Friday, May 10th 2013 By MARTIN MUTUA and MWANIKI MUNUHE
NAIROBI; KENYA: Parliament seems unlikely to disrupt the creation of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s first Cabinet despite earlier rumblings by the Opposition about some nominees.
A much-anticipated battle between the Jubilee alliance and Raila Odinga’s CORD over some of the proposed Cabinet secretaries failed to take off with most getting a smooth ride before the parliamentary appointment committee. This follows a flurry of lobbying to head off resistance targeted at two of the 18 nominees.
If the experience of the 11 Cabinet nominees vetted over the last two days is anything to go by, Uhuru and his Deputy President Ruto can celebrate a political victory in the House. While there may still be some rough handling awaiting their chosen few on the floor of the House, the job is as good as done.
Accusations of graft had been expected to spring up in the interview of former Cabinet Minister Charity Ngilu. She chose to disarm the team by addressing the controversies that surrounded her actions at the helm of the Health and Water dockets. Armed with parliamentary reports and documents, she said she had been absolved of any wrongdoing in her former portfolios.
An affidavit sworn to oppose her appointment lost goodwill within the vetting committee after it emerged a high-ranking CORD leader and two politicians were behind it. To avoid having it discussed in public, Ngilu chose to respond by way of a replying affidavit. Members of the 27-strong team showered praise on Ngilu as they sought assurances she will abide by the Constitution in discharging her duties or asked how she will run the Lands and Housing docket.
Political questions
Leader of Majority Aden Duale sought to know whether Ngilu would end her political life upon formal appointment. “I will not be in active politics as long as I am a Cabinet secretary,” she said.
She added she had quit as NARC party leader but adding a Lands minister “will find herself in serious political questions”.
The appointments committee chaired by House Speaker Justin Muturi is set to table its report on Tuesday next week for debate and approval or rejection by the 349 members of the Eleventh Parliament. If the team approves the names, as is now widely expected, there will be little Opposition on the floor of the House where Jubilee controls a comfortable majority. Sources told The Standard On Saturday intense lobbying by members has been undertaken to smooth the way for the Cabinet team. They say President Kenyatta and Deputy President Ruto have ordered their MPs to ensure the nominees sail through come Tuesday next week.
Opinion had been divided on whether or not Ngilu and Najib Balala, also a former Cabinet minister, should have been included in the Cabinet owing to their political background. There had been wide public perception that the two would be grilled over their activities based on perceived integrity issues that were likely to lock them out of the cabinet positions.
Ngilu was vetted yesterday while Balala is set to face the committee this afternoon. But following her smooth sailing it is highly unlikely that Balala would face any stiff opposition today. Only nominated MP Amina Abdalla and Jakoyo Midiwo asked Ngilu a question related to the affidavit and even then, Amina clarified she was asking because that aspect of the question had not been addressed in the replying affidavit.
Specifically, Amina wanted an explanation to an allegation that Ngilu while serving as the minister for Water commissioned an incomplete borehole in Kangundo and further that she gazetted a legislator Peris Tobiko, a sister to Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko, to join a board under the ministry in a bid to get a favour from Tobiko.
The allegations in the affidavit had been borrowed heavily from the two reports in which Ngilu was mentioned and cleared by Parliament. The former minister said the allegation of commissioning an incomplete borehole was baseless adding that she gazetted Tobiko’s sister because as the minister then, she was convinced Peris was qualified.
Ngilu took the committee through her previous achievements in public service including her proposal of a universal health care as minister for Water, which did not receive presidential assent. Ngilu fought ofd allegations that as the minister for water, she allocated more resources in her home constituency. She further said the allegations of corruption were orchestrated by cartels within the ministry who were opposed to change. She gave an instance where an individual wanted to be paid over sh 400 million without a proper explanation.
Universal health care
Ngilu promised to introduce reforms in the ministry of Lands and Housing specifically to address corruption and ensure performance.
Transport and Infrastructure nominee Michael Kamau promised to reform the Port of Mombasa, which he said has not been cooperating with the Government. At the same time, Health nominee James Macharia said he will seek to introduce and efficient universal health care by decentralising health services adding that majority of good hospitals are concentrated in urban areas effectively denying rural resident access to affordable health care.
“We should have policies that guarantee universal health care. But this will not happen if devolution is not effective. The big hospitals are concentrated in big cities; in rural areas people don’t have good health facilities. We must make sure devolution of health facilities is effective. We must ensure that the policies we develop are all geared towards universal health care.
We need to sit down with treasury to come up with short term measures to deal with health challenges and in the medium term we should have proper policies,” he said. Environment, Water and Mineral Resources cabinet nominee Judy Wakhungu said if approved, she will introduce stiffer penalties to discourage poaching. “Impose the highest penalty possible against poaching.
The penalty now encourages and sustains poaching. We will ensure human activities do not encroach the parks,” she said.
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