You risk censure motions: MPs warn truant CSs

MPs have warned Cabinet Secretaries who fail to honour invitations to appear before committees of parliament that they risk severe actions among them censure motions.

This comes as Lands CS Ms Faridah Karoney failed to appear before the Lands committee of the National Assembly instead opting to send the ministry’s Chief Administrative Secretary Mr Gideon Mung’aro, a move that angered the committee members.

“How can a Cabinet Secretary fail to appear before a committee of parliament for a second time? Statehouse has crawled this committee,” Makadara MP George Aladwa, who is a member of the committee, complained.

KOBIA

At the Administration and National Security committee, CS Prof Margaret Kobia also opted to send the ministry’s Chief Administrative Secretary Rachael Shebesh as she stayed away.

However, unlike Mr Mung’aro, Ms Shebesh did not have the burden of explaining the whereabouts of the CS.

The Lands committee chaired by Kitui South MP Dr Rachael had summoned Ms Karoney over the Physical planning bill, which is under consideration.

But for the second time in a row, the CS ignored the invitations, a decision that irked committee members with Naivasha MP Jane Kihara seeking to know from Mr Mung’aro why the cabinet secretary had not taken the need to present herself serious.

“Where is the CS?” Ms Kihara inquired. “We want to see her here because she is the driver of government policy,” she said.

Not even the presence of Lands PS Dr Nicholas Muraguri would calm the nerves of the legislators, who continued to admonish the truant CSs. 

Mr Mung’aro, who led the team from the ministry, was at pains to explain the absence of the CS saying that she was engaged in other ‘office matters’.

POLITICS

“As you know the CS has been in the office for about 10 days, she is still new and trying to adapt to her new office,” interestingly, Mr Mung'aro, who reported on the same date as the CS, said.

This response did not go down well among the legislators with Cherangany MP Joshua Kutuny accusing Mr Mung’aro of trying to play politics “yet he is a civil servant.”

An angry Kutuny reminded the former Kilifi North MP that he needs to familiarize himself with civil service code of ethics and avoid politics in public matters.

“If you remember well, I was in a position similar to yours. You should not try to play politics with committee members on a matter of this magnitude,” Kutuny told the former MP.