House set to unveil Cabinet vetting team

PHOTO | FILE A section of the National Assembly on March 28. The committee to vet Cabinet nominees is set to be unveiled.  NATION MEDIA GROUP

By JOHN NGIRACHU jngirachu@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Monday, April 22  2013 at  23:30

 

The team that will vet Cabinet Secretary nominees will be revealed to MPs on Tuesday.

The list of MPs to sit in the Committee on Appointments will be presented to the National Assembly by Majority Leader Aden Duale after the House Business Committee meets in the morning.

It is understood that President Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto have been waiting for the formation of the team before making public the Cabinet nominees.

MPs have, in the meantime, been lobbying for membership in that and other committees.

With members of the Cabinet no longer MPs, the committees will become the new centres of activity in the two Houses of the 11th Parliament. The National Assembly has 28 while the Senate has 11 committees.

Mr Duale said the rest of the committees would be unveiled on Wednesday.

His counterpart in the Senate, Kithure Kindiki, confirmed the names were ready after consultation with political parties.

The Jubilee Coalition has a majority in the two Houses and Mr Duale said in the past that Cord would only lead the Public Accounts and Public Investments committees.

On Monday, Suba MP John Mbadi (ODM) told the Nation he had asked his Cord colleagues to support his bid to head the PAC.

“My colleagues wanted me to head the Budget Committee, but Jubilee has refused to cede that one,” said Mr Mbadi.

Githunguri MP Njoroge Baiya told the Nation he had sought support to return to the Justice and Legal Affairs committee he headed briefly before the term of the last Parliament expired.

The life of Legal Affairs committee was stifled by wrangles after a majority of the members voted to remove Budalang’i MP Ababu Namwamba but faced hurdles in their attempts to elect another chairman.

Kandara MP Alice Wahome has expressed interest in chairing the Administration and National Security team.

On Tuesday, the focus will be on the 22 members who will join the Speaker, his deputy, leaders of majority and minority parties on the 28-member team to vet the Cabinet.

The committee’s sole mandate will be vetting of the people President Uhuru Kenyatta will nominate as members of the Cabinet.

Its quorum shall be 14 members, excluding the Speaker, who shall not be entitled to vote.

Members to this committee shall be nominated by the House Business Committee on the basis of proportional party membership in the House while also considering the interests of independent members.

Mr Mbadi said the President should name the Cabinet nominees as soon as possible because after the vetting, the Cabinet Secretary for the Treasury is required to present the Budget estimates in the House.