Mutula Kilonzo

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 641 to 650 of 1275.

• 26 Apr 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, to address this weakness, the Bill provides for a competitive, merit-based and transparent appointment procedure of members of the commission. Hon. Members will find that in Clause 5(2) as well as the First Schedule to the Bill. The recent successes of the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) are clear evidence that if Kenya followed this model, then we would succeed. view
• 26 Apr 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, there is another element that was observed by the Kriegler Commission. They noted that the stakeholders were recommending a form of staggered appointments of the commissioners. This would ensure that the tenure of the commissioners do not lapse all at once or during the election year. I do not need to remind this beautiful country that eight Commissioners retired in 2007 during an election year under the former Kivuitu Commission. You will find that under Clauses 7(4) and 7(5). We have recommended to this honourable House and the entire country that we find a formula for staggering ... view
• 26 Apr 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, the other element noted by this Commission and which you will find when you study other electoral management systems in the world, is that the Kriegler Report noted, and I quote:- “Structural weaknesses in the relationship between the Commissioners and the Secretariat in terms of the delineation of roles, bureaucratic procedures and an unwieldy committed structure. This hampered smooth operation for elections and interfered with staff selection, recruitment, training and deployment.” Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Kriegler Commission also found out that while the ECK Secretariat evolved considerably between 1998 and 2007, there were conflict of roles between ... view
• 26 Apr 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, one of the reasons I requested that hon. Members consult a bit more quietly is because this is the thrust of this law. We have done our best as a Ministry; we have consulted widely and are recommending without fear, looking you in the eye and saying that the time to clarify the roles between the Commissioners and the Secretariat is now and not tomorrow. I do hope that the House will study these recommendations knowing that we have no property in the recommendation that we have put forth but never again should we have a Commissioner ... view
• 26 Apr 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, in the word of the Report - “Problems of 2007 General Elections could have been offset by a professional secretariat of election markers with substantially devolved decision-making authority on the management of electoral processes.” At this point, I would like to say that when you read the book that I have quoted, you will be surprised that India with such a huge democracy and such a huge voting population of more than a half a billion has only four commissioners. Therefore, to remedy this situation, the view expressly provides that the chairperson and members of the commission ... view
• 26 Apr 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, when you look at Article 150, it confirms that the CEO will be the secretary. All that we have done is to give this direction so that nobody can confuse the roles. The Bill goes further and makes an express provision in respect of the delimitation of duties between the commissioners as the policy making organ and the secretariat as the policy implementation and administration organ. You will find that in Clause 5(4). This explicit provision captures the spirit of the Kriegler Commission and captures best international practice on elections throughout the world. view
• 26 Apr 2011 in National Assembly: The other one is financial autonomy. The Kriegler Report noted that the ECK had comparable financial arrangements to other independent institutions including the Judiciary and Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC). The report, therefore, says:- “Having considered the practice in other jurisdictions, it was not prepared to recommend a provision amounting to financial carte blanche .” view
• 26 Apr 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, I agree with that and I recommend it to the House. According to the Report, any blanket measure for financial autonomy should be proportionate. “While Parliament had authority to vary the commission’s budget, it had not in fact done so in practice”. The Constitution provides for similar financial provisions in respect to all constitutional commissions and independent offices. Article 249, sub-article 3 provides:- “Parliament shall allocate adequate funds to enable each commission and independent office to perform its functions and the budget of its commission and independent office shall be a separate vote.” view
• 26 Apr 2011 in National Assembly: Therefore, in view of this Constitutional provision with sufficient clarity, part III of the Bill proposes the establishment of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Fund. You will find that in Clause 17 of the Bill. The funds shall include the funds allocated to Parliament, grants, donations and other endowments given to the commission and such funds as may approve in the performance of the commission’s functions. The secretary of the commission shall, with the approval of the commission, cause to be prepared estimates of revenue and expenditure of the commission. view
• 26 Apr 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Bill also provides for sufficient accountability mechanisms including audit of the commission’s book by the Auditor-General and inclusion of its financial statements in the annual report. This is in Clause 22. The commission is also subject to Article 254 of the Constitution which provides for reporting by the commission and independent offices, in case any hon. Member is in doubt that reporting is dual to Parliament as well as His Excellency the President. view