Political antics, hard questions emerge in vetting of county executives

During the vetting of nominees for county executive positions in Kisumu this week, successful applicants were required to declare whether they are participating in the boycott of products as announced by National Super Alliance (Nasa).

Perhaps out of sycophancy, genuineness or fear, they all answered in the affirmative, proclaiming their support for the opposition’s resistance movement.

Ms Alice Moraa, the nominee for Business, Energy and Industry docket, was specific.

RESISTANCE

“I have already moved to Airtel including changing contacts of my company. We must reach Canaan as promised by Jakom (Chairman),” said Mrs Moraa.

Mr Nerry Achar, the nominee for Physical Planning, Housing and Lands, said he was firmly in the resistance struggle to the end”.

“It is sad that what we have fought for over the years is going to the drain because of poor leadership. We must get our country back on track,” he said.

Such are the political antics that marred the vetting of executives in most counties with some observers questioning the effectiveness of this policy.

Although vetting widens the democratic space by allowing the public to participate in the appointment of those who will serve them, this tough balancing act has continued to draw mixed reactions with politicisation of the entire process being singled out as a threat to its efficacy.

Lawyer Peter Wanyama said most of the counties are engaged in political grand-standing and vetting committees don’t follow the law. The appointment of members of county executive committees, he told the Sunday Nation on the phone, must conform to the law and the general principles of good governance.

VETTING

“It is an issue of implementation and compliance because the law is already there,” said Mr Wanyama.

The Public Appointments (County Assemblies Approval) Act of 2017 spells out more than 21 approval criteria which, if implemented, will ensure the vetting committee members make decisions that are defendable by law.

These include academic qualifications, employment record, professional affiliations, potential conflict of interest, knowledge of the relevant subject, overall suitability for the position, tax compliance and integrity. Others are criminal records, potential conflicts of interest and statements of net worth.

“Most of the counties have not followed this framework, therefore derailing service delivery in the counties as envisaged by the Constitution,” Mr Wanyama said.

A report by the committee of the Nairobi County Assembly, chaired by Majority Leader Abdi Guyo, alluded to the executives’ lack of knowledge in their roles.

Ms Emmah Muthoni, who holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, was appointed to the Environment and Water docket.

TRAFFIC

“On the issue of riparian land in Nairobi and the challenges thereto, the nominee noted that she is yet to familiarise herself with riparian land and challenges attendant to the subject in question,” the report reads.

Ms Muthoni also confessed that she had never heard of the term environmental impact assessment despite the fact that she will head the Environment docket.

The nominee for Roads, Infrastructure and Transport Mohamed Ahmed Dagane also confessed that he knew little about easing traffic jams in the city, a key component of his docket.

The committee sought to understand why a person who holds a Masters of Arts in Governance and Ethics and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communication from the Islamic University was interested to head such a docket.

The committee also discovered that the nominee for the Agriculture, Livestock Development and Fisheries docket, Danvas Makori, an aide to former governor Evans Kidero, is a pastor by profession.

CORRUPTION

During the debate on the report, Imara Daima Ward Rep Kennedy Obura sought to find out why the governor appointed Mr Makori yet he was an aide to Dr Kidero whom the current county government has accused of corruption.

But the Jubilee Ward Reps led by Majority Chief Whip and Ngara Ward Rep Chege Mwaura defended Mr Makori’s appointment saying the Governor, Mike Sonko, considered him because he is a pastor and could therefore not be corrupt.

Mr Sonko defended his new team saying they would learn on the job.

“The Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of East African Community, Labour and Social Protection Phylis Kandie did not perform well during the vetting but right now her docket is leading,” said Mr Sonko, in response to the concerns.
But all is not lost.

In a rare display of honesty in Homa Bay, the nominee for Energy, Mr Alphonse Wera, declined his position after being approved by the county assembly saying he lacks experience to deliver services to residents.

REJECTED

“Accepting to serve in a department where I lack professional qualifications will undermine my integrity and disappoint the people of Homa Bay,” Mr Wera said. 
However, Mr Wanyama says some sessions have not been properly structured.

For instance, Mandera Governor Ali Roba of Jubilee has vowed to retain his list of 10 nominees after they were rejected by the assembly.

Outnumbered by those of the Economic Freedom Party (EFP), Jubilee leaning Ward Reps have had a hard time approving the governor’s list.

The political differences degenerated into a physical fight between the Ward Reps in the assembly during the tabling of a report by the Committee on Appointments.

While adopting a report rejecting the list, the Ward Reps said the governor did not consider regional balance in his list but Mr Roba dismissed the claim.

He was accused of picking his nominees from Mandera East and South areas but he said his list was about clans and all (clans) are represented regardless of where one resides.

INTERVIEWS

Lawyer Wanyama said assemblies should break from the kind of political patronage that will affect devolution.

Appointment to the county executive team, like other key public offices, is guided by policies and the law. The positions must be advertised and only qualified people shortlisted for interviews.

In Nakuru, nine of the 10 nominees presented by Governor Lee Kinyanjui executive committee members were hurriedly sworn into office moments after the Assembly approved them.

The Labour Relations court had suspended their vetting.