A dream doesn't become reality through magic. It takes sweat, determination and hard work.

Tuesday 14 May 2013

Wait is over, let Cabinet roll up its sleeves and deliver

 Tuesday, May 14th 2013 That there was going to be grandstanding in Parliament once the nominees for Cabinet Secretary were presented by the Appointments Committee, was never in doubt. That debate on the floor would be heated and laced with innuendo and snide remarks was already on the cards, long before the Committee went into sequestration to write its report.

The face-off between the majority Jubilee MPs with their minority CORD counterparts merely proved public predictions right. But sages have also told that as a rule of thumb, history is written by victors, and Jubilee exercised its majority to ensure the appointees sailed through with a reverberating “Aye!”
This, however, was an unnecessary sideshow to the real issue of the day. It was that the House would in this first debate affirm its place as defenders of the Constitution. Members had also the onerous duty to show its live TV audience that they would defend one and all, regardless of party affiliation, gender, race or creed from lynching on the floor, where most Kenyans cannot stand to defend themselves.
Third, it was a historic opportunity for the Appointments Committee to enter the Kenyan psyche as the team that thoroughly vetted and gave out the best possible candidates to serve as Cabinet Secretaries. This was a first of many more appointments to come in the course of the life of the Eleventh Parliament.
Today, however, we are not seeking to audit their performance. Our focus is the face of the Cabinet Secretaries on whose shoulders lies the unenviable task of implementing the much-awaited Jubilee Manifesto.
First off is the fact that they are history makers in Africa, being the first Executive that is entirely out of parliament. They are also part of a wider scheme to go against the grain and move away from the usual bloated Cabinet set-ups.
This Cabinet is also one of technocrats, with stellar academic qualifications and mostly from the private sector, unlike days of yore when they would be re-cycled from poll losers, sycophants and even relatives of the President. There was a deliberate shift away from cronyism and tribalism as the face of the Executive branch of government.
This time, again, there was an unprecedented number of women – six out of 18. They are: former minister Charity Ngilu, nominated to head Ministry of Land, Housing and Urban Development; Anne Waiguru, for the Ministry of Devolution and Planning, to oversee the implementation of the devolved system of government; Phyllis Kandie for the Ministry of East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism; Judy Wakhungu, to the Ministry of Environment, Water and National Resources, Amina Mohamed as the first woman to head the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and finally, Raychelle Omamo, who will be the first woman to oversee head the Ministry of Defence.
We can only wish them well as they embark on guiding Kenya to the next level. The weight of Kenyans’ expectations and the challenge of accountability and transparency should guide their hand. The country awaits. 

No comments:

Post a Comment