Jubilee MPs put Cabinet Secretaries on the spot

What you need to know:

  • Agriculture Secretary Felix Koskei was singled out for praise for being available to MPs by responding to calls and messages and keeping appointments whenever they sought to consult him.
  • Ms Ann Waiguru also came in for praise because of her work with the National Youth Service. This is a turnaround for Ms Waiguru, who was the target of a impeachment Motion by Igembe South MP Mithika Linturi, which stalled before it could get to the floor of the House.
  • During the Naivasha retreat, President Kenyatta intervened on behalf of the Cabinet secretaries, who according to the Constitution are accountable “individually, and collectively” to him.

The simmering row between MPs and Cabinet secretaries reared its head at the Jubilee coalition retreat in Naivasha at the weekend as legislators renewed their criticism of the ministers, whom they accused of failing to meet them to plan development projects.

The retreat, attended by President Uhuru Kenyatta, was called to evaluate the performance of the coalition in and out of Parliament.

It was also meant to brief the MPs on the newly created Jubilee Alliance Party, which is intended as a merger of the coalition’s main partners, and to strategise on how to pull Kenya out of the International Criminal Court as a demonstration of support for Deputy President William Ruto.

Cabinet secretaries, who under the Constitution cannot also serve as MPs, were invited to take part in discussions on implementing the Jubilee manifesto.

Documents from the meeting show that outspoken Galole MP Hassan Dukicha was selected to speak on behalf of his colleagues about Cabinet secretaries, 14 of whom were present. Only four did not make it for the retreat.

Mr Dukicha said MPs were unhappy with Cabinet secretaries because they were not as accessible as their predecessors. This, he said, made it difficult for MPs to press their constituents' concerns. In the past, Cabinet ministers (now secretaries) were also MPs, but this changed under the 2010 Constitution.

CLASHED IN PUBLIC

Cabinet secretaries have in the past publicly clashed with MPs over summons to appear before House committees. Among those who spoke out against the summons were Dr Fred Matiang’i (Information, Communication and Technology), Ann Waiguru (Devolution and Planning), James Macharia (Health) and Jacob Kaimenyi (Education).

During the Saturday session, MPs accused the ministers of routinely failing to involve them when working on projects in their constituencies.

The MPs also said that they are involved in the projects at the commissioning stage, which meant that they are denied the opportunity to earn political mileage from such undertakings.

“The ministers who were MPs, like Kambi Kazungu and Charity Ngilu, know how to relate to us because they know about politics. The technocrats are having a hard time even with us here because they don’t understand politics,” an MP told the Nation after the meeting.

PRAISED

Agriculture Secretary Felix Koskei was singled out for praise for being available to MPs by responding to calls and messages and keeping appointments whenever they sought to consult him.

Ms Waiguru also came in for praise because of her work with the National Youth Service. This is a turnaround for Ms Waiguru, who was the target of an impeachment Motion by Igembe South MP Mithika Linturi that stalled before it could get to the floor of the House.

Besides the Cabinet secretaries, the MPs were also unhappy with the apparent failure of the laptop project and there were complaints about the issuing of title deeds, which they said ought to be spread beyond the Coast region. MPs also asked to have a say in government appointments.

Unlike their predecessors, MPs in the 11th Parliament don’t have the opportunity to lobby Cabinet secretaries directly.

The relationship between MPs and Cabinet secretaries has been strained over the past two years, with the National Assembly at one time changing its standing orders to create the Committee of General Oversight, which was meant to create a special session for Cabinet secretaries to answer questions in Parliament.

That committee met only once, with Lands CS Ngilu, before President Uhuru Kenyatta summoned the House leadership and ordered the sessions stopped.

Currently, committees meet Cabinet secretaries on Tuesday mornings, and National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi has directed MPs who wish to ask a CS questions to attend those meetings.

RESTRICTIONS

During the Naivasha retreat, President Kenyatta intervened on behalf of the Cabinet secretaries, who according to the Constitution are accountable “individually, and collectively” to him. He said that while the criticism was in order, it was evident that there was a problem.

He said that because of the restrictions in the Constitution on the size and nature of the Cabinet and the creation of a larger, bicameral Parliament, Cabinet secretaries were under more pressure than before.

“As much as I hear you, I want you to understand the circumstances we work under. We must find a way to restructure the system in such a way that we get the political mileage,” said the President.

He asked the coalition to select a committee of five members of the National Assembly and three members of the Senate to meet him this week and come up with a way to improve the working relationship between the Cabinet and MPs.