Parliament committees have failed the test

Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Political Affairs Secretary Opiyo Wandayi leaving a joint National Assembly Finance and Labour Committees probing Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru at Continental House on July 7, 2015 over corruption allegations at National Youth Service stimulation projects. PHOTO | BILLY MUTAI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Anyone who watched the live televised session of the so-called grilling of the CS and her team must have been appalled at the rowdy, senseless, parochial, and pedestrian way in which the committee conducted its business.
  • It was a shockingly time-wasting exercise in which committee members engaged in noisy exchanges characterised by heckling, interjections, and temperamental outbursts that did little to address the matter at hand.
  • Judging from the general approach and line of questioning, it was abundantly clear that the committee members either failed to do basic homework or simply did not comprehend the purpose for which Ms Waiguru was summoned.

The manner in which the Finance and Labour Relations Committee of the National Assembly went about the business of interrogating the Cabinet secretary for Devolution and National Planning, Ms Anne Waiguru, once again casts serious doubts on the competence, ability, and relevance of parliamentary committees to investigate corruption and other important matters.

Anyone who watched the live televised session of the so-called grilling of the CS and her team must have been appalled at the rowdy, senseless, parochial, and pedestrian way in which the committee conducted its business.

It was a shockingly time-wasting exercise in which committee members engaged in noisy exchanges characterised by heckling, interjections, and temperamental outbursts that did little to address the matter at hand.

Indeed, Ms Waiguru was reduced to a spectator as the drama of partisan political interests between the ruling Jubilee members of the committee and their Cord counterparts played out in full view of television viewers.

It was definitely an embarrassing encounter for the CS as she watched committee members make fools of themselves in the name of questioning her on the alleged attempt to steal more than Sh800 million from the National Youth Service (NYS) and other issues relating to the docket.

Judging from the general approach and line of questioning, it was abundantly clear that the committee members either failed to do basic homework or simply did not comprehend the purpose for which Ms Waiguru was summoned.

It beats logic for such a busy Cabinet secretary and her team of two principal secretaries and the NYS director and his deputy to leave their offices and spend hours in a room full of heckling and shouting adults preoccupied more with scoring political points for themselves and their respective political parties than addressing a matter as serious as attempts to siphon taxpayers’ resources.

Even when Mr Opiyo Wandayi tried to focus attention on the issue, he engaged in a lengthy and meandering monologue, putting forward several parts of the same question that made it difficult to figure out what answers he expected from the Cabinet secretary. 

Parliamentary committees should shift their approach to the boardroom style, with a structured format in which interrogation is led by the chairperson.

There is also the need for sittings of committees of Parliament, if they have to be more focused and useful, to avoid being infiltrated by non-committee members or strangers, most of whom routinely invade such venues with the intention of causing confusion and pandemonium, as was the case during Ms Waiguru’s appearance.

What the entire nation was treated to on Tuesday, July 7, was at best a circus of monumental folly that brought out the ugly side of parliamentary committee interrogations.

It was a sad reminder of the routinely senseless and time-wasting sessions that committees of Parliament engage in in the name of investigating public issues.

Even more unfortunate is the fact that such exercises consume a lot of public resources in the form of sitting, travel, and accommodation allowances for committee members and staff of Parliament.

Mr Musebe is a journalist and analyst. [email protected]