House urged to strengthen KACC

• Major task for Parliament was to re-examine the Act so as to clearly spell out succession plan and conditions for renewal of the directors’ terms, says DPM.

Parliament has been urged to seize the opportunity offered by the resignation of former Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission director Justice Aaron Ringera to strengthen the institution.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Local Government Musalia Mudavadi said that Parliament needed to institute fundamental reforms in the KACC Act to strengthen and seal any legal loopholes that may exist.

“We should not say that we have lost anything (following Justice Ringera’s resignation) but let us work to strengthen our institutions,” Mr Mudavadi urged MPs.

He was speaking on the sidelines of a planning meeting for the Western Province Investment Conference to be held next week

Mr Mudavadi said that the major task for Parliament was to re-examine the Act so as to clearly spell out succession plan and conditions for renewal of the directors’ terms.

Mr Mudavadi said that it was no longer fashionable to continue criticising KACC after Ringera bowed out.

Justice Ringera resigned Wednesday under sustained pressure from Parliament and civil society following his reappointment to head KACC for a second term by President Kibaki on August 31.

In his resignation address to the media at KACC’s headquarters at the Integrity Centre, Ringera said he did so to safeguard the institution from being dissolved by parliament.

Mr Mudavadi, who appeared to blame parliament for failing to enact adequate laws, declared that this was now an opportunity to correct the shortcomings.

“A good system is one that carries on with its functions even when one person is missing,” he said.

At the meeting that was also attended by Cabinet ministers Moses Wetangula, Paul Otuoma and Wycliffe Oparanya and MPs Eugene Wamalwa and Yusuf Chanzu, the DPM appealed for unity among leaders if the country was to move forward.

He called on the leaders from Western province to use the forthcoming conference to change the people’s perception of leadership and development.

“We have been spending a lot of time addressing the wrong rallies and depicting bad traits about leadership yet there is a lot we can do for Western province and a country as whole,” he said.