House starts recruitment for NCIC commissioners

PHOTO | WILLIAM OERI | FILE Mzalendo Kibunjia, chairman of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission.  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• The Commission has been without commissioners since September 2013 when the term of the seven led by Mzalendo Kibunjia expired.
• On June 10, the President called on the joint parliamentary Committee on Cohesion and Equal Opportunity to hasten the appointments of the NCIC.
• The President also asked the National Assembly to prioritise and pass, without delay, pending legislation that touches on national cohesion and peace building efforts across the country.

By EVELYNE MUSAMBI
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The recruitment of eight new commissioners to the National Cohesion and Integration Commission has started, with the Clerk of the National Assembly inviting applications from Kenyans wishing to be appointed to the positions.

 

"In exercise of the powers conferred on the Clerk, under the first schedule of the NCIC Act, the Clerk invites applications from persons interested in the appointment to serve as Commissioners to NCI," read a newspaper advertisement.

The Commission has been without commissioners since September 2013 when the term of the seven led by Mzalendo Kibunjia expired.

The team had been granted an extra year in office after their first term expired in September 2012 in order to keep the politicians in check during the 2013 election period.

MPs rejected amendments to the Act that would have allowed President Uhuru Kenyatta to renew and appoint commissioners through a notice in the Kenya gazette.

On June 10, the President called on the joint parliamentary Committee on Cohesion and Equal Opportunity to hasten the appointments of the NCIC.

The President spoke during a unity forum dubbed Pamoja Dialogue Initiative in Nairobi, adding that the government would lead the cohesion effort by allocating more resources to integration initiatives.

“We will give every support to organisations that are loyal to the cause of building cohesion in the country,” he said.
The President also asked the National Assembly to prioritise and pass, without delay, pending legislation that touches on national cohesion and peace building efforts across the country.
The Pamoja conference in which the NCIC issue was discussed had been organised by NCIC, Danish Embassy, Supreme Council of Kenya Muslim and the Inter-Religious Council of Kenya.
It was attended by several leaders including Interior CS Joseph Ole Lenku and the Joint Committee on National Cohesion and Equal Opportunity Chairman Johnson Sakaja.