MPs want IEBC team out over election mistakes

The National Assembly Public Accounts Committee wants electoral agency chairman Wafula Chebukati and all the commissioners to vacate office immediately over claims of incompetence.

The House team said in a report that the commissioners had demonstrated lack of competence in the way they managed the 2017 General Election.

The committee also said the electoral agency officials lacked understanding of their role as relates to the principles of good governance, separation of roles between the commission and the secretariat, integrity, transparency and accountability.

MANDATE

The report tabled in Parliament on Wednesday afternoon by chairman Opiyo Wandayi pointed out that the commissioners, individually and collectively, failed to exercise their oversight role as envisioned under section 11 of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Act, 2011, thereby plunging the constitutional agency into a crisis.

“The commissioners were unable to offer urgent and decisive policy directions on procurement matters, compelling the secretariat to undertake direct procurement of all goods and services in a manner that was contrary to Article 227(1) of the Constitution insofar as it did not embody a process that was fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective,” the report reads.

The report will be debated by the entire House on Wednesday next week; and if adopted without amendments, will see the Chebukati team leave office.

MONEY LOSS

The committee said the commissioners failed to take charge of the entire electoral process and made taxpayers to lose billions of shillings through direct procurement of most election materials.

“The true cost of the August 2017 General Election and the repeat October 2017 presidential election may never be known.

"But one thing is clear, it is a cost that was highly inflated and the taxpayers did not get value for the investment. In the same vein, the actual amount of public money that was lost from the manipulation of procurement processes and creative accounting may never be fully ascertained,” the report says.

Mr Wandayi urged the investigative agencies to move with speed and take over from where the committee had left off and undertake thorough investigations with a view to prosecuting all individuals found culpable.

“This report should be considered as a first step in dealing decisively with the rot that has come to be associated with the IEBC for a long time now. It should lay the foundation for a fresh start,” Mr Wandayi said.

PROCUREMENT

The public watchdog committee cited glaring conflict of interest and gross misconduct, which they said were evident during the procurement of the Kenya Integrated Election Management System (Kiems) election kits, where the commissioners opted to vote in favour of their preferred suppliers.

The report also accused Mr Chebukati of grossly violating Chapter Six of the Constitution by presiding over allocation of legal work to his former law firm without disclosing this relationship or even cautioning the secretariat of the same.

“It is evident that the commissioners were operating ultra-vires the constitution, the law and their oath of office. The committee recommends the commissioners’ removal from office forthwith,” part of the recommendation of the report adds.

Mr Wandayi did not spare the secretariat, which was led by former CEO Ezra Chiloba, accusing it of engaging in an unnecessary tug-of-war with the commissioners.

CHILOBA

According to the report, the unending push-and-pull between the commissioners and the secretariat was deliberate and meant to plunge the commission into a crisis.

The confusion, the report says, was created in order to compel the agency to resort to direct procurement of all critical goods and services in a manner that was contrary to Article 227(1) of the Constitution.

The committee accused Mr Chiloba of failure to inculcate the spirit of team work with the commissioners during his tenure. They also said Mr Chiloba failed to provide information to the commission in a timely manner.