mzalendo :: Eye On Kenyan Parliament

• Kazi Kwa Vijana Scandal

  Posted: October 28, 2011, 2:51 am by admin

  
  
  

  By Mzalendo Contributor – Moreen Majiwa

  It seems the phrase commonly used to describe the Kazi kwa Vijana (KKV) Project, “Kazi kwa Vijana, Pesa kwa Wazee” holds a lot of water. On Sunday this week, the papers revealed large-scale misappropriation of funds intended for the KKV project. The KKV project, launched in 2009, was intended to create employment for 200,000-300,000 Kenyans primarily youth at risk of hunger and starvation. A noble endeavour seeing as of the country’s 40% unemployment rate, youth unemployment constitutes 64%.

  The KKV project falls under the Office of the Prime Minister and is heavily financed by the World Bank. Of the 4.3 billion shillings allocated to the project the World Bank has disbursed 971 million shillings to the government through the Office of the Prime Minister.  In June and July this year the World Bank’s financial management team conducted a review of all the project’s implementing agencies; the Office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Youth Affairs, and Kenya Private Sector Alliance. The audit covered the period since project’s inception in 2009 to August 31, 2011. In the process the World Bank’s financial management team uncovered:

  • Weaknesses in the internal control procedures
  • Improper payment procedures
  • Transactions carried out without regard to policies and procedures
  • Irregular transactions in breach of legal agreements
  • Expenditures unrelated to the project

  A few examples of the above include:

  • The hiring of the Deputy Permanent Secretary in the office of the Prime Minister as the Director of Policy for the project. A role for which she received an enhanced salary and a top-up allowance while still on a government salary.
  • Ministry employees were paid sitting and meal allowances for activities that had nothing to do with the project.
  • Payments were made to participants of a National Youth Conference in Nairobi the audit report reveals that the conference never took place.
  • Though the financing agreement does not provide for payment of operating costs 80 million shillings was granted as government counterpart funds to meet operating costs, however the money was not used on the project. Furthermore, the auditors were unable to gain access to documentation showing how the funds were used.

  These examples are just the tip of the iceberg, the preliminary audit report details several other instances of misappropriation and mismanagement of funds, unaccounted for funds, and flouting of policy and procedure. It’s hardly surprising that the World Bank has termed the KKV project, high risk and vulnerable to graft, and is demanding a refund of the 971 million shillings already disbursed for the project.

  In a statement issued to the press regarding the misappropriation of KKV funds, Dr Mohammed Isahakia Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister declared, “Some monies may have been used for purpose that were not consistent with KKV’s objectives or World Bank policies. It does not necessarily mean monies were stolen.”

  Given the Prime Minister’s valiant calls for political accountability for graft in the past and the magnitude of the graft it is surprising that there has been no official statement from the Prime Minister himself considering that it is his Office that hosts the KKV project and he is the chair of KKV National steering committee.

• On the Incursion into Somalia

  Posted: October 21, 2011, 10:33 pm by admin

  
  
  

  By Mzalendo Contributor – Moreen Majiwa

  Call it what you will an incursion, an invasion, the pursuit of kidnappers, a military offensive against a terrorist group – Kenya’s operation in Somalia has dominated our collective consciousness over the past week.

  What initially started out as pursuit of kidnappers seems to have turned out to be a much more ambitious project – an operation involving thousands of Kenyan troops targeted at routing out Al Shabaab. According to government spokesperson Alfred Mutua, the government aims to “track down and dismantle the Al-Shabaab.”

  On Sunday, 16.10.11, Kenyan troops crossed the border into Somalia, in pursuit of the Al Shabaab.   On Wednesday, 19.10.11, the military spokesperson announced that the government had killed 70+ Al Shabaab rebels and captured three towns.  In return Al Shabaab threatened reprisals unless Kenyan troops immediately withdraw from Somalia.

  Meanwhile, the Assistant Minister for Internal Security Orwa Ojodeh has proposed security measures that involve:

  • Restricting chartered flights to and from North-eastern Province,
  • Screening of all buses and flights headed to and coming from regions bordering Somalia
  • Vetting and identification of all passengers on such flights or buses
  • Clearance certification for flights headed to and coming from North Eastern, Upper Eastern, Upper Rift Valley and Northern Coast to be obtained from the police

  The Assistant Minister has stated that that in the coming week the mother of all operations will be carried out in Eastleigh.  His exact words, ‘This (the Al Shabaab issue) is like a big animal, the tail in Somalia, and the head of the animal is hidden here in Eastleigh…After the Somalia thing is over, I am going to do a mother of all operations here in Nairobi to remove all Al Shabaab and Al Qaeda.”

  It’s difficult to estimate the social the impact and the unintended consequences of the incursion as yet.  The Al Shabaab threat looms heavy.  MPs Aden Duale, Hussien Ali, Aden Keynan, Mohamed Affey, and Bonny Khalwale have already pointed out the likelihood of the new security measures being used to discriminate against Kenyans of Somali descent.

  There is also the financial cost of the operation.  An article in the Business Daily estimates that the cost of maintaining a soldier  in the battlefield is 7,000 Kshs a day and that the country could end up spending 210 million Kshs per month.   The Treasury has also announced possible spending cuts to fund the operation.

  While we all support our Kenyan troops among the public two distinct schools on thoughts on the operation have emerged some stating that such action is long over due, while others are vehemently opposed on the basis that such an operation an against a guerrilla group is counter-productive?

  Your thoughts?

• The Public’s View of Progress of Constitutional Implementation?

  Posted: October 16, 2011, 1:40 am by admin

  
  
  

  By  Mzalendo Contributor – Moreen Majiwa

  The promulgation of the new constitution is probably the coalition government’s greatest achievement. However actual implementation of the constitution, hasn’t all been plain sailing. The debate on how provisions of the constitution are to be realised seems to intensify at every stage implementation.

  So far the negotiation on implementation of the constitution has occurred mostly between government organs e.g. parliament, the executive, commissions etc. Despite explicit constitutional provisions for public participation, the public has only been involved in a limited way in the constitution’s implementation.

  That is part of the reason the Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation (KNDR) Monitoring Project is so interesting. The project has surveyed 2000 Kenyans to find out their thoughts on constitutional implementation, electoral reforms, and the legacy of post election violence. The results of the survey have been released as part of a review report on the Progress in Implementation of the Constitution and Other reforms. The results of the survey are an interesting indicator of what everyday people think about the ongoing reforms.

  • With regards to satisfaction with the progress made on implementing the constitution 52% of the survey respondents stated they were either very satisfied or satisfied, while 37% stated are either not satisfied or very dissatisfied.
  • When asked whether they had observed any change in the country since the promulgation of the constitution 44% of the respondents stated they had witnessed no change at all, while 53% respondents replied that their had been change. The biggest change areas were identified as being the public vetting of office bearers, judicial reform, and checking of executive powers. Areas of low change were in delivery of public services, education, reduction in corruption, MPs paying taxes, and delivery of security.
  • Survey participants identified the main roadblocks to implementation of the constitution as being divisions among politicians (65%), 2012 campaigns (19%), lack of resources (14%), and implementation of the 1/3 gender representation rule (7%). Interestingly according to the survey issues that one would think would be major impediments to constitutional implementation are not seen as such. According to the survey only 2% of respondents cited corruption among politicians, lack of commitment by government, and selfish interests among politicians as issues likely to impede implementation of the constitution.

  Overall the survey finds the view of the public on the progress of constitutional implementation seems to be favourable, the report finds that the legal and institutional framework for implementation is in place and implementation is on track. The flip side is that the report also finds that though constitutional implementation is taking place, it is marked by legal and policy gaps, poor co-ordination between actors, vested interests, and poor drafting of legislation.

• “Errors” of Government Printer

  Posted: October 13, 2011, 12:45 am by admin

  
  
  

  By Mzalendo Contributor – Moreen Majiwa

  MPs Danson Mugatana, Martha Karua, and Olago Aluoch have called for an investigation into the Government Printer and employees of Parliament for a crucial error in the publication of the Elections Act 2011. The section in question is Article 34 (9) of the Act.

  The misprint of the Act reads, “The party list may not contain a name of any Presidential or Deputy Presidential Candidate nominated for an election under this Act.”  While the actual draft bill reads, “The party list shall not contain a name of any candidate nominated for an election under this act.”

  The correct version and the misprint are so substantially different in wording, meaning and intent it’s hard to believe that this is a simple mistake. And it is not the first time the Government Printer has made substantive errors in crucial legislation.

  • There was the incident of the ‘misprint’ in the constitution, while still in draft form. A misprint was one that effectively suspended whole Bill Rights i.e. the most progressive and revolutionary part of the constitution. The Government Printer later apologised for the error.
  • There was the incident when the Government Printer failed to publish the list of the constituencies that contained the names 80 new constituencies created under the new constitution.
  • There was the incident where the Government Printer was summoned before parliament to explain the delay in the publishing of the Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission Bill.

  If errors or delays in printing had only happened once, or the errors did not keep happening in the publication of crucial bills/acts, or if the errors did not substantially alter the meaning and intention of said legislation, then maybe the bills could be written of as instances of human error.

  However the number and type of incidents of errors, misprints or delays in publications of legislation, and the laws in which the errors occur (the errors and delays have not occurred in just any laws – errors or delays have occurred in the constitution, and the Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission Bill and the Elections Act) make a sound basis for investigations into the Government Printer.

  Given the number of laws to be passed in the new dispensation can we really afford to have a sloppy Government Printer?

• National Intelligence Service Bill

  Posted: October 10, 2011, 1:55 am by admin

  
  
  

  By Mzalendo Contributor – Moreen Majiwa

  If anyone thought there was going to be a change in the way the country’s intelligence service is run in the new dispensation they should think again. Yes, there are new and progressive provisions in the National Intelligence Service Bill 2011 e.g. the requirement that the director general meet the leadership and integrity standards set out in Chapter 6 of the constitution, and that the appointment of the director general be subject to parliamentary approval.

  However,  despite these provisions there are several ways in which the bill is retrogressive.   First in its development, unlike other bills the National Intelligence Service Bill 2011 did not go through a process of Cabinet approval.  The bill originated from the National Security Intelligence Service (NSIS) and went straight to the Constitution Implementation Commission (CIC),  by-passing the Cabinet  and scrutiny by that body.   In fact,  the Assistant Internal Security Minister Orwa Ojode recently stated that his Ministry, the Ministry of Internal Security, had not even received the bill. He stated however that the Cabinet could not interfere with matters of defence and security. It seems like a bit of a paradox that the Ministry of Internal Security  ”cannot interfere with matters of defence and security.”  And while NSIS is probably best placed to draft a bill on intelligence and security services what happened to consultative processes required under the new constitution?

  The second major issue with the bill is oversight of the NSIS, who will provide it and how. The Bill proposes that a “Parliamentary Intelligence Oversight Committee consisting of Members of the National Assembly” provide oversight.  The committee is intended to exercise oversight over the administration, expenditure and policy of the intelligence services. So far so good, except for the fact that the members of the committee will be vetted chosen by the very service for which they are supposed to provide oversight.   The Bill also explicitly provides that “the Committee shall conduct its functions within a ring of secrecy” and that “no member of the Committee may disclose any information or document gained by him in the performance of his functions.” There’s no denying there is need for secrecy in the intelligence services, but in administrative and policy issues?  Furthermore,  what is the point of an oversight body if its “functions are conducted in a ring of secrecy”  how will one tell whether they are indeed performing their oversight role or not?

  Then there is the issue of the civil liberties, particularly freedom of speech, access to information, freedom of association, and the right to privacy and the bill has provisions lead to infringement on these rights. For instance, the Bill allows the NSIS to obtain “any information, material, record, document or thing and for that purpose enter any place, or obtain access to anything, search for or remove or return, examine, take extracts from, make copies of or record in any other manner the information, material, record, document or thing” the bill also allows the service to “monitor electromagnetic, acoustic and other emissions and any equipment producing such emissions and to obtain any information derived from or related to such emissions, equipment or encrypted material’ i.e. mobile phones and Internet.”  It can do so without warrant in “extreme emergency or existence of exceptional circumstances” and for reasons of national security.  Of course the definitions for extreme emergency, exceptional circumstance and national are adequately vague that they may cover any series of circumstances. I’m not saying that the NSIS will misuse the powers and privileges accorded to it in the NSIS Bill.  However given the history of the country’s intelligence services it is a bit of a leap of faith to think that such powers will never be abused.

• Are Policy Makers Doing Enough?

  Posted: October 8, 2011, 1:13 pm by admin

  
  
  

  By Mzalendo Contributor – Moreen Majiwa

  • The Kenyan Shilling has fallen 25% percent against the dollar since January
  • Inflation is up by 17.1%
  • Food inflation is up by 24.4%
  • Transport inflation is up 24.8%
  • Economic Growth slowed to 4.1%
  • KPLC has raised the price of electricity per unit

  You’d be hard pressed to find a Kenyan on the street that would say they have not been affected by the food costs, fuel costs, or the general cost of doing business.   Yes,  there are external factors that have affected the value of the shilling – the Euro zone crisis, persistent drought in the region, volatile oil prices etc. However internal factors i.e. the effect of poor policy, planning and practice are also to blame for the declining value of shilling. An article in the Nation names the Ministries of Industrialisation, Agriculture, Energy, Trade, Tourism, Planning and Vision 2030 and the Kenyan Consumer playing a large part in where we are economically.

  The policy makers’ response? Parliament’s Finance, Planning and Trade Committee has proposed the government attempt to obtain ‘emergency balance of payment support from the International Monetary Fund and other development partners.’ According to the committee’s head, Nambale MP Chris Okemo, ‘this is the only way to stem the excess volatility between the shilling and the other currencies’.

  The committee has also summoned the Central Bank Governor seeking an explanation for the rapid decline of the value of the shilling. In September President Kibaki assented to the Price Control (Essential Goods) Bill. The Act allows the government to set maximum prices on essential goods i.e. maize flour, cooking oil, sugar etc. The 2011/2012 Budget proposed the removal of excise duty kerosene, and essential goods. I’m yet to see and or hear anyone speaking of the benefits of these either of these measures. The President has reached out to the International Monetary Fund for financial aid. The Prime Minister has set up a committee to ‘save the shilling’. The committee formed this month is comprised of officials from the Office of the President, the Treasury, Central Bank of Kenya, the Ministry of Planning and private sector executives. The Parliamentary Committee on the Budget headed by MP Elias Mbau is seeking a 30 billion shilling economic stimulus package to cushion the poor against the effect of inflation and the falling shilling. The MP has suggested that the 30 billion shilling cash injection be raised through a ban on non-essential travel by public officers overseas (yes please), and additional taxes for the rich and sectors with high margins. I wonder if this plan includes having MPs remit their taxes in full. The Central Bank of Kenya seems to be more cautious in its limited interventions seeming to prefer to wait and see if the market will self-correct.

  The thing is a lot of these interventions have occurred in the last two months despite the fact that problem seems to have become noticeable in January 2011 and probably started way before. Are the interventions adequate or is this a case of too little too late? Is the government doing enough to rectify the situation?

• On The Minimum Education Requirement for Elective Posts

  Posted: October 4, 2011, 3:38 am by admin

  
  
  

  By Mzalendo Contributor – Moreen Majiwa (@mmajiwa)

  The Election Act, which governs the conduct of elections, is one of a slew of bills passed in late August this year. The Act has provisions in it that effectively bar candidates without a post-high school diploma or degree from running for elective positions.

  Article 22 (1) (b) states ‘a person may be nominated as a candidate for election under this Act only if that person holds a post secondary school qualification.’ Article 22 (2) states ‘a person may be nominated as a candidate for election as President, Deputy President, county governor or deputy county governor only if the person is a holder of a degree from a university recognised in Kenya’.

  This week two petitioners have received permission to file a high court case against the Attorney General, the Minister of Justice, and the yet to be formed Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to have the provisions requiring candidates standing for elective positions to have post secondary school qualifications suspended and eventually removed from the Elections Act.

  The basis of their case is that the provisions on minimum educational requirements are discriminatory. That the provisions fail to take into account injustices and structural inequalities that have left many in the rural areas educationally disadvantaged. The petitioners claim that it is unfair for the government to enact a law that places a minimum educational requirement on prospective election candidates without providing corresponding facilities to give said education.

  Mithika Linturi, MP for Igembe South constituency, made a similar argument in an article he wrote in the one of the papers last week. In the article he states the provisions on minimum educational requirement for prospective election candidates are ‘manifestly unreasonable’ and ‘severely curtail the democratic rights and freedoms of Kenyans to elect leaders of their choice.’  He also states that the provisions are in breach of the constitutional principle of equality articulated in Article 10 of constitution. He also made the argument that good leadership is not the preserve of the educated or learned, stating “I know many good and effective leaders serving Kenyans but who never schooled beyond Form Four.”

  What level of education do you expect your parliamentary candidate to have? Should they be educated above a high school? Or is a high school diploma enough? Should having at least a Bachelors degree from a recognised university be a prerequisite to stand for an elective posts?

Blah blah blah

Fish cakes

Alas a fish cake.

Yet more fish cakes

Guess what ... yeah ... fish cakes.

The end of the fish cakes