Appoint Deputy Cabinet secretaries to strengthen government service delivery

Implementing the new Constitution has had mixed successes. It faces challenges that are very similar to those experienced in almost all jurisdictions where an existing constitution has had to be changed to meet particular needs.

In the campaign for the referendum, it was generally agreed that during its implementation, the need for changes in the Constitution could arise and would be welcome. Experience in the last few months shows that the need has arisen in more ways than one.

Recently, the President quite understandably sounded frustrated by the fact that Cabinet secretaries were spending too much time answering to summonses from Parliament to the extent that he himself was sometimes unable to meet them when he needed to.

But then, isn’t part of the core duty of a Cabinet secretary to appear before parliamentary committees in obeisance to the oversight role of Parliament?

In the old constitution, Cabinet ministers as MPs answered parliamentary questions inside Parliament.

In the new dispensation and not being MPs, Cabinet secretaries have to give written answers to the chairpersons of parliamentary committees who read them out in Parliament and attempt to answer supplementary questions.

Routinely, the chairpersons have to ask for time to seek for better answers.

This is not always satisfactory, wastes time and can be dangerous particularly when the committee chairperson is not a member of the ruling party or coalition for obvious reasons.

The issue of whether or not certain questions particularly pertaining to security and economic development should be answered by the Cabinet secretary to a committee of the whole house and be subjected to interrogation needs to be given very serious thought.

My experience in the last few months is that answers by committee chairpersons as mouthpieces of Cabinet secretaries have, in the most part, been unsatisfactory and have invariably left members disillusioned.

To this extent, one does not fail to note some nostalgia for the old system when ministers were kept on their toes inside and outside the House.

"HAMSTRING THE DELIVERY OF SERVICES"

With the current Constitution, Cabinet secretaries must continue to appear before Parliament because otherwise, Parliament would be neglecting its core oversight duty over the Executive and it has no other avenue for interrogating the government.

The appointment of Deputy Cabinet secretaries would help the situation and they would be of great assistance to the government system in its delivery of services to the people. They would deal with many day-to-day issues of government including attendance before parliamentary committees, deputising for Cabinet secretaries at important functions, and espousing government positions.

Article 19 of the old constitution specifically provided for Assistant Ministers “to assist the President, the Vice-President and Ministers in the performance of their duties.” This need still exists, maybe more now than before.

This begs the question, though, whether the new Constitution prohibits the appointment of Deputy Cabinet secretaries. It doesn’t.

The basic purpose of the Constitution and governance is to protect and advance Kenya’s interests efficiently and to the best interest of the country; it is not to hamstring the delivery of services. The implementation, unfortunately, appears to suffer from a narrow interpretation of what can or cannot be done.

Article 129(2) of the Constitution provides that ‘Executive authority shall be exercised in a manner compatible with the principle of service to the people of Kenya and for their well-being and benefit’ while article 152 provides that there shall be a Cabinet comprising of not fewer than 14 and not more than 22 Cabinet Secretaries. The President nominates, appoints, transfers, and may dismiss subject to the Constitution.

The Constitution is silent on whether or not there shall be deputy secretaries; it does not say that they shall not be there.

I would vote for a broad interpretation and argue that Deputy Ministers would make the work of the President and his Cabinet more efficient and therefore delivery of services to the people more optimised.

Cabinet secretaries are fewer than the ministers were before March 2013. Ministers had assistants who were ever busy complementing them. It is difficult for the Cabinet secretary to meet all the expectations of office alone if delivering service to the people is the guiding principle.

Senator Gitura represents Murang’a County and is Deputy Speaker of the Senate ([email protected])