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Do we have any Member from the Departmental Committee on Health? There is indication that hon. (Ms.) R.K. Nyamai, a Member for that Committee may be in a position to lay some reports or they are still sequestered in their villages? Maybe, she may not have heard that the House is sitting this morning. Is there any Member of the Committee? I can see the Vice-Chair of that Committee. You know you must be here by the time the Speaker walks in. Hon. (Dr.) Pukose, I know you are the Vice-Chairman of that Committee. The Leader of the Majority Party, do you want to help him? Help him because he appears to be lost!

Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. I think the Member was got off- guard. He has to get the Papers to lay and give notice of Motion. I think we can do it in the afternoon. He can check with the Chairperson of the Committee and do it in the afternoon. This is because the Member does not have any Paper to lay and give notice of Motion.

We can allow him five minutes and it must be approved. Let him pick and we will allow him to lay it.

There is no problem, hon. Speaker, Sir.

At least, he has shown interest in what he wants to do. Let us move on to the next Order!

Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. I beg to give notice of the following Motion:-

THAT pursuant to Article 155(3)(b) of the Constitution of Kenya and the provision of Standing Order No.45, this House adopts the Report of the Departmental Committee on Finance, Planning and Trade on vetting of the Principal Secretary nominees laid on the Table of the House on

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Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. I beg to give notice of the following Motion:-

THAT pursuant to Article 155(3)(b) of the Constitution of Kenya and the provision of Standing Order No.45, this House adopts the Report of the Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources on vetting of Principal Secretary nominees laid on the Table of this House on Tuesday, 25th June, 2013, and approves the appointment of the following persons as Principal Secretaries:-

1. Mr. James Teko Lopoyetum - Water

2. Mr. Richard Lerisian Lisiyampe - Environment and

Natural Resources

3. Amb. (Dr.) Richard Ekai Titus - Mining

Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. I beg to give notice of the following Motion:-

THAT pursuant to Article 155(3)(b) of the Constitution of Kenya and the provision of Standing Order No.45, this House adopts the Report of the Departmental Committee on Lands on vetting of Principal Secretary nominee laid on the Table of the House today, Tuesday, 25th June, 2013, and approves the appointment of Mariamu El Maawy as Principal Secretary for Land, Housing and Urban Development.

Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. I beg to give notice of the following Motion:-

THAT pursuant to Article 155(3)(b) of the Constitution of Kenya and the provision of Standing Order No.45, this House adopts the Report of the Departmental Committee on Energy, Communication and Information on vetting of Principal Secretary nominees laid on the Table of the House today, Tuesday, 25th June, 2013, and approves the appointment of the following persons as Principal Secretaries:-

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Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. I beg to give notice of the following Motion:-

THAT pursuant to Article 155(3)(b) of the Constitution of Kenya and the provision of Standing Order No.45, this House adopts the Report of the Departmental Committee on Transport, Public Works and Housing on vetting of Principal Secretary nominees laid on the Table of the House today, Tuesday, 25th June, 2013, and approves the appointment of the following persons as Principal Secretaries:-

1. Eng. John Kipng’etich Mosonik - Infrastructure

2. Mr. Nduva Muli

- Transport

Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. I beg to give notice of the following Motion:-

THAT pursuant to Article 155(3)(b) of the Constitution of Kenya and the provisions of Standing Order No.45, this House adopts the Report of the Departmental Committee on Labour and Social Welfare on vetting of Principal Secretaries nominees laid on the Table of the House today, Tuesday, 25th June, 2013, and approves the appointment of the following persons as Principal Secretaries:-

1. Ali Noor Ismail

- Labour, Social Security and

Services

2. Mr. Patrick Omutia - Sports, Culture and Arts

Before we go to the business on the Order Paper, I had given an indication that the Vice-Chair of the Departmental Committee on Health will be given a chance. The Chair has finally walked in. Hon. Chair, you are warned that if you have business, you must be here before the appointed time because this is not the procedure. If you have the Report, you may lay it.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I wish to apologize for walking in late and I hereby beg to give notice of the following Motion:- THAT pursuant to Article 153(3)(b) of the Constitution of Kenya and the provisions of Standing Order No.45, this House adopts the Report of the Departmental Committee on Health on vetting of Principal Secretaries Nominees laid on the Table of the House today, Tuesday, 25th

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Can you correct that, it is Article 155 and not 153 (3).

Thank you, Article 155 (3) I apologize for that.

Very well. Next Order! There is a Member who had expressed anxiety that he had requested for a statement sometime back and he had not received it. You are the Member? That is hon. Saney.

Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. I requested for a statement from the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs nearly a month ago. It is about the constitution of Teachers Service Commission. Given the gravity of the matter, now that a national strike is on today, I am yet to receive a substantive statement. They have been deferring the matter. I believe something is not right and I seek your indulgence; your advice to make sure that, that statement is brought to the Floor today.

In fact, I think you are right, something is not right. Everything is very wrong and the more reason why they should take more time to understand what is actually wrong. It is a matter of common knowledge that teachers are supposed to be on strike. So, even to request that the Committee brings a statement today or tomorrow, we will just be merely scratching the surface. I think there is much more than meets the eye. The Departmental Committee on Education, Research and Technology, I believe, is having meetings with Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), the Ministry concerned as well as the Teachers Service Commission (TSC). But I appreciate that the TSC is in limbo, as you rightly pointed out. We, as a House, have communicated that very fact. Indeed, as you may very well find from the Act under which public appointments are being made, Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Act No. 33 of 2011 requires that if the House rejects a name of a nominee, the nominating authority has to submit fresh names, not going to replace and bring the same rejected names. The House has already expressed itself on those particular nominees, and the House will not allow a situation whereby they have rejected a name or names yet the nominees are brought back. We are not going to operate like those other fellows, I am sure you are aware; those out there in the other level of Government. Here at the National Government level and the National Assembly, we will require the nominating authorities to ensure that if the House rejects a name, that name ceases to appear and must not appear. We have communicated that the Departmental Committee on Education, Research and Technology may actually not even give us any reports. We want the nominating authority to submit fresh names and they will be given to the Committee. Hon. Saney, proceed.

I thank you for your advice. As I speak, the appointing authority has put up an advert on today’s newspapers purporting to advertise for positions illegally, against the Constitution and the TSC Act. That is why I am still following up the matter. I stand guided and I respect your position. Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir.

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Very well, hon. Saney. We will ensure that no illegality will be sanctioned by this House. Thank you also for drawing the attention of the House to that, but we will wait to see what names are going to come. If they come through the process that you have already described as irregular or illegal, obviously, we shall be there. I am sure you will be at the forefront to prosecute the matter of illegality or irregularity. You see hon. Members, I want to advise these ones who have gone out and become rusty a bit, do not come to the Chair and say that you had demanded a statement, just rise in your place and indicate. The hon. Shill, you do not have to come and whisper to the Chair here. You just rise in your place and claim, just like hon. Saney.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I was not demanding--- On 4th of this month, I asked for a statement concerning the gold issue, and you gave a directive of three weeks. Today the three weeks have lapsed. I wanted a way forward because up to now I have not been summoned and nothing has been done about it. Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir.

The information I have, hon. Shill, is that the relevant Government Ministry has submitted their report but the report was again given to the relevant Departmental Committee. I would advise that you appear before that Committee and canvas the matter so that the Committee can do a report to the House. The hon. Clement Muchiri Wambugu.

Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. Sometimes last week, I stood on the Floor of the House demanding a statement from the Leader of Majority Party on the very sad situation of our crew members who are still detained in Lagos, Nigeria. You know this has been a very delicate issue and up to now we have not heard any communication from the Government. We are supposed to get a statement today because I think there is a lot of anxiety in the country. I am still waiting for the statement this morning. Thank you.

Hon Wambugu, you also know that this particular sitting today cannot have been the sitting at which we expect the Leader of Majority Party to give you a response. I am sure you are jumping the gun. This particular sitting is for a specific purpose. So, let us wait at 2.30pm because that is when we are going to sit as we normally sit and then you may require that the Leader of Majority Party says something regarding your request for statements. Although you said that you had demanded, I do not think that you demanded; you merely requested from the Leader of Majority Party. We must, obviously, use language that is appropriate in the House. I am sure you are not making a demand, you are making a request.

Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. About two months ago, I requested a statement from the Committee on Education, Research and Technology. The issue concerned Legal Notice No.534 and Legal Notice No.16. It was about the teachers strike. The Chairperson promised to bring that statement in the House in two weeks’ time yet I have not received the statement. I need your guidance on the same.

When were the two weeks ending?

About one and a half months ago.

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It looks like by the time it comes here, it will be what lawyers describe as functus officio. That it would have been spent because the strike is on. I am sure one of the issues that I have seen the teachers agitating about is specifically the two legal notices that you cited. But I think, perhaps, if we wait for the afternoon sitting which will be a normal sitting, unlike this one then you can get a chance to get the response from the Departmental Committee.

Thank you, hon. Speaker Sir. I would like to bring to the attention of the House and the hon. Speaker that on January 3rd, 2013, the Committee on Delegated Legislation tabled a report about the same. It was adopted by the House, so I think the Committee should - I do not know how - go ahead to quash Legal Notice No.16 of 2003. I seek your guidance, hon. Speaker, Sir.

I suspect that is why I am seeing hon. Abdalla rising in her place. Maybe she was the Chair of that Committee in the last Parliament?

Thank you, hon. Speaker Sir. I was rising on a point of order to give the House information because there is misinformation on the report that was tabled by the Committee that I chaired in the 10th Parliament. The report did propose the annulment of Legal Notice 16 of 1997. But that report was not debated and adopted by the House, so it is not legally binding. So, I would suggest that the hon. Member for Kirinyaga Central forwards his request to the Committee on Delegated Legislation, so that they can re-table that report and have the House adopt the annulment. Thank you, hon. Speaker Sir.

Very well hon. Gitari, I think it is a matter that we can pursue with hon. Cheptumo, the current Chair of the Committee on Delegated Legislation, regarding the position of that particular legal notice. Bearing in mind the events happening in the country relating to the same issues, both the Legal Notice No.534 and that other one No.16 and the current discussions, it may require also the joint sitting of both the Committee on Delegated Legislation as well as Departmental Committee on Education, Research and Technology. It may be important to have the two Committees sit and holistically look at the issues surrounding that legal notice.

Next Order! Hon. Benjamin Kipkurui Langat.

Thank you, hon. Speaker Sir. I wish to move the following Motion:- THAT, pursuant to Article 155(3)(b) of the Constitution of Kenya and the provisions of Standing Order 45, this House adopts the Report of the Departmental Committee on Finance, Planning and Trade on the Vetting of Principal Secretaries Nominees, laid on the Table of the House on Tuesday, 25th June, 2013, and approves the appointment of the following persons as Principal Secretaries:-

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Hon. Speaker, Sir, I rise to second the Motion by hon. Langat in regard to the vetting and appointment of the Principal Secretaries for industrialization and Enterprise Development, Devolution, Planning, National Treasury; and Commerce and Tourism. As has been alluded to by our Chairman, in vetting the nominees, the Committee was very keen to ensure that all the constitutional requirements for the vetting of public servants were adhered to. Other than just looking at their academic qualification, the employment record, their professional affiliation; whether there was any potential conflict of interest, the knowledge of the relevant subject that they have been appointed to and the overall suitability of the nominees and, of course, issues of integrity and other regulatory compliance, we also engaged the nominees in terms of whether they understand the environment in which they will be operating under the current constitutional dispensation.

You realize that the Departmental Committee on Finance, Planning and Trade is probably the only Committee that had five nominees reporting to it for vetting and that probably tells you the enormous task that this Committee has in terms of ensuring that the relevant Ministries or Principal Secretaries who have been appointed deliver on the huge mandate that they have been given. It is important to realize that under the current devolved system of Government, many people are focusing on how they are going to share the national cake. I think what we were looking at is whether the Principal Secretaries nominated understand their roles in terms of baking this cake so that it can be shared at both the national and devolved levels. If you look at the dockets that the nominees have been appointed to; The National Treasury, Planning, Devolution, Industrialization and Enterprise Development, Commerce and Tourism, these are the economic drivers of this economy. These are the economic drivers of this country. We were not just looking at people who were bringing their previous experience. We were also looking at people who were bringing fresh ideas; on how they will come with creative and innovative ways to offer solutions to the challenges which this country is facing right now. We are all aware that almost every section of the country is clamoring for better pay. As we are talking today, we know that our education sector is grinding to a halt because teachers are on strike. The reason being, it is not very many Kenyans who are thinking of how they are going to raise our economy.

When you look at sectors like tourism, industry and commerce, these are the sectors that need to get further investment so that our economy can grow and we can have a bigger cake which we can share. But even more critical is the aspect of devolution. I know that many people were very uncomfortable when the Ministry of Devolution was created and we needed to understand whether the nominee for that position understands what his role is going to be. Whereas among the five nominees he may have been the only person without proper public sector experience, it came out very clearly that he, indeed, understands what the role of that particular department in the Ministry of

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The Leader of Majority Party has something to say.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I think putting the Question is too early because we do not want to be accused of being a rubber stamp of the Committee. I think it is good that hon. Members contribute to this Motion at your direction. Hon. Speaker, Sir, I think Article 155 (3)(b) has set the stage under the new Constitution for Principal Secretaries to be vetted by the National Assembly with the public participation. This is the same way we did with the appointment of Cabinet Secretaries. This is again a new dawn for this country where the public participates and

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Yes, hon. Midiwo.

Hon. Speaker, let me apologise for forgetting my card.

Hon. Midiwo, I am getting very interesting information from Members. Now, I know that the hon. Maina Kamanda is also called William.

Proceed, hon. Midiwo.

Thank you, hon. Speaker. William is a good Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Transport, Public Works and Housing, and I rise to support the list. As you realise, this is a special meeting of the House, and it will be fair that the House realises that we have 26 nominees to deal with. I have looked at most of these reports and, with the exception of one or two nominees, in our contributions I would request you that we do not talk too much, so that we can meet the timelines; two minutes would be in order. If the House agrees we need to go that direction, so that we meet the timelines.

I am giving you directions, Amina. Hon. Speaker, Sir, protect me from hon. Amina. Having said that, I think the Government needs to be fully constituted. We went through elections on 4th March, 2013 and we nearing July; the country is losing so much time, basically doing nothing, or politicking while we are not delivering services to Kenyans. So, I think it is the responsibility of this House that where there is no adverse information we need to move with speed to help this Government become fully formed. Those of us in the Opposition also need to watch them fail, so that we have something to do.

This is because it seems the Government is a bit too big for the young men. So, we will be watching them fail but we will help them form the Government. I support.

Very well spoken. If we can also adopt the tone of the hon. Washington Jakoyo Midiwo, I think we will do ourselves great service. As you know, the National Assembly is not looking for space. It already has space. So, we are doing work. Yes, hon. ole Metito Judah.

Judas.

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Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. First, I want to really tell my good friend, hon. Washington Jakoyo Midiwo, that failure is not an option in the Jubilee Government. Having said that, I just want to quickly say that the five nominees for Industrialisation, Planning, Devolution, National Treasury, Commerce and Tourism fit the bill. Hon. Speaker, Sir, there should be a correction of the Motion. Number 4 is written “Dr. Ibrahim M. Mohamed, Commerce and Industry: It should be “Commerce and Tourism”.

It was corrected.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, what I wanted to say is that these five departments, to me, are the main pillars for realising Vision 2030. If these five nominees are going to show commitment, dedication and selfless service, they will take this country to the greater heights we have been yearning for. These are the departments that can take Kenya to where the Asian Tigers are. I am happy that in the report some of these nominees pointed out that if we can really have investment of 30 per cent of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) instead of the current 21 per cent, then we can match China’s GDP investment of 41 per cent. That takes us to the reasoning that if these five departments are well managed, and I have no doubts whatsoever in my mind about this, they will contribute to not less than two-thirds to our economic pillar of Vision 2030. Hon. Speaker, Sir, therefore, without taking much time, I support and I wish them well; I request this House to give them the support that they require so that they will not fail, as hon. Midiwo has said, but will perform.

Hon. Rose Ogendo Nyamunga.

Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. I also rise to support the appointment of the five nominees; I am one of the Committee members who were doing the vetting; I know the level of trust that the House has put in every Committee. I believe that once the House nominates hon. Members to sit in a committee, it must have some trust. So, I want to assure all the hon. Members of the House that the Committee did a very good job. We vetted all aspects of the candidates. We were very convinced. They convinced us. Even the ones who were put in different areas from the ones that they have been working in for many years, convinced us that they can switch over. As it has already been stated, they had the passion to do the work. So, instead of going round and round, I would like to urge this House that we support the five nominees for their appointment and we move on. Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir.

Yes, hon. Jimmy Nuru Ondieki Angwenyi.

Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. I rise to support the appointment of these five great Kenyans. I had a chance to interrogate them. I have been bragging around this Parliament that I am the best expert in public finance, followed by hon. Ng’ongo, but I discovered during the interviews that there are people who know much more than I do; one of them is Dr. Kamau Thugge. Maybe in future, I will ask that

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Hon. Kabando wa Kabando.

Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. I rise to support the report by the Committee on four points. Number one, clearly the report shows that the individuals presented are career professionals in their respective areas; the fact that there is no report that has come to question what they have done over the years is an indication that they have integrity in their work. Secondly, they have the initiative. The report shows that they have engaged in programmes, research and other initiatives that require one to be responsible. They have personal responsibility and pursue things to conclusion. Thirdly, is appreciation of education. This report shows that these are Kenyans who have taken time even as they were working to go back to college and pursue education in order to attain qualifications that will enable them to do their work in a more empowered manner. Therefore, this investment is exactly what is required for this nation and as a House we are here to appreciate those who invest in skills to be used in the country. Hon. Speaker, Sir, finally they have the courage to plunge into work. I have worked with one of the nominees here, namely Mr. Konchella. I was with one of the nominees when we were launching the Masai Mara Marathon, as he was working in the banking sector. He left that very prestigious job to plunge into electoral politics. The fact that he did not make it should not be a reason for condemnation. This country needs to understand that people who go into politics are qualified, and have the requisite skills to perform. People are being dismissed because they want to come to Parliament. This condemnation is very unfair. I wish Kenyans knew the collective achievements of this House and the curriculum vitae of each Member who has left other disciplines to engage in legislative work and help this country. Finally, the reports of the committees we are discussing, in particular the one we are discussing on Finance, Planning and Trade, show our unity as a House, the unity of purpose as the Kenya National Assembly. In many cases, we are told we are united on

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Hon. George Peter Opondo Kaluma!

Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir for the detailed recognition. That is the way we do it in our culture. I stand to support this Motion. When the Cabinet Secretaries were nominated by His Excellency the President, I had a lot of difficulties giving my hand of support, although I did it in the long-run. In the history of this country, nobody from Homa Bay County, a county of eight constituencies has been appointed at this level of Government. For once, we have Eng. Peter Oganga Mangiti, who is not only from Homa Bay County, but from Homa Bay Town Constituency, which I represent. I want to thank the Government more sincerely for honouring this great Kenyan with the appointment. It is not just because he comes from that constituency which has been marginalized in terms of top level appointments since Independence, but also because he is a Kenyan of great distinction, high academic qualifications and a huge heart in public service. He is one Kenyan who has left a mark at every department, or level of Government he has had occasion to serve. Knowing that his name was given approval by the Committee, I can just gauge well that using the benchmarks around this gentlemen, the other individuals, also approved by the Committee on Appointments, are also people of distinction. I do not believe he could be an exception. I, therefore, support the approval of all these Kenyans. I urge all of them, particularly my own brother, Eng. Peter Oganga Mangiti, to continue to serve the Government well. I am personally not looking at failure, particularly of this gentleman. I pray that the Government considers more appointments from Homa Bay Town Constituency and Homa Bay County in particular. With those many remarks, I beg to support.

Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. I stand under Standing Order No.95. The Committee has spoken and it is an organ of this House. They have told us what they agreed at the Committee level. Would I be in order to request you to call upon the Mover to reply, so that we can move on to the rest of the nominees?

Do I take that as the mood in the House?

Yes.

Mover called upon to reply. We do not have to put any question.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, I want to thank the Members for their comments. With regard to hon. Kaluma’s comments, we will take them to the Government. I beg to reply.

We are living in different times, hon. Angwenyi. Article 121 of our own Constitution raises the quorum of the House. It is important to appreciate that

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Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. I beg to move the following Motion:-

THAT, Pursuant to Article 155(3)(b) of the Constitution of Kenya and the provisions of the Standing Order No.45, this House adopts the Report of the Departmental Committee on Transport, Public Works and Housing on the vetting of Principal Secretaries nominees laid on the Table of the House on Tuesday, 25th June, 2013, and approves the appointment of the following persons as Principal Secretaries:- (i) Eng. John Kipngetich Mosonik - Infrastructure; (ii) Mr. Nduva Muli

- Transport. On behalf of the Committee on Transport, Public Works and Housing and pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order No.199, it is my pleasure and duty to present to the House the Committee’s Report on the vetting of the Principal Secretaries nominees for the State departments of Transport and Infrastructure, Mr. Nduva Muli and Eng. John Kipngetich respectively. I do not want to dwell on the preamble, but I want to state the following facts. The Committee examined the following subjects, namely transport, roads, public works, construction and maintenance of roads, rails and buildings, air, seaports and housing. The Committee oversees the following Ministries and departments:- the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, State Department for Transport, the State Department for Infrastructure and the State Department for Housing. The membership of the Committee is attached herein and I will not read all the names. My Committee followed all the procedures in the Standing Orders of this House when vetting these nominees. We also received memoranda from members of the public. We received two memoranda raising objection against one nominee’s, Mr. Nduva Muli, appointment as the Principal Secretary for Transport. One of the memoranda was from the Kenya Railways employees and the other one was from Mr. Charles Taabu Okumu. None was received in respect of Mr. John Kipngetich Mosonik.

Hon. Speaker, Sir, the Committee also received two responses to the said affidavits from Mr. Nduva Muli. All the affidavits are attached to the minutes. On the memorandum from the Kenya Railways employees, Mr. Muli stated that the matters contained in the memorandum arise from frustrations on the part of the former employees for their failure to realize their full retirement package benefits.

The nominee also acknowledged and sympathized with the former employees of the corporation, but reiterated that the same was beyond his mandate as the Managing Director of Kenya Railways. He stated that these matters fall under the mandate of the Kenya Railways Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme.

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Thank you, hon. Speaker, Sir. I would like to urge my colleagues, Members of this hon. House, to adopt the Committee’s Report. However, I wish to give a few highlights on these two noble gentlemen of this country. The Chairman of the Committee has aptly stated that we were all unanimous in our support for these two gentlemen: Mr. Joseph William Nduva Muli for the position of Principal Secretary for Transport, and Eng. Joseph Kipng’etich Mosonik for the position of Principal Secretary for Infrastructure. We have the details of these two gentlemen. I would like to commend those who have been involved before us, including the President for undertaking wonderful shopping. I do not think those who were involved would have done better. We have recommended them to be appointed in the respective areas. About Mr. Muli Nduva, he has satisfactory and relevant academic qualifications. His work experience is immense. He has worked with the Kenya Railways, which falls under the Ministry he has been nominated to serve. He has worked in the private sector basically in clearing and forwarding subsector. He has also worked with AMREF and Kenya Airways. He knows a lot of technology because he has been accredited to developing e-business and strategies for the KQ and AMREF. He has not exactly turned around Kenya Railways, but we know that it was headed towards the general ward. Now that he is set to get a higher rank as Principal Secretary in the Ministry, we believe he will have better medicine for Kenya Railways. We received two memoranda. Normally you would expect memoranda to be malicious and full of attacks against a nominee. We received a memorandum from former Kenya Railways employees. We were surprised that instead of Mr. Muli getting annoyed with these allegations he actually was sympathetic to the people who swore the affidavit. He stated categorically that, that was one of the reasons he applied for this job. The memorandum was from former employees of Kenya Railways, and it was to do with their retirement benefits. He stated that this was a different scheme from what he has been administering and he had no mandate, as the MD of Kenya Railways to address their grievances. However, as a Principal Secretary this matter will fall under him. He sympathizes with these people and he believes that once he becomes Principal Secretary, he will work on the matter. The other memorandum was from a Mr. Charles Okumu. He raised land issues in Land Mawe. However, Mr. Muli was not directly involved because this issue fell under the early retirement benefits scheme management. These allegations, at best, are frivolous and obviously in bad faith, if not personalized against Mr. Muli, who is innocent and had nothing to do with that scheme. Hon. Speaker, Sir, in the Tenth Parliament I had an opportunity to serve as a junior Minister in the Ministry of Transport. Personally, I am very aware of what ails that Ministry. We are happy as a Committee that even before he came before us he had asked to be given a chance to address the major issues ailing the Ministry. We are aware that problems in transport, particularly as part of infrastructure, are a major issue that we have to address.

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Hon. Speaker, Sir, I stand here to support the nominations of Eng. Mosonik and Mr. Nduva Muli. I support these nominees because I have personal knowledge of them and their work. As has been said about their qualifications, we know now that Eng. Mosonik is an electrical engineer. I knew him since he was an engineer in Telkom Kenya Limited; he is somebody who is keen about his work and quite well organized in whatever he has to do. I knew him when he was the secretary for industrialization as somebody who performed his duties very well. I am sure that with his basic training as an engineer, it will make it easy for him to cope with the docket that he is being given; infrastructure.

I have known Mr. Muli for sometime; I interacted with him when he was the Managing Director of the Kenya Railways. I found him different, compared to the earlier people at the KR. He is very polished and articulate. He was able to explain a lot of issues about the railways. Just as has been said by the Chairman and the hon. Member who spoke, the KR was a very big institution, but it was vandalized in many ways. For somebody like Mr. Muli, to, first of all, have accepted to go and work there, it was a

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Hon. Deputy Speaker, I also stand to support the appointment of these two eminent Kenyans. Given their CVs that I have gone through, these are Kenyans who, given an opportunity, could work towards transforming this sector. This is one sector that has great potential in terms of improving infrastructure development and transport. If these sectors are streamlined, and the nominees are given opportunity, I believe they will make a difference, especially in the area of the railways. If the transport sector in Nairobi is improved, we will have a railway system within the CDB; we can save a lot of time and money in terms of saving man hours, fuel and the time we spend in traffic jams here in town. So, if these people are given this opportunity, jams is one of the things they should consider.

There is a problem in Kenya today; as we know, teachers are on the streets. We are spending a lot of money. Everybody is asking for money, and so we need to engage in some of these sectors; these people should be given this responsibility, so that they can improve the sector. This will help us create wealth and move this country forward. Improvement of the sector would directly contribute to income and growth of the country. It will also facilitate movement towards Vision 2030.

On the issue of the railway line, we know there is the threat to the Mombasa Port, because there is a lot of competition from our neighbours. If we consider some of these important sectors--- I hope that if people are given responsibilities, they will be able to swim against the current of the people who at times, instead of looking at the big picture, look at personal interest. They should look at the interests of the country and the fast movement of goods from the Port of Mombasa, given that this port is likely to serve east and central Africa.

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Hon

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Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. I rise to support the approval of these two nominees. I am a Member of the Committee that has forwarded the names of these two nominees to this House and I had the opportunity to meet them. Hon. Deputy Speaker, transport is a sector in this country which has three sections, air, sea and land. Mr. Muli is one man who identified himself with both air and land transport. He is currently with Kenya Railways, which is handling transport on land. He has dealt with Kenya Airways, especially through the programme of e-business, in which he came out as a victor. When he tried to explain exactly how he did it, and how he came up with e-ticketing, it was quite marvelous. When it came to railways, as the Managing Director, he told us that he had some limitations. As Principal Secretary, definitely he will have an opportunity to meet the challenges that he is experiencing at the moment, as the KR Managing Director; he will know how to make it better, instead of leaving it as it is. Hon. Deputy Speaker, what impresses me about Mr. Muli, the nominee for transport, is his academic performance. He has a Masters in Business Administration (MBA), which is not a mean achievement. He is also an economist. Looking at what he explained to us in terms of what he feels the transport sector is supposed to achieve, it was very encouraging. So, I feel he is the best person for the job ahead of him. With regard to his vision for the transport sector---

Hon. Members, I think we had a gentleman’s agreement of two minutes for each contributor. I think that stands. So, can we respect what we have agreed on?

Thank you. I will move very fast, so that I just take two minutes. I also support the nominee, Eng. Mosonik, whose CV is very much elaborate and well explained. He is a man who was able to explain himself and has a good vision for this country. I, therefore, beg to support his nomination. Thank you.

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me an opportunity to contribute to this Motion. I stand to support the appointment of these two nominees to the positions they have been nominated. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I saw passion in the presentations that these two gentlemen gave to the Committee. I was quite hard on them because we all know that the KR has issues. We had the issue of the concession between the KR the RVR. We all know that the KR has faced a situation where we are seeing a deterioration of the infrastructure. But Mr. Nduva Muli was able to explain that the concession actually ties the hand of the KR from dealing with the stocks of the railways; the Kenya railways stock is maintained by RVR. He was quite clear that given an opportunity to rise up to the position of the Principal Secretary, he will move with speed and energy to ensure that he brings this sad state of affairs to a quick stop. I was impressed by that.

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Thank you, hon. Members. It is now time for hon. Stephen Mutinda Mule; you have two minutes to contribute. It seems hon. Mule is not in the House. Let us have Eng. John Kiragu Chege. You have two minutes.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I rise to support this Motion, and it was a very important thing for me to understand how Mr. Nduva Muli will handle the matter of retired Kenya Railways staff. I am one of those retired members of staff of Kenya Railways, who go without a salary. I found the Kenya Railways Managing Director (MD) in a very awkward position; he was manning a concession that was put in place before he was given the job. This was a concession that was not fair to Kenyans. This was a concession that handed over the assets of this country to a foreign cowboy. It is very sad.

Even as I stand here we know that we have another problem with Telkom Kenya. We have to look at the way we deal with our national assets. For me, I am convinced, as a former Kenya Railways employee that once Mr. Nduva Muli is appointed as a Principal Secretary, together with Mr. Mosonik, who also exhibits experience in infrastructure and Eng. Kamau, who is now a Cabinet Secretary, they will handle matters of transport and infrastructure in this country.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, we have issues of traffic jams at our weighbridges and also across our transport corridors; I am convinced that these two gentlemen can sort out this matter. I also believe that we can bring down the cost of transport in this country, so that we can continue being competitive in our manufacturing sector. I believe that they have the capacity to do so.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, as I finish, I think it is important for us to know the speed at which the current Rift Valley Railways (RVR) is running our railway wagons. They are running at 10 kilometres per hour. When they took over the KR, the wagons used to run at an average of 80 kilometres per hour. The KR used to transport 1.5 million tonnes of goods. Today, it transports less than a million tonnes of goods. This is not acceptable to us, if we are to attain Vision 2030. So, I believe we need new blood in the leadership, so that we can take this country to another level.

I support this nomination.

Hon. Jakoyo Midiwo, you have two minutes.

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. I rise to support. The infrastructure sector is one that we need to move fast and set up. I know the issue which was addressed by the engineer who has just spoken about the retirees of Kenya Railways; it must be addressed. Most hon. Members who have been here for a long time know that

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Hon. (Dr.) Robert Pukose. You have the Floor.

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. I stand to support the Motion but with reservations, in that in these appointments so far my county of Trans Nzoia has not benefitted from the Jubilee Government appointments, despite the fact that they voted for Jubilee and have a Member of Parliament even in the House.

I want to say that we do not just have to look at the qualifications but these individuals need to think outside the box. This is because for the two Ministries to which they were nominated, when you look at the infrastructure in this country, it is not evenly distributed. You look at our road network in some of the areas; we only think of the road linking Kenya to Uganda through Malaba, but the road can also link Kenya to South Sudan through Trans Nzoia and Suam; this is also an area that we need to open up.

The other issue that we need to look at is the railway network in this country, which has not been functional. The railway network in this country can take a lot of cargo off our roads; whenever you are travelling every day in this country to western Kenya there are so many lorries on the road with cargo. If the railway network was functional these loads of cargo would be taken off our roads and the roads would be safer to drive on.

So, with those few remarks, I support. Thank you.

Hon. Lentoimaga, I see you have an intervention.

On a point of order, hon. Deputy Speaker. Going by the mood of the House and in view of Standing Order No.95, I request that you put the Question that the Mover be now called upon to reply.

You want the Mover to respond?

Yes, hon. Deputy Speaker.

Do not instruct me to put the Question. Hon. Members, is that the agreement because there is a lot---

Yes.

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You still have to contribute on the other nominees. So, please, could the Chairman of the Committee respond?

Hon. Deputy Speaker, first, I want to thank all the hon. Members who have contributed to this Motion. Secondly, I want to thank the Leader of the Majority Party and the Deputy Leader of the Majority Party of this House for giving my Committee very good people, although I must say that I hear there are some changes being made. I would like to inform the two sides of the House that in my Committee there is no seniority. Our Committee works as a team. I work very well with my members and I want to retain them.

On the issue raised by the hon. Members about RVR, it is true that Mr. Muli had written several letters to the Minister saying that he was not satisfied and that he wanted this concession terminated; but, as you know, he was not the Minister.

On the hon. Member who has raised a problem in his area, I want to say that we are going to support him. Hon Speaker, let him see me after this and we will be able to assist him.

With those few remarks, I beg to move.

I do not know why the hon. Chairman is not noticing that it is not hon. Speaker on the Chair.

I am sorry, hon. Deputy Speaker.

Hon. Members, I will, therefore, put the Question.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I beg to move the following Motion:- THAT, pursuant to Article 155(3) (b) of the Constitution of Kenya and the provisions of Standing Order 45, this House adopts the Report of the Departmental Committee on Labour and Social Welfare on the Vetting of Principal Secretaries Nominees, laid on the Table of the House on Tuesday, 25th June, 2013; and approves the appointment of the following persons as Principal Secretaries:-

1. Mr. Ali Noor Ismail – Labour, Social Security and Services

2. Mr. Patrick Omutia - Sports, Culture and Arts

The Departmental Committee on Labour and Social Welfare was constituted on Thursday, 16th May, 2013 and draws its membership from the following--- I have a long list and so, I will not read it. I will just skip it because it is in the Report. The functions of the Committee are as set out in Standing Order No.216(5). Due to the interest of time, I will also skip that and ask hon. Members to read the functions of the Committee. According to Second Schedule of the Standing Orders, the Committee examines the following subjects:-

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Hon. Deputy Speaker, I rise effortlessly to second the Motion as tabled with regard to the appointments of Mr. Ali Noor Ismail and Mr. Patrick Omutia to the position of principal secretary in the Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Services and Ministry of Sports, Culture and Arts, respectively. In particular, I would like to note that those two distinguished Kenyans come from areas and communities that are classified as marginalized under the Constitution. Secondly, I would like to note that during the appearance of Mr. Noor Ismail before the Committee, he had suffered a big setback in terms of his son having been involved in a road accident and as such, his frame of mind at the time he appeared before the Committee was not as it ought to have been. Given the manner in which he addressed himself to the questions that were put before him, I wonder how good he could have been had he been in his normal state of mind. It is sad that immediately after appearing before the Committee and at the time we were considering the Report, his son passed on. On Mr. Patrick Omutia, I do not need to stress the issue further than the Chairperson has done. This is a person with whom I had the opportunity to work with as a board Member of the National Industrial Training Authority. He is the first Director- General of that Authority, which was established last year. He excelled in an interview that had attracted seven candidates. He was thoroughly interrogated, particularly, with respect to his integrity. Everything was done to ensure that the Authority gets the right candidate to that position.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I am encouraged to note that he is rightly qualified, as required to become the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Arts. I have no doubt in my mind that the Ministry is getting a person who will discharge his duties in a manner that will benefit this country and catapult it to the next level in terms of international recognition given the fact that Kenya has excelled in the field of sports.

Currently, the country is experiencing industrial unrest. One of the reasons for that is lack of a Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Services. Parliament will be placing in that office a person who has not only the capacity, but also the ability to steer industrial relations practices in this country to a level where industrial action will be a thing of the past. In this context, and bearing in mind that I am fully aware of the issues underlying the strike called by Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), I urge the leadership of this union to give Mr. Ali Noor Ismail an opportunity to settle in his office. They can only do that by calling off the strike and having an interactive discussion with the new Principal Secretary. I am sure that a lasting solution will be found under the stewardship of Mr. Noor Ismail. That way, teachers not having to go on strike will be the most welcome gesture.

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Thank you very much, hon. Deputy Speaker. I rise to support this Motion. I am a member of the Departmental Committee on Labour and Social Welfare that vetted the two individuals. I want to tell this House that it was a very harrowing experience for me, more so, when we were vetting the Principal Secretary nominee for Labour because he is a man we worked with at the defunct Kenya Posts and Telecommunication Corporation (KPTC) when we were still very young men.

Mr. Ali Noor Ismail and I were colleagues of the dreaded Sarah Serem. The Sarah Serem I knew then is different from the Sarah Serem that people called “Siang”. She was very humble like Ali Noor Ismail, humane and quite an understanding person. I believe and I have always urged Members of Parliament that we should go slow on that lady because the Americans have a saying that goes: “If you know the owner of the dog, deal with the owner. Do not deal with the dog.”

I believe that Sarah Serem may be standing in for some people who are fighting with Parliament. That is because the Sarah Serem I knew was as humble as Ismail.

Hon. Oyoo, you have now forgotten the nominees that we are vetting this morning!

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I am saying that because when I look at Ali Ismail whom we vetted, I think about Sarah Serem. Both were very humble, very composed, highly educated and understanding individuals.

Mr. Ismail comes to a docket which is his domain. He is well versed in labour relations. He is an articulate young man although he is now in his early 50s. His academic credentials speak for themselves. That is a man who will add value to the docket that we are giving him.

Mr. Patrick Omutia also appeared before us. While I have not had a personal experience with him like Mr. Noor Ismail, Patrick Omutia gave us the impression of a person who has grasped the docket that he is going into. He knows what it pertains to. I have no option but to recommend his appointment. I believe that the two will add value to this country. I urge this House to adopt this Report which we should have adopted

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Thank you hon. Deputy Speaker. I appreciate, with all humility the work of this Committee. We appreciate them for taking time to go through the names of the nominees. I support this Motion. I have looked at the qualifications of Mr. Ali Noor Ismael. I find him to be a man who understands what he is supposed to do. He was involved in the revival of the National Bank of Kenya (NBK). We all know where NBK was during the time of the late Marambii – May God rest his soul in eternal peace. He brought the bank to where it is now. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I found out that Mr. Noor will be involved with issues to do with social security. In the current Constitution, it is important that the nominee understands issues of labor and social security. That is because in this dispensation, the elderly persons must be taken care of by the Government. It is a constitutional obligation that the Government provides social security to people who deserve it. Those are some of the facts that, that nominee appreciated when he was being interviewed. I believe that he meets the terms of reference that this job demands. The second nominee, Mr. Patrick Omutiah is a colleague. He is a lawyer. He has other qualifications over and above that. The Ministry of Sports is key in the Jubilee Manifesto. We have to deliver that which we promised. Mr. Omutia appreciates the talent of the youth and he is seeking to promote it. He is also a believer of promotion of our culture, which we believe is our heritage. I support the Motion.

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. I rise to support this Motion. I support the approval of Mr. Ali Noor Ismael and Mr. Patrick Omutia to the respective positions they were vetted for. Let me take this opportunity to thank the President of this country for having chosen people of the right character and caliber. We have so far seen that the Committees have been endorsing the President’s choice. The public was invited to participate and there have been minimum adverse comments against those characters. I also would like to thank the Committee which was given this job. I believe it was up to the task to conduct the vetting. I feel that the recommendations are genuine and

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Hon. Deputy Speaker I rise to support the approval of the nominees. I sit in the Departmental Committee on Labour and Social Welfare. I, therefore, had an opportunity to interact with those two nominees. I am sorry to hear about the loss of Mr. Ali Noor’s son. The way he conducted himself in the interview did not give away that he actually had such a serious issue in the offing. Mr. Noor does fit well in the job. He is actually one of the few Principal Secretaries who have actually been put in areas where they are qualified. He is a long serving HR practitioner who worked with the National Bank of Kenya. One of the questions we asked Mr. Noor and Mr. Omutia is: What are the radical approaches that you are going to use to turn around your Ministry? Hon. Deputy Speaker, Mr. Noor gave us his experience at the National Bank of Kenya and the fact that he was involved in the turn-around of the same bank. That showed us that he is in a position to bring about the necessary changes. On the key issues of social security, we know that many elderly people in this country are still waiting to receive their cash. Everywhere we go, we are asked when the money will reach the elders. This is an issue that we confronted Mr. Noor with. He assured us that one of the things he will prioritize is ensuring that all elders within the defined category receive the money. He promised to move that project from the pilot status that it is now to cover the whole country. We confronted him with the question of alleged corruption at NSSF. He assured us that he was going to confront issues at NSSF and that we need to watch out for the changes that will occur. I support the nomination of Mr. Omutia. He comes from a minority community; that is, Teso. I feel that is one way that the Government has shown inclusion of minority communities. It is important to have him in. Despite the fact that he has not been in the sports and culture fields, he has a good grasp of issues. He is aware that the issue of the national dress is waiting for him. We have been waiting for this for a long time. There is also the issue of identity as a country. Another issue is the National Archives which is currently having a lot of wrangling. We also confronted him on the issue of our national football team, Harambee Stars and its dismal performance. Those are issues that are full in his in-tray and we hope that he will address them conclusively.

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. I am very excited to talk about those two gentlemen whom I have had an opportunity to work with. I want to speak

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Hon. Deputy Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity to support this Motion. I am very happy with the appointees. They are excellent executives whom we know will perform. But in two minutes, I want to make one statement. There are a number of square pegs in round holes in the whole set of 26 proposals. The President has given us excellent proposals but then he has picked some people from their waters and taken them over, assuming that they will be equally effective. That means that he is treating those other areas as training grounds, maybe, for six months or one year, when the term is only four years to the end. Somebody like Dr. Songa, a very competent officer who breaths agriculture, is sent to the industrialization docket! He has to go through a learning process. Somebody like Eng. Magiti, engineering and water, is taken to planning. Those are difficult professional areas. I wonder why that was done to some of those officers. Dr. Mohamed has been sent to tourism, when that is an officer we have known has a passion for the health sector. He came up with some ideas on how to approach reforms in that particular sector. You throw him out to tourism, commerce and other things. It appears to me to be a waste. When you place somebody like Kamau Thugge in the Treasury, we know we have somebody who will hit the ground running and the reform measures that are required in that docket will continue uninterrupted. He does not have to wait to attend conferences to grasp what is going on internationally in that particular area. So, other than about 30 per cent of square pegs in round holes, I support most of these appointments.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I take this opportunity to thank the President for having considered the minority communities in the country in the appointment of Messrs. Ismail and Omutia. Of course, Mr. Ismail, as it has been said, has a lot to do in terms of labour and the industrial unrest that we are seeing in the country. So, his tray is full. I want to agree with hon. Anyango that there are square pegs in round holes and it takes time for people to understand issues. But we hope Mr. Ismail will be up and running in a short while.

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On a point of order, hon. Deputy Speaker. I rise under Standing Order No.95. I think the mood in the House is very clear. Messrs. Ismail and Omutia are very well qualified, upright, honest and educated Kenyans who are qualified for those jobs. I beg the Mover to respond.

I think that seems to be the feeling of hon. Members. Please finish your last sentence, hon. Gikaria and then we will call upon the Mover to respond.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, what I wanted to say is that Mr. Omutia has a job to do. I am saying that because the Sports Act that was enacted last year needs to be implemented immediately, so that we can help the horrible status of retired sportsmen and women. It is pathetic. You find people who did us proud are, up to now, still suffering. One of the issues that I want Mr. Omutia to look into is that, of late, we have had so many other institutions which want to promote sports in one way or the other and the latest is EABL. When they sponsored the pool tournament, one very young person called Martin Mwangi Wangui won the tournament and was supposed to have represented this country in England. But he was denied that opportunity just because he comes from a very poor background and so, never had an opportunity to process his passport in time. I think those are the issues facing those young people with talents and capabilities. They should be given an opportunity to represent this country elsewhere. Otherwise, as regards sports, that is where my passion is. I think Mr. Omutia needs to do quite a lot so that the dismal performance of our national team, Harambee Stars, is reversed. With those few remarks, I beg to support.

May I now call upon the Mover to respond.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, let me take this opportunity to thank all hon. Members for supporting this Motion, especially the very committed Committee Members like hon. (Ms.) Wanga, hon. Muchai and the rest who are here to give us support. I would also like to thank all the other hon. Members who have taken their time to support the Motion. It is important to note that the House has confidence in the two nominees. They have shown that they are committed Kenyans who are willing to perform their jobs without any problems. Thank you. I beg to move.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I beg to move the following Motion:- THAT, pursuant to Article 155(3)(b) of the Constitution of Kenya and the provisions of Standing Order 45, this House adopts the Report of the Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources on the vetting of Principal Secretaries Nominees, laid on the Table of the

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Your microphone is not working! Something is wrong.

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Go ahead, hon. Wandayi.

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. I wish to second this Motion. I also want to echo what my able Chair has just said that really if we can continue with this spirit of bipartisanism this House can go to great heights in terms of achieving its objectives. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I say that because many a time people see us as basically Members who are hell bent on opposing for the sake of opposing. We do not do so. We oppose where it is necessary to do so and when there is a reason to support, we support. Therefore, for this reason I will support this Motion and I am sure later in the afternoon you will see us opposing others very very rigorously.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, there is no doubt whatsoever that these three Kenyans are eminently qualified for the positions to which they have been nominated. Mr.

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Hon. Member, I will then propose the Question.

We have less than ten minutes. So, can we respect the two minutes agreement? Hon. Patrick Wangamati.

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity so that I may be able to contribute to this Motion. First, I rise to support the Motion as it is recommended by the Committee. After reading their report about their vetting, I think they had gone a little bit more in details. They gave us a self explanatory report. Hon. Deputy Speaker, this country needs people who have confidence in their own country. These are people who can be trusted. We need such people to hold these positions. While I appreciate the nominations of these people by the President, we also want as this House to appeal to them that they should be committed because we are starting a new chapter in this country where we want to reduce corruption. We want our officers to look after our resources so that this country can move forward.

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Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. I am a Member of this Committee and I wish to support this Motion. I wish to thank His Excellency the President and the Deputy President for considering the marginalized areas. When you look at the list, Lesiyampe comes from Samburu; Teko comes from Pokot and Dr. Ekai from Turkana. These are highly qualified people. Lesiyampe said that we need to reduce exposure of employees to money in order to reduce corruption. That is how he has managed the Kenyatta National Hospital very well. He knows how to manage finances. So, this person is highly qualified and I support his appointment to the Ministry of Environment, Water and Mineral Resources. He is a performer. He has performed at the Kenya Wildlife Service and also at the KNH. We know him as a performer. He knows how to deal with issues of employees. That is why the KNH is not exposed to strikes. How I wish this person had been appointed to the Labour docket so that he can deal with labour related issues now that we are being threatened with the teachers’ strike. We need to have people who understand labour issues. I hope we will get a chance also to discuss the ongoing teachers’ strike and how to end it.

We are now controlling time. Hon. Abdul Dawood.

Thank you, hon. Speaker. I wish to support the Motion regarding these appointments. I thank the President for nominating people from all the communities in Kenya to Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries positions. We are on the right path.

We are looking forward to these people being in office so that we can work with them. I also thank all the Departmental Committees for doing a very good job. It is just a formality and we should approve all the nominees together at once.

Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. I rise to support the Motion. I am a Member of that Committee and I am glad to say that the nominees met all the constitutional requirements. We looked at their CVs and they have solid and impeccable academic qualifications. They have rich and vast experience. They are focused and strategic. They have a clean personal record.

As my colleagues have earlier said, the three come from pastoralist background. For those who do not know, pastoralists are endowed with great and surpassing intelligence. They are talented, brilliant scholars and professionals. For a long time, this country has done itself a disservice by not engaging these brains. I want to thank His Excellency the President for the appointments that demonstrate inclusiveness and regional balance. He has truly discovered these inherent skills and competencies. These appointments do not only offer Kenya qualified bureaucrats, but they have also stirred excitement and a sense of belonging and patriotism among the pastoralists.

Finally, the Ministry of Mining is one of the most, if not the most, underfunded. We want to appreciate the immense work that this Ministry is awaiting and one of which is undertaking an airborne geo-physical survey of the minerals. Therefore, there is need for adequate resources for this Ministry.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, first of all, I want to thank the Committee that vetted these people. They produced one of the best reports and I think better than my own

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Hon. Deputy Speaker, I do not want to cut short my good friend, the Member for Samburu, hon. Lelelit, but looking at the time and under Standing Order No.95, I urge you to consider and call upon the Mover to reply, so that we can dispose of this agenda and go to the next one. This is under Standing Order No.95.

Hon. A.B. Duale, I am inclined to agree with you. The Chair of this Committee, I would like to call upon you to respond. Allow hon. Lati to complete his remarks.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, apart from their accomplished resumes, these gentlemen have done very good jobs in their previous positions. Mr. Teko is an accomplished Economist who understands the problems of water because he comes from a place where there is no water. Mr. Lesiyampe has done an impressive job in the KNH and Ekai has done a very good job in Bangkok.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, in responding, I would like to thank all the Members who have given supporting statements for the work of the Committee and on the candidates that we have vetted. In the past, we used to think that persons from the pastoralist areas would only get positions as an affirmative action. It is very clear that these persons have impeccable CVs and it is their CVs that spoke and not affirmative action.

This clearly shows that if we use the human resource that we have, we are definitely going far. I would like to thank the President and the Deputy President for making the work of the Committee easier by nominating individuals with good CVs, experience and no integrity issues.

Hon. Members, the remaining nominees will be included in this afternoon’s Order Paper, including any other that may not have been ready this morning.

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