence over the years, as compared to other officers. So, it was not an accident. It was not a matter of somebody being his godfather pushing him up every three to five years; he would not have been pushed through every assignment in public service for 33 years, and until he reached the top as the Head of Public Service. It was not an accident. It was due to his diligence in public duties. Those who know him can tell you that his demeanor is impressive. He has impressive knowledge, skills and quite an amount of what you can call personal capabilities and conduct in public affairs. He is very a resourceful officer, generally reasonable in terms of performance initiatives, including being able to write papers. We do not have very many hands-on officers, who even at higher level are able to sit and do a document by way of a training manual, which is then used and is not revised for several years. We were impressed that this officer was cognizant of the dignity of all organs of governance, and knew that they must be protected. Parliament is an example; when some people try to ridicule the House, yet it is the supreme organ--- He was unequivocal that the treatment meted to Parliament up to now on the issues we have already covered this afternoon has not been fair; the Cabinet needs to have proper perspective of any of these issues, so that the right relations between the Executive and the Legislature are properly maintained and managed in the interest of the country as a whole."
}