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"speaker_name": "Mr. Mungatana",
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"content": "Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I thought I did that, but I will do that. I wish to move that The Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Bill, Bill No.3 of 2011, be now read a Second Time. I was saying that the old culture of direct appointments by the Executive made these people not only to be corrupt, but to lack any form of independence. Many of us who have experienced this know that in the past, if you needed anything in some quarters, all you needed to do was to get a politician or a “higher authority” to order something to be done for you. Because the people who were holding those public positions owed it to those politicians, it was impossible to get fairness in some instances. In fact, therefore, there was this attitude that we must get the presidency or a certain Cabinet post because if we get that position, it would be our turn to eat. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, it is because of this attitude that we have a highly ethnicised Public Service. In fact, the Commission that is chaired by Kibunja came out very clearly in terms of public appointments – that, certain communities have got more than their fair share of public appointments. The current Constitution has come with the requirements that there must be fairness and openness, and that there must be public confidence in public office holders. This Bill seeks to be the law that will make provision for the procedures of all Parliamentary vetting that is required by the Constitution. I now want to, quickly, look at some the provisions contained in this Bill and highlight them as I seek the support of this House to approve this Bill. First of all, there is protection for people who may wish to go for public appointments. If you seek to take a position that requires Parliamentary vetting, you will be notified that you will be vetted. In fact, you will be told clearly in a notification, through an advertisement, that you will be required to be vetted in public. So, if you have skeletons that you wish to hide, you may not wish to be one of those people who will be applying for Public Service positions. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, this requirement will automatically cut out a huge chunk of people who may not be otherwise suitable for such a position. The candidates applying for a public service position will also be given an opportunity to back out, under this law. Such candidates will also be told, roughly in the Schedule of this Bill, the things that will be required of them to explain. For example, one will be required to disclose information relating to one’s deferred income, future benefits, tax compliance status, statement of net worth, one’s potential conflict of interest, and one’s outside commitment during service in an office. So, one will be required to disclose information pertaining to all these aspects. For instance, if you are a billionaire in Kenya – you have got so much money – and you do not want anyone to know about it, you will not wish to apply for this kind of position. If you are someone who has hidden wealth in many ways, including receiving income from trusts, and if you live in a way you would not want to be known, you may not wish to apply for these positions. If you acquired your wealth in a manner that you may not be willing to explain to the public, and sometimes even to members of your family – you may be polygamous and may not want some of your family members, whom you do not like so much, to know what you have – you may not wish to apply for these positions. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, what you are expected to disclose, under this law, is clear. This cuts out some of the weaknesses we witnessed during the recently conducted vetting exercises. Some of the Judges and people who came for vetting were not expecting some of the questions that were put to them. Some of them were clearly offended when they were asked some of the questions. What we want in this law, is to cut off that kind of situation. We want you to know in advance the kind of questions you will be asked when you appear before the Parliamentary Committee that will be conducting vetting. If you do not like those questions, then you may not want to apply for some of the positions. I am requesting Parliament to approve this Bill because this is one way of institutionalising the process of vetting within Parliament. Countries such as the United States of America (USA), which have a long history of vetting processes, have perfected the exercise, so that people expect to be asked questions on certain issues. So, before you apply for such positions you will have known, for example, that your tax returns must be in order; you are not underpaying your house maid, and your shamba boy has his NHIF premiums paid up, and that he is properly remunerated, in keeping with the new requirement that Francis Atwoli has introduced in the country, in accordance with international labour laws; that you pay your house servants Kshs7,000 and above. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, if you know that you have not complied with these requirements, and that you do not keep within the law, you may not want to apply for some of these positions. This raises the question of predictability. As an aspiring civil servant, you will know that this process is institutionalised, and that you will not be going to find Parliamentarians who may have an agenda. It removes the suspicion “maybe, they want me to fail, so that their own political crony can get the position”. We have heard some people who have gone through the vetting process complain. I can quote the Director of Public Prosecutions, who complained: “I feel that the process was politicised”. If we have this kind of law, it will not matter how many Members of Parliament, or members of your community hold Press conferences for or against you, because you will already have known the requirements. The law stipulates clearly what is expected of you and if you have failed, you have failed. It will not matter how members of your community come out in the streets in support of you. It will not matter how many of them will be here in Parliament or outside Parliament, doing whatever. If you have failed, you have failed. If you have passed, you have passed. That is what this Bill says. We are creating an institutionalised system which will help this country move towards the achievement of Vision 2030. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, this law institutionalises the vetting process not only in Parliament but also outside Parliament. In the nomination process, for example, if it is required that the President will be nominating a candidate for Parliamentary approval, it will not be a capricious nomination. The reason as to why we need to pass this law is that it will make it mandatory for nominating authorities, such as the President, to give reasons as to why they think that the person should be nominated for a particular appointment. So, a practical situation would be; “I, the President of the Republic of Kenya do hereby nominate XYZ to the post of Attorney-General and the reasons I give for the nomination of this person to this Committee of Parliament are as follows:- We have picked the nominee for the post having regard to his or her abilities, experience and qualities that meet the needs required for that post.” He is required to quote the Constitutional requirement relating to that office in question. In this law, he is also required to give the procedure he or she used to arrive at that nominee. This means that if I was the President recommending a nominee for the post of the Attorney-General, I cannot pick any one. I cannot just say that he qualifies. I also have to attach to the relevant Committee of Parliament the procedure under which I arrived at “X” to be my nominee. It should be something that is predictable and I can explain to that Committee. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I am very happy and recommend this law to Parliament because it will set us free. Even as Mr. Mungatana, God help me, holds the office of the President and I am appointing someone who is from the Coast or better still someone from my village, I will have to give the procedure under which I reached that process and why I eliminated all the others and remained with that person. This country will have confidence in this process because then the public will know that this country has institutionalized everything that needs to be done for the benefit of all of us. I request Parliament to help me pass this law in the Second Reading because it invites public participation. There is a clear procedure and involvement of any person in the country, who would like to give his or her opinion as to the suitability of that candidate. For example, if the President, in 2012, will nominate Public Secretaries to be considered for appointment, any person in this country under this law will be able to come before a Parliamentary Committee and say: “This person has done this and that and therefore, is not suitable”. These things will be in the public domain, every person in the country will be given an opportunity to give his or her opinion. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, it cannot be good for this nation and all of us that the people who are going to be sitting in the Cabinet, Principal Secretaries, Heads of Independent Commissions and all other public posts that require Parliamentary approval- -- As a person from Garsen even if nobody knows me in Kenya, I have a right to go to Parliament and give them information about somebody. We have shifted this country to another level. I am so proud that when we adopt this law, this nation will be different. In Rwanda, for example, His Excellency the President does not wait. At the end of every year, there is a reporting mechanism for Cabinet Secretaries. If there is a whiff of corruption, he does not wait to be told. Once you are mentioned you have to go. By this law, we are saying that at the time of nomination, we shall have people of high integrity. We have also, in this law, protected those people. The candidates are protected because it is not everyone who stands to say, “this man is corrupt or did this and that against me.” You must come and swear under oath so that if you tell lies about a candidate who is being considered for a post, automatically you perjure yourself. If you"
}