Politics and policy

Proposed law spares shuffled top State officers fresh vetting

 

Dr Monica Juma during vetting by a House committee at Parliament in June. PHOTO | FILE 

By KIARIE NJOROGE, gkiarie@ke.nationmedia.com

In Summary

• If passed, President will be able to transfer senior government officials without nod of legislators.

Senior government officers who are re-appointed to other public bodies will not be vetted by Parliament before assuming the new posts if a proposed law is passed.

This will see holders of positions such as Inspector General of Police, the Central Bank governor, Auditor-General, Chief Justice, Cabinet and principal secretaries transferred to other bodies without fresh parliamentary approval.

The proposed law will give room to the President to transfer senior government workers without seeking the nod of legislators who recently blocked the appointment of Interior Principal Secretary Monica Juma as Secretary to the Cabinet.

“The approval procedure set out in this Act shall not apply to re-appointments except in cases where there have been formal complaints on performance or integrity on the part of the proposed appointee,” reads the amendment contained in the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, 2015.

The Bill contains minor changes to multiple Acts and in this case is amending the Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Act.
Senior public servants being re-appointed to another institution must be vetted afresh under the current law.

The provision for parliamentary vetting of senior government officers was introduced in the Constitution to check practices like cronyism and tribalism.

It was also meant to promote merit and ensure only individuals who demonstrated high integrity were appointed.

In the previous administrations, the President had a free hand to hire and fire at will.

This saw past heads of state use their powers to reward to make snap appointments of senior officers like ministers.

But in a break with the past, vetting has seen MPs assume a more prominent role in deciding who will head key institutions.

The MPs scrutinise the appointee’s education, employment record, political activities and affiliations, sources of income, tax status, conflict of interest and if they have been charged in court or mentioned adversely in investigation reports.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has had a smooth ride on the back of a majority of his Jubilee coalition in the National Assembly. But this dominance failed to guarantee the appointment of Ms Juma.

READ: Uhuru back to the drawing board as MPs reject Juma

In June, 163 MPs including those from Jubilee voted against her nomination to the position of Secretary to the Cabinet because of a letter she wrote to the House Clerk complaining about the number of visits and requests MPs made for transfers or employment of State workers.

Mr Francis Kimemia was suspended from the position of the Secretary to the Cabinet in March and was later dismissed, leaving the powerful position vacant.