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{
    "id": 676586,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/676586/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 52,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Waiganjo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2644,
        "legal_name": "John Muriithi Waiganjo",
        "slug": "john-muriithi-waiganjo"
    },
    "content": "opportunity to know about ongoing appointments within the counties. They need to know that people who are appointed are known to them, qualify and those who meet the legal and the constitutional threshold. After the advertisement, it is required that the committee of a county assembly, pursuant to a notice issued under Sub-section 1, does the appointment within 21 days. This ensures that once the advertisement is made and the notification is done, the public is informed of the person nominated by the nominating authority. This is important because an ordinary Kenyan would know that a proposed nominee is from the county, meets Chapter 6 of the Constitution and meets the academic qualifications. The way counties are appointing is a very sorry state of affairs. They are appointing officers who do not meet the threshold of the qualifications that are required. Counties are making appointments based on the person you know. They appoint people who are illiterate and cannot hold dockets they are appointed to. It is important that this information gets to the public so that they can appear during an approval hearing and indicate whether the person nominated is a graduate. Within a county, the public will know if a person is learned or not. Information about the nominee under Clause 4 of the Bill is done with regard to the issues specified under Clause 7 of the Bill. As I said, those issues include academic qualifications. They are subjected to approval hearings. The Bill states the public place where approval hearings should be heard. The importance of this is that a nominee will appear before the relevant committee of the county assembly. Once an appearance is done, the nominee is vetted. They will appear with their academic qualifications and they will be subjected to a formal interview. This being an open public hearing, nominees can defend their nominations, explain their expertise and relevance to the docket they are nominated to. The public can weigh the kind of nominee who is being brought forward. The public is also given an opportunity to ask questions. Clause 5 of the Bill indicates that these proceedings will be open and transparent. This ensures that if there is any issue that a member of the public would like to pick with a nominee, then it is very open. A member of the public can express if the purported nominee does not qualify. They will look at the procedure for nomination. We have seen a lot of issues happening. For instance, we at times question how certain appointments are made. This will remove any doubts in the minds of the public that any public nominee has met the necessary qualifications. They will look at the procedure. For instance, if it was an application, did you apply, and did you meet the qualification? Approval hearings are the right places to answer those questions. It is also important to note that an approval hearing shall focus on a candidate’s academic credentials, professional training and experience, personal integrity and background. The importance of that clause is to indicate and caution our counties from making appointments based on nepotism and tribalism. In some counties, every officer is from a specific ethnic group and they even use their mother tongue when conversing. In Nyandarua County, which is predominantly Kikuyu, you find that all public appointments are given to that particular ethnic group. This is an important section of this law which will ensure that whenever an appointment is made, it is not based on tribal affiliations or nepotism. Right now, it is very easy for people to be appointed because they are relatives of a governor. For instance, if there is a public appointment and the nominees are brothers, sisters or children of a governor, it is more likely that they will get these jobs. This law will expose what has been going on in our counties. We know for a fact that jobs are dished out through nepotism. You will also realise that some people who get these appointments are not qualified but are The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}